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After 24+ hours and four flights and some Sitar management I have arrived home - Hey 15minutes early - What an effective transport system. The Sitar arrived in perfect condition - know I need my decade to go forward.

Announcing the boarding of flight...

Started the Journey Friday night at 11:30 PM - My routing home is as follows: Chennai- Kuala seatguru.com' It will tell you how cramped your ass will be.
Lumpur- Shanghai- Vancouver- Ottawa I checked in the Sitar despite some reservations. I think it will eventually be OK and arrive some time. I am in Kuala Lumpur - still the best airport I've ever been in - and free Wifi. I am so looking forward to seat 40K. If you ever wanted all the info on any seat in the global fleet check out '

Sitar in Motion

After a long day at work until 6:30 + the 1 hour busy drive(r) back to the hotel, I call the music store to confirm Sitar pickup and time at they close - 9:00pm.
Downstairs an the concierge I ask about getting a cab - but they are only interested in the 3 hour minimum car+driver package for 1000 ruppees - and in 15min. Too much and late for me so I escape the luxury compound across the street and negotiate the rick-shaw driver for the trip north to the shop. I estimate 20min but after getting 80% there and having him ask his comrades where the road was - despite my map from google earth. We arrive 8:30. The sitar is prepacked and ready to go. An accounting slip up on their side saves me an additional 1000 rupees (which I discover later - yippee) and I am back to the curb with a crate of sitar and a small rickshaw. After a few brief laughs from passers by I sit in the rickshaw with the crate on my lap - 4 inches of sitar crate hang out each side of the rickshaw - The size of the rickshaw has grown by about 10% - a necessary factor in Chennai's traffic dance. So I remind the drive that is vehicle is now larger. - Anyway 45min more back home(hotel) we arrive. 30 before arrival at the hotel it starts to pour and my precious 8" are getting wet - so the drive offers to breach the fortress and enter the hotel entrance. The security flags him down - but waves him further seeing the white guy. A quick unload and payment given - still too damn much for a rickshaw - he is off with an additional chide by the hotel staff for touring a richshaw through the hotel drive up. A trolley up the room. The baby sits in box with only a brief escape to play. I call the airports to debate the checkin vs carryon dilemma but in the end will probably opt for additional pack up and checkin.
That was half the fun - the other half will be making a decent sound.

Owner of Lonely Sitar

In the AM in called my two music shops to get a price on the Sitar. Hired a car and scouted them both. After some minor negotiations (at the second shop) I put down my deposit on the Sitar. They will fix some minor cosmetic issues and pack it for suitable air transport for tomorrow. After exchange its about $140 CDN. It's not an Indian heirloom but is an Indian Sitar with too many string to deal with. I bought a 'How to Play Sitar' book at the mall for $2 - I will be a master within a decade - to be sure.

Laundry Service

Lacking clean 'undergarments' I opted for the laundry service - you got to be clean.
I know why I don't get this kind of service at home.

Road to Work

Short (bad) phone video of road to work. Honking is mandatory

Sunday Walk

I awoke at about 6:30 and lounge until about 9:00 when I prepared to go forth on the explore. From my past visit I did have some lay of the land. I fired up my GPS a located the hotel so that if I got lost I could navigate back home. I walked the ATM - out of service - so I walked further to the other ATM - Cash in hand I hired an auto-rickshaw to a trip to Spencers Plaza - the 36000sq' largest mall in India. A 3 story combination of the A modern mall and a street market. Some large shops but mostly small shops. As I was there before 10:00 many had not opened and the ones that had say a good opportunity to get the early shopper. After too much walking and seeing no deals I decided to walk on foot the the instrument store I had previously scoped in Mylapore. After the 33 deg walk I arrived at the closed store - I took the risk and - well I will try again Tues - Vowing not to be deterred by the heat and dirt and traffic and misdirection I followed my primitive GPS back to the hotel. The 6km walk had beat me and I headed for the shower and a cooler - bad - lunch in at the hotel. It is mid afternoon and I feel more like sleeping than touring.
Typical westerners would certainly describe Chennai as a dirty city, but as you look around at the people, houses, cars you see that they are trying. The ladies and boys sweep their shops and homes every day but you just can expect the sanitized NA picture. This is the real world. What we have in NA is the Saran Wrap view of reality. I am too tired to make up some significant culture essay so I'll just have some more water and lie down.

Chennai

Arrived in Chennai from Kuala Lumpur in 3 1/2 hours. No problem with airport - It is looking nicer since I was last here. So now begins the expected rally car drive to the hotel. It is still so amazing how the traffic skirms in and out with accidents being avoided every second. Just trust the driver - he knows the skinny.
Of course the Park Sheraton is one of the best in the city and the Executive rooms are well appointed with mahogany and marble, king size bed, a crap load of bathroom sundries (including fine pen and note pad by the toilet in case I get an ephiphany of the next great invention while on the lieu), Flat screen TV with DVD player, wireless internet and phone........ Funny that it is 3x the price as in Shanghai. Since I am not here with Hendrik, my Antwerp colleague I will have no one to dance with in the disco - so I will pass and get a light snack at the stoggie old man's bar. Tommorrow I sleep in - a little - and do some shopping - or walking - or both - I will try to escape the perimeter of the hotel and feel the street.

Video Blogging

Hey - So lets use this expense phone and try a video blog. Look - it's really the bagpiper from last post. I'm certain my blog quality will improve with care

Kuala Lumpur

On Sat morning I am off to Chennai via Kuala Lumpur. Arrival via the 5:00hr flight is pleasant. The KLIA is beautiful and has won many awards. I have a 3+ hour stop - enough time to catch up on blog and grab some NA food - I mean a tall vanilla latte at SB. Nothing to buy here that I want to afford - it is all just high end fashion names. I 0only have some local money for Amir. As I am writing this I am serenaded by bagpipe music from the local tatoo - quite unexpected.

Friday Night Lights

After squeezing all relevant discussion and meeting into Friday morning, my host and I are finally able to get away off to more official downtown Shanghai for 'serious' shopping and minor sight seeing. We take a cab to the subway station near the Science and Tech Museaum. This is where the new 'faek' market has moved. An underground, but well appointed mini mall maze of about 100+ shops selling all the not real good. As it is still mid afternoon the bussle has not picked up and the tall lone white man with two local guides is ripe for the solicitation - "watch", "bag", "dvd" from all corners - We get nabbed by a 'boss' a guy whp overseas several shops and we generally let him guide use to some of his selected family owned business. The bargaining start always high and ends up about 6-8 times lower in the end, especially with the help of my local hosts who push the price down just a bit more. Having been to Pakistan I am keen to go it alone but my host is doing a good job. After a Brazilian BBQ meal of mostly meat - 'to much for me' after the 6 course lunch - we grab the subway across the river.

The Shanghai subway is clean, fast and efficient, but crowded. In the Friday night shuffle home we are crammed into the subway - groin to hip to waist to knee to whatever. I see over the sea of heads as the 6'3" dude has a good view.

Across the river in Pu Shi we walk from the high end shops all the way to more traditional shops near Yu Yuan garden were I see 'some' of the more local architecture and shops.

The bottom line is the Shanghia is a world class modern city and you need to drive some way, I'm sure, to see the 'real' China'

No late nights just a long cab ride home and a gracious thank-you to my host.