The train pulled into Hyderabad around 7:30 pm. Dad called for a city cab, but one wasn't available for another ½ hour. So we wandered through the mass of taxi drivers begging us for business. Dad decided to walk further away from the station to get one, since they were already on the road and we wouldn't have to pay extra to just get out of the train station parking area. It also gave Dad a chance to "shop" for the best-quality auto-rickshaw. The road outside the station was jammed with auto-rickshaws. A traffic cop used a large wooden stick to smack the auto-rickshaws that were holding up traffic. I almost got blind-sided by the stick, but I don't think the cop noticed. Dad and I went in one auto-rickshaw, Mom and "L" in another. In the end, it would cost about the same as taking one city cab (about Rs. 60 x 2)
Dad and I took a walk to a nearby grocery store. We passed by the Maoist community across the street, one block away. Hammer-and-sickle symbols were painted on the walls of the homes, which were shabbier than the homes in our neighborhood and the puri on the other side of it. Announcements in Telugu about Maoist events accompanied the Soviet symbols. "CPI", also painted on the walls, stands for "Communist Party of India". Dad greeted a fellow in this area, someone he hopes to talk with about Christ. Dad describes this fellow as a Maoist gangster of sorts. Maoists who tend towards a more gangster/renegade/anarchist approach in their philosophy are referred to as Naxals or Naxalites. The Naxals often live out in the woods where they often plan acts of terror to make their political views known.
We got home, ate, took naps, and watched "The Amazing Race" and "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" Mom and Dad are feeling under the weather. We hope they don't get sick. The trip to Goa we're planning for them is looking doubtful at this point, considering it'll be double the train ride distance we just took to Vizag.
The rains came today, quite heavily. (The local Deccan Chronicle mentioned that a Muslim nazam was held yesterday to pray for rain. Thousands from the area apparently participated.) Mosquitoes abounded. Dad used a vacuum cleaner while I used a hand-held bug zapper shaped like a racquetball racquet that "L" bought in China for her parents. It's quite a nifty, fun tool, but I doubt it'll ever be sold in the U.S.---gov't safety issues and all. We killed quite a few today, but they still kept coming.
We watched CNN with interest re: the Iraqi elections. The Deccan Chronicle reported on its success and the hope for Iraq's future. The Chronicle did so despite the fact that it seems anti-Bush and anti-America, printing many op-eds from Western sources that don't favor Bush or America. Dad, Mom, and "L" are equally interested in the news developments.
