Rooftop Terrace

I have to admit the first time it was suggested that I would sleep on the roof, I wasn't sure what to think. That first night there was still the music and firework noises from the street party and mosquitoes. The party calmed down eventually and my oldest and I liberally applied bug spray. Bugs like to bite Josh everywhere he goes and sadly India has been no exception. Bug spray generally  helps for a few hours, though.

Sleeping with a rug as my mattress is not soft, but has turned out to be pleasant. The cement house holds the heat, so the rooftop cools more than the inside, and I really enjoy listening to the birds chatter. They do calm down at night and then start talking to each other in the pre-dawn light, with chirps, chitters and caw-cawing. The crescendo peaks at sunrises and then settles down as birds leave their roots and disburse for the day.
We have also seen bats, silently winging through the night. There are large fruit bats (it's mango season!!) and smaller insect eating bats.

Today, we have local tourism in store, and a trip to the knife store. When we shopped for knives in Jaipur, we must have gone to the wrong places, because we just didn't find anything other than costume props for weddings. Today we will go to a specialty shop. If they are good quality, they will be expensive, but I'm ready to shell out. I regret not doing so when I saw a shop selling old daggers earlier.

In the end, the only store selling non-cooking knives was a sporting goods store. They proudly offered us imported knives. Made by Gerber. Probably made in Oregon. Swing and a miss, but good market penetration for Gerber!

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