Contrast

Our first foray out into the city was a trip two blocks away, down to the bank, and it was bizarre.  The sidewalks are crumbling in huge blocks of concrete, and in some places, the sewer is visible.  The traffic and honking and beeping is never-ending, cars, buses, auto-rickshaws and motor-scooters compete for space and signal each other noisily when they are centimeters away from contact.  People, mostly men, are everywhere.  This is the single most alien thing about India: the masses and masses of people milling about all day and night.  Some are presumably going to or from work, some are likely going to or from shopping, but the rest?  I constantly ask Chris "What do you think they are all doing just standing around?"  He has no answer because there is no way to know.  I am truly fascinated by this difference in my organized, sanitized home and this vibrant, chaotic new world.

We decide to take our life into our own hands and hop on a rickshaw to go to Commercial Street.  The auto-rickshaws are two-stroke motored, covered, two seater rickshaws that go no faster than 35 mph (mostly due to the amount of traffic).  I am fine with the slow pace, as being a passenger in a vehicle with no doors in Bangalore is a bit nerve wracking.  There is truly no regard for traffic laws, street lights, lines and signs are merely a suggestion of courteous and responsible driving.  The street signs are wonderfully ironic, "Safety first, speed second", and no one heeds their advice.

Commercial Street is a bustling area of town packed tall and wide with clothing, trinket and jewelry stores.  Staircases and alleys lead to dark, hidden shops advertising the finest Pashminas and cheapest wireless access in town.  The sidewalks in front of the stores (sidewalks is a very generous description) are blocked by pedestrians, cars, motor-scooters, beggars, racks of bracelets, mangy dogs and water running from hidden sources.  If you stray too far out toward the road, you risk getting clipped by one of the numerous motor-scooters vying for a few more inches of pavement.  I am overwhelmed, anxious, and thrilled.  I had been trying to take as many pictures as I could but I found it hard to locate a safe place to stand still for 5 seconds.  I ended up just holding the camera away from me and pointing and shooting a few times, hoping to capture some of the craziness without losing the street-feel.

We ventured into a couple of stores, one that Chris has gotten a "deal" on a necklace at, and haggled for 20 minutes for a bracelet for Ivy and a Pashmina for me.  The second place we visited was staffed by a very skilled salesman, and after nearly breaking my will, we walked out with the bracelet and shawl for 2500 rupees (about $65).  Chris is sure we got a deal, I am sure we got screwed, no American walks into any of these stores and gets a deal, I am sure of that.  But we like what we bought, we would likely have spent more in the US, and we got a good story to tell Ivy one day.  I find haggling stressful, I really just want to pay and get out or walk away empty-handed (which we tried to do a number of times and kept getting pulled back by the talented salesman).  I was too tired and saturated to keep shopping, so after a rickshaw ride (50 rupees = $1.25), we went back to the sanctuary of the hotel to have lunch.

My afternoon plan was to go meet the wife of the General Manager of the Bangalore office in a housing development outside the city called Palm Meadows.  Joanie just had a baby 3 months ago and I had begun talking to her because I was trying to get her impression of having a baby in Bangalore.  She was a labor and delivery nurse in San Francisco so I really am benefiting from her knowledge and experience (which wasn't great).  We had a really nice afternoon, talked baby for hours and then her husband and Chris came home and we had biryani - chicken, spices and vegetables cooked with rice in a big pot - that had been prepared by their India cook.  I had my first taste of an Indian wine, a Viognier, which was really not bad and quite drinkable.  There is hope yet in the wine department, especially considering that the duty on wine is %150 of it's value (which they determine).  Joanie said the bottle of Veuve Clicquot they brought in cost them a duty of somewhere around $240.  Ouch.

By 9:00, Chris and I were close to passing out. We were able to sleep about 6 hours on and off but woke up at 4:00 am much to our dismay.  Hopefully there will be more sleep tonight, which may be aided by an Ambien if I get really desperate.

Comments

[Katie]

I'm hanging on every word! I'm glad you're out there in the amazing wide world, sharing your adventure.

Katie