Happy New Hangover

So, the biggest night of the year is upon us and in an effort to remain hangover free - as I have been for the whole of the festive season - I will be taking a couple of 'PartySmarts' before the drinking gets underway.  (Please just click on the PartySmart link to see the hilarious cart-wheeling stick-figures who are clearly having a much livelier night than I ever plan to have!)  We are heading to a fabulous restaurant where, for the princely sum of $150 per head, we can chug as much Moet as we like, eat a nine-course dinner, and hopefully not get ejected by the Police at the Bangalore 'witching-hour' of 11:30 pm.  Apparently for about $600 restaurants and bars can get an hour extension, after which, no doubt the local constabulary could be persuaded to let them stay open a little longer for about Rs.600.  I have come to the conclusion that given a bottle of Moet retails here at about $150 per bottle, this restaurant will be losing a large amount of their profits at our table... Anyway, I decided to find out what was in PartySmarts as I've taken them a few times with considerable success (albeit one time I took it with my first drink, versus half an hour before as prescribed).  For 25 cents per pill, I get a whole bunch of Ayurvedic 'stuff' that will 'provide liver protection and prevent hangover symptoms...'  I was a little alarmed when none of the ingredients appeared on Wikipedia, but then found an Ayurvedic list of herbs which put me out of my misery - kind of.  First up, Kharjura, which is dates and I guess is good for you because of the sugars; Kasni is chicory and acts as a brain tonic (maybe I should take every day?) and is 'useful in headaches and checking bilious vomiting' - always a good thing; Yavatikta is something called 'the creat' and has been shown to increase liver weight in rats....; Draksha is grapes, which I'm not sure I need as I will be drinking plenty of their by-product tonight; Amalaki is Indian gooseberry, which increases your resistance; and finally, the oddest of all, is Bhumyamalaki which has no English translation but is good for scabby affections and a diuretic in gonorrhea - I guess that's a preventative in case it all goes horribly wrong and you get up to no good post-drinking!!!  So, it is with PartySmart and free-flowing Moet in hand that I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year and hope that none of you have need for Bhumyamalaki in 2008!

And the corks kept a popping...

What a wonderful evening we had last night! We were invited to the Taj West End hotel to view a screening of a new film about Rajasthan's historic palaces which have been restored to their former glory as Taj Hotels. While it was somewhat promotional, it was a beautiful film that focused on the Lake Palace, Udaipur (where Octopussy was filmed), the Rambagh Palace, Jaipur (where we recently had dinner), and a new conversion taking place in Hyderabad. The high point of the evening, though, was the unrivalled hospitality. We were greeted by horsemen and a very fancy entrance to the Ballroom where champagne (yes, real Moet, no Sula!) was served along with canapes. After a couple of glasses, we sat for the half an hour film, and were then shown to the hotel lobby which was completely transformed into a party room. The walkway from the Ballroom was lined with staff scattering petals in our path and sprinkling us with incense. And the champagne flowed, along with the deliciously extravagant canapes including foie gras, spiced crispy squid, and my favourite, prawns on mini doughnuts. I swear I drank my weight in Moet and Tom was drowning in Italian wine and Johnnie Walker whisky. My only regret? That I had to get up at 8.30 this morning to go riding.... ouch!