weekend update

This past weekend, I braved the 100+ degree weather and went out to explore Bhubaneswar by myself. On Saturday I went to the planetarium where they have one English show a day. It was about weather and plants, and quite unimpressive. But it was airconditioned, so I can't really complain! Here are a few pictures I took outside the planetarium in their "Astrological Park".





On Sunday I went to the Orissa State Museum. The museum itself was very cool, except that without airconditioning, and on a 107 degree day, it was exhausting! This next picture is one of the hallways. You can see that there are some homeless people that sleep on the edges of the hallway because it's in the shade and a tad cooler than sleeping out on the street or in the sun.


This is a plant fossil.



This baby skeleton was just too creepy. I don't think you'd see something like this in the States, but there it was, like it was no big deal...


These are ancient tribal cave drawings. In fact, there's an entirely separate Tribal Museum that I had intended on going to after the state musuem. Unfortunately the heat got to me and I wasn't up for it. Maybe next weekend!



I found this amusing, that right near all the ancient tribal artifacts, like primitive tools, there was this riser being used in museum construction...it looked just like the ancient artifacts to me, but it was actually being used.


There was an ancient tribal music display - here are some flutes.


This last picture is one that I took in a juice shop that I stopped in on the way back to the hotel. I am in love with these hanging ornaments that are unique to the state of Orissa. You see them hanging everywhere and they come in all colors and sizes, but are always the long cylindrical shape.



Also over the weekend I officially met Rajesh - he works at the coffee shop in the hotel lobby. I've interacted with him every day since he's the one I go through to get real drip coffee (everywhere else in Bswr serves Nescafe instant coffee...yuck!). I ordered a piece of chocolate cake to be delivered to my room (I know, I'm a hopeless chocolate addict!) and when I paid for it he asked me if I had any foreign coins because he collects them. When he delivered the cake I gave him one of each of the US coins (although he already had a quarter and a nickle in his wallet). I learned that he is a business student in Bhubaneswar and that he plans to go on to get an MBA after that...being a barista at Cafe Coffee Day is just a summer job for him. I asked him if he liked his job, if it was a good job, and I was taken aback by the answer. He told me "you shouldn't think of jobs like this is a good job and that is a bad job - it's lucky if you have any job".

Yeah, it's all about perspective.