An Evening Walk to the Hotel

A rickshaw lets me off a few blocks away saying it isn't allowed to go through that road (ah the ways they find to rip us off). As my friends and I walk down the street I pass two men urinating. Men are holding hands. They aren't gay. This is just culturally acceptable. In contrast it is not acceptable for couples to hold hands in public. Rumor has it that on Valentines Day they were arresting any couples (and I mean heterosexual) caught holding hands. I pass piles of rotting trash with swarms of flies around them. There are no trash cans on the street. At the end of the day people empty their trashcans onto the sidewalk. The sidewalk is formed out of blocks with the sewer running underneath. It appears that there have been too many earthquakes or something as all the blocks are pushed up like some upheaval has occurred. Therefore every once and a while you get a nice whif of sewer. As we continue down the street, I see a young boy whose legs are broken behind him forcing him onto his face begging. I hear the call for prayer blaring over the speakers like a tornado siren. Three and four year old girls follow us, tugging on our shirts and begging for money. Older girls hold sleeping infants also asking for money. The night sky is orange with smog and light pollution. There seem to be no traffic laws as cars honk and weave in and out around each other without any apparent boundaries. You dodge cars, following locals who you hope have a better idea of how not to get hit by a car. Street vendors call out trying to sell watches, fruit and hot roasted corn. I see a hunchback midget on a mini motorcycle. We round the corner to our hotel and head back to our room. There's a little piece of my time here. I hope it painted a picture : )