I have been on the ground for about 4 hours now. Clearly i cant sleep even though its around 2:00 am.

The night outside is so thick: humid, smokey, and full of smells -- sometimes fragrant and sometimes putrid. About two hours ago, I stepped out of my guest house and looked both ways down the street. its was amazingly dark around considering it is just off of a busy avenue. almost hard to see. a big wall runs along the opposite side of the street and drooping willow-like trees reach out over the roadway. There was not a single car on the road except of the ones parked head-in to the wall with the bare feet of their sleeping drivers poking out of wide-open back doors.

Way down the street there was a neon lighted area and i saw people on the street so i started to wander that direction. It felt pretty uneasy. so dark and unknown and lots off people sleeping in corners and against trees. So i was keeping my wits about me. I finally got to the lit area and found a large fenced-in park. shops, cafes and restaurants surround the park but everything was closed (it is late at night here). several skinny dogs were wandering around and a few people were milling about in the shadows looking at me. then, at the far corner of the park, i reached a single open establishment -- a glitzy glass-fronted italian restaurant...hmmm. I walked in and was greeted by three friendly host/hostesses and proceeded to the dinning room which was really nice. Very hip and very modern and very fancy by any western standards with down-tempo/lounge electronica playing over big party-ready wall-mounted speakers.

So i have just now arrived back to my little room from Baci, modern italian restaurant. I am full of delicious Fusili and Heineken and have learned from my bar tender, Anand, that the wall i was walking along was actually the wall around the neighborhood "Sundar Nagar" were my guest house is located. it is a "prestigious" neighborhood and reportedly is completely safe. the people i thought were milling about and who initially made me a bit wary, are actually "security."

I think India is going to be like the best stinky, moldy roquefort cheese. off-putting at first smell and sight. Wonderful, complex and addictive once you take a bite.

I just thought of that myself folks...roquefort cheese...haha...goodnight from india.

curious to see what this area is like in the daylight.