The Novotel..."Not Our Hotel"

The Novotel is one of the top 3 hotels in Hyderabad. They have this amazing Sunday brunch buffet that includes a huge array of tasty Indian food, fish, pasta, Chinese food, desserts, salad, beer, wine, lobster...the list goes on.

People Following Cars

I was wondering why walking past people seemed so difficult here until Jon made an observation. We Americans are used to driving on the right side of the road, while Indians drive Brit-style on the left. The norm on foot must follow the norm on the road. People kept trying to pass me on my right, resulting in near collisions half the time. An easy way to think of going by someone is "the right way is on the left."

Our First Taste of Nightlife

Elsa's Puppies

When I found out Ruthu's neighbor's dog just had puppies, I couldn't refuse her idea to walk across the street and meet them. Yellow lab Elsa is the mom, named after the dog in the book Born Free, which I got a kick out of because when I was little we had a yellow lab named Elsa. The proud dog had 7 adorable all-female puppies on Dec. 23. So at three weeks old, the puppies were about the size of a Nerf football. Dad is a black lab, and had to be separated from the others behind a gate. Judging by the way he barked at us I think that was a good call.

Ruthu, Lakshmi and I stayed there well after dark, enthralled. It took all my will power to not hide one under my shirt and take her home.

Paan & Fortune Telling

There's a wonderful restaurant in Hyderabad called Paradise which has become so famous that the area around it is also called Paradise. After a scrumptious lunch there with Ruthu and Lakshmi, I tried paan for the first time.



The fortune teller, clearly stoked, let the parrot out of the cage so that it could choose a card for me. The card showed Lord Venkateshwara, a form of Lord Vishnu who is The Protector. My clairvoyant guide said a few interesting things in Hindi that my companions had to translate for me:

- My bad times are over and my good times are beginning
- Whatever I want to do will be a success
- Whatever I have in my heart I speak
- I will have 3 kids, two boys and one girl
- I will live to be 95

Ok, so it was pretty generic. What can you expect for the price of 50 rupees (about $1)? I thanked him, gave the parrot a thumbs up for picking a winner, and exclaimed, "Let the good times begin!"

Street Food

"Don't eat the street food!"

That's the most popular warning you'll get when you go to India. Here's some peanuts made into a chaat that look tasty, but I heeded the advice and just looked instead.

The Fabric Mall

I went with Ruthu, Lakshmi, and Ruthu's mom to a narrow, crowded street that is full of fabric stores - kind of like a fabric mall. Many people opt to buy material for a sari (cloth wrapped around the body) and lehenga (skirt & top set) and have them custom made, especially since it's so cheap. The materials are beautiful, and the options overwhelming. I bought two fabrics, one suede-like moss green one for a skirt and another burgundy and gold one for a pillowcase.



I've been wearing western clothing, and haven't gotten any strange looks or remarks. I'm white, so strangers are going to stare no matter what. But I did buy a top from Fab India and an Indian-style skirt from Globus, two popular local stores. In the office, there's a wide range of attire, with most women wearing pants and a kurti (like a tunic, usually embroidered) and men wearing khakis & button-down shirts or jeans and t-shirts.

One thing that you notice in India is all the wonderful color that people wear. It's rare to see Indian clothing in a color like black, gray or white. This means that half of the limited supply of clothing I brought makes me stand out even more as a foreigner. Note for next time. The array of bold, bright colors is certainly something to appreciate while I can.

India Traffic

We get some great perks living here through Google. Laundry is done daily Monday through Friday. Basic food items, bottled water and beer are continually stocked for us. And one of my favorite things about living here is that drivers are available all day for the company expats. Here's me with one of our drivers, Sadiq. This is a pretty typical view of the street. Normally you'd encounter at least one beggar along the way, tapping on your window repeatedly. People run in front of cars, and honking a never-ending obnoxious symphony. But it's a small price to pay for free on-demand transportation.

Jayabheri Dinner Menu

One perk is that the Google U.S. expats have dinner prepared for us each night except Sunday. It happens to be inside Jon's apartment, I guess because he has the largest one. A guy named Shyam who we've never met emails the menu to us each day. There are always vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. India caters to veg diets way better than America. Airplanes have veggie meals as a main option, and even McDonald's has more non-meat items than meat. And no beef, because cows are sacred. "Holy Cow" takes on a new meaning.

There's also always a theme to each dinner: either Mexican, Chinese, Continental, Italian, or Indian. It's a nice variety, but these food types should be in quotes because it's usually a blend of something and Indian anyway. The food is tasty. But what I enjoy even more than the food is the description of the food. There have been some great phrases and misspellings. Here are my favorites, with key parts bolded:

INTERESTING SPELLINGS

American chopsy : Fried noodles with tomato,capsicum, onion, beans stir fried with spicy schezwan sauce.

Okra in tomatoes : Shallow fried ladies finger sauteed in tomato concassee, garnished with grated cheese.

Chicken Manchurian: Born less chicken Fried in flour batter then stir fried with spicy Manchurian sauces.

Paratha : Indian bread, whole wheat floor rolled in to bread & shallow fried on hot plate.

Grilled Chicken with oyster sauce : Boneless chicken pieces marinated with muster paste, grilled & cooked in oyster sauce.

Fish n chips : Boneless fish, coated with seasoned egg batter with corn flaks & oats breadcrumb , deep fried & served with toter sauce.

Veg Au gratin : Blended Vegetables with white sauce finished with grated Cheese baked in salamander. (I hope this one was a misprint!)

JUSTIFICATIONS

Shyam doesn't just want to let you know what they're cooking, but why they did things a certain way.

Boiled vegetables : Farm fresh vegetables perfectly boiled to retain natural nutrients, served without any seasonings.

Steamed Vegetables : Assorted vegetable boiled to add natural food to the menu.

Corn Florentine : American corn & spinach cooked in white sauce & baked with Parmesan cheese to give the aroma.

INTERESTING WORDING & CONTEXT

Saffron Rice : Soft boiled rice sauteed in butter flavoured with saffron, seasoned to taste.

Green Salad : Assorted vegetables chopped in fancy shapes, served as natural food. (I didn't notice fancy shapes but I'll be more observant next time...)

Chicken Steak : Boneless chicken marinated with mustard paste garlic & herbs, cooked in brown sauce. (They say color is important in cooking, but I don't know if brown sounds very appetizing.)

EXTREME ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Mexican rice : Soft boiled rice sauteed in kidney beans & Chilly flakes, garnished with chopped parsley.

JUST PLAIN CUTE

Grilled chicken in BBQ sauce : Chicken pieces marinated with little spicy seasonings & cooked in pan BBQ sauce.

The meat options are usually both chicken, which gets a bit old. Sometimes the chicken dishes on the same night are even similar. For example...

Non Vegetarian Dishes :
Grilled Chicken : Boneless chicken marinated grilled with brown sauce flavoured with black pepper sauce.
Chicken with mushroom in black pepper sauce :Boneless chicken marinated grilled with mushroom black pepper sauce & cooked with mushroom sauce

Dessert is almost always cut fruit. Sometimes I think why bother including it on the menu. On January 15 though there was a comma:

Dessert : Cut Fruits,

And actually on three occasions they went nuts and served fruit custard. I requested ice cream last week and tonight we each had a slice from the cold sweet loaf. The guy who prepares our food is adorable. It's always "Yes Madam" or "No Madam" with a smile. Every native Indian does a head bob that means "ok," but we like his fast short one the best.