India: DAY TWO! PART 1

The next day seemed to be a blur of catching up with sleep that my neighbor on the plane wouldn't allow me, another oh so delicious sandwich, and a trip to go and check out a different hotel. The Taj was awesome but we were given a decision to either stay there and take the hour and twenty minute commute to and from the Studio where we'd be filming, or we could move to this newer, not so nice hotel and be only 5 minutes away from work every day for the next two months. At first it was an appealing offer. Hell, as a stuntman being offered a choice in hotels is an experience itself, seeing how we usually are the expendables. So after an always interesting ride down into the city we eventually arrived at what I would call a Palace. A Gaudy ten story gated building that hangs right above the edge of the nearby Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Which, to be honest, I was very enticed by after hearing that its home to Cobras, Jaguars, Monkeys, and other wild creatures. I mean come on. It sounds like a free trip to the zoo, just without the fences between all of God's lovely creatures. Whats to be afraid of? Only 60 people a year are killed by Jaguars in that forrest. If you flipped the equation around I bet that Jaguar would have a lot less chance of surviving if it came to the city wouldn't it? Okay, enough justifying my urge to explore ridiculously dangerous situations. Back to the Imperial Palace.

As we drove through the guard gates all the doubts we'd had about the quality of this hotel went down the drain. Everyone seemed a bit more upbeat about making the move. The entrance was decorated with huge paintings, statues and gold wherever you could randomly place it. The art, at first glance was, a half assed attempt to recreate some of Italy's famous work, but better than what my hand could produce. As we began to follow our guide to check out the rooms, the pool area, and the one restaurant that we'd have to commit to eating at for the next two months, we began to notice the differences. Some hotels are really nice, like the Taj. Some hotels are decent, and then there's the Imperial palace. A place that reminded me of what it feels like to learn a magic trick. You get slowly drawn into the magic until the moment that you understand how its done, leaving you frustrated that you fell for that in the first place. No offense to the hard working people that spend their days servicing rooms and caring for customers, but the Palace was no palace at all. Although decorated nicely and very spacious, the rooms smelled like elderly homes, and had the small popping of electricity as it moved from the walls into the air conditioners and tv's. The pool water was the color of the air outside and the restaurant just didn't have what it takes. Needless to say we hopped back in our cars and spent a lovely hour and twenty minute ride back to the Taj...