a Few Random Thoughts before I go to bed on Tuesday night

Sometimes it is the little things that amuse me the most ... and these little things tend to trip me up more often than not. Here's a list of the "little things" ... some random observations and experiences since I landed in Mumbai a week ago ...

• Light switches - you must flip them down to turn on the lights (opposite of US ... imagine me fumbling around in my hotel room flipping switches at random until I find the right one and the correct position needed to turn on the bathroom light ... interesting indeed!)

 

• Hotel rooms I've been in will only have power to the switches when the room key (a card) is inserted into a slot by the door. This one really got me in Mumbai after my near 23 hour journey and being oh-so-tired. After a few moments (seemed like forever) I figured out the need to inser the key card into the "magic slot." Insert it - lights go on. Then I removed the key card to place it carefully in its little jacket on the night stand ... and POOF! ... lights go out! Huh?!? ... Insert key card again; lights go on. Remove the key to place on the night stand and the lights go out a second time. OKAY ... I'm tired and somewhat slow on the uptake. Apparently you have to keep the key card in the slot. Otherwise you play a perpetual game of lights-on-lights-off. Doh!

 

• Electric power, in general, can be sketchy. I've managed through at least two temporary blackouts so far. I come to learn that each building (at least the ones I've been in here) has its own generator. And to conserve energy, the office building will often work with half its lights on at any given time. (I'm thankful for the High School typing class ... I can touch-type with relative ease in the dimly lit space). The big problem is when the air conditioning goes out in the middle of the day.

 

• I'm still not used to the currency ... trying to convert a rough estimate between rupees and dolloars is taxing for me. When you consider that one rupee is equivalent to $0.02 and that one dollar US is roughly equal to 42-44 rupees, dividing and multiplying is a bit difficult. Dinner cost 576 rupees ... you do the math ... (it's between $12 and $13 US).

 

• Interesting words are used - I should say unfamiliar words: lakh and bandh are two that pop up alot these last few days.

Categories: light_switches, power, rupee, interesting+words