Last week was a pretty rubbish week here in the WMG house. I won’t get into all the reasons for this here as events are still unfolding, but suffice it to say we’re having a bit of the blues.
I spent part of last week on a business trip to London where I ate more beef than can possibly be healthy and also was reminded how much I miss our friends (or even having friends) and our London routines. While I was away in London, there were some problems here with one of our 
A/Cs producing the most acrid smell. After a few calls, the building electricians came up and diagnosed the problem as an overloaded powerstrip that was burning up. They rewired the outlet to create a second circuit to allow both the A/C and the computers to be plugged in at the same time (this is more complicated than it sounds). For this we paid Rs. 300 (about $6).
Yesterday we decided we needed a little lift to our spirits so we had Raj Kumar take us to the Grand Mall, just a few minutes away. They’ve developed the 7 malls (soon to be 9), all located within a kilometer of each other, to each have it’s own personality. The Metropolitan is the upscale western-oriented mall, Sahara is the bargain mall and Grand is the exclusive upper-crust, if you have to ask the price you can’t afford it mall. On the top floor of the Grand Mall is a kind of spa place where you can get pretty much any personal maintenance having to do with skin, hair and most other soft-tissue matters. For three hours of pampering, including a most excellent massage (for me), a pedicure (not for me) and a good deal of hair maintenance (let’s not name names) we paid less than a good haircut would cost me in London.
So this morning, when I was trying to get back my positive mental attitude (or simply “PMA” as Mr. Anderson my high school band teacher would say), I thought about how accessible personal and professional services are here in India. I can have an electrical fixture replaced for less than the cost of the petrol to drive to the hardware store in the US. And while we could afford to get a massage in London, it always required a special occasion to relieve the guilt of the extravagance.
Technorati Tags: India, Personal service
I clicked on your blog thru india tag in WP. You have a great blog. There are ppl who are willing to move out to western world. But I have visited a blogger who is excited abt india.
Ciao,
Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. Although quite often it is a struggle, we are quite excited about being here. It will be fun years from now to tell people what this place was like way back in 2007.
great to have u guys writing abt this part of the world..
cheers !!!!
I must admire your thoughts towards this part of world. BTW do drop a line at my blog too…