tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1498195837941554492012-02-11T11:17:49.555+05:30The expatriate adventures, travels, observations, perceptions, and misconceptions of a married couple living in India.John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.comBlogger2251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-19566331637800105882012-01-19T06:26:00.002+05:302012-01-19T06:26:33.262+05:30

As you can probably tell I haven't posted a thing since leaving India. In fact, I haven't written much, but that's not to say I haven't written at all. I've been trying to document the repatriation process but to be honest, the repatriation process in December involved primarily getting moved from Chicago to Orlando, being busy at the holidays, and trying to settle into new jobs and a new

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-26348132000560769232011-12-01T18:07:00.000+05:302011-12-01T18:07:14.630+05:30

Yesterday we returned from our final adventure in Bhutan, formally moved out of our apartment, and moved into a hotel in Gurgaon for one final night. At some point, I promise, there's going to be actual new content added to the blog (I'm WAY behind) but I wanted to make sure I posted something today. It's a big day; a milestone day. I'm about seven hours from leaving India (that is, if American

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-68514729793057483202011-11-22T01:00:00.000+05:302011-11-22T01:00:49.126+05:30

I recognize my posts have been fewer and further between the past few weeks but I like to think I have an excuse. Since Lindsay went to Orlando just two weeks ago, we've been busy. We've visited Varanasi, purchased a house (that I've only seen in pictures), had a going away party, hosted a visitor from the office in the U.S., made a mad dash to the Taj Mahal, attended the American Women's

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-43700071852059026892011-11-13T09:54:00.000+05:302011-11-13T09:54:56.125+05:30

Last Sunday night (Sunday morning US time), Lindsay flew from Delhi to Orlando to meet her new team and start the home search. On Friday night India time (that would be Friday morning US time) she arrived safely back in Delhi. This was easily the quickest back-and-forth either of us have ever made. After what amounted to a twelve hour layover, we headed back to the airport to catch our flight for

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-31332105946145549532011-11-08T22:24:00.000+05:302011-11-08T22:24:49.348+05:30

December in Chicago still has the novelty of Christmas and is typically not unpleasant; whereas, January and February are absolutely miserable. Why, you must be thinking, is this important? For the past couple months, when someone has asked me how I feel about going back to Chicago in the middle of the winter, I've answered with a bit of a sheepish smirk and responded with something like, "yep,

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4Gurgaon, Haryana, India28.4406583 76.9873476999999928.3442088 76.85465369999999 28.537107799999998 77.12004169999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-77917291089794276802011-11-08T10:27:00.001+05:302011-11-08T13:43:23.013+05:30

This morning I became yet another unfortunate case study about how used to convenience I've become. The coffee grinder broke. This disappointed me because we're about three weeks from leaving and it's not worth buying another coffee grinder with one of those funny Indian plugs. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would be forced to overpay for some ground coffee at one of the import grocery

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-40497054770746195042011-11-01T08:25:00.001+05:302011-11-01T21:57:02.321+05:30

If you grew up in the US in the eighties, your likely only experience with leeches is the scene from "Stand By Me" when the boys swim across a water hole and find, upon exiting, huge leeches covering their bodies, including one in a not so awesome spot for Gordo. Trekking in lush south Asian locations can reintroduce you to these little bloodsuckers. Truth be told, if anything good can be said

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-9670637355844344992011-10-31T10:11:00.000+05:302011-10-31T10:11:04.439+05:30

As you may or may not have noticed, the month of October has been a little light in the "new posts" department. What October has lacked in written record has been more than made up for with visitors' experiences. Over the four weekends of this month we've had two sets of visitors, first Lindsay's best friend from childhood Melissa and her husband Jeremy (whom I had never met) and then my college

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-13901132416307202322011-10-31T09:21:00.002+05:302011-11-01T21:58:53.785+05:30

I've often told people that one of the most fascinatingly different things about India is that there are many segmented economies coexisting at all times. On Saturday I may have committed the greatest cultural faux pas of my time here and made two of those economies collide (in my own small way). On Saturday our drivers walked through the gate of Neemrana Fort as paid guests rather than simply

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-1990072116559199802011-10-18T23:18:00.000+05:302011-10-18T23:18:09.481+05:30

One thing the wife and I have in common is that we tend to breeze through tourist sites quickly. We see it, we appreciate it, we move on. We tend to operate best without a tour guide. That's not to say I'm not interested in the history and the story, it's just that I'd rather read about it in a book than have some long-winded guide try and prove he's smarter than me (which is quite likely the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-3129787507754990402011-10-15T09:00:00.001+05:302011-10-15T09:04:42.161+05:30

When planning last weekend's trip to Udaipur we purposely didn't plan transportation until the last minute. The reason? Last year, we happened upon a friendly rickshaw driver named Adbul Hakim. To get an idea of fair prices this time around, I sent a note to the travel agent we typically use and priced out a car for the weekend. I also sent a quick request to the hotel to see how much airport

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-57176904932773417682011-10-06T17:15:00.000+05:302011-10-06T17:15:47.221+05:30

It wasn't a long drive nor was it a terribly stressful one; however, I can now lay claim to having driven an automobile in India. Today, I drove home from Galleria Market. The only time my trusty Kailash ever really brings up the idea of me driving is when it's a holiday or a festival. While I'm slightly insulted, it's probably the smart move on his part since the traffic is typically light.

