not surprisingly, it was an exercise in patience, persistence, and copious amounts of sweat. the match had already started when we arrived (the first time something's happened on time!), and it took us a good 15 minutes to locate the will call desk. after much negotiating and pleading, we got our tickets and found the entrance. due to the recent bombings in jaipur, security was beefed up, which in this case meant metal detectors were in abundance, but were not even turned on! we gleefully waltzed through, only to be immediately halted by the overzealous security personnel because i was carrying a purse and cell phone, and because sol had a camera. after spending a half hour online locating and trying to purchase the tickets, a 1.5 hour bouncy, stinky (the driver's feet ... OMDOUBLEG) hot cab ride, and a wild goose chase to get the actual tickets ... we were not about to be stopped at the door! i've learned a valuable skill in india. if you don't get what you need at first, simply continue to ask for it. eventually, everyone is worn down and life continues. so, we did. for anoooother 15-20 minutes. we smiled, we pleaded, we praised india and cricket and the fine, fine security personnel, we stayed calm. finally, they made us promise not to take photos and let us in. our tickets were useless. not surprisingly, the event had been way oversold, and although we had assigned seats there was NO WAY in hell we were going to be able to sit! the aisles, the fire exits, every single open space was packed with sweaty, zealous fans. we managed to squeeze ourselves into a tight spot on a side aisle, and proceeded to get pushed around, sweating PROFUSELY and continuously for an hour and a half. none of us know a lick about cricket, so after 90 minutes it just seemed pointless to stay. we escaped to dome, had a cold beer and decompressed next to the pool. the stadium is maybe a block from the bar, so we could hear and almost see into the stadium from our rooftop perch. next time, we'll save ourselves all the headaches and catch the matches from there.
oh. and on our way out, i got manhandled again. to reach the exit, we had to fight our way through a tightly packed mob. hmmm. tightly packed isn't really describing it accurately. we were literally pushing and shoving and throwing elbows in order to make space to move forward. well, as often happens here, some random sleazeball took advantage and grabbed my boob. i whipped around, sailed my fist through his forearm, and screamed at the top of my lungs, calling him an asshole and telling him he should be ashamed for grabbing a woman's breast. i think it worked. somehow, in that impossible-to-move situation, he managed to shrink and disappear into the crowd ... who all stopped in their tracks to stare at the crazy foreigner lady freaking out... and then swiveled their heads to find the offender!
tomorrow: rajasthan!
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