Whats next...?

Yesterday night, I celebrated a double whammy weekend. First weekend of my desperately awaited job and first weekend on a foreign land which I prefer to call 'No country for old men' (I will throw some light on this opinion later if possible). I celebrated the weekend at an Indian night club, which was unexpectedly 'Indian' for me. I somehow managed to drag myself to the dance floor, which was scanty of the fairer sex, and burnt a few calories. Today was obviously a lazy day but by dusk my outdoorsy self pulled me and Rhino out of our beds. We exited the hotel and decided to walk aimlessly in the souq (a nearby market) and do some shopping while we are at it. I started to make a mental things-to-buy list.

As soon as I stepped into the streets of the souq, I realized that I was fed up of rambling in those streets. Suddenly I felt a strong urge to hire a cab to Hoora (another market a few kilometers away); but unfortunately in this city where petrol is cheaper than water, taxis are a luxury for people like me. "What an irony", I groaned to myself, and shared my bold new idea with my ramble-mate. "Let us walk till hoora", I proposed casually. I have tried long walks in the past and I feel it is the best way to familiarize with a city. Unfortunately, Rhino felt otherwise. He acted like I never said anything, sat down on a pavement and wished there was a 'chai ka tapra' (tea stall) there. As I sat next to him, the cool breeze cleansed my face and washed my hair with the oceanic moisture. I wished time had gone on a vacation. Seconds later, both of us found ourselves cursing the omnipresent airconditioning in unison. I suddenly missed the sparrow that I spotted on the road divider two days back. I wished I could see it again. It was the only bird I had seen since I arrived.

Five minutes later, Rhino unexpectedly decided to go with my idea and we walked on. Minutes later, I found myself walking alone as Rhino resorted to his cellphone call. I felt more at ease as I have walked alone in the streets of unfamilier cities many times earlier and I have loved it for some reason. Besides, I had the liberty to walk anywhere and drag him along like a pet dog taken out for a poo. Its funny how unbelievably obedient people become when on a call. While walking through the crowd, I looked at the godessly beautiful women with astonishingly flawless skin and childishly innocent, disarming eyes. I suddenly realized that I had stopped staring at every other woman and felt proud.

One week in this Kingdom and I have started cursing airconditioning when maximum tempreture crosses 40C everyday, missing sparrows and feeling proud about not cheking out beautiful women. God knows what this "No country for old men" has in store for me next.