...And Then Everything Went Horribly, Horribly Wrong

This is a dreamy hotel outside of Bangalore where the Maharajahs used to stay for State visits. We popped in to pee. Were the bathrooms in the lobby worthy of a Maharajah? Eh...not so much.

I kind of forgot to blog this weekend because we did so much, um, DRINKING. We went to this amazing hotel (The Taj West-End...if you ever come to Bangalore, stay there!) It looked like a fairytale palace and the grounds looked like Kauai. It was one of those places where you can't really do it justice with words. Anyhoo, they had a 3-hour champagne brunch for under $30 American that we fully took advantage of.

That girl C i'm traveling with invited a friend of hers she met when she lived in B-lore last year, and he brought his parents. He is something of a jet-setter (grew up in Bombay, lives half the year in Blore & half in Chicago) and comports himself like a spoiled army brat. I was so annoyed by his talk of "clubbing" and whatnot that it took me about 5 glasses of champagne to even look his direction.

And his dad! Oy vey! A highly enjoyable man but also somewhat pompous. His was more low-key, though. He kept "sweet-talking" the wait staff to get them to bring us more drinks and stuff that wasn't on the menu (though there was a massive buffet inside, I don't remember him getting up more than once). It was slightly uncomfortable for all of us to watch him treat the waitstaff like that, but maybe it's okay here??? I don't know...

Anyhoo, the one good thing about these people is that they kept our glasses full! We were drinking champagne with fresh watermelon juice (my idea - delish) and we left so full, and so sloshed...and I felt it all night, and all day today. We went to the office and then to this hilarious steakhouse where the waiters wore plaid shirts and holsters (but still smelled of BO - yay, India). We ordered hamburgers (not a lot of places to eat steak in this country) and they were served with maraschino cherries on top, stabbed on toothpicks. Loved it! Then it was back to the office.
Oh, and our stuff from Chikpet (the wholesale district) was delivered today...I have no idea how I'm going to get it all home. I should have shipped it all but it would be 150 bucks and take FORTY DAYS. ...couldn't do it.

So...tomorrow it's another day in the office. We're doing a "team outing" - taking our India team to lunch. Chinese food - a place called "Mainland China" that's supposed to be actual authentic Hong Kong-style Chinese...because they do "Indian-style" Chinese here, and it's downright freaky.

ALL WE'VE DONE HERE IS EAT AND DRINK. Mostly eat. It is the first trip I've ever taken where I've gained weight. I feel about 10 pounds fatter than I did the day I left.