if you need an hour or two to “wake up” before conversing in small talk, the Indian buffet breakfast in most hotels will not suit. Irrespective of how earnestly you study your IPhone, a guy like this one will descend on you as soon as you’ve seated yourself mostly for the enjoyment of practicing his English. If he opens with “where are you from?” you know you are doomed. I used to dread the “shadow” of their arrival until I began to see India like a big ocean wave – you can resist it and crash upon the rocks or just go with the flow and see where it takes you. When I resigned myself to seeing them as part of the “menu” I inevitably enjoyed some of the best travel recommendations and cultural perspectives to be had.
