Wednesday, January 12, 2011

market-ing

when i checked in last night, i was kinda blushing when i saw how handsome my hotel manager is. he was wearing a blazer with a scarf around his neck, nice jeans and has a really handsome face, very european in style (my taste). he complimented me on my shawl and told me that he's from kashmir, where the shawl was made. so this morning i came down looking for my very handsome hotel manager, to get advice on how to get around, but unfortunately he wasn't there.

bummed, i took a tuk tuk and was supposed to be droped off at the red fort to begin with some sight seeing. he, like most crooked ppl in india, didn't drop me off anywhere near it, but instead took my money, and took me to a shop that was "walking distance" from the red fort... SO NOT WALKING DISTANCE FROM ANYWHERE. but because i've learned not to trust a single person here, i went inside anyway, to get away from him. it was the kind of kashmiri shop that sold all the things i love: carpets, pashminas, jewelry, etc. i had no intention of buying anything, but i was only going to kill time till the tuk tuk drove off. but in the end, the joke was on me because i dropped about 1k on everything i bought.

so what happens is that you go in and they say, "no madam, you don't have to buy anything, just look. looking is free madam." if you never met a kashmiri person, you would know by the way that they speak. as true salesmen, they are smooth talkers, and as kashmiris, they speak english pretty well (this has to do with the politics, but im not gonna get into that) and they are also usually good looking ppl. they have lighter skin, often light eyes, and just a suavemente persona. anyway, so you go, and they show you this, and they show you that, and then they offer you "special tea from kashmir", and please, have a seat... and before you know it, you are sweet talked into buying all the gorgeous things they sell and you're telling the shop owner, "PLEASE don't show me anything else! i can't spend any more money, i wasn't expecting to buy all of this!" and he replies,
"shopping like this for these beautiful things is like falling in love. you never plan for it, it just happens. you will be walking down the street, and all of the sudden you will see a hunk and you will fall in love, but you weren't expecting it!"






some english-speaking boy (my brother's age) accompanied me to a spice market where i bought some spices and got an education from the shop's owner. as we sat and talked of recipes, he wrote on a piece of paper "keep distance from these boys, they will bring you trouble" holy shit, my heart was racing!! so he caused a distraction, and i bolted for the metro back to my hotel. i was cranky, annoyed, and lost, when all of the sudden who did i see? my handsome hotel manager!!!!!!

he even said that he was looking for me in the morning, and that he was disappointed i had left so early. so he decided to go out for lunch, which he never does, and was so happy that we ran into each other, in the midst of all the chaos here in karol bagh (a neighborhood in delhi). is that what the kashmiri shop owner was talking about??? he invited me to lunch where we had fancy schmancy, KFC, and then after he took me around to some sights. it was such a nice day, and we talked a lot about cultures and travel. however, he did say that i should have gone with him to buy the kashmiri things because i paid more than i should have. oh well.







what's even more corny is that when i got back to check my email tonight, after spending the whole day with him, i saw that he had sent me an email in the morning, with like, "dear sweetie, blah blah blah" and saying that he hopes i didn't eat lunch and we could go together. so it is really crazy that we did bump into each other. he is sitting across from me working on the books with his business partner, and it is always very sexy to watch a man doing serious business.

i think we have a crush on each other. don't tell me that my trip is getting more and more corny/cliche by the day. eat-pray-love? and seriously, don't tell me that i had to come to india to find my husband, because i am NOT living here.

oh please, no.

this trip is so hilarious. and i am so glad that i am here alone because i wouldnt experience a fraction of all the random things i have already. no regrets at all, i'll remember this trip forever. <3

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