Songs of Earth

I have to admit there was a slight uneasiness when it came to domestic
flights - after all, Indian flights have had a rash of issues (when it
comes down to crashes per person moved it's probably not that bad at
all) , but no problems with IndiGo's quick jump from Mumbai to
Hyderabad. My driver was not immediately apparent at the other end
and my phone was having trouble finding Airtel but after a little
confusion i was on my way to Songs of Earth - which is to be my
residence for the next few days. It seems as if I am the only person
actually staying here which means the vast host of staff are having
little trouble servicing all of my needs, which are small in any
event. A much more pleasant place to lay my head than the 3-star
comfort (which met all of my expectations and then some it must be
said) - very relaxing is one way I would describe this place as the
"activities" leave a little to be desired - there were quite a few
daytrippers who visit in the waking hours but I'm at a loss to work
out what this place is all about. Its pleasant, yes, but maybe I'm
missing something because there really doesn't seem to be much
happening at all. The grounds are vast and empty, maybe I'm here in
the off season (although the number of staff would say otherwise).
The economics of a developing country continue to baffle me - I've
seen it before - the toll booth is a perfect example - in Australia
where we had one person manning a toll booth the next step is to
replace that person with a machine, its quicker for everyone and yes
somebody loses their job when this happens, but was it really that
great a job anyway? Over here, there's three people per toll booth,
one person to collect the money, one person to write out the ticket
and manage the booth and another person to smile and talk and wander
around. At the hotel I'm spending a little bit but there is no way
that one room, a couple of meals and a beer is going to support the
dozen staff members who are constantly seeing that I have all I need.
One day I may understand it but the explanation that many in this
country are living on less than a dollar a day is the most likely (but
how do they all have phones then???)