Okay, time to settle the 'Mutton' debate. Apparently, Mutton usually refers to Goat. It can be sheep, but usually goat is what is available. On that note, the menu today did feature 'kid lamb' (extra cute)
Today was all about shopping. I still find it amazing that the world over salesmen are the same. They are so apt to tell you just how good a piece you've picked out and it's one of their favorites. Haggling was fun, but not nearly as big a deal as I was expecting. This might have been because I was in a shopping district of a major city. The craftsmanship of the goods this part of India is famous for is stunning. The silk, rugs, jewelry, and gold quality is really amazing. Oh, and to add to the list; Tata owns jewelry stores. In fact the only thing they don't seem to be involved in is defense. I must be learning the language, because after listening to my college and the storekeeper argue I looked up and said 'she just said you don't get an extra discount because she is already discounting the piece' and I was right! The gold shops really are special. Gold (and silver for that matter) is like a stock market in India. People actually buy items as investments. The value of gold changes day to day and one of the stores actually had something along the lines of a stock ticker with the current value of silver, 22c gold, and 24c gold (they don't even consider 14 and 18 real gold). So instead of price tags, items have their weight (in grams) which is multiplied by the current value of gold and then by a craftsmanship modifier. It actually is a pretty cool way to shop, you can tell about how much something will cost just by picking it up. They will put almost any piece together for you. I was trying to build a specific piece of jewelry and suddenly I was surrounded by a pile of emeralds, rubys, sapphires, and everything.
Traffic here really is pretty bad, and the horns are constantly going. Even though there are no lights, no barriers, and no real lanes (people constantly drive on the wrong side) it seems to work out okay. I asked what the driving fatality rate was like. I was told since no one can go fast, it's really not an issue.
The hotel still cannot get my broadband working, and phone lines here really cannot be used for modems. Rather annoyed since it was the only request I made about the trip. It really does highlight the dycotomy of this country technology wise. Very advanced in one place, very 1980s in another.
Today was all about shopping. I still find it amazing that the world over salesmen are the same. They are so apt to tell you just how good a piece you've picked out and it's one of their favorites. Haggling was fun, but not nearly as big a deal as I was expecting. This might have been because I was in a shopping district of a major city. The craftsmanship of the goods this part of India is famous for is stunning. The silk, rugs, jewelry, and gold quality is really amazing. Oh, and to add to the list; Tata owns jewelry stores. In fact the only thing they don't seem to be involved in is defense. I must be learning the language, because after listening to my college and the storekeeper argue I looked up and said 'she just said you don't get an extra discount because she is already discounting the piece' and I was right! The gold shops really are special. Gold (and silver for that matter) is like a stock market in India. People actually buy items as investments. The value of gold changes day to day and one of the stores actually had something along the lines of a stock ticker with the current value of silver, 22c gold, and 24c gold (they don't even consider 14 and 18 real gold). So instead of price tags, items have their weight (in grams) which is multiplied by the current value of gold and then by a craftsmanship modifier. It actually is a pretty cool way to shop, you can tell about how much something will cost just by picking it up. They will put almost any piece together for you. I was trying to build a specific piece of jewelry and suddenly I was surrounded by a pile of emeralds, rubys, sapphires, and everything.
Traffic here really is pretty bad, and the horns are constantly going. Even though there are no lights, no barriers, and no real lanes (people constantly drive on the wrong side) it seems to work out okay. I asked what the driving fatality rate was like. I was told since no one can go fast, it's really not an issue.
The hotel still cannot get my broadband working, and phone lines here really cannot be used for modems. Rather annoyed since it was the only request I made about the trip. It really does highlight the dycotomy of this country technology wise. Very advanced in one place, very 1980s in another.
posted by Joe at 8:57 AM
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