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Sid and Sasha's ramblings around the planet
My favourite drink related quote comes from a rather drunk Sir Winston Churchill. Late at a party, but still with his wits, a lady remarked:
"Winston you are drunk."
To which Churchill replied: "I may be drunk my good lady, but you are ugly and at least I will be sober in the morning!" Those that know me will understand that I like a tipple in good company and have been rather disappointed with India on this front. That is until I entered the Apollo 96 Bar last night. As you can imagine India fluctuates in it's intake of alcohol. For most the exclusion of alcohol from their life is a choice either made for religious or personal reasons. The infrastructure that I have become familiar with in the UK and elsewhere on travels have ensured that I can enjoy what is rightly mine. In India the small towns we have visited have Wine Shops. These are sheds or small shacks run as businesses to supply Indian spirits and beers. Sometimes if lucky they may have an extra shed attached which acts as the bar area. This makes the experience a little unpleasant. Sitting on a makeshift wooden bench next to a professional drinker at 13:00 is not like sat in a boozer back home. We were not to know that the Apollo 96 Bar would bring the habit of enjoying a drink back into the realms of near normality. "Near normality" should be applied very loosely. Decked out like a set from Metal Mickey it felt like we had left the 19th century of the tin shed and travelled into the future to join William Shatner and his merry band. The bar had a door in the shape of a space ship and the first thing to notice was the lighting on the ceiling representing warning lights and other nonsense. There was even a special seating area in front of the control panel. At first glance I thought it was the mixing desk, but no it was a plastic control panel. The bar took in a steady stream of astronauts all night and the pilots took time out from their duties to serve cocktails and "Golden Eagle" beer. When we landed we reacquainted ourselves with gravity and the air of the hotel underground car park. It was certainly nice to be back on this planet and perhaps next time we should just visit a Wine Shop! Bring me an Australian bottle of Red soon! Sid and Sasha
"Winston you are drunk."
To which Churchill replied: "I may be drunk my good lady, but you are ugly and at least I will be sober in the morning!" Those that know me will understand that I like a tipple in good company and have been rather disappointed with India on this front. That is until I entered the Apollo 96 Bar last night. As you can imagine India fluctuates in it's intake of alcohol. For most the exclusion of alcohol from their life is a choice either made for religious or personal reasons. The infrastructure that I have become familiar with in the UK and elsewhere on travels have ensured that I can enjoy what is rightly mine. In India the small towns we have visited have Wine Shops. These are sheds or small shacks run as businesses to supply Indian spirits and beers. Sometimes if lucky they may have an extra shed attached which acts as the bar area. This makes the experience a little unpleasant. Sitting on a makeshift wooden bench next to a professional drinker at 13:00 is not like sat in a boozer back home. We were not to know that the Apollo 96 Bar would bring the habit of enjoying a drink back into the realms of near normality. "Near normality" should be applied very loosely. Decked out like a set from Metal Mickey it felt like we had left the 19th century of the tin shed and travelled into the future to join William Shatner and his merry band. The bar had a door in the shape of a space ship and the first thing to notice was the lighting on the ceiling representing warning lights and other nonsense. There was even a special seating area in front of the control panel. At first glance I thought it was the mixing desk, but no it was a plastic control panel. The bar took in a steady stream of astronauts all night and the pilots took time out from their duties to serve cocktails and "Golden Eagle" beer. When we landed we reacquainted ourselves with gravity and the air of the hotel underground car park. It was certainly nice to be back on this planet and perhaps next time we should just visit a Wine Shop! Bring me an Australian bottle of Red soon! Sid and Sasha
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