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-13586357580633635452011-10-02T16:54:00.000+05:302011-10-02T16:54:20.071+05:30

Last night the local expat group, Gurgaon Connection, sponsored one of its frequent parties, known around these parts as a "bash." Typically, these bashes have some sort of theme (like "red" on Valentine's Day or a beach party); however, last night was the much anticipated second annual Bollywood Bash. Hosted at the Kingdom of Dreams (which is a new multi-purpose facility that is part

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-49910812486044536612011-09-29T08:25:00.003+05:302011-09-29T08:31:27.855+05:30

There are, to the American ear, odd units of measure in India that are generally accepted and widely used especially when it relates to money. If you don't understand these measures, then, well, you really haven't spent much time in India. The Lakh A lakh is equal to a hundred thousand. If someone were to make one million rupees in a year, they wouldn't say, "my salary is one million rupees."

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-26620795814897257772011-09-28T21:26:00.001+05:302011-09-28T21:28:44.167+05:30

I seem to be getting forgetful. Today I forgot my laptop. Thankfully, it was locked in my office at work. Unfortunately, that didn't really help much considering I had worked there earlier in the day and traveled twenty minutes to our other office in Gurgaon (which doubles as the office that once gave me the shortest commute in India). When I passed through the security check at work, it may have

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-53113214108215425992011-09-26T10:24:00.003+05:302011-09-28T08:33:20.276+05:30

I’m a man of very little principle. I’m now one of those evil westerners that tours slums. Upon landing in Mumbai last Friday morning, my first stop, even before checking into the hotel, was at Dharavi. More specifically, that stop was an organized and guided tour through three of four sections of the second largest slum in Asia. This slum, which is home to more people than the city of San

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-90132914523197399522011-09-24T10:36:00.000+05:302011-09-24T10:36:33.018+05:30

Anywhere you look in Mumbai, you’ll find yellow and black (or as an Iowa fan, black and gold) taxies zipping (or plodding) around town. Part of the reason you see so many is that three-wheel autorickshaws aren’t allowed in the south part of the city. While some of the cars are newer Hyundai Santros, most are old decrepit Ambassadors or Fiats. It's only missing a tiger hawk These older cars

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-69942630730278847412011-09-22T21:38:00.000+05:302011-09-22T21:38:27.093+05:30

On Tuesday night we were in Bangalore for work and had the opportunity to see a little bit of the expat life in that city’s suburbs through the eyes of our company’s only other expat in India (well, only one in addition to Lindsay’s shopping buddy and our travel planner, the world-famous Kristin). The most striking thing about his neighborhood was that it felt like we were driving through any

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-29901448856985670782011-09-12T23:13:00.000+05:302011-09-12T23:13:08.973+05:30

Other than to celebrate my birthday and to find a couple rooftop restaurants to enjoy surprisingly cold Kingfisher, the only other planned objective of Saturday's quick trip to Jodhpur was to wander the market in the old part of the walled city. Clocktower at Sardar Market Our guide on our first to Jodhpur in March mentioned that the market was once recognized as the eighth best market in the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-39604441860290962912011-09-12T21:47:00.000+05:302011-09-12T21:47:57.382+05:30

As we near the end of our time in India, we've started to make some repeat trips to places that we want to make sure we see again. This past weekend was one of those repeat trips, albeit a quick one-nighter to Jodhpur. Thankfully, domestic flights are relatively cheap so what would have been a nine hour train ride turned into an hour flight. Certainly a more realistic. For this trip, we stayed

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-6476511090986473022011-09-09T09:57:00.000+05:302011-09-09T09:57:44.510+05:30

From the scores of Ferraris and Bentleys out driving the streets to the $1500 handbags carried by nearly every local Emirati woman, I've never seen a city that flaunts its wealth and excess as much as Dubai. It makes Vegas seem restrained. This little guy was parked outside our hotel for two days We were in a jewelry store at one of the hotels. There was a garish champagne-colored diamond ring

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-71108482466558278932011-08-31T22:55:00.000+05:302011-08-31T22:55:35.323+05:30

Tomorrow marks our last trip off the subcontinent before heading home in December. The destination? United Arab Emirates (UAE). More specifically, we'll be in Dubai for three nights and then at a desert resort for a couple nights (with the wife's love of camels, you didn't think we'd hit our first Arab country and not figure out a way for a sunset camel ride, did you?) before a quick stop in Abu

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-49318038390820710632011-08-30T23:10:00.000+05:302011-08-30T23:10:10.564+05:30

I had a return appointment at the hospital today to check the healing progress on my spider bite (more commonly referred to as a "hair follicle infection" by my doctor). Again, the process was more efficient than expected. The total time for the point (round trip from the office)? 35 minutes. Fifteen of which were in the car. While driving back, I noticed an interesting disclaimer at the bottom

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-52371371944055994132011-08-27T11:09:00.000+05:302011-08-27T11:09:30.514+05:30

In America, we have the Kennedys. In India? The Gandhis. If you're not aware of the parallels, let me try and recreate the explanation our friend Swata provided last night. Please note that Swata is from Baltimore, but her last name is coincidentally Gandhi. Though much like Mohandas, she has no dircet blood relation to the confusing family web described in the next paragraph. It all started

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-84374627111877192442011-08-26T08:55:00.000+05:302011-08-26T08:55:40.326+05:30

