Lucky Now

O.M.G.
Thank all the India Gods for Anna. After a riDICULOUS night on the train from Agra, we arrived in Lucknow to visit my friend from Seattle, Anna. But first- the train ride over here, was eh, interesting. Our train was set to leave at 1130pm and as the train pulls up- BAM- the power goes out. The train is whizzing past us careening to a halt, Julia and I are totally freaked out and are surrounded by Indian men, we clutch each other for comfort and wait for it to turn back on. But knowing Agra it could be a while. And all of the sudden, from either side these legless Indian guys come crawling towards us like a scene from a horror film. Dragging their legs and reaching up like those creepy unfortunate souls Ursula cursed in the little mermaid. Julia and I scream like Carrie Bradshaw and run towards the train and jump on the first carriage we can. Yup. That really just happened. Then we find our bunks and settle into sleeper and play a few games of gin. I decide to go to bed at about midnight or so and plug the ol ipod in and cuddle up to all my belongings. And a little while later I wake to hear the girls above us singing. Oh beautiful Indian songstresses. Yeah right. She sounds like a cat giving birth. Without painkillers. And at one point, I can't tell if I'm delirious or not but I'm pretty sure they are having some kind of sing off. Complete with musical accompaniment from their cell phones. And this shit show continues for the next five hours. We're given a teensy break between five and six am to sleep when the stupid whores finally disembark. Man. I must have some bad karma from my loudness in my youth, and I'm hoping that the train ride has wiped my slate clean with comeuppance.
So we arrive in Lucknow at 5:50am. Sleep deprived and unbelieving what went on during the trainride, Julia and I couldn't have been more overjoyed to see Annas smiling face at the station. She whisks us away speaking Hindi to the auto driver and soon we are in her clean girl pad. Complete with shampoo smells and comfy pillows.
After a gloriously clean shower in a gloriously clean bathroom, Anna makes us coffee and we chat over peanut butter and bread and yogurt. I am in HEAVEN.
Anna has Internet and a fridge and a couch and the comfiest bed I've slept on in ages. We spend the whole day relaxing. At one point she orders pizza and Julia and I find ourselves sitting on her bed, watching the Office and eating spicy vegetarina pizza from... Pizza hut? Am I in India? We also watched some arrested development and took a nap. Later that evening we went into Lucknow and ate dinner with some of their friends and it was a going away dinner for a friend of theirs who was heading back to Afganistan. And the cheeky man paid for the whole dinner! It is the Afgani way, he says. Well, it was delicious and that man has got some good eatin karma that is for sure.
That night I slept in an AIR conditioned room, on a bed, for like ten hours straight. Simply amazing.
And the next day awoke to more coffee and delicious breakfast-ness. Went around Lucknow to get train tickets and some other things and in the afternoon, Anna took us to a spa nearby her house and we got freaking pedicures! I felt so sorry for this guy you have no idea. When he asked the date of my last pedicure I just bowed my head in shame. UH. I've been traveling. You need every twenty days. Yeah yeah. And for an hour this guy pumped it out, breaking a sweat while scrubbing the Sadhana and street and train off of my feet. And yes, breaking the skin as well. HO AH. I got to sit in a massage chair and read a book and be totally relaxed. And now my toes are spring flower pink and I feel like a princess.
That night we ate delicious home cooked Indian food cooked by Annas housekeeper.
Then I took a shower, put on some jeans and a nice shirt, put on makeup for the first time in a LONG time, and we went clubbing? This club called Zero in Lucknow.
Wow. Right when you walk in, other than the bouncer with the bulletproof vest the first thing that caught my eye was a toddler on his dads shoulders with that wide open gaping cry face going on. And beautiful women in shinny diamond sparkly saris, and Indian beefcakes in tight shirts. We met up with some more of Annas friends and danced the night away. I decided I'm not going to drink while in India, and although the mocktails were tempting, we just boogied with the Aunties and the babies and the hilariousness of it all just cannot be conveyed. Funny but it wasn't my first dance party in India, (the Auroville dance party at the visitors center was primero) but I haven't been into a dance club in quite a while, but it was good fun and lots of shoulder shimmying and lightbulb screwing in moves along with the good ol standby finger pistols.
Sadly we have to leave today, onto Varanasi which cannot be missed, although Anna and Elizabeth and Athena got HELLA sick just coming from there, so I'll be quite cautious.
I feel rested and relieved and rejuvenated and I thank Anna and Elizabeth and Athena for opening up their home to me and giving me some much needed r and r.