This week it was a struggle to keep my journal up to date. Most of the week I jotted down notes on the back of an envelope and am only now adding the entries for Monday through Saturday. Since I’ve spent so much time at work today, it’s been very difficult to find the time or energy to keep the journal updated on a daily basis. Hopefully, next week will be a different story.

Friday was a very late night and we didn’t arrive back at the hotel until almost 5am. The breakfast buffet is included in the price of the room and is served from 7am – 10am. We decided to head to the restaurant and grab something to eat before our heads hit the pillows. Shortly before 9:30 am, we headed back up to our rooms to get some much needed sleep.

I finally got a chance to visit the Leela Galleria (shopping centre) attached to the hotel. First stop – the Oxford bookstore. I picked up a book of Indian ghost stories and another containing some traditional folk tales. I’ve also picked up an introduction to Hinduism to increase my knowledge of the local culture and religion. There are a number of post cards in the book store, so I’ll have to come back and pick some up before the end of the week. I’d like to get them in the mail before Friday, so that they arrive at their respective destinations in North America before I do! After leaving the bookstore, I wandered in and out of the rest of the shops before heading back to my room.

Finally, Faisal and I manage to get our schedules straight and the trip to the disco was arranged. Anand, Faisal and I headed to Hypnos for dinner and dancing. We met many of Faisals friends and had a great time trying out the Greek food on the menu. The music was a mix of North American techno and Hindi dance mixes and made for an interesting evening out. Bars close early in Bangalore, and we were headed home before midnight.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we had an early night and lots of sleep. Working the night shift has its’ downfalls. It’s hard to go to sleep early once you’ve been up to 4am for a week. Instead, Anand and I spent a few hours just gabbing away – ok, I’m the big mouth talkative one…most of the gabbing was done by me – before we were fit to crash in the early morning hours.

I’ve offered to provide Anand with some space on my website should he want to start a journal of his own. We’ll have to wait and see if he’ll be adding his own impressions of India to the site. Otherwise, I’ve joked that he may be offered special correspondent status and be assigned the Herculean task of attempting to describe driving in India to everyone. I’ve been talking about it for weeks now, and I know I’ve not been able to describe it adequately.

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