A strange bump appeared on my calf a couple days ago. I thought maybe it was a mosquito bite. Wednesday it started to swell to the point where I searched for similar images on the internet to see if it might be something more severe. Yesterday, midway through my first meeting of the day, the pain and discomfort simply became too much. My streak of 19 months and 15 days needed to come to an end. I

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-20358637032184686962011-08-26T00:11:00.002+05:302011-08-26T00:15:24.790+05:30

Originally we had intended to take an extravagant four or five night trip to the Maldives as a "reward" for completing this little adventure. I mean, what better way to end this ridiculous experiment than by lounging in some over-the-water hut, watching tropical fish swim beneath our feet, and sipping cocktails without a worry in the world. I'll tell you what better way; taking yet another trip

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-86219417564222082602011-08-22T21:42:00.001+05:302011-08-22T21:48:09.044+05:30

For me, shopping for rugs is a little like shopping for furniture, which is to say that 95% is total crap, and you basically know what you're going to buy when you see it. Even though we found that 5% at the first store we visited last weekend, we still performed a little due diligence by visiting a second establishment that, if nothing else, gave me the story I'll tell my grandchildren about the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-23643714976051448652011-08-15T22:15:00.001+05:302011-08-15T22:19:30.723+05:30

Saturday was Rakhi, a festival meant for siblings. Since my sisters both live far, far away and didn't react terribly positive to last year's open letter explaining the festival, I didn't celebrate. Since we're good people (or like to think that), we told Kailash (our Saturday driver) that he could come at 11:30am so that he could celebrate with friends (his sister still lives in their home

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-3956157868376060342011-08-15T21:26:00.000+05:302011-08-15T21:26:12.035+05:30

Not unlike many other visitors to India, we're in the market for a rug. Unlike many other visitors to India, we know we're in the market. We've gone back and forth many times on whether or not we wanted to try and buy one. Ultimately, "if we're ever going to want one, now is the time to do it" seems to be winning out over "we don't think traditional looking rugs are really our style right now."

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-63933335791764895392011-08-15T20:41:00.000+05:302011-08-15T20:41:24.927+05:30

Seeing as this was only my second big multi-day trek, it may be difficult to keep from comparing this Ladakh trek around the Ripchar Valley to last year's trek to Annapurna Base Camp. While last year's trip to Nepal seemed to have more routine each day, there was still a basic formula to a day on the trail in Ladakh. The trekking days were shorter that last year, as in we started later and ended

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-23106296950719414562011-08-15T10:52:00.000+05:302011-08-15T10:52:03.058+05:30

As I walked out of the office on Friday, I was greeted by my driver Ashok. He had taken it upon himself to park on the other side of the road so we didn't sit in 45 - 60 minutes of gridlocked traffic heading in the normal direction. It's little things like this that really make me appreciate how good are drivers are. Especially on a Friday evening. As we stood waiting for "ma'am" to emerge from

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-65824293575598205292011-08-09T09:21:00.000+05:302011-08-09T09:21:54.123+05:30

As a first general rule, I ignore children. Well, at least the children that see my white face behind my car window and immediately expect I want to give them money. The "tap, tap, tap" with a sad or hungry looking face is one of the first thing that shocks you about this country and is, invariably, one of the first things to which you become desensitized.  As a second general rule, when I ignore

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-85594754651560615562011-08-08T21:30:00.001+05:302011-08-08T21:30:59.228+05:30

People often ask, "what food do you miss most?" There's any range of answers to that question depending on my day and mood. While not so much a "food", one of the eating experiences I do miss is going out for breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday morning. The concept of going to a restaurant or diner, sitting down with a newspaper, eating something not entirely healthy, and drinking a bottomless cup

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-66339637033671277912011-08-03T09:07:00.000+05:302011-08-03T09:07:13.072+05:30

When Lindsay's Mom was in town, I wrote about the first thing that had fallen to the ground from our apartment; the laundry. Tonight, a second item fell. I arrived home around 9pm. Yashoda, our cook, heard me come into the apartment and immediately approached. Two things had happened that day. The first, quite minor, was that she had run out of cooking gas while making dinner. The net result of

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-60227044612431465062011-07-31T21:41:00.009+05:302011-07-31T21:58:47.181+05:30

It's been over a year since my first and only post. I figured it was time to see if my editor would allow another addition. John finally relented. India is ‘an assault on your senses’ and accurately describes initial reactions to the country. No amount of preparation can do it justice which is one more reason that we feel so fortunate that many family and friends have (or are planning) to

Lindsay Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03694437150405960999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-55357953611191054532011-07-31T21:18:00.000+05:302011-07-31T21:18:15.445+05:30

For my 30th birthday (which was a few years back) my family agreed to join me for a climb up Quandary Peak in Colorado. It was my first (and to this point only) summit of a fourteener in Colorado. Until the trek in Ladakh, its 14,265 foot peak also marked the highest point where I had ever stood. Other than making it to the summit that fine September day, my second priority was to get a good

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-77111806207430525802011-07-31T11:24:00.001+05:302011-07-31T16:48:43.576+05:30

For the past 18+ months, I've been on a quest to find an actual India Pale Ale (IPA) in India. For the past 18+ months, I have failed, including a disappointing stop at The Come Drink Beer Cafe which had only Corona and IMFL selections. The first time I drank an IPA in India it had been imported in the sock of a visiting friend. Since that time I had only seen it on a menu once (at a place called

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-35732627329509683162011-07-26T09:23:00.003+05:302011-07-26T09:37:48.598+05:30

