Birthday Bash

Just got back from my night out on the town.

First of all, for the entire day I was chauffeured around Ahmedabad with Aahna. We even went to see the neighboring city of Gandhigar (for those of you interested in developmental economics, this was he Chandigarh that couldn't).

Apparently I made a good impression on the cheuffer yesterday, because he loaded an MP3 player with American songs for me to select while we drove around town. It was an odd (and oddly compelling) mixture of Bryan Adam, REO Speedwagon, and club/house music.

And then for dinner, Aahna treated me to a very nice restaurant atop one of the city's best hotels. It was only when I began eating meat again-- and lots of it-- did I realize that I had become a de facto vegetarian in India.

Aahna was even nice even to order me a cake. It was absolutely lovely...although I must admit that I could barely contain my joy when my name was misspelt Kreesh on the cake. Punjabi handball team, anyone?

Finally, we went out to a ''lounge movie" to catch a Bollywood flick. In case you're wondering, a lounge movie is basically a movie theater designed to be like a home theater. So you watch a movie on a Lazy-E-Boy recliner, with a blanket draped over you, while servants wait on you for popcorn and soda.

As for the movie, I'll just say this: the climax involved the hero being rescued by Jesus Christ driving a pickup truck with a lamb on his lap. Definitely one to remember.

Then we got back, ate Swiss chocolate and drank hot milk (a specialty here in India).

So to sum it up: I was chauffeured in an SUV around town, ate at a three-star restaurant, watched a movie while servants wait on me, and capped it all off with desert and relaxing conversation.

Not bad for a guy who spends about $10 a day. Not bad at all.

And tomorrow: Mumbai.