The Revenge of the Jet Lag

Yep, it got me this time. What a bitch. And here I thought I was safe, but nooooo. The good thing is that I'd forgotten just how comfy my bed is, so that was a nice surprise. The bad thing is that it's beyond difficult to leave it.

I hope everyone had a good turkey day, I sure did.

Currently I'm in the process of going through my photos and creating a slideshow. We'll see how that goes, but hopefully I'll be able to throw up a few teaser shots soon.

I'm also still collecting my thoughts (jet lag does not help with this) about India. In the meantime though, here are a few statistics that may be of some interest.

-Number of hours spent in transit (jeep, plane, train): Approximately 110. Yes, you read that correctly.
-Number of hours spent waiting for transit: Approximatelly 45.
-Number of passport stamps from this journey alone: 6. How is it six, you ask? Here's how, and the sixth one is really weird: Entering the UK. Entering India. Entering Sikkim. Departing India. Re-entering the UK. ENTERING THE FRIGGING UNITED STATES. Yes, you read that correctly. I have a stamp in my passport from the US. This must be a new policy in the past two years. Whatever.
-Number of loose (not hitched to a cart or in a field) cows seen wandering the streets in India: I have no idea. Probably somewhere between 50-100. Those are just the ones I've seen. Two of them were wandering around the train platform at New Jalpaiguri.
-Number of dogs seen wandering the streets in India: Far, far more than the cows. Poor doggies.
-Number of cats seen in India: Two. TWO! And they were both in Darjeeling. I asked other tourists if they'd seen any cats and to their surprise they realized that they hadn't. It's weird, I'm telling you.
-Number of times a gun (assault rifle) was pointed in my general direction: Several. At least one was not on purpose. Apparently those dudes don't know that guns should be pointed at the ground or in the air when not actively in use.
-Number of times a gun (assault rifle) was pointed specifically at me: Two or three, I don't remember. (Hi mom! Don't worry, everything is fine!!!)
-Number of times I ate something and regretted it: Once. But not because it made me sick, only because it tasted terrible.
-Number of times I wished I was an Indian national: Every time I had to pay a foreigner's entrance fee to a monument. Rs.20 vs. Rs.750 at the Taj Mahal for fark's sake.
-Number of signs that made me laugh out loud: Too many. I've listed a bunch of them here already, but another one I saw in Kolkata cracked me up-- a newspaper office's sign said "It's unputdownable".
-Number of times my chest was stared at: Seriously? It's not worth trying to count.
-Number of times my face was stared at: Not *quite* as many, but still an awful lot.
-Number of times I smacked someone: Regrettably, none. Although it came close a couple of times.
-Number of times I actually used the tripod I brought: Three. Only three. Each time caused some serious curiosity on the part of the locals-- they were fascinated! And I felt a bit like the intrepid Amelia Peabody carrying it around, as it is rather heavy and weapon-like. This ties in to the statistic above somewhat, as those who are familiar with Amelia Peabody will know.
-Number of times I left something behind in a hotel room: Way, WAY too many. My swiss army knife is gone, somewhere in Sikkim I think. I left my toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel and shampoo in Delhi (although buying new stuff was a fun adventure), other little aggravating things here and there...
-Number of times I used the mosquito net to go around my bed: 0. As in a big fat ZERO. Lesson learned.
-Number of times I used the rain jacket I brought: 0, although I could have used it several times in London. Unfortunately every time I needed it, I didn't have it with me.
-Number of times I wished I was home: 0, although I did miss my bed an awful lot. And my family and friends, of course. :)