Wow! What can I say about Banglalore?! It's totally different than anything I've seen, experienced or imagined. We've been here for 20 days and I am still trying to get my bearings. It's crowded, noisy, colorful, annoying, frustrating, and definitely different.
The first thing you notice is that it's very congested and very chaotic. There are autorickshaws (a small, golf-cart sized, three-wheeled, open-sided vehicle that holds two people) everywhere, zipping in and out of traffic, beeping their horns. No one signals or stays in lane or slows down for pedestrians. We cross streets at our own peril. Autorickshaws are very cheap for getting around the city but we have to bargain with drivers who mostly don't speak English. It can be pretty difficult.
People try to be helpful by agreeing with you when they don't understand or giving you an answer they think you may want to hear, which just makes everything more confusing. To further add to the confusion, they kind of shake or wobble their heads side to side when they agree with you, which I mistook to mean they were disagreeing.
The food is good and spicy and mostly vegetarian. Vegetarian restaurants are the norm here and they put out a “Non-Vegetarian” sign if they serve chicken or lamb. They, of course, don't serve beef. Cows are sacred and they wander the streets anywhere they like.
We've had a chance to take a couple of trips outside of Bangalore. They are posted separately.
Fruit and vege stall in the market.
Cricket is a national passion and when there is a test on TV, large numbers of men gather around to watch.
Bangalore traffic seen from an autorickshaw. These photos don't really do the chaotic traffic justice.
Below: Vidhana Soudha - State legislature
The close up of the inscription on the building entrance is for the benefit of my fellow workers in the public service. It says: "Government Work is God's Work". How do you like that? Didn't know that our work was so elevated? Apparently in India, government jobs are the most sought after jobs.
Below: A temple near the Indian Institute of Science where we are staying.
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