This post is entirely out of order with my other planned Ladakh posts, but it's all the energy I could muster this morning before work.... Leh is situated at an elevation of 11,500 feet, which means that its airport also rests at or near that same height. All flights in and out of Leh are early in the morning to reduce the chance of weather impacting the flight. As an example, our short Jet

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-33432328033180837072011-07-25T10:07:00.000+05:302011-07-25T10:07:32.722+05:30

Most places you travel in India you'll come across a curious child or two. Typically, the children approach you and we've found that they really just want to interact a little, have their picture taken, and most importantly, see their image on the screen. It's really quite a pleasant experience. Ladakh was no exception. Following Rule #1: always let them see the picture At camp outside the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-48584521523290260332011-07-24T09:51:00.000+05:302011-07-24T09:51:35.914+05:30

As fair warning, if you think meat comes from cellophane packages at the grocery store, this might not be the post for you. I can also say that if what follows didn't turn me into a vegetarian that I'm pretty confident in saying that I'll eat meat for the rest of my life. As we approached camp on the fifth night of our trek to Ladakh, we noticed something just further down the valley from our

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-44950494813667633582011-07-22T09:20:00.001+05:302011-07-22T09:26:08.765+05:30

I like to think of myself as adventurous. Then I realize that both of my Himalayan treks (Annapurna Base Camp last year as well as Ladakh) have been heavily supported and portered. Last year, there was a staff of 23 supporting our group of 6. I thought we were making progress when this year's the staff was limited to 7 people to support the 4 guests. Then I realized there were also 14 horses.

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-8911738442412949022011-07-17T11:41:00.000+05:302011-07-17T11:41:54.196+05:30

For years my wife has bothered me relentlessly to get a pedicure, even threatening to schedule one as she schedules her own. I must admit, I have disgusting feet. Even so, I always had the same response, "not gonna happen, don't even bother." So you can imagine my surprise when our trekking friends arrived in Delhi and both Judith and Glenn were excited about the prospect of a massage and

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-32190445764790311002011-07-02T04:34:00.000+05:302011-07-02T04:34:01.313+05:30

With my sister and brother-in-law's visit coming to a close on Sunday, work visitors that I hosted arriving on Monday, our trekking friends Judith and Glenn coming back to Delhi after a northern India tour on Wednesday and dinner with a friend and mentor-like figure that happened to be in town on Thursday all while getting ready to go completely unplugged for a two-week trip with a 6:30am flight

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-25249101274678979502011-06-28T09:02:00.001+05:302011-06-28T09:09:19.115+05:30

In college there was a term for overindulging, extracting that overindulgence from your body, and recommencing overindulging. It was called the "boot and rally." On Sunday for the first time, I witnessed the food-based India equivalent, I shall call it the "poop and rally." It was the last morning of my sister and brother-in-law's (also named John and referred to in this post as "Husband John")

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-62868512911003283842011-06-22T09:53:00.000+05:302011-06-22T09:53:42.188+05:30

One thing I really hate about India is the emporiums. If you're on some sort of guided tour or have hired a driver, they invariably want to take you to one. If you've been to India, you've likely visited one of these horrible establishments. Often it starts as a demonstration where you see how the local tradesmen labor to produce the local handicraft of future heirloom. Shortly after the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-64169544260278829342011-06-18T18:48:00.001+05:302011-06-18T19:47:32.691+05:30

One of Lindsay's favorite market haunts during our first assignment has been relegated to the place we take our visitors. Since my sister and brother-in-law are in town, it made sense as an introduction to Indian bargaining at Dilli Haat. It's definitely not the cheapest market but the twenty rupee entry fee (which I could swear used to be ten) keeps the beggars from approaching shoppers so that

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-76248692967324512242011-06-16T09:33:00.002+05:302011-06-16T09:49:19.078+05:30

For the past 17 months, I've had the shortest commute in India. That's not scientifically proven, mind you, but for those that work outside the home, I would put my commute up against just about anyone. I can see my apartment building from the men's room. I timed my walk home one day: seven minutes from desk to door. And I had to wait for an elevator. I'm a lazy enough expat that you'd expect I

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-36943741387084204892011-06-15T00:43:00.000+05:302011-06-15T00:43:49.048+05:30

Tonight, I'm taking it easy. Tomorrow, more of the same. Why? Visitor season, which has been closed since March, opens again on Thursday night. My sister Anne and brother-in-law John (yes, at my parents home I'm now known as "Brother John" and he is known as "Husband John") arrive at the tame hour 5:45pm IST (it's almost like American Airlines is trying to take away the fun of arriving in Delhi

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-24815301517876522592011-06-12T23:46:00.000+05:302011-06-12T23:46:32.059+05:30

In life there are people that you don't really know but interact with on a daily basis. It might be your mailman, it might be your coffee barista. They're the people that make your life easier or simply give you a familiar smile each day. There are no shortage of these characters in my life in India; in fact, they seem more prevalent here than at home. Perhaps it's the comfort of learning a

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-11765583295152459432011-06-12T17:15:00.000+05:302011-06-12T17:15:59.681+05:30

Every couple weeks one of the general purpose travel blogs I follow closely, yTravelBlog, has a "post your URL" Facebook gimmick where they invite followers to post a comment with a short description of their travel blogs. I've found it a great resource to find new and often like-minded travelers to follow. Of all the URL's posted, they select one at random and invite them to answer a few

