Avatar and the beach

I finally saw Avatar in 3d. The movie itself was visually stunning, the general storyline is pretty timeless (Tristan and Iseult, to some extent Romeo & Juliet, Disney's Pocahontas, etc.), the dialogue was pretty lame in parts, but overall it was a very enjoyable experience. I rode a train down to Lower Parel, the took a cab to Phoenix Mills PVR. The movie theater is located in a big, very westernized, mall. In India, after the 11/26/08 attacks, any place that has a lot of people and has anything worth bombing inside has security guards swarming the place as well as metal detectors to get in. After passing through the metal detectors, I walked around the mall a little bit. It was very similar in feel to Watertower in that it was all indoors, the shops were very nice, and it was very clean. I realized the show was about to start so I booked it past a T.G.I. Fridays (yes, complete with lame vests and kitschy memorabilia). I haven't seen a Chili's so that T.G.I. Fridays is the new golf course as per Michael Scott's advice, because the only people in there were businessmen.

I walked into the theater and once again had to pass through a metal detector (bootlegging is a big problem in India, as one can imagine). I was patted down and my matches we taken away (I didn't ask why). The inside of this theater is nicer than most American ones I have visited. It was a veritable temple to movies. It was spectacularly clean, the choices of snacks ranged from popcorn to thai dumplings, the bathrooms were immaculate, the seats were plush and reclined, I never want to see a movie anywhere else again. The only thing that I disliked (but at the same time liked-- much like the rest of India) was that in the middle of the movie it just stopped for an intermission. It was mid sentence, the movie just stopped, up popped a note saying intermission, everyone filed out, filed back in, and it started up again after 10 minutes. I understand the need for intermissions because Bollywood films are usually upwards of 3 hours long, but it also took me out of the movie and it took me a little while to get back to Pandora.

Following the movie I met Liz and her boyfriend at a beach side hotel restaurant. It is so tempting to go walk along the water, but I am constantly reminded by her boyfriend and other Indians that the water is filthy and I will most likely immediately get a rash, so I was content just to look from afar. They had good cheap Indian bar food so we stayed for a couple hours then headed out.

On another note: it is the middle of winter here in Bombay. The weather is 80 degrees every. day. I point this out, not to laugh at those of you stuck in cold weather, but to point two things out:
1. This is the COLDEST it gets in the city. From here on out it will keep getting hotter.
2. Indian's find this to be relatively very cold, so it is not uncommon to see people huddled around a fire in the evening warming themselves. I met one of Liz's boyfriend's friends last night and he was huddled in a blanket and scarf when we showed up. He said that it was much too cold outside.

I also find it sad that the creators of Kristina's and my favorite foods both died in the past week: spaghettios and Taco Bell, respectively.