The Wedding

Al Simon and Buju Dasgupta are a delightful couple and good friends of mine. They got married in Manchester CT in August and I had the honor of officiating their first wedding in a civil service set in beautiful environs at Wickham Park?
  Part 1 was to be followed by part deux in Kolka India on January 2 2015.
  Here I am - dancing in their energy field as they absorb the rays of ancient tradition and custom shining on their very unique newlywed moments. 
   Most of the weddings I perform as a Justice of the Peace last 3-15 minutes. AL and Buju had a special plan for wedding #1 that ran about 25 minutes. Buju wanted a ceremony rich with memorable emotion and warm experience so she scripted a bang up ceremony that everyone loved. I acted as MC And JP for the show.
  To top that one would be hard - but in the rich experience category nothing can top the 3000 year old symbolism etched in ritual to unite this lovely couple.
  It is a multi step process goes all day but finishes with the main ceremony lasting 2-3 hours that brings the couple together with elders and family

 symbolically testing commitment, seeking permission, giving approvals,  releasing the bride, all witnessed by family and friends as the couple sequence into the final eternal merging of the souls.
  One hell of a show.  
  The wedding was held at a local facility well quipped with all the necessary parts props and pagodas needed to sequence through the process. A small room for the couple to be talked to by elders.  Observers enter and leave the room to see the couple engage in their marriage process.

  Sitting together in the chairs-  fully dressed in traditional threads and flowers and that meaningful hat that Al wore just added more richness to the colorful textured ritual.
  The bride does 7 laps around the groom, feigning invisibility until the magic moment of a first glimpse at her hubby to be. - says a little something about how things were centuries or eons ago-

  Both of the partners state and act out their 

commitments in stages finally leading up to the last part, the official declaration of unity, that they....are now one.

  My ceremonies are usually part 12 only of the 12 part Indian wedding - 15 minutes VS 3 hours.
   But I wouldn't have missed it for the world.  It's not often one gets the privilege to have seen the contrasts of ceremonial process and such a rich and colorful event. It is especially rewarding to have been a part of the lives of these 2 wonderful people...
   For those attending ,Buju gave us a quick cultural summary of wedding protocol - you can show up late, leave early, go visit and chat with friends and relatives,  post live FB coverage and eat when the food is ready....the show will go on and the soon to be happy pair get their mettle tested just by endurance....Hey, it's 3 hours - witnesses can celebrate with the parts they like best - only the bride and groom need to keep the show going.
   The buffet opened at 7:30 - ceremony finished after 8 - a bunch of folks who have more than seen their first Indian wedding opted for the food line instead of the finale - I stayed  - and there was still plenty of tasty food to sample when I got there.
   Congrats again Buju and Al
  Tonight - Sunday is the less ritualistic celebration party.  No traditional costumes -no script - just celebrating the big deal.
   Woo Hoo - Kolkata   what a blast
It's like one big fat ugly oyster that you open up and find a beautiful pearl...there are treasures here. Just not everywhere ....yet




