West Bengal Pictures

My brother has been tenaciously taking and uploading pictures while we've been in and around Kolkata--this should stop today as we're losing or stable Internet connection. However, you can view a great deal of his pics at his Flickr site.

Update

I've been in Kolkata for a week and a half now. On Thursday my brother and I shift home bases to Dehli and a different aunt and uncle, and go to Rajasthan shortly thereafter.

The wedding ceremonies were long and confusing for everyone and full of rich food, etc. I'm planning on posting a travelogue later For now know that your Avimaan is alive and well (if driven awake at four A.M. by hordes of mosquitoes).

Pictured above is my brother and I with our cousins (from left to right): Runa, Deep, Amit (the beleaguered groom), and Muniya.

Probable Blog Hiatus

I have no idea what kind of internet connection I'll be dealing with in India/Thailand/China, so my guess is that you won't be seeing much if any updates here to Grey Pen. I'll be writing, but more than likely in journal format.

My brother has a digital camera so perhaps there will be time for us to download then upload pictures from our sub-continental traverses, but we shall see.


So I taste the apple that is Prague one more time before flying off. Ciao, my friends, ciao, and good luck and health to you from far-off points on the globe.


Avimaan

Packing

They say youth is wasted on the young. Well I say unemployment is wasted on those looking for a job, for these last days in Prague have been an exorbitant, wonderful waste of time. Tuesday night, for example, I cooked an 18 ounce steak which was accompanied by a bottle of red wine and Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail. Yesterday I lingered through packing while watching a ripped copy of Little Miss Sunshine. And earlier today I spent an hour listening to three pieces of music (Bach sonatas) for my novel, trying to come up with correct phrases and metaphors to run through them. Hot damn, if it ain't the pirate's life for me.

Packing's been a bit difficult, namely because the big suitcase I flew over here with is being stored in London for my father to pick up on his return leg. For the majority of my trip I'll be traveling with a regular-sized backpack and a little suitcase 2' by 1' by 1'. Not exactly a lot of room for two months of clothes (or books!). What makes this more complicated is (a) We'll be traveling both in tropical climes--India, Thailand--and much colder ones--China, Korea, and (b) Any clothes I might have left in Prague I am in fact bringing to give to relatives.

So crunchtime says a Kundera book will be sold instead of kept. I've had to sort through the knickknacks and oddball souvenirs I've picked up along the way, trying to figure out what I'll forget or think is crap in six months. It's funny how quickly our opinions on things can change--the poems I exchanged with an ex-lover now sit in my cupboard like falsified documents demanding to be shredded.

My basic itinerary looks something like this:

February--in India. From the 4th to the 14th in Kolkata for my cousin's wedding. Plan to visit Sundaraban Tiger Preserve amongst other things. From the 15th to March 3rd we'll be based in Dehli, with trips to the Taj and Rajasthan planned. I suppose I should mention that "we" is my brother and I.

March 3rd to March 1oth--Thailand.

March 10th to March 16th--China. Beijing and areas surrounding Shanghai. Hopefully chilling with Kan Yan.

March 16th to 19th--Seoul, South Korea. Tour guide=old roomie Michael Greene.

March 20th to 21st--Tokyo. Why only a day? Travel burn + almost no extra fee to keep flying.

March 22nd--Texas.