Red Ls and the begining of the end.

Got pulled over again by the cops on Monday. For god knows whatever reason, they’ve decided that Koregon Park, the tourist central of Pune, home of the famous Osho Ashram, needs constant police security going in to it from North Main Road. They’ve erected barriers to slow down traffic so the police cops can jump in front of the vehicles and force them to stop, or so that they can reach over to grab the keys if the person is on a bike.

I had just finished dropping off our new temporary roommate Sandip at the IT Tower, and was not looking forward to starting the work week. They flag me over, and ask for all the paper work, license, and everything. They stopped me for having a rusty license plate. Clearly, Mondays are my lucky day. It only got better from there; two hundred rupee fine for driving without the mandatory red learner license Ls on my bike.

“Got any paper work for this?” I asked him, wanting a souvenir for my early morning adventure.

“Well, see… You have to go to the… Ahh… Police office and-“ he replied.

“Oh, well, can I at least get something on paper written down?” I wondered.

“Look, let’s just call it one hundred.”

Bargaining with cops in India is one of those experiences that never get written in to the travel guides.

When I got to work, I talked to the HR woman about getting my full license, because while expensive, it would allow me to drive legally on any bike, and I could legally give my friends ride to places. Instead of solving this problem, they decided putting the red Ls on to my bike would solve all my problems. Unfortunately, the office handyman got carried away with the task given to him. My bike is now rocking red Ls on every surface of the bike, including perhaps the largest damn L I’ve ever seen on the back spare wheel on my bike. If I didn’t stand out before, I certainly do now.

I asked him why he wanted to put so many marks on my bike. He shrugged, and grinned at me.

“More Ls, less problems” he laughed.

I've been going to the gym every morning. Normally I run at the treadmill. But first, let me say that we're not supposed to wear non-gym-only shoes while at the gym. Since I only have one pair of shoes, this is a problem for me. I solved this problem by running barefoot at the gym.

A friend of mine back home wears weird shoes. They're shoes that are designed to be more like plastic toe socks than actual shoes.

"It's more natural for your feet to run barefoot. It's good for you." He would tell me. One of the giant blisters on my feet broke open, and one became infected. My friend is a god damn liar (sorry, Hunter).

We’ve also started making plans for our grand trip in December. It’s hard to believe that I’m finally getting to the end of my time here in India. One more month, and I’m done with coop. Then I’m taking a couple weeks to travel the deserts of Rajistan, see the capital, Delhi, and like any good foreigner, spend a day seeing the Taj Mahal, explore the erotic temples of Khajuraho, and finish up my experience of India at the holy city of Varanasi.

Then it’s a train ride back to Mumbai. Then I have to say goodbye to all the amazing people I’ve met on this adventure and to my home for the last six months as I return to the west.

I’m going to need more Ls.