 laundry with different dote. side
I'm notOKzzoi

Oh Kolkata - I've never been here

So maybe practicing sleep in my recliner chair did work. Or probably getting 10 hours sleep in 3 days paves the way for an upright nap.
But it worked - Emirates Air flight to Kolkata from Dubai was an easy 4 hours.
After a tasty Indian cuisine dinner and my hydration ritual I closed my eyes and was then jogged awake as the noisy air brake gush signaled the approach to Kolkata airport.
I am lugging a roller board carry on bag around the world - avoiding baggage claims if I can. I found it easy to pack as I denounced my slave - to - fashion tendencies ( that I never had anyway)
And bring just enough clothes to recycle easily. Sink laundry with different smelling soaps works for me.  Less cargo  space is the retail therapy antidote. Prevents buying that cool stuff that ends up in boxes next week. 
 Arriving at Kolkata was easier than I thought - my first big warm welcome was offered by a row of folks in surgical masks scanning my body temps- people with high temps were pulled aside and screened more. I filled out a health report vowing i did not sniffle or sneeze and felt good for the last few days..
Welcome to India...
Stamp...stamp - health screen form approved and I was on my way to the next greeter.
 I passed the crowds waiting for bags  (not me) and the porters hustling and bustling trying to persuade the weary travelers to let them carry the bags.... I zipped up to empty lines at PASSPORT CONTROL...
 Stamp..Stamp ....welcome to India
 Next greeter handed me a declaration form I filled out - no drugs - check
No weapons- check  no bad stuff like fruit and seeds - check no wads of cash especially Rupees.- check.... 
  I turned the corner trailing my roller board and with declaration form filled out startled the napping customs official who quickly stood up and looked me over, took my form and with a pause said Welcome to Kolkata - I arrived
 Utpal Mondal - my hero and driver who you will hear more about, greeted me outside and took my bag
Guess what he said. I felt right at home in a very strange place....To me anyway...
  When I arrived at the terminal I perceived the place to be pretty drab and run down looking. Utpal later told me it was their brand new shining star airport - to him a symbol of the brighter future ahead. ....interesting...
  As soon as we turned off the airport property, in the dark of night and drizzle I saw the city I had read about.  Being there does not match the glimpses and senses one gets from distant studious pursuit to understand this place. 
  As I walked out the door a big fat wave of stink hit me. This air here is a dirty smoky, industrial, unregulated thick  gas mix.  After 2 days I am almost used to it unless I go stand near real heavy traffic or a restroom tree.
   Our ride - a dozen miles or so - took better than an hour. No high ways. Dense traffic on tiny streets that I couldn't tell were one way or not - chaos in boundaries describes a ride from the airport.  Seems like all vehicles moving in the chaos lanes have gas pedals and horns.  3 or 4 or 5 rows of traffic, if you can call them rows- move in sync from point to point.  Utpal has mastered driving mostly hornless.
  The streets were dirty, under construction, or not and bumpy.  By the sides of the roads everywhere were piles of dirt, mud, concrete chips and rocks and flying trash snagged on the  textures.  People were everywhere just hanging out in groups. For many that road was their rickety shack living room. Some street vendors have tiny booths that serve as storefront and home - others were congregating near shops, places to eat and bus stops.  I have never seen this many people hanging out in the rain this late.  I can't tell you if that was a fun nite out (January 1 8pm) or every day in the big poor city.
Oh Kolkata - so like and so different from what I expected
   My hotel is rated 5 stars. My vision of the building and environs is based on what I'm used to ( 3 star hotels are usually in my travel budget). Park street is a nice spot relatively speaking compared to many not so nice places here. There is no where like it anywhere I've been...wow.
  What it looks like is different from how it feels in some ways. It is rich in custom, culture and tradition, rich in warmth from so many of the people I've met, rich in texture with a unique feeling vibe. It's richness in good things is offset by its lack of riches by so many of the people here.  That could change, but it looks like a real tough job.
  With the right moves - any place could become Kolkata.  My travel learning goal was to check out spots where things are working and where they arent- good contrasts make good perspectives. 
Oh Kolkata - a place I've never been - and a place where I don't want my country to go.  It may take as much work to dig Kolkata out of its hole then to prevent other places from falling in the same one.
Ruh Roh - just noticed the brevity switch was turned off on my keyboard.
Better vapors to follow this trail....

   

Vapor Wisps - Things I learned

The global junket has thrown many new lessons my way.....and I learned from a few of them...
Such as:

# become proficient at sleeping on plane
  (Practicing at home in the TV recliner doesn't work)
# in Dubai - guys should not go in girls only metro cars ( a story on that is coming)
# don't ride the gold club car without a gold club metro card
# the Dubai Metro Fares sign is as big as the Metro Fines sign
# watch Dubai fireworks only on TV unless u like being pummeled and crushed on the way to your ride home after they're done.  
( DUBAI was not as crazy as Shanghai but easily could have been)
# when flying Emirates air in Dubai the prayer song at the gate is actually the boarding call
....i think....
# after the plane door closes the spray that spews from the pressurized canisters the flite attendants carry over their heads while walking down the aisle is unscented disinfectant - scented disinfectant sometimes riles allergies.
# loading a 15 second clip of the wedding video to face book takes an hour and uses about 50 megs of data ( I got data in the bank still)
# don't do currency exchange at the Park Hotel desk - you can bring in 10000 Rupees when u arrive free currency exchange at AAA
# 12 hours in the air is a long flight
# it's harder than I thought to blog on a cell phone

