You’ve gotta like MLB’s Gameday Live feature. I’d rather be watching in Hi-Def to be sure, but being able to watch pitch-by-pitch results from anywhere in the world is pretty cool.

I may end up buying a Slingbox though

I went out last night, by myself, and finally found a place that knows how to make a good Martini! Nothing spectacular, but it was a welcome change to the blank/confused looks I’ve been getting when I order it, and the resulting drinks that have been served. They’ve ranged from a room temperature (i.e. warm) tumbler of gin with an olive tossed in, to a snifter with tons of ice.

So, when someone at work recommended ‘The Fox’ in Gurgaon, I figured I’d give it a go. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it: a big open single-roomed restaurant with a lighted bar in back. When I got there, the place was pretty empty, with only a few couples seated. I sat at the bar and asked for a menu, which was pretty good and extensive. The bartender informed me that it was happy hour, and that most drinks were two-for-one. When I asked about snacks, he brought over a happy-hour menu and a full menu too.

The food selection was reasonably extensive (which is why I think it was recommended to me) – both Indian and non-Indian choices, including thai, chinese, american, and japanese. I ordered a calamari (squid) plate with peppers, and asked for it hot. It took awhile to prepare it, but it was definitely worth the wait – very spicy, but very good. I had to order some bottled water to stop my hiccups, but enjoyed every second of it.

By the time I was done with my meal and my second martini, the place had filled up a bit more, but it was still not at all crowded. It looked like a live band was getting set up, but I decided to head back to the apartment and get some sleep.

Weee! Almost a week into my trip, and I finally found some cheddar cheese. A company friend back home who’s been in India before suggested I try a convenience store in one of the malls, and sure enough, nestled amongst a myriad of other food stuffs, were some small packages of cheddar.

I frankly have no idea how to get back there if I need to (it’s something like the "Mega Mall", but there are tons of small malls scattered around), but the package I bought should last me until the end.

I am looking forward to shopping in Delhi this weekend, and plan on seeing if I can find a snake charmer to take my picture with. I think that’s the only thing that my kids would get a kick out of – pictures of their dad standing next to the Taj Mahal aren’t all that exciting (see that dot? That’s ME!). I’ve heard that Snake Charmers are against the law though now in India, so am unsure if I’ll be successful.

Anyway, I’ve settled into a pretty nice morning routine – I tune into the Sox game, if they’re playing, in the morning via GameDay, have breakfast, chat with my wife on google talk, watch a bit of a sci-fi movie on the DVD player, and then go to work.

Not sure what’s in store for tonight’s meal.. I think I might be on my own, which might actually be fun and relaxing.

Yesterday was my first in-the-office day in India. I like the people here, and am still amazed at the very different ways of dealing with certain situations. As an example, my friend from work (another American) and I waited at some elevators for probably 5 minutes before realizing that it was unlikely we’d get on; it was lunch-time, and people were queuing for the elevators the same way India traffic works: fill up the empty spaces with no real regard for ‘cutting’ or wait length. We ended up taking the stairs – good exercise, but on a hot day after lunch, I think I’d have preferred the alternative.

Anyway, this was also my first real exposure to true Indian food. We ate at a company cafeteria and the food was… ok. The rice was done really nicely, but to be honest I’m not sure exactly what I had on top of it. It was curry-based, but not overdone, which was good (I’m not a huge curry fan), and the price was certainly right… R 50, or about $1.25 for all I could eat. That doesn’t include a drink, but most people I saw weren’t drinking anything with their meals at all. The few that were were drinking water, which was free. So, all-in-all, it was satisfactory, but nothing extraordinary.

I’m willing to try anything once (food- and drink-wise that is), so gave one of the desserts a go. It looked like a dumpling of sorts (about the size and shape of a munchkin) sitting in syrup, and I thought it was eaten in one bite, so I popped it in my mouth. My friend just said, "Oh God.." – it was sickeningly sweet and sopping wet. I finished it, but not without some difficulty. I’m glad I tried it (once), but won’t be sampling it again. We finished off our meal with a coffee at local cafe – the coffee is very good here, imho. I’ll probably try an iced coffee tomorrow, but thus far have just had hot black (strong) coffee.

Dinner was a bit of an adventure. Our driver dropped us off at a chinese restaurant at 6:20pm, but we realized too late that they didn’t open until 7pm. That’s not uncommon in India – most people eat much later than we do in America. We walked to another place close by, which looked like it had real promise, and had gotten great reviews in a tourist guide I’ve been using. Unfortunately, the guide failed to mention a key piece of information: Geoffrey’s is a members-only restaurant. I wonder if tipping the maître d’ would have worked – didn’t try it, since I only had a few thousand rupees and needed the cash for other things.

So, we walked to yet another restaurant, sat down in the bar area, and ordered a drink. By this time, it was 6:45pm, and we were very hungry. The buffet by the bar looked very good, so after our drinks were served, we ordered 3 buffets – the ever-polite waiter apologetically but firmly told us that we couldn’t eat in the bar, and must be seated in the restaurant area to dine. No problem, really: we moved over, he brought our drinks, and we were seated promptly. But even then, we were unable to eat, because the waiter in the dining area said that they didn’t start serving until-you guessed it-7PM. We could SEE the food we wanted, and the dishes were there (it was a buffet), but we had to wait. They did allow us to start in on the salad bar and assorted appetizers, which were admittedly very good. I’m just still amazed at how some things in Indian culture (like traffic) are so incredibly unorganized, while waiting for a clock to tick down a few minutes so you can dine at the appropriate time is acceptable. Ah well.

The food was very good – I had some nice lamb in a nice sauce (sorry for the vague description, but I have no clue on the actual details). I was excited to try a new dessert, which looked like a little lime gelato ball, but after my afternoon experience was also a bit more conservative in my approach. Alas, it was the same darn thing: a sickenly sweet, corn-syruppy concoction. I didn’t finish it.

 As we were leaving, I bought a cigar at the bar. My wife hates the smell of cigars, but seeing as how I won’t see her for another 10 days or so, I’m taking advantage of my very temporary bachelor-like status, and plan on having a nice cuban with a scotch on the terrace overlooking the city tonight.

I’m going to miss my friends, who left for America last night. From here on in, I’ll be relying upon some local work acquantances to keep me company.

I won’t get into the gory details of my day, but will just say that it was a complete wash – Delhi Belly sucks. I slept on and off for most of it, read, and watched movies when I was awake and feeling up to it.

I opined to my friends that this is part of the whole Indian experience – taking the bad with the good. They have to go home to the states tomorrow, so I’m going to be essentially on my own for two weeks. I’ll see how resourceful I can be in keeping myself amused

Work tomorrow!