India House

My new base is called India House (http://www.indiahousehostel.com/), an extremely cool backpackers on Canal St, not too far from the French Quarter - in which at the moment I'm not really interested in anyway as a matter of fact... The place has got a very warm and homey feeling, lots of friendly travellers, all mod cons and totally looks like the guest houses in good-old Phnom Phen, Cambodia (the ones right on the beautiful lakeside, for those who cares). Dedicated photo album on its way.

I'm told that this honourable establishment has been active for 20 years, and survived the hurricane that brought havoc to New Orleans in 2005. Talking to the chatty guy at the reception when I checked in last night, I've found out all sort of interesting and bizarre stories about this place. One example? Apparently, 8 members of the staff decided to stay put when the levees broke and this part of town was flooded under 7 feet of water, but most of them eventually went crazy or at least extremely depressed, and some spiralled down a dark avenue of hard drugs abuse before leaving for good....

The house cat is Tandoori (I think), who's been hanging around for about 14 years, longer than anybody else apart from the hostel owners. He is really calm and wise.