Saturday, November 17, 2007

Checking in from Central India

Underbelly's South Asian bureau here, checking in from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, central India. Who knew that Bhopal, famous for the Union Carbide factory gas disaster, is in fact a lovely place, indeed perhaps the handsomest city we've seen in India so far (with an a-list museum to boot)?

We're ticking off all the boxes: we've admired the squalid religiosity of Varanasi (Banares to you), leered at the naughty temple sculptures at Khajuraho, and (just today) gawked at the massive Buddhist stupa on a hilltop at Samchi. Details, but not too many, when we get home in December. Meanwhile, this from the inside of a taxicab:

DRIVER IS FAMILIAR WITH ROUTES
AND WILL REACH DESTINATION OF EVERY TRIP
Well, that's blessing.