I arrived in my second home town Vadodara again. After 9 years. Everything is so different. And yet so much is exactly the same. It is like: many new big buildings, an adventurous flyover in the middle of the city, many fancy shops, pizza places etc. - but still you are very likely to step into cowshit or twist your ankle on a piece of rubble when trying to get from one of this fancy places to another. It was good that I know the city a bit - I had huge problems finding a hotel room here. I tried at least 10 hotels before I found a room - at 1000 rupees the most expensive hotel room in India so far.
The search for a hotel gave me a chance to visit some of the places I know. I had a look at the house where I dwelled between April and September 2003 - there were obviously people living in the flat, though I suppose they aren't foreign trainees. I even found some things I must have seen in 2003 but where I never realized what it was: e.g. very close to the central park is a pretty big Parsi fire temple.
After a snack in my favourite lunch time place I tried to find a new SIM card for my mobile. Up to now I was using a card by Tata Docomo - which worked pretty well in all states from Kerala to Madhya Pradesh. But it does not really work in Gujarat. Getting a SIM card is quite a complex task if you are a foreigner - it involved:
- me going to mobile shop
- they telling me they need some proof of staying from my hotel
- me going to the hotel
- hotel staff promising me they get it ready in a few minutes
- me inquiring again in half an hour
- hotel staff telling me they cannot provide this proof
- me discussing with hotel staff
- me shouting at hotel staff
- hotel staff giving me a copy of my check-in form
- me going to mobile shop again
- me giving them the form from the hotel
- they discussing in Gujarati
- one guy starting to write down the address of another mobile shop
- me telling them that I won't go anywhere else: I brought them what they asked for, now I want my SIM card
- me shouting at them
- they discussing more in Gujarati
- they calling the hotel
- they discussing with hotel staff in Gujarati over the phone
- they giving me the phone
- me having no idea what to say
- me telling them that they have to solve it as I didn't understand a word of their Gujarati discussion
- mobile shop staff discussing more in Gujarati
- one of the mobile shop guys taking me for a motorbike ride along R.C.Dutt street to another mobile shop, wooohoooooo!
- other mobile shop is about to be closed, security guy won't let us in
- guy from mobile shop 1 convincing security to get someone from mobile shop 2 out
- mobile shop guys engaging into a lengthy discussion in Gujarati
- guy from mobile shop 1 taking me for a motorbike ride along R.C.Dutt street to my hotel, wooohoooooo!
- guy from mobile shop and hotel staff engaging into a lengthy discussion in Gujarati
- hotel staff starting to work on computer
- hotel staff giving me a letter saying that I really do stay at the hotel
- guy from mobile shop taking me for a motorbike ride along R.C.Dutt street back to mobile shop, wooohoooooo!
- me giving them the letter and one passport picture (fortunately I was prepared for that)
- they handing me my Aircel SIM-card, yay!
Sooo, in the end everything worked out and everyone was very helpful - but why does always some shouting have to be involved to make things work in this country?
My new Indian mobile no. is: +91 96 01 05 46 96.
While I was recovering from my getting-a-sim-card-adventure on the rooftop restaurant of my hotel I had a very nice surprise: my old friend Piyush suddenly stood beside me! He always was the good soul of the trainee community back then - and he still is, always helping with advice and action. It was great to see him again and we will certainly meet up in the following days.
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