Practical things in India

Now everything seems to be coming together!

I spent most of this Sunday sightseeing and furniture shopping. I have seen the old city, including the Charminar, the palace of the Nizams, a large museum and a number of Mosques. There is a lot of history here and no doubt there was been, and still is, a tremendous amount of wealth. The palace definitely offered a lovely respite from the hectic city. An interesting thing about India is that there is different entrance fees for Indians and non-Indians. It is 20 times more expensive for a non-Indian to go inside the Charminar (5 rs vs. 100 rs). I was tempted to ask if it didn't count as discrimination but I thought best to just leave it.

I have also had my encounter with haggling at its finest. With my colleagues help I have managed to acquire some relatively tasteful rattan furniture: 3 person couch, 2 chairs, coffee table, dining table and 6 dining chairs for 31,000 rs (3700 kr). The tables are with glass, so I think it's an OK deal. we managed to talk them down 25 % in price. In order to show is the quality 3 employees (one rather tubby) were standing on the chair. I wish I had taken a snap of it. Three grown men standing on a rattan lounge chair yelling “good quality good quality”.

For a bed I decided to go the high street route and have gotten 2 queen-sized beds with nice mattresses. The mattresses are filled with some kind of natural material, so we will see how my back reacts to that in the long run. It felt firm but comfortable. After bitching for a good hour we managed to get a little discount of 10 %. We shopped at a store call Hometown. I have now been there a number of times and they are absolutely impossible. In an attempt to buy office furniture today we spend over 2 hours! Everytime you ask for something they have to go off and check, they come back 15 min later and tell you they don't have it in stock. Frustration to the absolute limit, but it is all sorted now.

Otherwise all is well. People at the office and very kind and there is a good chance that I might get to paint my apartment white instead of the nasty caffe mocha colour it is now. I have also ordered the fridge and it'll be delivered tomorrow. Horra. I have also located the local nicer supermarket, so I know where i can get all the western stables such a Betty Crocker and Hershey's chocolate syrup.

So basically things are going good. I will update soon.