A bit disappointed that my room was just the standard room (which is significantly smaller than the room at the Four Seasons (bedroom area is marginally larger than the bathroom at the previous hotel, bathroom is marginally larger than the old walk in wardrobe, and there is no walk in wardrobe). However, in pretty much all other respects the new hotel is a nicer one than the other one. This is much more of a tourist hotel than a business hotel and, to be honest, is all the better for that. The staff seem marginally friendlier, the hotel is a much more sumptuous affair (colonial style, with marble and lots of light) and the food is even better and with a wider choice. Even though I say the rooms are poorer at the new hotel, I would note that there are a few things even here which are improved - there is a wider choice of TV channels (although most of the new ones are in Hindi) and the ability to have the TV sound play in the bathroom. Interestingly, there's also an automated muting of the TV when you're on the phone, which is quite neat.
After settling in a bit and unpacking I decided to go for a walk around the area to get some level of familiarisation. Click on the title of the blog to see the pictures on Flickr.
The area remains a contrast to the hotel, although there isn't a slum directly opposite. There is a hospital really very close by which, as ever, has seen better days, and is something of an encouragement to stay healthy while I'm out here. There are a lot of orange flags about, which I'm told is a political thing, but I'm not aware of the reason.
There's also a lot of street stalls. One type of stall I've not discussed before is the phone ones, where there are pay phones as part of the various other things being sold.
Possibly a sign that I'm getting a little more confident here is that I've felt able to take photos of some of the street sellers, getting down to their level to get nice shots. Normally, if you ask, people are pretty happy to have their photo taken; if they're not then just walk away. For one, of a shoeshine man, I did make use of him to get my boots smartened up a bit.
One thing I saw was the entrance to the workshop for the Central Railway locomotives. Unfortunately (for my various friends who are interested in trains) I couldn't actually see any of the trains.
One thing I did see while wandering around was a couple of guys starting to dig a hole in the road with pickaxes. Nothing too surprising in that, perhaps, but there was nothing to protect them, no fencing or anything. Cars and motor bikes went by within inches of the workers.
Another thing I noticed for the first time while wandering around was the use of the swastika on flags and the like. That came as something of a shock, although I was aware that it had been a much older symbol that had been appropriated but to western eyes it is impossible to see it without connotations.
Coming back to the hotel through what we will call a market area but is closer to being people setting up areas on the pavement between the rubbish, I spent the rest of the day and evening catching up with the photos and blog.
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