The Bombs

I awoke this morning in a war zone. Outside my window were explosions and the sun hadn't even risen. I rose to peek outside and saw sporadic flashes of light. Ignoring these I went back to sleep with the assistance of ear plugs.

After breakfast I headed off on my own mission - to penetrate Dualatabad Fort. Actually, if my commander commanded me to mount a siege on this fort I'd go AWOL. First we'd have to cross four outer walls, with staggered zigzag entranceways and elephant-proof (spiked) doorways. If somehow we made it through these (and past the many cannons and sure-to-be gun-toting army) then we'd hit the moat. The dry moat that is, before the wet moat. If the drawbridge is up then we'll try to cross the V-shaped bridge, but likely they'll have raised the water level so the bottom of the V will be submerged. Granted we swim or float or somehow make it to the other side there's a 50 meter tunnel of pure darkness, misleading you to a trap door that will bring you back to the crocodile-infested moat (forget the swimming thing I said earlier). So we're smarter than trap doors, but can we dodge scalding oil that is being pour on us from above? In the pitch dark? Yes? Yes we can? Well then maybe I should stay with my troops.. except I'd be exhausted as the top is a full 700 steps up and if ANY of those impediments were in place I don't think I'd have made it.

Rewarding myself I scampered towards a nearby waterpark, walking the first 800m and riding third-man on a motorcycle for the final 200. Was it ever worth it! Immediately upon entrance I join the rain dance already in action - and working too. While a DJ spins (seriously.. a DJ.. it was 1pm) children and adults alike let loose under sprinklers (and water cannons). Luckily the pool was a little warmer and with the dozen or so kids under 12 years old I ran around and slid and splashed. That is until a lifeguard called me aside and pointed towards the BIG slides. Naturally I accepted his invitation and for the next hour I was the ONLY kid on the slides. He would suggest one and I'd clamber to the top and slide on back down. Once all options were exhausted he joined me and beat me cleanly in our first race, while doing a barrel roll! Of course by the end of the day I'd learned that technique on the vertical slide too (though I could only complete 3 rotations in one go, whereas he was mastering 5!)

Sunned and splashed out I bid the kids farewell. To return to town I was approached by a "share-jeep" and agreed to take it back for a measly 40 cents (~15km). However at the time that I agreed there were a reasonable 5 people in this Jeep. At the point when it got ridiculous and I resolved that I would have to blog about it there were a whopping 15 people in one Jeep vehicle. Five in the front, four in the next row and the remaining in the back. Before we reached the destination they'd packed two more in somewhere (one hanging out the open back door!) Not only that but the driver, while adhering to the only ONE rule of the road that I've been able to discern (which is "Honk and it's legal") was driving stick! This may not seem like that big a deal until you remember the 5 people in the front bench which meant he was literally shifting across someone's lap and under my knees. Despite all the pollution in this country at least they know how to carpool.

[Of course if you've been keeping up with the blog as you should *wink* then you'll realize that it wasn't a war zone but Diwali - the festival of light that I woke up to. And the "bombs" were in fact firecrackers. Apparently the festivities don't really get under way until 7pm... I'm counting down the next 90minutes]