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-49629650761840132562011-06-09T09:27:00.000+05:302011-06-09T09:27:02.377+05:30

I woke up this morning to an article shared on my Facebook wall from a friend Lindsay and I met while traveling in Turkey last year. Our friend is American but of Indian descent so it's been fun to remain in contact with her as we've progressed through our assignment. Jim Yardley's NYT article, published June 8, 2011 If the caption under the first picture from the article doesn't draw you in,

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-67975797787382319252011-06-08T08:24:00.000+05:302011-06-08T08:24:38.976+05:30

My morning routine is fairly straightforward. I wake up, eat, read the news or any number of social media for a while, and by around 9:45am I head to the gym (I'm not that unmotivated professionally, I just work later hours). While on this drive to the gym I ask my trusty driver Kailash how he's doing (either in English or Hindi as this is one of my six Hindi phrases). His response usually varies

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-67982364261692901112011-05-31T23:31:00.000+05:302011-05-31T23:31:49.738+05:30

Before the triumphant afternoon safari where we were lucky enough to witness a tiger pass before us, we had a morning safari with lackluster results. We had heard that May and June present the best opportunity for sightings in Ranthmbhore National Park with estimated success rates ranging from fifty to eighty percent. It was our guide that used the 80% figure. Either he was very confident or

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-13655875116854212072011-05-31T10:00:00.001+05:302011-05-31T16:26:31.885+05:30

Ranthambhore National Park is hot in May. It's also one of the best months for sighting tigers. As a result, the 111 degree high temperature wasn't nearly enough to keep us out of the park for an afternoon safari. The park is divided into different zones to which your jeep gets assigned. Our guide, Yad, found a way to get us moved from Zone 1, where we had been in the morning with no luck and

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-5503436188212327612011-05-26T10:26:00.000+05:302011-05-26T10:26:43.688+05:30

Locals almost seem morbidly fascinated with the scorching temperatures here and tend to wear it with a badge of pride. When they see a sweating Westerner like myself whom they assume is uncomfortable beyond belief, the first question from their mouth is almost always, "How are you liking the weather?" Translated, this means, "I can tell by the sweat dripping profusely from your head that you are

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-67518349139697887142011-05-22T07:56:00.000+05:302011-05-22T07:56:45.494+05:30

The first Tuesday while home, temperatures hit record highs across the Midwest and in my hometown of Moline, IL. While the 91 degree temperature seemed tame by Indian standards, the added humidity and fact that it was nearly forty degrees cooler only a couple days before made it feel a little like July in Delhi (OK, July in Delhi before 9am). Mom was scheduled to preside over her monthly garden 

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-27225559788296151272011-05-22T01:27:00.000+05:302011-05-22T01:27:25.620+05:30

A few days before returning to India I received a note from friends indicating that they were planning to attend the Delhi Daredevils' season finale and wanted to know if we wanted in. The Daredevils are Delhi's representation in cricket's Indian Premiere League (IPL). Even though we returned from the US just a day before, "attend a cricket match" was on the India "to do" list. It seemed an

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-53778096735953287102011-05-06T17:13:00.000+05:302011-05-06T17:13:56.344+05:30

After sleeping seven hours on the flight home, waking up at what would be around midnight central time, landing five hours later, and keeping myself moving through the day (including a jog, a late breakfast with the in-laws, free Starbucks, and a outdoors clothing shopping), I’m happy to report that I’m not yet suffering the effects of jet lag. It will come; I know it will. It’s just a matter of

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-51384542827756680942011-05-06T16:47:00.001+05:302011-05-06T17:16:16.962+05:30

Note: I'm now back at home, having landed approximately 25 hours ago at O'Hare; however, since my house here is basically a glorified cabin in the woods (i.e., there are sheets on the furniture, we have water and electricity, but we have no internet or cable), posts over the next couple weeks may be a little dated from the time actually written to when posted. Either that or I'll turn into one of

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-12239362389640130642011-05-02T10:02:00.000+05:302011-05-02T10:02:47.606+05:30

Wednesday after work I head back to Chicago for my second of two home leaves during this assignment. It's my last planned trip before the end of the year. The build up to the trip feels different; something is missing. Two weeks before every time I've left India, whether it be to go home or just for a vacation out of country, I get the itch. For whatever reason, two weeks before I leave I

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-63531665754788716352011-05-01T23:24:00.000+05:302011-05-01T23:24:32.497+05:30

I had not done a lot of research on the daily Wagah border ceremony but had some idea in my head of what the ceremony might be like. It's safe to say that nearly every one of those ideas was incorrect. Some more than others. The Physical Space I'm fairly certain India built their grandstands and gate pillars first. Why would one make this assumption? Pakistan's were taller. A road runs through

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-23010039747620214202011-05-01T11:49:00.001+05:302011-05-02T11:40:26.912+05:30

Sometimes travel means exploring some new place, learning how to navigate, and discovering hidden treasures all on your own. Sometimes travel means experiencing a new place with someone intimately familiar with that location. Saturday's trip to Amritsar fit into the latter category. When learning that Lindsay and I wanted to head to Amritsar with our American boss while she was in town over the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-5147256294401388602011-05-01T10:22:00.000+05:302011-05-01T10:22:45.422+05:30

