1. Becca's Nose Piercing.
Probably the best bang for your rupee of the whole trip. We all talked about getting our noses pierced here since it "enhances your beauty" so much and woman of all ages have theirs pierced. Yet Becca was the only one who actually followed through. She's a bold girl. We randomly walked into a silver souvenir shop in Udaipur and the man pierced it by poking the earring through with his hand. For sanitizing it he used this mysterious liquid called Dettol which, incidentally, is also used as a mouth wash, clothing wash, kitchen cleaner, 1st Aid antiseptic and shaving cream amongst other things. Then he stuck a pair of pliers up her nose to curl the wire end in a half circle. It might sound rough, but it looks great.
Becca and the Dettol
2. Peanut Butter.
Hands down, one of my favorite things about traveling is eating. And Indian cuisine is as diverse as the country is and amazingly delicious, but I've been sicker here than I've ever been anywhere else and, at times, eating the food that Ranjith cooks at the orphanage is a chore. The day after one bout of illness, which involved me throwing up all night, he promised me that he'd cook 'plain rice with vegetables with no oil'. For some reason this included fried cumin, pepper, mustard seed and several other seasonings along with ghee (a buttery substance). I'm not sure how frying vegetables before stirring them into rice follows his 'no oil' rule, but then again, his rules are fairly relative. And yes, 150 rupees is quite a bit to spend on a teeny jar of peanut butter, but after one month of eating nothing but Indian food, it tasted like heaven.
Sumathy and her first taste of peanut butter (on a banana)
3. 30 Cups of Chai.
On the train ride to Delhi we had our first chai experience, since Ranjith and Sumathy don't consume anything with caffeine in it and we never had any while at the orphanage. It was like drinking magic. I have tea all day everyday at home and had some high hopes for Indian chai, and they were fulfilled in every way, and initially, they were fulfilled 30 times by the four of us on our 36 hour train ride. At 5 rupees a cup, we saw no need to hold back.
4. Camel Riding Outfits.
We left on our camel adventure out of Jaisalmer on my birthday, but before we did, Becca, Kate and Ali surprised me with special outfits for the outing. We all wore t-shirts with roaring lions on the front and Aladdin-style pants. I was so excited that we got to look as cool as we felt. And technically I wasn't supposed to know how much they cost but when I started listing items that made the 150 rupee mark, they felt that this should be included.
Signs of an oasis in the desert
Loungin in the coolest pants around
5. Kingfisher Beer.
I never expected to pay $3.75 for a beer here but in Delhi there is a steep alcohol tax that jacked up the price on the 650 ml bottles of Kingfisher. We didn't hesitate to cough it up for our first alcoholic beverage in one month, and had plenty of time to enjoy the 60 rupee ($1.50) Kingfishers in Goa. Even though Indian beer is nothing to write home about, it was pretty heavenly in that moment.
6. A Sunset Boat Ride with Paradise Cruises.
This is probably my favorite 150 rupee purchase. While in the state of Goa we spent some time in their capital city, Panaji, a coastal city that is also bordered by a river. Meandering around we found a boat leaving for a sunset cruise with "traditional Goan dancing and fun for all ages". I was mainly excited for the theater-style popcorn and beer, and was unimpressed with the traditional Goan dances. The real treat of the ride, though, was that between each 'performance' a DJ got up on stage and invited different groups from the audience to dance to song. All the children got up for the children's dance, the couples for their own song, then the gents and finally the ladies. The gents stole the show in the indescribable way that Indian men dance - jumping, twisting, throwing their arms in the air and waving their hands, thrusting their pelvises and kicking their legs (is there anything they don't do?). There is definitely nothing like it at home. This video does not do it justice.
7. New Sunglasses.
My new sunglasses are not impressive in and of themselves, but I needed them in a hurry since we were vacationing on the beach and I lost my sunglasses at a bus station. To be more specific, I lost them in the restroom at a bus station. To be even more specific, they fell off my head and down the hole of the squat toilet I was about to use. Out of reflex I reached for them since I could still see them down the hole, but pulled my hand back. Maybe a thriftier traveler would have toughed it out and gone fishing for them, and I did debate it for a second, but in the end I decided that I would probably never feel fully comfortable putting them on my face no matter how many times I cleaned them. Plus there was no running water at hand to rinse them with.
The new shades
8. Indian Veg Meal in Delhi.
It was all vegetarian dishes, naan, rice and chai and cost less then $4.00 between the 4 of us. By far the cheapest meal we had and it was my favorite during our trip north.
Much more appetizing than it looks
9. My Nightdress.
Its not called a muumuu, its a nightdress. Its damn sexy. And, as they say, 'When in India, dress as the Indian housewives do'.
10. Beach Hut in Goa.
You just can't beat a cheap shack on a beautiful beach.