More to come

Many more to come

Fish market sunset

No posts for 2 days - time zone travel east, a chance to sleep and the big wedding slowed me down.
First up for my dull musings are a few posts finishing up the Dubai experiences....
----------------------'----


    My New Years eve Dubai Hop on- Hop off bus tour package included a river cruise to see city sights from the water but my late start and the 2 PM ending of all tours for the day cut my access to the ride - I figured I could find the Dhow River Cruise spot on my own and get in the 5:30 hour-Long cruise. It was marked on the map and I figured out the Metro grid so I headed over to the Birj Palm metro stop to check it out.
  This area is loaded with residential housing and bustling street level retail. A super model of smart growth planning with all kinds of apartment housing and street retail a short walk to the Metro and a major bus hub - if only we had oil money to do that back home...
My first impression out of the station door was a ripe smell of fish.  The wafting waves of smell told me there was fresh fish, old fish and shrimp - universal code for identifying the dock area, fishing boats and maybe a tour boat or two....
I went hunting for Dhow.
From the Metro station you could see the boats all lined up on the Dubai Crerk So I headed over there - no Dhow - but I did get there in time to see a beautiful Arabian sunset. Very warm.

 Having failed the mission as the sun set at the last cruise time I headed back to the Metro and picked up the fishy scent and followed my nose to the fish market.
It was abuzz with fish, and prawns and many other creatures I couldn't recognize but had market value. The sellers the buyers the scales and gutters were all at work.

  I have found many contrasts in Dubai as old meets new, rich meets poor and tradition meets capitolism.
  The fish market was old - right next door to futuristic transit building. Fish prepping is an ancient process and there were no machines in this huge expanse of fish and smells.

  After being offered many fish to buy from all the sellers, and buying none....i left to head back home disappointed I didn't get a cruise but very happy to have experienced some real underbelly of Dubai life - much more the norm of real life for most of the people.  One contrast of note... in the blind covered malls in the over belly of life here retail sales wait for the money to come to them...and it does....at the fish market, and everywhere else oozing in real life every dollar is chased - its hard to sell fish and make a living - especiallnd obviously easier



   As I was about to enter the station I was startled from a loud noise that for a second sounded like an air raid siren starting up but as I turned around to face the high decibel pitch I saw a huge mosque and the bassy siren voice started singing prayers over a very loud sound system.  Then the other mosques started their loud, less than melodic to my ears , daily audio ritual. In my spot I could hear, at least 4 of them ...
   And then the horizon darkened as the sun finished it's work for the day and left for view a few sunset lit vapor trails..... I'm a first timer for sundown in the Arabias and thrilled to be in the energy cloud of everyone's devotion - more real life stuff here.
...
BTW i looked on a better map - i missed Dhow by about 10 blocks on the other side of the creek bend...so glad i did...these vapor trails were brighter
.......
I'm in India now - its saturday here as you are packing in Friday..have I got stories..the wedding was delightful - part deux of Buju and Als  big Indian wedding adventure .. and part 3 is The big party Sunday night.....

Happy new year Earth ---- From Dubai

  So .. next year if I'm home for new years I think I'll celebrate hourly for each time zone that cheers on the new year before me.
It's 3pm est in Windsor and I'm hangin with 2 million people in Dubai waiting for the "world's biggest baddest rockin" new years fireworks.
Dubai paid out more than $15 million (us dollars/55mDirhams) for fireworks that lit up the city.....for 6 minutes.WOW...OMG...
I hopped on the Metro - arrived 2 hours early. Met some new pals from Pakistan,

Cozzie is the guy in the middle - I understood his attempts at English enough to have a rich conversation about work, pay, politics, unions, and how to change the world...he wants you to know ....just because he's Pakistani.... he is not a terrorist. He was a very delightfully pleasant person to talk with. I probably nodded a few too many times with the others as they picked up a nod wasn't the best response to what yhey were saying ...but we had a blast attempting get to share stories

A few seconds before midnight the tallest building in da world glowed with lights ....then fireworks - the building Birj Khalifa - lit up with elaborate timed displays running up.and down its quarter mile high reach to the stars.

then fireworks lit up and boomed all around us - from a multitude if other launch points around the city...and the sky show was timed with the Birj

Show .to cheers from milions......and then ...6 minutes later the fun began. 2 million people wanted to go home after the fireworks were done. Chaos and pushing and shoving and many impolite body crushing moves pushed everyone in a tsunami of humans rolling towards the one gate to the Metro  station entrance. I was nervous ...but twice the size of most of the crowd - and..for 30 minutes -I was in the flow.... most of the revelers are probably still waiting their turn at the Metro turnstiles

My oh my what a mess . I'd do it again...

