Thursday, September 30, 2010

Odd hour tourist babble

Does the name Red Foreman ring a bell? Eric's father? Madras checks? Always screaming? That '70s show?

This guy? Remember him?

So, he -- Red (aka Kurtwood Smith) -- is who I finally made the connect with when I got out of the kiwi airport yesterday. I wasn't thinking what lovely weather! or such friendly people! or how pretty! or why can't we have hedges like these in Delhi?; none of that. I was looking at my driver and thinking, it'll come to me, it'll come to me.

It's just his side profile, I realise, but it came to me, and don't you think the resemblance is much starker than Robin Singh's to Kevin Costner?

See what I mean? So, this guy, Tom, picked me up. He smiled, said hello, how was your flight, etc etc, and then gosh you're tall, also, I'm not used to looking at women in the eye. And Delhi, eh?, we've been reading about you guys and the commonwealth games.

I liked Tom. I felt I could trash my country to him and he wouldn't have believed me. Or if he had, it wouldn't have made his eyes pop. Men in their fifties do get a little less incredulous, don't they? All Tom wanted to know about was those big monkeys. I laughed. Ha, yes, the langurs. I don't know if there is an English-English term for langur. We don't get them in these parts. No, I suppose not. Yea.. Mmm hmm.

And then baggage collected, I was deposited to my hotel by Tom who looked like that guy from That '70s show.
~

Highlights so far, I saw sheep. I ate oysters. I ate mussels. I ate scallops. I went to a museum and didn't get bored. But mostly I've just eaten and drunk. Wine. Lots of wine. Pinot noir. Sauvignon Blanc. I even said "I'll try the Neudorf, please."

Excuse me if I sound la di dah, but you have to understand -- for someone who, many Decembers ago, raised a toast to a friend on her 21st birthday, in coffee mugs with expired red wine swivelling inside, this -- sitting in a café at a vineyard in New Zealand and hearing myself say I'll try the Neudorf please -- is definite progress.

And now, as we like to say in all official documents in India, for your kind perusal, I bring you touristy photos:

The original prototype of the ring Jens Hansen designed for Peter Jackson's trilogy.
Apparently more than 40 variations of this were needed for all the Lord of The Rings movies


Macaroons!
(Note to Macaroon Crazy Person, R: these were too sweet. Also $1 each.
The green ones we had at the Oberoi were better.
But they look okay, huh?)


At a 'creative workshop'.
Sign of a true artist: See photo op, catch a cheap moment, laugh to self, upload on blog


Sitting in Waimea, drinking Waimea. Life = good
Through my room window.
The rain hasn't stopped.
The hotel though, is lovely and built like an English village.


One part of dinner last night.
There, behind the candles, and aubergine-goat cheese -ham thing are the oysters.
Look pretty and tasted okay, like litchees, till, TILL the flavour of cod liver oil kicked in.
Never again! Return to sender- oyster, mussels, sea food at large


Look who learnt to appreciate art.
(Candy Clarke, "I am better". $1100, if you're interested
)

And here's a symbolic shot of me embarrassing myself at breakfast

What can I say, 'cept
I.DIDN'T.READ.THE.SIGN

7 comments:

Miss. Mystic said...

Wine Sweet Wine!:D Click some more touristy pics! The really guy does look like Red!

Perakath said...

Woah cool Ring!

Perakath said...

The last picture is worthy of FailBlog! xD

Anonymous said...

So it wasn't cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came, after all?

Here In Franklin said...

I adore NZ Sauvignon Blanc. There's one called Huia that I particularly love. That hotel looks fab. Have fun.

Nimpipi said...

Mystic: Been walking around like a good tourist, grin on face, finger on click button. Photos coming soon:)

Per: I went to a museum and wore one one worth and took photo. Fancy Shmancy. Will post. Heh at fail blog.

ROhan: Yellow. Nope. No chasm, no fire. Only lots of v expensive gold.

HIF: EVERY SINGLE DAY = sauvignon blanc something or the other. Become quite the tipsy queen. Given a choice, will try the huia tonight at sigh, YET, another uptown din din. Cheeky smirk.

riddhi said...

it's macarons you gavaar :)