Delhi Belly

I think I might be sick.

I woke up very early yesterday, but wasn't hungry. I usually wake up starving to begin with, and for all my stomach knew it was nearly noon Hong Kong time. I forced myself to go down and have a small breakfast then rushed to the office. I worked straight through and skipped lunch as well. I felt okay, but kept thinking this can't be a good sign.

After a full day at the office, my coworker was kind enough to drive me to one one of the nicest Indian restaurants here in Delhi. She has my affliction of a lacking sense of direction, so we got somewhat lost on the way (I would generally be of no help, even less so in a foreign country).

When we finally made it there, the food was quite good. Garlic naan with some kind of chicken kaaba and some lentil-gravy-type sauce. I tried for the life of me to memorize the names, but one Cosmopolitan erased all record of the menu (yes, they laughed when I ordered it). It was served traditionally, meaning no utensils. So I ate with my hands and wiped them frequently on the gigantic-sized bib I was provided. In the end, we got little finger bowls with lemon wedges (it takes the grease and the smell away), and desert was a combination of some minty-tasting seeds, ground coconut and sugar crystals that you scoop into your hand and ate like Pop Rocks. She drove me back to the hotel (got lost again) and I was greeted to a live piano performance in the lobby. I briefly thought about having a cocktail at the bar (simply trying to kill whatever is apparently living in my stomach), but then realized the song he was playing was "Heart and Soul." You know the song ... the one everyone who has sat in front of a piano knows how to play. Assuming "Chopsticks" was next on the melodic agenda, I though my time better spent tearing through another chapter of Harry Potter.

This morning - still no appetite. Small breakfast, a precautionary Imodium, and a little prayer that my flight to Tokyo tonight isn't going to require frequent trips to the lavatory. I find myself mentally crossing sushi off the menu when I get there -- sadly.