One underrated aspect of Indian travel is that most airline tickets are refundable. Not entirely refundable, but with a reasonable fee (typically somewhere between Rs. 250 - 1000 per direction), you can get out of a ticket. With the Indian Airlines faction of the Air India pilots striking, this refundable property came in quite handy over the weekend. I bought tickets for a quick day trip up to

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-77680974327532062011-04-25T10:45:00.000+05:302011-04-25T10:45:09.430+05:30

When you can't get away for a short vacation, why not bring the short vacation to you? This was the theory behind our activity on Saturday. After a quick trip to the gym and a brief visit to the jeweler at Connaught Place (Mom, it's a good news/bad news kind of thing, your ring was ready but the earrings may or may not have been sold), we headed back to Gurgaon for a night "away". Lindsay had

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-18650583722128484452011-04-24T19:19:00.000+05:302011-04-24T19:19:29.710+05:30

A couple weeks ago when I went through the toll booth on NH8, which is the primary road between Delhi and Gurgaon, I noticed a sign that read, "Please pay exact amount. Cars Rs. 21." I'm probably not the first person to think it's odd that you would set your toll price at an uneven number like that and have the gall to expect people to have exact change. It would seem more appropriate to set the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-29657115280372759582011-04-21T23:06:00.001+05:302011-06-14T08:46:19.767+05:30

I like beer. I'm not afraid to admit it. More specifically, I like India Pale Ale (IPA). I like it so much that I actually googled "India Pale Ale brewed in India" before moving here to see how dire my situation might look for this two year assignment. Not surprisingly, the results weren't good. In fact, I'm going on 15+ months without a successful order. Once, yes ONE time, I found one on a menu

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-46330817283593902612011-04-17T09:50:00.001+05:302011-04-17T09:53:12.833+05:30

I was a swimmer in high school, or at least I tried to be. Because there's not much else to do while under water and I, ahem, tend to be the cerebral sort, each evening (and most mornings) at practice I'd count the laps and calculate in my head how far through a set I was. If I was on the fifth fifty in a twenty fifty set on the minute (for those unfamiliar with the ins and outs of high school

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-44893732301230628642011-04-14T09:11:00.001+05:302011-04-14T09:14:13.929+05:30

In mid-February, I saw my first pink covered auto-rickshaw. I wrote this post wondering exactly what the deal was. As you can tell from the photo, the purported "intent" was to provide a gender-specific (and seemingly safe) mode of transport. Fast forward two months and I've seen the pink rickshaws out and about again in the streets of Gurgaon. With one slight change. The "womens only" markings

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-74392429344898099242011-04-10T10:11:00.001+05:302011-04-10T10:23:39.671+05:30

There are very few reasons at this stage in my life I have the need to go to Palika Bazaar, which is a market located beneath Connaught Place in the center of Delhi. However, when I decided I'd try to buy cricket jerseys for my buddies as a novelty gift for an upcoming trip to BBQ Fest in Memphis while home in May, fake cricket jerseys seemed the way to go. The loose translation of "fake" in

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-45179081432896895352011-04-03T11:21:00.000+05:302011-04-03T11:21:12.278+05:30

In a country where cricket is king winning the cricket world cup is understandably a big deal. Last night India did just that on home turf in Mumbai. Cricket is still a sport where the highest level of the game is played at the national team level and country matters first. India is also a country where there no other sports. Hypothetically, in the US, the national basketball team could only be

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-34242598090220086272011-03-29T20:35:00.000+05:302011-03-29T20:35:52.351+05:30

When my parents first started talking about how long they'd like to come to India, I must admit, I was a little worried. Twenty eight days is a long time. However, after dropping them off at the airport one last time (which my Dad was proud to say was the sixth time he had been there in the past month), it's amazing how quickly those twenty eight days went by. Sunrise camel ride at Manvar From

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-5783934157147623982011-03-23T22:48:00.001+05:302011-03-25T08:38:04.268+05:30

Everyone that knows about Holi knows about the fun side of Holi; merrymakers throwing colored powder and water at one another. This is the Holi that Lindsay and I experienced in a tranquil, controlled environment at the resort we were staying between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. It was our third Holi here in India, figured it might be our last one, and decided it was an experience not to be missed.

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-45081487453362118772011-03-23T09:12:00.000+05:302011-03-23T09:12:19.820+05:30

I've often said, and I'm probably not the first, that forts in India are a lot like cathedrals in Europe. Once you've seen a couple, they're basically all the same. While there's still some truth to that, last week's spin through Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan helped open my eyes a little wider. Amber Fort (Jaipur) The thing that sets Amber Fort apart, without a doubt, is the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-82854134914107110902011-03-22T21:36:00.002+05:302011-03-22T21:45:35.493+05:30

And to think, all I wanted to do was get a few quick sunset pictures of Jal Mahal, Jaipur's famous Water Palace.... In the spirit of full and self/family-deprecating disclosure, I wanted to share the video clip below sooner rather than later and have yet to have the narration translated (any assistance would be greatly appreciated).What follows is a six minute video that aired on Star News, a

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-22673574417853790472011-03-15T23:31:00.000+05:302011-03-15T23:31:59.122+05:30

We're nearing the halfway mark of my parents near March-long visit to India. While we're not spending the entire time with them, the wife definitely deserves consideration for some sort of "daughter-in-law of the year" award for agreeing to a 28 day on-again-off-again visit. When all is said and done, they'll get a nice cross section of the country, including trips to Kerala, Agra, and Varanasi

