 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
| Mittal has a gorgeous 3-D lettered sign. | Another fruit stand at nighttime. Fruit (and food in general) is very cheap by US standards. | I loved the lettering on this one, never seen anything quite like it before. Genius! |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
| More exemplary lettering, for a painter. The letters look like daikon radishes or something, it's outstanding. | Cow in the street near Abhi's office. They have an interesting look, it's a mix of defiance, boredom and complacency... | A cow laying in garbage on the street. A lot of the poor things eat garbage (as do wild dogs, boars, etc.), and it's dumped everywhere. Many of the stray cows were milkers that stopped producing and were then left to roam, shifting burden to the public. |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
| This pretty dish is what is known as "salad" in many Indian restaurants. A mix of fresh tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumber lemon and more. | Dal, Aloo Chana (?), Mixed Veg, Pickles and Naan at the Embassy restaurant in Delhi. | Here's a graphic on the folder of info in our room. The stunning graphic is actually a line reproduction of a neon sign at the original Hotel Alka nearby. |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
| View of the exposed/screened-in stairway leading downstairs, Hotel Alka Annexe. This was nice but meant our room was COLD at night with temps in the 50s. | Another view of the same staircase. | Behind a scooterist and some rickshaws in Delhi. |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
| More rickshaws and scooters. | Curvy road around a roundabout, early morning with no traffic. Delhi has some nice green areas. | This is the LML version of the Cosa, called the Supremo in India. I only saw about four of these during our 2-week stay. |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
| Rear view of the LML Vespa Cosa/Supremo. | Little bus station restaurant/milk vendor heavily adorned with dairy advertising. Dairy is a HUGE industry in India, veganism is quite uncommon. | A store called "Bizarre" in Delhi. |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
 Wed, Jan 19, 2005 |
| Here we're starting our bus trip to Jaipur. Much of the highway was under construction, they're building a new superhighway. This great hand-painted ad says "Sweet Dreams are Made of These: CocoFoam Coir Mattresses." Coir is coconut husk fiber. | More awesomely-decorated colorful trucks on the highway. | Suburban multiuse building in decent neighborhood. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| The first of many photos of roadside "dhabas" or restaurant/truck stops. These also reminded me a bit of Poland. Notice kids drinking/bathing at well, another common sight. | Two trucks face off in hilly Rajasthan. | Not sure what this building is/does, but it was interesting so I shot it. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| This was at an "official" halfway-point tourist rest stop. This is a heavily-trafficked highway and this place catered especially to buses full of people on the go. We got some bananas here for a couple cents each. | One of hundreds of total mystery buildings. As in Poland, since most things are built of old-looking masonry, it's often difficult to tell which buildings are going up and which are crumbling away, especially without telltale signs... | I think this was a school in the rear. Many of the white curbs had slogans like this painted on them. Abhi says they're sort of unauthorized advertisements that people just go and paint along roadside surfaces. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| An ad for Bagpiper whiskey. Apparently it's illegal to advertise alcoholic drinks outright, so liquor companies make fake "decoy" products like "Seagram's Bottled Water" and advertise those instead, but everyone knows what they're for... | Another dhaba, they're usually shady spots with lots of parking up front, outdoor seating and a few kettles on the stove. | Some shack, could be a dhaba but who knows, with a nice advertisement on the side. |
 Thu, Feb 3, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| This was our bus journey ticket, for Me Philip and Do. They use the word CUM way too much in India, in the sense of "and," or "as well as." I really tried to get a photo of the Factory Cum Showroom in Agra but missed it more than once driving by... | One of several "wrecks on the highway" vehicle ruins we saw. This appears to have been abandoned years before. Maybe an ominous reminder about highway safety? | One of the first public urinations I saw, I stopped counting after about 50. There's a very relaxed attitude about pissing in public, which is fine. At least this guy turned away from traffic, some I saw were facing the road! |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| Thousands of large hand-painted ads adorning most highway-side structures, with lots of repetition. There must be armies of painters who just paint the same huge ads for Hero Honda motorcycles, Pepsi, Lays, Relaxo, 8PM, etc. | Lots of people walking everywhere too, which is nice to see. The little discs here are cow dung patties, laid out to dry everywhere in India. People burn them for fuel and do lots of other things with them too. | Women walking on the side of the road with bundles of stuff on their heads. Looks like the same stuff as the fields behind them. It was amazing to see women in the middle of nowhere with beautiful colorful garments on, doing work in the fields. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| One of the most pervasive ad campaigns is for Shailal Mahal, a company that apparently specializes in two things: Basmati Rice and Laundry Detergent. Naturally! | When they build things in India with poured concrete, it's common for them to leave the steel skeleton protruding out the top of the building (in case of future vertical expansion). This is clever but lends a strange unfinished appearance to buildings. | Another building that I couldn't tell if it was coming or going. So many mysterious sights in this country, so many questions of "what IS that, what do they DO there!?" |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| Standalone brick stall of some kind, offering god-knows-what to the eager public. | Camel yawning near Jaipur. This is semi-arid desert-y land and camels are a regular feature in Rajasthan, often being used as beasts of burden as this fellow is. | Cute petrol station. They're all full-service in India, and if you have a 2-stroke they'll premix and add oil in the proper quantity for you. Gas costs about twice as much there and wages are low, so fuel economy is the main concern of most vehicles. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| Typical street scene. Signs advertising STD, ISD and PCO were everywhere; STD means Standard Trunk Dialing and is a kind of inexpensive long distance where you just walk in and use someone's phone, paying them a few cents afterwards based on time talked. | Here's one of the famous recurring ads, for Relaxo footwear. My favorite is of course the Cushion, being the most visually distinguished and memorable. | Another unremarkable street scene, just to give you an idea of common building styles. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| 8PM is an alcoholic beverage that had lots of ads by the highway. Their slogan is "8PM: A Time for Friends." Excellent! | Shiv Shakti Pipe Industries has apparently struck a sweet Co-op deal with Coca-Cola and collaborated on this striking exterior. Lots of the public roadsigns in India were also brought to you by Coke. | Another dhaba or something, looks like it specializes in elixirs or maple syrup or something...I really wish I could speak/read Hindi... |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| Dhaba with actual customer(s?) and a colorful display. | A bunch of trucks parked helter skelter. Some places prohibit trucks during the day so they sit around all day and wait for nightfall to drive. | Great contrast, the old shepherd and RIM telecommunications ads plastered mercilessly all over everything. Great name for a great design. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| The stack of bricks in front leads me to believe that this one is being built rather than coming down, but I've been wrong before... | Schoolkids playing in front of a school. I saw few buildings that resembled schools I'm used to and saw few schoolkids out and about. Education is another mystery, though a lot of Indians speak great English. | Looks like some kind of scooter/motorcycle repair shop (occupying several stalls)? |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| A couple of tetons in the distance, outside of Jaipur. | I like the arched doorways here. I have no idea what this building functions as; I snapped the photo in an attempt to get the sign on the side for Hotel Highway King (I got it later on in a different spot, you'll see). | This long, winding driveway led up to what appeared to be a rich person's house or a temple. |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
 Thu, Jan 20, 2005 |
| There's the Hotel Highway King sign, this time from the rear. Don't recall actually seeing it, but it was well advertised in some places. | A typical scene on this highway, a collection of random small buildings holding dark stalls, some garbage, trucks, people walking, etc. | Another very common scene along the road in a smaller town. |