Noodle Princess

So...I'm back in Uganda, the land of "Master J".  That's right, the Big Guy. Jesus. Africa is like serious Jesus country.  One of my drivers, James, has this little sign hanging from his rear view mirror.  It made me smile because I think it helps James drive more carefully, knowing that he's found religion and all...Anyway, I'm happy about it because he's a darn sight better and more careful about driving than most of the people on the roads around Kampala...You take your life in your hands when you drive here.  Thank god I've got the Big Guy watching over my car...

I went to visit my sister last week and unbeknownst to me, I was able to hit my very first Mardi Gras parade.  I was escorted to my first parade by my 8 year old nephew.  We were able to walk the short walk down St. Charles Avenue and watched the parade as it turned from Napolean Street, onto St. Charles, and we got right up against the crowd rails so we got unobstructed views, woohoo!  It was actually a blast.  My nephew kept telling me, "Aunt Noodle Princess, you gotta yell HEY MISTER THROW ME SOMETHING when the floats drive by!"  Well, I'm not the sort of person who chants, does the Wave at staduim events, or yells HEY MISTER THROW ME SOMETHING at a parade...But I did start waving my arms (because let's face it, nobody's gonna hear me anyway, right?!?) and the first time I did so, a strand of gold beads rained down right onto my arm!  Cool.  My nephew beamed with excitement (you'd think he'd be jaded as an 8 year old who's grown up in the Cresent City) and told me, "Hey Aunt Noodle Princess, you gotta save those beads cause those are your very first throws you ever got in your life so they're special!"  He's like the mini-ambassador of Mardi Gras at age 8. 
 
There were local high school bands playing funky tunage - with high stepping twirlers, dirty dancers, and color guard - along with a police/firetruck entrance (I think they help to clear the streets so the floats can pass unobstructed), and then the floats themselves.

So for those that dont know the lingo, each parade is a "krewe" (not crew, dont ask me why!?) and each krewe has a theme for their parade each year, then each krewe is broken down into smaller floats and krewe members "ride" each year.   Parades "roll" nearly every night leading up to Mardi Gras or Fat (Gras) Tuesday (Mardi), and all krewes toss different types of things into the crowds, called "throws" (ie: beads, plastic cups, plush toys, etc.).  So if you're looking to find out when a certain parade like, say, Muses, is going to happen, you'd say to a local, "When is Muses rolling?"  And they'd say, "Oh, I think Muses rolls Thursday night at 6:45."  Another conversation in NOLA might go like this, "My brother is in the Hermes krewe and he rides every year. Hermes rolls Friday night...and I hear they've got really special throws this year!"  It's a rather quaint and interesting local vernacular. 

Another thing that was really interesting was that lots of New Orleanians decorate their homes for Mardi Gras, much like Christmas decorations, but the garlands and wreaths are all decorated with gold, purple and green. Below is someone's balcony in the French Quarter, decorated for the holiday.  I always thought Mardi Gras was more for tourists but it's not, it's very much a local beloved holiday and last week, everywhere we went, people would say "Y'all have a nice Mardi Gras!" 

 
Okay, so the Indian holiday of Diwali (known in India as "The Festival of Lights") has come and gone, but because it sometimes falls during the western "holiday season", I thought I'd share some photos of one of a couple of Diwali's I've spent in India.  The above photo was taken in the lobby of the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi.  This is a traditional Diwali mandala that one sees in many public places during the Diwali season, otherwise known as "The Festive Season".  Like this one, most mandalas are made of a combination of flower petals, spices, rices and seeds.  Very complex to make, and swept up right after Diwali is over.  This one was amazing in person and there were little candles burning around it but you cannot see them in the photo. Diwali decor always has a ton of small candles burning, rather like having a Christmas tree, one always has to have Diwali candles at night.

Below is a the view from my room at night, looking at the hotel's pool, where the waterfall was turned off and replaced with hundreds of little clay candlepots. Each day at dusk these were placed out and lit, then removed by morning, and re-placed again in the evening. Hundreds of them!  In person it was just stunning to look at!

This is the bathroom...delightful after a hard day at work.

And my room...

Here is the incredible, lotus shaped Bahai Temple in Delhi. Quite an architectural feat, isn't it?

And here is a photo of my secret carpet seller's warehouse. I love buying carpets when I'm in India and this place is like a candystore for me...

That's all for now from Delhi...Next stop...Rajasthan! 

Yeah, I know, the title is too cutsie but honestly, I'd post just about anything to NOT see those damn Caribbean posts anymore. Hated that trip.  Need to move it on down the line now.  So, let us take a little trip down memory lane from a 2001 trip to Myanmar, or Burma, depending on what side of the fence you sit.  We were up in a little provincial capital town - the name of which I will not mention so I protect the innocent although I was on official visa and thus the junta knew where we were at all times (yeah, just a tad bit creepy, but whatever).  Anyhoo, we had a long holiday while we were up there and had way too much time to stroll the local market, which by the way, was the only place to stroll around, once you'd exhausted strolling the few main streets.  But it was really a lovely, charming little town and I loved the way they presented and sold their strawberries in those lovely little rattan woven baskets that were as big as a minute! Actually, I'm not really sure how big "a minute" actually is, but they were tiny.  And cute. And some of the tastiest strawberries I've ever tasted.

 
I am the Egg Man, I am the Walrus, coo coo ca choo.  Okay, I'll stop with the lame ass puns.

 
No FTD florists here, just go to flower alley and grab what you need. I dont think anything costs more than about a dollar at the most.
 

Excuse me, my good man, but would you happen to have The Economist?  No? What about The International Herald Tribune?  No?  Okay then, how about InStyle or People?  What's that you say? You only carry the mindless magazines that focus on local entertainment so that just for a few precious moments you can not have to think about the junta ruling your every step?  Nevermind then.  Carry on.

 
I'm told these lovely ladies can hook a sister up with the best fresh noodles in town. They looked amazing!
 
The local gold dealer. I guess they pan for gold there.
 

Yo, Yo, YO beotch!  This is how we roll in town X.  Crazy pony cart, huh? It looks like it was designed by Siegfried and Roy, doesn't it?  Quite the flamboyant little stage coach, isn't it?  I love it!
 
I'm not sure what this sign meant, but I think it's the entrance to a very exotic location of one of Heff's Playboy Clubs.  Maybe those are local bunnies?  Really, if this is where Heff is expanding his empire, he might need some business advice. Hey, I'm just say'in...!