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-30932690218155176972011-03-13T12:00:00.002+05:302011-03-13T22:03:02.050+05:30

It's not hot in India, at least not yet. In fact, it's actually been quite pleasant. Temperatures the past week have ranged from the low 60's in the morning to right around 80 in the afternoon. That being said, it's obvious that it's going to warm up here in the not to distant future. Highs in the 90's are forecast by mid-next week. With temperatures headed north, I was surprised when I saw a

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-88660058337094361432011-03-06T12:12:00.002+05:302011-03-06T19:08:08.219+05:30

If you pay taxes in India, you have a personal account number card, which is better and more commonly known as a PAN card. It's basically a social security number to make sure you pay those taxes. With the PAN card come certain privileges, like discounts into certain monuments and sites where they have tiered pricing for foreigners and locals. Even with my Dad's name on the card, he still paid

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-21009526828014436652011-03-01T23:02:00.000+05:302011-03-01T23:02:11.442+05:30

While we've been busy furniture shopping, I decided I needed a "John" item as well. The result? The four foot Rajasthani guard pictured below. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure he's from Rajasthan. However, since I'm fairly ignorant and have always enjoyed my time in Rajasthan, I'm making the blanket assumption that he's Rajasthani. Regardless of where he's from, the real issue, according to

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-27188922769346801452011-02-26T16:33:00.000+05:302011-02-26T16:33:47.420+05:30

I'm feeling extremely lazy and perhaps a little more guilty about that laziness than usual. This weekend, tomorrow to be exact, is Lindsay's birthday. Our friend Kristin and I are co-hosting a party tonight for both Lindsay and another friend, Sukhraj, whose birthday was Tuesday. Hosting a party here takes a slightly different effort level than hosting a party in the states. In the past when

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-4633374252814521672011-02-26T14:37:00.000+05:302011-02-26T14:37:07.699+05:30

Thankfully (at least from Lindsay's perspective), we have a shipping container allowance as part of our assignment package. As a result, gone are the days of shopping limited to smaller and more reasonable items like pashminas, wood elephants, and tailored clothing. Enter the days where we can focus our purchasing pursuits on larger items. Larger items, as in, furniture. At one of the first

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-6803996506593398882011-02-22T22:51:00.000+05:302011-02-22T22:51:29.338+05:30

In a word? Awesome. The title of this post is invariably one of the first questions people from home ask about life in India (it's usually preceded or directly followed by some comment about how difficult it will be for me to adjust to life in the states when this thing is over). Our cook, Yashoda The services our cook provides are basically (we don't have a contract or anything, but this is

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-59690623507809922552011-02-21T22:09:00.001+05:302011-02-22T09:29:47.151+05:30

I have an iPod. It was purchased in 2004. It doesn't have video. It has a gray screen. It stores 20GB, which seemed like an unlimited supply of music when it was purchased. It still works and for that I am grateful. It is, however, old. When you put it next to a new iPod it looks like an Apple IIc sitting next to a Mac PowerBook. All that said, I didn't realize exactly how old it was until the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-12050050101875163172011-02-16T22:02:00.000+05:302011-02-16T22:02:58.538+05:30

When most people think of polo, they likely don't think of India. I know I didn't. However, upon closer inspection (confirmed by a short trip to Wikipedia), the modern variant of the game was actually born in this fine country. In fact, the extent of my polo knowledge prior to Saturday was that (1) there's a fairly high barrier of entry into the game (i.e., it takes a LOT of money), (2) Julia

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-70680227760340130252011-02-16T00:12:00.000+05:302011-02-16T00:12:41.141+05:30

Most auto rickshaws have a fairly wide target market. Said another way, the target market for just about any auto rickshaw is a person that has (or appears to have) enough money to pay a fare. On Saturday, we approached an auto rickshaw with a markedly more targeted market: women. Cute? Sure. Safe? Debatable. There's no doubt the color scheme caught the eye. While I'm sure the purported

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-27133776241962956862011-02-13T21:07:00.000+05:302011-02-13T21:07:49.306+05:30

Today we headed back to brunch at Set'z (pronounced "zest", I think) to celebrate our friend Jodi's birthday. As usual, it's a decadent spread but today had the added bonus of a birthday cake at the end of the meal. The waitress brought the cake and tried to light the first candle. After a couple of attempts, she was successful and the table was enthralled by the fact it was sort of like a

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-49244125200123977392011-02-08T23:08:00.000+05:302011-02-08T23:08:27.550+05:30

In India the Super Bowl apparently gets broadcast on a station called the "Asian Sports Network". Unfortunately, this isn't one of 8 sports stationed offered by my satellite provider, Tata Sky. Tata is a little of like the GE of India; they own everything from Tata Motors to one of the larger BPO consultancies to my cable provider to the Himalayan bottled water that I prefer (I like it because

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-139567161721118832011-02-08T09:00:00.001+05:302011-02-08T09:08:58.987+05:30

Since I'm a reasonably fit person, I typically choose to walk the seven minutes it takes to get from my office to the apartment. So when the wife called this evening and asked if I needed a ride home, I told her without a thought that she could go ahead and release the driver. After my last meeting, I texted Lindsay to let her know I was on my way home. Two minutes later I was set to walk out

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-90983700118874965362011-02-05T12:14:00.000+05:302011-02-05T12:14:59.569+05:30

