After my recent fracas at the not-so-friendly Chinese restaurant, my eyes were in a perpetual scanning mode looking for a new watering hole. Many bars were considered for this prestigious honour, but I have now narrowed it down to three final contenders.
Welcome Bar
Located slightly away from the bustling heart of town, this fine establishment provides multiple varieties of alcohol, Tibetan cuisine and "sweat meats", whatever that is. Two key features of Welcome Bar are; it has extremely attractive Tibetan waitresses, and it sells alcohol on Sundays (a Government ordered dry day in Meghalaya), albeit at an increased price. Well, not really, the price is raised by just one Rupee.
The Hole in the Ground
This is in no way the actual name of this place. To tell you the truth, I don't think it has a name at all. It's so secretive that you could be standing two feet away from it without realizing that this place even exists. To enter, one must open a blue trap door and literally descend into a hole in the ground, hence the name. Like "Welcome Bar", it sells booze on Sundays but at a much higher price. However, the best feature of T.H.I.T.G. is that it remains open till 5 a.m., which in Shillong is akin to finding a passive unassuming Jat.
Ambassador Bar
By far the SHADIEST joint I've seen in a while, or as I like to call it, Guhan Balaji's natural habitat. Extremely atmospheric. Nearly impossible to find a female within its premises, nevermind the bar itself. The location is such that one strong gust of wind could just topple it from its precarious perch over the municipal gutter. The waiters are polite, speedy and smell vaguely of kerosene. No outstanding qualities like the other two, but the sheer coziness of the place more than makes up for it.
The only way I can be fair in my decision is if I give all three an equal chance. So for the next two months I'll be intensely reviewing these establishments before I make my final decision. I just hope I don't end up ruining my liver in the process.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Moment of Clarity
Smoked a blunt today morning at 4:30 am.
Walked out of home at 6:15 am.
Everything looked bright and sunny, but not quite. It seemed like someone had applied a Sepia effect on everything. At times I even thought that someone had slipped some mushrooms into the weed or something. The visual trip was THAT vivid.
Only when I met my friend did I realize that the reason everything looked weird was because of the freakin Solar Eclipse.
Major "D'oh! Moment".
Walked out of home at 6:15 am.
Everything looked bright and sunny, but not quite. It seemed like someone had applied a Sepia effect on everything. At times I even thought that someone had slipped some mushrooms into the weed or something. The visual trip was THAT vivid.
Only when I met my friend did I realize that the reason everything looked weird was because of the freakin Solar Eclipse.
Major "D'oh! Moment".
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Unforseen
Waiters in Shillong aren't a very nice bunch of people. And they can't even punch their way out of a wet paper bag.
I had gone to Kimsang, the local "Chinese Food Restaurant cum Bar" for a cold beer with a friend of mine. Since we were both running short on cash, we decided to split a bottle. The problem was that it took us almost two hours to finish it (just to avoid going back out in the scorching heat). While paying the bill, the smart-ass waiter mutters, "Fuckers...order only one beer but sit here for two hours."
Next thing I know my friend gets up and asks him to repeat that, and then promptly gets punched in his stomach for his troubles. And then I'm suddenly aware that my right fist has made contact with the waiter's face. Then all hell breaks loose. All the other diners quickly pay their bills and split. The manager closes the shutters of the place and the two of us are surrounded by 8 waiters. Luckily, only two other waiters join the fight. So now I'm kicking Waiter No 1 in the face, while Waiter No 2 is clawing my neck and punching my head from behind, and my friend is simultaneously punching Waiter No 2 and keeping Waiter No 3 at bay. I'm sure it looked like a weird chain of some sort to a third party.
The entire fracas ended in the same random way it began. The manager grabbed both of us by the collar and threw us out. And just like that, the fight was over.
In the end, I did feel somewhat liberated. Just repeatedly pounding on a guy's face can be extremely therapeutic.
I had gone to Kimsang, the local "Chinese Food Restaurant cum Bar" for a cold beer with a friend of mine. Since we were both running short on cash, we decided to split a bottle. The problem was that it took us almost two hours to finish it (just to avoid going back out in the scorching heat). While paying the bill, the smart-ass waiter mutters, "Fuckers...order only one beer but sit here for two hours."
