We got to Delhi with a brand new HP printer which had cleverly been sold without a USB cable. Some Google research revealed Nehru Place to be THE marketplace for all things computer. The rickshaw driver let us off at the outskirts and pointed. Broch and I dodged the lories and street muck into the first shop with a big "Printers" sign over it. He had exactly what we needed - 150Rs. I probably should have bartered for less but to me it was worth $3. We then walked into the interior of the plaza to find every hardware producer represented, as well as a huge flea market down the middle with menswear, watches, ties and shoes. Everything an upwardly mobile young computer professional could need I guess. Amazing.

Another great family outing on Sunday. Dave took us for breakfast to a
restaurant specializing in chocolate. Choco La Is in a high-end
shopping complex called Khan Market. We arrived at about 9:45 and I
couldn't believe there were only two other tables of people. I had an
Aztec - hot chocolate with "piquant spices" and Broch had the dark
chocolate hot chocolate. This was no Swiss Miss - it was thick and
rich like the chocolate you'd get for breakfast in Spain. Eggs
Benedict for Dave, an omelet for me and poached eggs for Broch with
chocolate croissant, of course.

We then took an auto rickshaw over to the National Train Museum. An
outdoor extravaganza of old retired engines and coaches for 150 years
of Indian railway development. Broch had a ball climbing on all the
trains and moving the turntable. We spend a couple of hours there and
as we were leaving Dave said, "Hey, want to see some snakes?" He went
over to a man in a turban sitting on the sidewalk with a collection of
round baskets. He and Dave agreed to a price and the show began. Broch
was wisely wary as the man tried to hand him the first couple of
snakes. Dave held a couple until the cobras came out. I stood back in
"photographer mode". The man played his flute and the cobras started
to dance up out of the net set of baskets. Just a slight departure
than a typical Sunday in Austin.

Our family outing on Saturday started at Hauz Khas Village. The focal
point behind this arty collection of shops and galleries is a water
reservoir created in 1295 by the reigning Alauddin Khilji (hence the
name "Hauz Khas" which translates to "Royal Tank"). On the banks of
the tank are the ruins of a complex of mosques, madrasas and tombs of
ancient Delhi royalty. Now it's a weekend gathering spots where boys
play cricket in its courtyards, families climb up and down the broken
ancient staircases and couples find dark recesses for snuggling.

Just outside the gates of the stone ruins are narrow streets with posh
little clothing stores and art galleries. Dave took us to a cool
little restaurant with amazing food, "The Living Room". Dave and I
split grilled prawns while Broch enjoyed fried calamari for an
appetizer. I then had spinach canelloni, Broch and Dave each got
lasagna - all made with thin, freshly made pasta. The dessert was
Broch's favorite part: Chocolate Pillows with vanilla ice cream.

Went on an amazing walking tour of the territory of street children in
Delhi. The Salaam Baalak Trust Organization runs a number of "contact
points" for children in and around the New Delhi Train station. It
gives street children - either orphans, runaways or children of
homeless families - a place to get a hot meal, access to education and
medical care and even the opportunity to live in a shelter home for
those without families. Interacting with the kids was the best part
for me. These were children of homeless families that just hang out on
the railroad platform and in the streets surrounding the station all
day. They were extremely proud to show me how they could count in
English. Then our tour guide took us on a tour through those streets
and up into one of the shelter homes for boys. Our guide, Shahedad,
was a former street kid himself - he'd been in the program for about 9
years. He's an aspiring actor and has already been in a couple of
films and works a part time job. He leads the City Walk tours to
improve his English - which was already excellent, I thought. If
you're ever in Delhi - you've got to go on one of these - see
http://www.salaambaalaktrust.com/street_walk_delhi.asp

When we planned to come to Delhi for an extended period of time I knew there would be at least a small issue between Broch and the food. But my opinion is that everything tastes better when it's cooked by somebody else, and as we have a cook, I was not about to complain. At one point Dave said, "You and Jaya can come up with some great dinners togther." I thought, "Like hell I'm setting foot in that kitchen when we've got a cook!" When Dave takes Jaya's food the work, the guys all tell him that it's really quite good. What I failed to pick up from Dave's description was that she basically makes the same thing every lunch and dinner. I'm not complaining. It is pretty good, but 4 meals so far and I'm a bit bored. OK, now I'm complaining. It is decent south Indian fare - freshly made roti (flat bread), dahl of some kind (think lentil soup) and some spicy vegetable mix. Now picture an American 8-year-old sitting down to that for 2 meals a day everyday. Hmmm. Good thing he's got some meat on his bones to begin with. I brought a few Kraft Mac & Cheese with us, but that requires milk and butter, the latter of which so far eludes me. And I brought peanut butter, so the kid is not going to starve. I'm just saying it's a challenge.

Hey, just realized tomorrow is Thanksgiving and not only do I not have to thaw/brine/stuff/bake a turkey, I don't even have an oven! Talk about simplicity. Lentils will do just fine I guess.