So it rained here in Noida in a big way tonight... Guess they call it "Monsoon Season" for a reason. Went to Spice Mall to try some South Indian cuisine... Finally got some of that "panni purri" everyone's told me about from a place with "safe" spicey water.

Food was good -- then Sachin and I went browsing -- got some good birthday cards. Then saw a "4D Movie" -- the kind of thing they have at Fisherman's warf, with the polarized 3d glasses and the "4th" dimension being they shoot air at you and move your seat...

The cool thing about this was, instead of $12 a ticket at Fisherman's Warf, we got 2 tickets for 150 Rupees -- or 3 bucks... Almost begins to make up for how much I overpaid for my replacement camera -- haha.

Best part of the movie was when rats ran through a 3d skull at you and dropped off the bottom of your view and then they blew air across your feet. Good stuff. The tiger attack was top notch as well.

Anyway, back to the rain: when we were leaving the mall I was surprised at how much electrical activity was going on in the skies... Lots and lots of lightning. We called Raj and he brought the SUV up so we didn't have to get too wet (rain was pretty warm, so it wasn't fun).

It did get fun on the way back: as we got away from the urban roads -- especially once we were in the gated community... Water was almost a foot high. In parts over a foot -- people sloshing through it up to their knees... Dogs dog paddling. Major drainage not happening.

So we get to Sachin's place and drop him off... Raj backs into his pseudo-driveway so he's able to jump to the entryway. Nice driving.

We continue onto my place... And the water deepens. I've got my good pants and shoes from the office on so I don't want to get them ruined... So I'm taking off my shoes thinking I can hop out... I get the door open and then Raj tells me "no" when he sees where I'm headed.

"Sewer water" he says.

Now I get it. Now I realize why Sachin was so anti-water.

So now I reevaluate my position. There's no way I can get a straight jump to the gate... It's all water for about 6 feet... Landing on a slippery marble incline.

It seems like Raj has backed me close to a trellis. I point at the trellis and ask "that way?" Raj nods.

So now I'm playing real-life Pitfall here in India. I can hear the "djar-de-jay" rope swinging sound effect (50 seconds in). Sewer water flowing by pretty fast... I'm holding my shoes and get one bare foot on the brickwork under the trellis... And then get a handhold and pull myself over. I'm over.

"Sir, your bag!" calls Raj. Oh, that's great. Gotta throw a MacBook Pro into the mix... One foot back on the SUV's tire and I reach in to get my bookbag.

Back holding onto the trellis, holding my shoes and the macbook bag... I hand-over-hand my way to the main gate and, thankfully, make it without ever touching any sewer water. Woot!

Chef DVD answers my doorbell and I'm home, safe and sound for the night listening to the rain -- now two hours later -- continue to fall. Wonder what it's like out there now?!?