Just realized that it's hard to point people to Twitter info after the fact, so I'm cutting and pasting my tweets from the Tharisanam India Storytelling tour here. Dates don't exactly correspond to our tour stops... I didn't tweet live, but posted these in batches from internet cafes. I've reversed the order here, because Twitter, like a blog, has the earliest posts are on the bottom. Instead, these are chronological., so start at the top and work your way down.
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Things you don't want to hear from your HR manager 24 hours before you leave for India: "What leave of absence?" 10:22 AM Oct 30th
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Good thing all my clothes for India are on the clothesline. The forecast: no rain until tomorrow. Wrong. Guess who came early? 3:10 PM Oct 30th
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Heading off for India. 8:21 AM Oct 31st, 2008
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Door to door: my house in Berkeley to hotel in Chennai, 30 hours. Got about five hours of sleep in there. Still, beats going by horseback. Nov 2nd, 2008
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Hotel is a favorite of locals for wedding receptions. It's Sunday, and everyone is dressed to celebrate. Nov 2nd, 2008
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Masala dosa is a good breakfast, if spicy... but I just passed a donut shop on the way to the internet cafe. I'm torn. Nov 2nd, 2008
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Oh, by the way, I'm typing this from the future. I'm 13 hours ahead of California time. No jet packs yet, but lots of auto rickshaws. Nov 2nd, 2008
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Hanging out with storytellers (12 american, 1 Indian) in Chennai, India. More later. Nov 2nd, 2008
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Enjoying the afterglow of a sunrise workout on the Bay of Bengal with the Laughter Club of Marina Beach. http://tr.im/s40 Nov 3rd, 2008
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Nothing like traditional Tamil lamentation (oppari) to balance out the day's laughter quotient. Nov 5th, 2008
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Whoa. The bats in Chennai are larger than the cats back home in Berkeley. Nov 5th, 2008
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Tuesday night storytelling contest in Nocchikuppam: totally fascinating. Nov 5th, 2008
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Travel nurse got me paranoid about infectious disease. She didn't know the biggest health risk in Chennai is attempting crossing the street! Nov 5th, 2008
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The cure for Mallarone-induced insomnia: Kingfisher beer! Nov 5th, 2008
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One very happy busload of tourists on Dr. Radikrishnan Rd in Chennai this morning when we learned via Blackberry that McCain conceded. Nov 5th, 2008
# Auspicious day for weddings. Not so auspicious if your hotel room is next to the reception hall. Nov 5th, 2008
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Off to more adventures. Nov 5th, 2008
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Learned about indigenous tribes of India from our host, Hindu marriage from our translator, and the Mahabharata from a Texan in a sari. Nov 6th, 2008
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Oops. Not a sari. The other thing... my guide is going to scold me for getting it wrong. Again. Nov 6th, 2008
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5 days in. I ask a tour buddy when "lord of the flies" sets in. She notes we arrive in the jungle in two days. Nov 6th, 2008
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Half of our group are retirees. I hear they're the first to go savage once we lose the air conditioning and the coffee. Nov 6th, 2008
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We may not all come back. Nov 6th, 2008
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Nothing like practicing a song with a master theatre artist while massacring his language. Nov 8th, 2008
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Watching comedians work without understanding their language... a master class in pace, posture, and audience control. Nov 8th, 2008
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As if live music, epic storytelling, and performance theory wasn't enough-- food, glorious South Indian food! Nov 8th, 2008
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Hindu temples aren't my thing. My thing: taking pictures of American tourists taking pictures of Hindu temples. Nov 8th, 2008
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Planting saplings at an herbal medicine nursery in rural Tamil Nadu. Nov 8th, 2008
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Best way to revive a gaggle of storytellers who've been on a bus for too long: Kingfisher Beer! Nov 8th, 2008
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Sitting in shade of a tree in rural India, listening to stories from tribal elders. Nov 10th, 2008
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Yes I paid too much for those souvenirs. Yes I got suckered 'cause I'm a foreigner. But I got a story out of it. Nov 11th, 2008
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The cross-cultural miscommunication in restaurants here is delightfully comical, until it happens to your dinner. Nov 12th, 2008
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You can fit 15 storytellers in a double room if they are determined enough to swap stories. Nov 12th, 2008
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Wed: shadow puppet workshop. Puppets whacking each other with clubs is funny in any language. Nov 14th, 2008
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Thurs: Pizza Hut! Nov 14th, 2008
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Thurs: master class in gesture, narrative in contemporary Indian dance from http://www.anitaratnam.com/ , including the Ramayana in 7 min Nov 14th, 2008
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The heady fragrance of my LOVIN EGO deodorant (Indian brand) tempered by the DEET insect repellanant Nov 14th, 2008
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Fri: 2 gigs in Chennai-- I get the rough one, but the tour rocks the house @ Alliance Francaise of Madras Nov 14th, 2008
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Sat: end of tour. Jeff B and I set out to see India on our own Nov 14th, 2008
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Autorickshaws in Chennai : autorickshaws in Delhi :: Asteroids : Sinistar. Nov 16th, 2008
(analogy explained here)
