I met Californians Lindsay, Jennifer, and John Holden, at the Jaipur railroad station on Christmas morning. We were in line together for an hour or more trying to buy a tickets out of Rajasthan. In that time I helped the them make sense of the Indian Railway train schedule, and they raved to me about the Jaipur Pizza Hut.

After I purchased my ticket, I parted ways with the Holdens and hit Mirza Ismail Road in search of a way to ease the hurt of my heavy holiday homesickness. Soon enough, there it was, the all-too-familiar Hut. I went inside anticipating a lonely Xmas meal of personal pan veggie lover's and sprite, but found to my pleasant surprise the Holden family had followed their own advice and were eating at Pizza Hut once again.

I joined them for lunch and their jovial company was a true gift.