The clerk at the hotel warned me not to do this. He equated it to putting your life and limb at risk - but I did it...survived to talk about it...and even had the English speaking  pushing crowd roaring whilst greeting the new year thru the tiny gate ....and the cops let me thru the gate faster ....maybe for crowd control purposes---or to shut me up... this was one big fat vapor trail adventure, I'll tell ya.

Do Buy in Dubai

  After a solid 7 hour sleep I was up and ready to see this great place.  First adventure after a wild buffet breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport was riding the Metro. There is a massive mass transit system here and I love riding the rails so I did.
The metro stop is a short walk from the hotel and a day pass is 22 Dirhams ($4.99) which worked great.
first stop Dubai Mall right next door to Birj Khalifa - the tallest building on earth and ground zero for the largest fireworks display on earth in a few hours.

 The giant mall was packed with every store imaginable and people of every racial,social, economic designation buying stuff. Retail therapy is a reference I heard many times today.
But I'm not a Dubai buyer - I like the experience.
So I found a tour bus at the mall. Over 1.5 million folks will be watching fireworks tonite downtown so tours all ramp down after 2 PM -as traffic will likely block most streets.  Mine started at 1:15 - almost the last one out.
   What an incredible city!  Modern, stylish, a blend of ancient tradition and futuristic vision. Oil money buys a lot here. .. and adds a lot to the accounts of the few at the top.  But it is booming.  Construction cranes everywhere and buildings in various states of completion from dirt holes to structures awaiting the ribbon cutting.
 ...And mosques.

Over 3000 of them in the city and more under construction - you can never have to many...
   Dubai invests it's oil money heavily in schools and infrastructure. The long term vision is to be all set up for when the oil runs out. Wow - they are doing a great job developing a hugely diverse economy and the investment is paying off....bigtime.
  After a couple hours touring I hopped off the bus at Emirates mall....the largest mall in the world...bigger than Dubai mall and piles more folks engaged in retail therapy. Emirates will soon open a new wing which is a mini city encased in mall. Streets, housing and all the fixins to ramp retail therapy to the next level. Emirates is so big it has indoor ski mountain.

Yep - let's go to the mall kids and go sking, or roll down the hill in a giant snow ball, or go pet the penguins -- 28 degree indoor environment open year round - u can rent ur parkas, gloves, skis and boots -  You can buy anything in Dubai!!!
More vapor trails - enroute....

Happy new year folks - my new year time starts at 2 PM your time.

Sleepless in Seat Aisle

  Boarding for Qatar Airways 702 at JFK was easy with the help of my new pal Elissa.
She greeted me and answer my many questions at the ticket counter and was there at the gate to send me off - with early boarding.... in an aisle seat. I am travelling my 21000 miles in 12 days with 4 big city stops lugging a small carry on wheely - board bag and a backpack. Early boarding means I get bin space.
My hope was to snag some sleep - as I have spent a few retiree hours sleeping in a chair to practice up for long haul vapor trailing.  Didn't work. My personal entertainment center showed me our position and lots of other flight data.  Coldest temp reading I saw was -80 F .. inside the cabin it was over +80 - too hot to sleep....so I watched movies, played games , got up and walked regularly (no swollen feet on tjis guy) hecked flight status, and rattled around in the occasional but bumpy turbulence.
12 sleepless hours in my aisle later, we arrived in Doha, right at sunset, grabbed my bags and headed to gate A8 for the next leg....an uneventful 48 minute hop to Dubai.
  Got up at 8:30 am (est) Dec 29 - -- and put my head down to sleep again 0:30 (Dubai time/3:30 est)
31 hours later..... I slept well .... dreaming of dancing with vapor trails.