When last night blended into this morning, I learned a valuable lesson about picking people up from the airport: always check the most recent email with flight arrival information. On Tuesday night, as a blizzard blanketed Chicago, we received an email (as expected) that Lindsay's Mom's flight was canceled and that she was being rebooked for a later day. She included a new itinerary that

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-21767957189867297192011-02-04T09:52:00.002+05:302011-02-04T10:41:18.870+05:30

Visitor season officially kicked off an hour ago when Lindsay's Mom departed Chicago on her flight bound for Delhi. With the snowstorm that dumped nearly two feet on Chicago earlier in the week, she ended up getting delayed by a day and a quarter. The extra quarter day is because she wasn't given the direct on American in the rebooking process and now has to go through London and ends up arriving

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-84926773848823654062011-01-31T11:12:00.001+05:302011-01-31T11:28:22.396+05:30

On Saturday, we made a trip to Connaught Place. The primary reason for that trip was a shopping date to start looking for the wife's birthday present. However, before the shopping commenced we made a quick stop for lunch at Knight, a world cuisine lounge by Castle 9 located next to the PVR Cinemas in B Block. In the spirit of full disclosure, it's a restaurant owned by a colleague's husband. 

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-41309618368116378932011-01-27T23:45:00.000+05:302011-01-27T23:45:20.319+05:30

Space heaters, apparently, take a lot of electricity. So much that if you plug two space heaters in at once in my master bedroom, it blows a fuse. I know this. I also know that the fuse box is located in the servant's quarters which is the current residence of our cook, Yashoda. Yet, for some reason I decided to turn two on tonight before sitting down to read a book before going to bed. I'm not

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-53858845209989006642011-01-26T23:39:00.000+05:302011-01-26T23:39:11.545+05:30

If you go through any kind of cultural awareness training, you'll hear the stereotype that Indians love two things: movies and cricket. I still haven't been to a cricket match but after spending over a year here, today I finally made a trip to a movie theater. The movie that got me there was "127 Hours". While not an Indian movie, it had the same director and composer as "Slumdog Milllionaire",

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-10616897082177536582011-01-19T12:10:00.000+05:302011-01-19T12:10:41.015+05:30

Growing up in western Illinois, we had floods and we were well drilled in what to do in the event of a tornado. One natural disaster we didn't worry much about was an earthquake. Even though minor quakes have hit the American midwest from time to time, I've never actually felt one. Last night just before 2am IST, when I had the pleasure of still being in the office thanks to an all day

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-83510355287454462562011-01-18T11:14:00.000+05:302011-01-18T11:14:50.822+05:30

I'm just going to come out and say it. American paper products are superior to Indian paper products. Prior to leaving for India we made a stop at Costco and purchased a cache of paper towels, toilet paper, and Kleenex. We had no idea if the supply would last the entire two years but bought an amount that was excessive yet didn't have people looking at us like we were stocking up to tee-pee our

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-30246644064383484972011-01-16T10:41:00.000+05:302011-01-16T10:41:10.010+05:30

Indian weddings are known for their their sheer size. When the American co-workers of the groom's brother are invited, you start to get a sense of how quickly the invite list can get out of control, at least from the perspective of someone that invited around 180 people to his own wedding. While we're likely not able to make the actual wedding (the groom on a white horse, the drums, the

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-79095589499864885322011-01-11T08:53:00.002+05:302011-01-11T10:26:39.284+05:30

Depending on how you measure (the day we left Chicago on AA292, the day we left Boston on renumbered AA9222, the fraction of a day when we first set foot back in India, or our first full day in India), we crossed the one year mark here in India at some point over the weekend. Needless to say, it's been one of the more memorable and enjoyable years of my life. It was also one of the fastest. In

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-25484788457253655502011-01-05T10:11:00.000+05:302011-01-05T10:11:43.017+05:30

Choosing to live the expat life has a number of advantages, many of which have been extensively chronicled over the past year. Choosing to live the expat life has disadvantages as well. I've missed birthdays. I've missed weddings. I've missed holidays and milestones. I've missed lesser events that made me say, "man, it would be nice to be home." Yesterday was different. Yesterday, I missed my

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-49430502056962160282011-01-03T08:57:00.001+05:302011-01-03T09:03:00.947+05:30

I'm probably a little like most people in that I struggle to find the time to read, really enjoy it when I do it, weight my reading more heavily when on vacation, and quickly get away from it when back. I found myself, even on the last few nights of vacation when we had internet more readily available, quickly moving away from reading and getting myself caught up on Facebook, Twitter, and writing

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-91524243614220816372011-01-02T15:26:00.000+05:302011-01-02T15:26:06.136+05:30

Because we had no intention of waking up early enough in Bali to catch an 8:30am flight, which would have then required a six hour layover, the best possible option for us to get back to Delhi was to take an afternoon flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL), spend a night in the city, and then take the daily Air Asia flight back to Delhi the following afternoon. The fact it was New Year’s Eve and most of our

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149819583794155449.post-14241937406362515902011-01-02T09:54:00.002+05:302011-01-02T16:26:08.937+05:30

The last three nights in Bali we holed ourselves up in a nice resort in Jimbaran within sight of the airport (believe me, it’s not nearly as tacky as that might sound). It rained more than we would have liked but with the place we stayed, Jimbaran Puri Bali, it was tough to complain. In fact, we only left the resort once per day so that we could experience a restaurant at the town’s southern

John Luthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05002550898100239961noreply@blogger.com0