The monsoon retains a grip on Mumbai. Heavy storms blow in today, sideways, slashing bellows of water from the sky. Socked in on the 14th floor, we overlook only mist and cloud, the teeming city obscured. Twenty-five million people hunker beneath this umbrella of rain. Some of my pleasantest hours were during the long rain storms … Continue reading Rain
India
Fly America, Call the Philippines (pt II)
When your official government itinerary on U.S.-flag contract carrier United Airlines is thrown into disarray because of concerns about flying over Iranian air space... ...and the United agents can't confirm the final leg of your trip (which includes traveling on Air Canada, Germany's Lufthansa, and Air India) for 24 hours... ...so that after two hours on … Continue reading Fly America, Call the Philippines (pt II)
A Trail in Two Countries
Years ago I traveled the sands of Saudi Arabia, stopping along the way to tour the old camel train forts. I visited these caravanserai along the Hejaz Railway, the line targeted by T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. My journeys between 2003-05 took me north from Jeddah through … Continue reading A Trail in Two Countries
Maneater
This review just slays it. Jason Overdorf hunts with a sharp pen and takes down Dane Huckelbridge's narrative about what would seem a brutally interesting topic. And he doesn't stop there. He spills ink like blood all over the slain author's enablers: "He is not without accomplices in this crime against the English language, either. … Continue reading Maneater
Death Star
We call this project the Death Star. The Death Star is going up across from my flat. Just outside our bedroom window, as a matter of fact. Here's an eyewitness account of how they build the Death Star: After fielding an unusual duty call at midnight last night, I returned to bed at 01:00, badly … Continue reading Death Star
Today’s Coffee…
...mightier than the sword. Terminal 1D Indira Gandhi International Airport ert Dehra Dun in the foothills of the Himalayas. #amwriting #amtraveling #Diwali ##
Freddy!
I’m ready for this. I’m hanging on the edge of my seat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP0VHJYFOAU ##
Mumbai Halloween Posse
Posin' not posers, trick-o-treaters for life! Copper, Pirate, Scoundrel... Jolly Rancher. No candy? Step back! ##
A Gift at Navratri
Navratri celebrates female energy and the conquest of good over evil. Appropriately, this year's nine nights marking Goddess Durga's battles against the buffalo demon Mahishasuran arrived in concert with the power of India's #MeToo movement. Accusations of sexual assault and harassment by men against women first took aim at prominent figures in the Indian film … Continue reading A Gift at Navratri
Ozymandias and the Alter Ego
Dunking Ganpati into the sea is all about dissolution (more). Even so, witnessing his mortal remains embedded in the mud tonight brought to mind the enormous ego of past Lords: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, … Continue reading Ozymandias and the Alter Ego
Ben East Books 