Next thing I know my friend gets up and asks him to repeat that, and then promptly gets punched in his stomach for his troubles. And then I'm suddenly aware that my right fist has made contact with the waiter's face. Then all hell breaks loose. All the other diners quickly pay their bills and split. The manager closes the shutters of the place and the two of us are surrounded by 8 waiters. Luckily, only two other waiters join the fight. So now I'm kicking Waiter No 1 in the face, while Waiter No 2 is clawing my neck and punching my head from behind, and my friend is simultaneously punching Waiter No 2 and keeping Waiter No 3 at bay. I'm sure it looked like a weird chain of some sort to a third party.
The entire fracas ended in the same random way it began. The manager grabbed both of us by the collar and threw us out. And just like that, the fight was over.
In the end, I did feel somewhat liberated. Just repeatedly pounding on a guy's face can be extremely therapeutic.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Ansel Adams
I've been taking pictures for a while and I realized that I've never had a "favourite" photographer or someone who I'd aspire to be like one day. After weeks and weeks of looking, I think I've finally found someone who's a prototype of the kind of photographer I want to be. The late great Ansel Adams.
His breathtaking landscape shots in black and white were incredibly moving, and also a fitting mode of portraying the grandeur of the American West. His pictures probably say a lot more about the photographer than about the subject itself, in my opinion. The way he plays with high contrast lighting and shadows is truly a joy to watch. But most importantly, his use of the right amount of exposure in every shot was masterful. The picture shown below is one of his famous works, "Teton and Snake River", taken in 1942.
His breathtaking landscape shots in black and white were incredibly moving, and also a fitting mode of portraying the grandeur of the American West. His pictures probably say a lot more about the photographer than about the subject itself, in my opinion. The way he plays with high contrast lighting and shadows is truly a joy to watch. But most importantly, his use of the right amount of exposure in every shot was masterful. The picture shown below is one of his famous works, "Teton and Snake River", taken in 1942.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Attack of the 50ft Chinese Footballers
This is Yang Changpeng. He is a very very tall footballer. Not only is he enormous, he also has an amazing first touch and has played for Bolton Wanderers in the premier League.
And yes, that's a full-sized goal he's leaning on.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
A series of mind-f**king events
I've now realized that the car that currently lies dormant in my garage isn't a car at all. It is in fact Loki, reincarnated (was he even dead in the first place?) as a 2004 model Maruti 800. Ever since I started driving that blasted thing, something downright f**ked up has happened to me or a relative of mine.
1. Arun's car gets crushed by a Santro (drunk driver) from the back and a taxi from the front. Luckily he walked away from the accident, albeit with a horribly disfigured face.
2. My cousin kills himself over a girl. Not really sure what that was all about.
3. I run out of fuel 15km from my home. Even though the fuel guage showed "half full" less than 10 minutes ago. It has a life of its own, this thing. Had to walk all the way back in the rain, get the debit card, buy fuel and walk most of the way back.
4. Get the car covered in puke, piss and Romanov Vodka (None of it was my own. I was happily minding my own business at home when I got an "emergency" call from my friend at one in the morning. Drove all the way to Shillong Peak. There I find 6 extremely drunk high school students, a few of whom looked comatose. Carried some of them back to the car, and I was rewarded for this selfless act with an impromptu "vodka bath" and then being puked on by, not one, but two women.). I still don't know how I didn't end up losing my temper that night.
5. Broke the crankshaft. Actually BROKE it. Not sure how I managed that.
So, before the thing actually kills me, I've made the smart decision to stop driving it. Better start practising my "Taxi!! PB jayga?!?" call.
1. Arun's car gets crushed by a Santro (drunk driver) from the back and a taxi from the front. Luckily he walked away from the accident, albeit with a horribly disfigured face.
2. My cousin kills himself over a girl. Not really sure what that was all about.
3. I run out of fuel 15km from my home. Even though the fuel guage showed "half full" less than 10 minutes ago. It has a life of its own, this thing. Had to walk all the way back in the rain, get the debit card, buy fuel and walk most of the way back.
4. Get the car covered in puke, piss and Romanov Vodka (None of it was my own. I was happily minding my own business at home when I got an "emergency" call from my friend at one in the morning. Drove all the way to Shillong Peak. There I find 6 extremely drunk high school students, a few of whom looked comatose. Carried some of them back to the car, and I was rewarded for this selfless act with an impromptu "vodka bath" and then being puked on by, not one, but two women.). I still don't know how I didn't end up losing my temper that night.
5. Broke the crankshaft. Actually BROKE it. Not sure how I managed that.
So, before the thing actually kills me, I've made the smart decision to stop driving it. Better start practising my "Taxi!! PB jayga?!?" call.
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