ENTERPRISing Ale House

After narrowly avoiding cult indoctrination, I had worked up an appetite and thirst.

An all-veg south Indian meal on the roof of the hotel Supreme with the sparkling temple below prepared us for a bit of nightlife. Just because Madurai is a temple town, doesn't mean they don't know how to party...

...well, actually, there aren't a lot of clubs or bars crowding the night scene---but there is one shining star. Literally.

In the basement of Hotel Supreme sits Apollo 96. The guide books jokingly refer to it as a bar with spaceship decor---but that so undersells the place. The scene was set as we descended below ground through a garage door into what looked (probably unintentionally) like a post-apocalyptic movie set nightmarishly strewn with boulders, twisted metal, and long-forgotten garbage. In the dark, we made out a dimly lit door. As we approached, a glass and rubber hexagonal portal opened with a hiss reminiscent of the teleportation pods from "The Fly." As the door again hissed to a close behind us, we stood gaping at the scene around us as our eyes adjusted to the dim light. The small bar was a 1970's spaceship stereotype. The bartender stood amidst the minimalist interior of the Millennium Falcon. And the main seating area blinked with LiteBrite LED walls reminiscent of an even cheesier Starship Enterprise (or the gloom of the "supercomputer" Joshua in "War Games"). We found a seat and marveled at how we could have possibly been transported from south India into some sort of crazy homemade science fiction museum.

The crowd was quiet and entirely male (Jo was literally the only woman in the place). Everyone looked our way as Jeff and I shared a Kingfisher (the solid local beer that comes in big bottles ideal for splitting---we always ordered "KF 1 by 2"). Jo-Elle savored a fresh lime soda---simple concoction of fresh lime juice, club soda, and sugar syrup. Tasty. The whole vibe was worthy of a couple drinks before the gawking and late hour drew us back to our rooms---besides, we had a date in the morning.

A rickshaw driver had hounded us for blocks and blocks earlier in the evening. He showed references from Americans who he had driven. He begged and pleaded. In the end, his persistence was rewarded as we agreed to let him drive us the next morning to explore the other sites in Madurai. Little did we know that we had agreed to what would undoubtedly, this would be the most awkward and embarrassing part of the entire trip...

First thing in the morning, he was waiting...

Coming Soon: Wow, there's a lot of Communists around here; Can we push the rickshaw...please?; The end of India... (don't worry, only 2 or 3 entries left)