Angry Mobs and Wedding Crashers

India is interesting. We were chased by an angry mob of 50 Muslim youths when our taxi brushed against a kid's motorcycle in Udaipur. I pushed a cop (no uniform) as he tried to tow our car. Twice he tried to clip the car while we were still in it and I had to push him away both times. Then our driver finally returned and sped away backwards leaving me to chase after the car with sirens behind me.

There are many old forts here from conquered empires, which leads one to think never to ask Indians for help in building a fort.

People here are very friendly and curious. They often want to take pictures with us as we want to take pictures of them. We see a Sadhu, naked with paint on his face and think that is interesting. They see white people sweating like bastards with big sneakers and think that's interesting.

I have already crashed a street wedding, as is my custom when traveling. Crash at least one wedding. Be the stupid white guy in their home video. They can laugh about that in 20 years provided they can still play VHS tapes and their cultures have not yet accepted divorce.

The food is tasty but so rich you can't eat it more than once per day. There is so much oil and frying in the food here that I am shocked the average life span is 60. I am taking grape seeds and acidopholous but it is no match for the Indian microbes. At least no puking yet. I lost 10 pounds in three days. It's the dysentery diet. Great stuff. Instead of slim fast it's called Shit Fast.

It is impossible to be clean here. Everything is terribly dirty. The country needs a troop of Germans or Swedes to hit it with a mop. They export IT workers but need to import some spic and span.

We are now in Delhi after a one day world wind tour to find an apartment here. We found a full flat for around $400 in a very posh (very relative term here) part of Delhi called Lajpat Nagr.

I start work at the Indian Express tomorrow. We shall see how that goes. Marisa and I are researching a big story here about feoticide. Seems that parents, afraid of the cost of dowries they must pay to marry of their daughters are aborting them and giving birth only to sons. In Punjab, where it worst, there are only 700 girls for every 1000 boys born. That is going to create a massive booty deficit in 15 years. The kicker is the richer the parents the more likely they are to be able to afford the prenatal screening and abortion. So money and education are making it worse not better. Laws were passed outlawing the practice but that has forced it slightly underground. Abortions are now done in nursing homes and midwives are the middle men. Wacky. I think it will make one hell of a doc. Looking into it now.