India

India
Intinerary Map
Itinerary:

May 15 - 26: Hyderabad, India with the Wharton School of Business. We stayed at the India School of Business Executive Center. Everyday we immersed ourself in the Indian business world and culture through company visits, guest lectures, city tours and networking events with Indian MBA students.
May 26 - 28: Goa, where I stayed with a good friend who works in the real estate industry.
May 28 - June 1: Jaipur - Stayed with a friend's grandmother and two servants.
June 1 - 4: Delhi - I visited a friend from school and stayed with her family in what I would consider a Palace with services fit for a royal family.
June 6 - 9: Leh (in Ladakh, Northern India near Pakistan) - stayed in the Siala Guest House
June 10, 11: Hiking into the Hemis High Altitude Park to Rumbak to stay with a Ladakhi family in the mountains
June 12: Back to Leh
June 13: Fly from Leh to Delhi
June 14: Depart Leh at 2 am - headed for Firenze (Florence), Italia

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Sensual India

After being motioned to disrobe, I stood butt-naked in a dimly lit room facing a small Indian man who insisted upon personally tying a loin cloth around my waist to cover my private parts. The thin paper-weight cloth barely concealed my frontside and wrapped through and rode up my backside like a Chippendale's G-string. After being snugly fit into my man thong, I was asked to recline on a small bed while another Indian man gently lathered my bare chest and stomach with hot oil, which smelled like the peanut sauce used to make Pad Thai, all the while tranquil Indian music played in the background. After a thorough oiling on my frontside, I was rotated and then oiled some more. I felt like a piece of bacon. And over the course of the hour, the paper cloth soaked through and fell apart. My Indian friend didn't seem to mind. No, this wasn't an act of homosexuality. It was a form of Aruyvedic treatment, a traditional Indian massage therapy, in which a variety of warm oils, scents, and spices are used in conjuction with various massage techniques to sooth and invigorate a tired and aching body. All over India, they sing of the wonders of Aruyvedic treatment. And after a long day in the sweat city of Jaipur, I was eager to treat myself. When I initially signed up, I had very different expectations: picturing a beautiful Indian woman in a flowing saree using her lotion softened hands to apply a gentle force to alleviate my sore back and shoulders. My expectations were clearly a bit off. Looking back, while I was uncomfortable at first and holding in laughter throughout, it was an interesting experience and one that I'll certainly never forget.

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