t.i.i.

after getting off the metro yesterday, i hopped on the escalator. about a quarter way up, the escalator stops.

this is india. escalators stop working mid-way up. whatever, i can walk. so i start walking. i walk a few steps.

a couple steps later i realize i'm not getting too far, and that actually the escalator has started moving in the wrong direction.

whatever--i ride it back down and walk up the stairs, and when i get to the top i see 3 20 liter jugs of water being loaded onto the escalator. what? oh, india.

so then i try to orient myself to my surroundings, because i was searching for a market i'd never been before. i knew it was right off the metro stop, so did it the indian way, and asked somebody where to go. he points across a busy main street (with no stop light, of course--not that indian drivers stop for red stoplights. t.i.i.), and i wait to cross. think frogger.

but, i make it across. ask another person where i'm going, and he points behind him. ask another, and he points to the left. finally find a market-looking place and figure i'm there--ask a shopowner to make sure.

"oh no, madam, it's on the other side of the main road." oh, cool, you mean the one that i just crossed before wandering around for a half mile? great.

but, 20 minutes later, i make it back across. i find the market i'm looking for, and even find the hardware shop that i *think* i'm looking for...but "oh no, madam, only the hardware store across the main street sells those." awesome.

oooh india. so while it's true that you can ask any indian for directions, it's also true that they are going to point somewhere, even if they have no idea, instead of saying no. t.i.i.

and it's also true that by the end of the day, your feet are going to be aching.