When I arrived in India last month, November 4th, 2016, I arrived just in time for the worst air quality in New Delhi’s history. Anxious to get out of the city, I headed to Mandu, in the countryside, where I thought myself free and clear of problems. The the government of India then decided to immediately demonetize the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes. These two banknotes comprised 85% of all the currency in a country of 1.3 billion people in which 97% of all commercial transactions are done in cash. The new 500-rupee notes had not yet been printed. It doesn’t take an economist to figure out what kind of chaos would ensue (and still continues over an month later). There was an immediate and catastrophic currency crisis. It became almost impossible to get money. My travels, then, were not easy, and in ten days had to be curtailed because I couldn’t get enough rupees to travel. Happily, I had wonderful friends in Secunderabad, and I spent my last rupees to get there where they took me. Such are the unpredictable aspects of travel.