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Hey storytellers-- Jeff and I made it to the site of Indraprastha, the legendary city built by the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. Nov 18th, 2008
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Sadly, there's a modern city of 12 million people built directly over it, so there's nothing left of it to see. Nov 18th, 2008
---(end storytelling stuff... more travel adventures in India below)---
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Maila Kofta, where have you been all my life? Nov 18th, 2008
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No Bharatnatyam for us. Instead: treated to one of Delhi's infamous traffic jams. Nov 18th, 2008
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Mmmmm. Thunderbolt beer. Better than Kingfisher. Nov 18th, 2008
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Puzzling over six-story Hanuman near our hotel. http://tinyurl.com/55oo7a Nov 18th, 2008
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Set Blade Runner in a hot climate and set the architecture back six centuries: Delhi. Nov 18th, 2008
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Amazing Mughal architecture in Delhi. But we are missing the stories. Nov 18th, 2008
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Mind-blowing walk through the narrow alleyways of Old Delhi. Stumbled into the wholesale bangle bazaar, dodging pushcarts and motorcycles. Nov 18th, 2008
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As storytellers far from home, Jeff and I are delighted to chat with affable English speaking locals. Turns out-- they all own shops. Nov 18th, 2008
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You'd think after falling for the friendly local/shopkeeper gambit six times, we'd avoid #7.... You'd be wrong. Nov 18th, 2008
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Can't wait to leave Delhi and see if teenagers outside the city limits are as enamored of acid wash jeans and designer label shirts. Nov 18th, 2008
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That our train ticket number nor our names match those on the passenger list on the Kerala express does not faze the conductor. Off to Agra! Nov 18th, 2008
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Coincidentally, we share a berth with a German man whose knowledge of corporate storytelling far exceeds our own. Nov 18th, 2008
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Swapping stories with fellow travellers to while away the hours in a train berth. A welcome break from sightseeing and bargaining! Nov 18th, 2008
The Red Fort in Delhi was impressive. The Fort here in Agra-- jaw dropping. Friendly guide happy to tell us stories. Nov 18th, 2008
Guide, friendly, self-taught, and quite knowledgeable, tells us he'd like to show us a special rug emporium. Jeff does a spit take Nov 18th, 2008
Off to bed early to catch sunrise at the taj mahal. More later. Nov 18th, 2008
Overcast at Taj Mahal. Still worth the trip. Words can't describe its magnificence. Nov 19th, 2008
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Thursday: exhausting. Up at 5:30am, didn't reach hotel in Jaipur until midnight. That our guide brought us to THREE emporiums didn't help. Nov 19th, 2008
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Amazing Race moment in Rajasthan: it's dark, we haven't eaten in 9 hours, & our driver has no idea where the train station is. Nov 19th, 2008
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Beautiful hotel in Jaipur (nicest so far): manager tells us that autorickshaws = guaranteed detour to souvenir shops. Nov 19th, 2008
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My bargaining skills stink. Especially when the shopkeeper lived in Berkeley for 8 years and we hit it off immediately. Nov 19th, 2008
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Bharatpur: two Rajasthani families (English vocabulary: hello, mother, son, father, family, USA) find Jeff and I fascinating. Nov 19th, 2008
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Thurs: No dinner. Jeff shrewdly suggest I wait until my last night here before sampling samosas cooked from a vendor on the train platform. Nov 19th, 2008
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And by samosa vendor I don't mean snack bar. Instead: guy with a pushcart, propane tank, pot of oil, tongs, and a stack of homemade snacks. Nov 19th, 2008
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Bharatpur: Three computer hardware engineers ask us about salaries in the US; their jaws hit the train platform. Nov 19th, 2008
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Wishing we'd arranged to meet storytellers in Rajasthan. I'm sightseed out. Dreading the inevitable rush of souvenir wallahs. Nov 19th, 2008
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Thursday OK. Audiotour of city palace keeps hucksters at bay. Also drowns out shouts of tour guides for German, French and Japanese tourists. Nov 20th, 2008
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Best hotel yet: hot water, warm toast, and on TV: Amazing Race Asia. Nov 20th, 2008
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Probably should have skipped that episode of Nat'l Geographic Extreme on TV-- "Air Crash Investigations" the day before I fly home. Nov 20th, 2008
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Friday plan: 4 sights/sites in Jaipur, then start the 30 hour journey home via Delhi and Hong Kong. Nov 20th, 2008
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Ajmer: now that's a fort! Finally see the appeal of marble palaces. Also: snake charmer with cobra. Cliche, but everyone gawks. Nov 21st, 2008
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Autorickshaws in Jaipur: slower than Delhi, but variable pavement makes it the bone-jarringest, rip-roarin'est ride in the West. Nov 21st, 2008
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Feel sorry for new arrivals at New Delhi train station who have to face the mob of taxi drivers clamoring for your business. Nov 21st, 2008
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New Delhi airport: WTF? What kind of international terminal doesn't carry the Indian edition of People magazine? Nov 21st, 2008
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Delhi airport: Thomas Cook says I don't have enough rupees to convert back to dollars, I should spend it at duty free shop, beyond security. Nov 21st, 2008
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Delhi airport: Duty Free Shop says we don't accept rupees, only dollars. Try to spend my last rupees on India's famous ciabatta panini. Nov 21st, 2008
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Back home and thrilled to be so. Feel like crap, but nothing a lot of sleep won't cure Nov 22nd, 2008
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