Rāmanāthapuram

Before I even get in to my outing at the mall, I need to describe the trip there. What you see during the day is nothing compared to its transformation at night. Driving past you see tons of people out, gathered around different shops, lit up and showing their wears. Some were in an open front store, others had their products arranged along a blanket at the edge of the street, there were even a few carts being pushed along the edge of the road selling all sorts of things, but mostly fruit. I guess this city comes alive at night, and I'd just been too tired to stay up that late and see it.

Once my driver skillfully made his way through the copious amounts of Sunday night traffic, and bad drivers as he stated (I guess that's universal), we arrived at the mall. This four story behemoth was packed, and my first thought was, "Why would I decide to come to a mall when I don't even go to them when I'm at home?" There was one thing that was different right off the bat, and it was someone stationed in every elevator to push the buttons for you; maybe it was because people packed in so tightly that no one would have been able to push a button otherwise. I picked a random floor, and decided to walk around and see what I could find through the throngs of people. They had just about every store I'd heard of, and plenty I hadn't, but they all seemed like things I could get at home, and fairly unappealing. I did come across a store I thought was hilarious called "American Tourist" but it was mostly suitcases and bags, but I got a chuckle out of it. They had also clearly decorated for the season because there were hundreds of string lights hanging from the ceiling, as well as the front of the building as we drove in. It may have been the extent of the decorations around the mall, but I thought they were very nice. Feeling out of luck, I thought I'd check out another floor, and at the very least grab a few leggings from a kiosk I'd actually seen in a youtube video when trying to see what would be available (I didn't even come close to finishing it as it was a half hour, and I'm not spending that time watching something about stores in a mall.)

Then, it happened. I found a store that had exactly the type of thing I had been searching for. They had shirts, pants, scarves, and so much more, in the styles that are actually worn by people here. I walked in and started browsing, trying to do quick math on how much pieces of clothing cost, when once again I had multiple people coming to assist me. This time though it was very helpful, because I'd ask for a style of something and they'd show me exactly where it was, or things that went well together. Some things were inexpensive, like the scarves coming in at roughly $2, and others were more expensive like $12 pants, but all of them were so much less than I could ever have gotten them in the US. They were also excellent salespeople, as they would take anything I was interested in and set it aside for me and continued showing me different pieces; that way I couldn't feel the weight of what I'd gotten, or recall how many items I had. So it may have ended up as a bit of a splurge. Do I regret it? Not a chance, but thank goodness they took credit cards. When I finally checked out, the price nearly gave me a heart attack, until of course I remembered it was in rupees, and I wasn't actually about to spend over 10,000 dollars... like I even have that much to spend. Clearly they value customers who spend a lot, because I didn't walk out with a bag of clothes, but a small duffle bag packed to the brim. I did feel a little awkward walking though the mall with my new acquisitions, not so conspicuously taking up a fair amount of room beside me. I went down to the car waiting for me (do you here how fancy I am?) and dropped off my goods before heading to the real mission; animal protein.

Now surely you know by now, I'm fairly adventurous with food, so you must be wondering what sort of place I'd found it a mall to satisfy a my taste for real Indian food. It was Burger King. Yeah, I went and got fast food, but I had a reason. The first reason why I went and got something seemingly commonplace in the US, is because it's not the same, at all. First, as you might have guessed, there's no beef, and second, there are a ton of vegetarian options. Another reason I went was simply because the guy I sat next to on the plane from LAX to SFO, suggested I try it, so why not. I went with a fiery chicken sandwich, veggie sticks, and a mango shake. I did not wait to start in on my dessert, which ended up being quite the mistake on my part. Now, I know that although I'm not the spice wuss I used to be, my capacity for capsaicin wouldn't stand up to true Indian food, I didn't think that would be an issue with fast food. I was a foolish misguided individual. Really I should have known when I thought the veggie sticks had a bit of heat to them. Once I broke out that burger, intent on demolishing it, I got no more than three bites in before it hit me; an all consuming heat. My mouth was on fire, lips tingling, I could feel the heat moving down my throat and settling low in my stomach; the shake had to be rationed. Sniffling and making sure I didn't touch my eyes, I continued trading off a couple of bites, with a sparing sip of my drink, followed by a few breaths that felt like I was breathing fire. Totally worth it, and even though the heat there was fantastic flavor. Finally making it to the other side, finishing my food, I waited while the heat slowly dissipated, having a pleasant conversation with my driver. Suddenly I was left with a light tingle on my lips, and we were pulling up to where this all began. I paid, and tipped, my driver, heading in for a good nights rest. I wasn't out for long, but it sure was fun.Read more