Bangalore, India. I would say that my first impression is that it’s an all out assault on the senses. First is the smells- from within the buildings and of course outside. I can’t describe it, it’s like nothing you get in NA. It’s like the food in that the smells are complex. It’s different in different buildings… especially the temples. Some I liked, some I found pretty powerful. Jasmine is also very popular.
Sights- the city itself is about 5 million, and it’s a mishmash of modern buildings, older stone structures that look like a bomb went off nearby, elaborate, ornate temples, rubble on the street, signage everywhere, and of course, people/cars/scooters/bikes/motorbikes/3 wheeled bike/buses/cows/stray dogs.
Traffic- if you can drive in Bangalore, you can drive anywhere. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I can’t do it justice with words so I’ll just include a clip. Sound wise, horns are going off constantly. People use their horns instead of signalling it seems.
Everything is on the left side a la the UK. If there are 4 lanes, you can have 2 buses, 3 cars or vans, 3 or 4 motorcyles, 2 or 3 of those 3 wheeled things all lined up at the same time. And at the same time, you have peds and cyclists running across the 3 lanes plus other cars from the opposite lane making a right trying to cut through. If you see an opening, you just go… forget shoulder checking. The main thing that got me was the personal space. If you jam so many vehicles together, you are only going to have 2 inches between you and the next car… or motorbike… or pedestrian.
If I roll down the window and stick my hand out. I will lose fingers within 15 seconds… that’s how thick the traffic is.
There’s a lot of stop/go, race to the gaps, honking to move slower cars out of the way. crossing lanes is madness, nobody stops for pedestrians. You pretty much keep the pedal down and honk to let everyone smaller than you know you’re coming. I normally don’t get motion sickness in cars, but I came pretty close a few time.
My driver’s name was Babu. Nice guy, but his english was just ok. We had some pretty interesting conversations. In India, when you hire a car, it comes with a driver, and he’s there the entire time. YOu tell him what time to pick you up. He drives you to the office, and remains with the car until you’re done. As I was working 9am to 7pm, I told him to come back at around 7pm. No, he wouldn’t. He’s paid to stay there the entire day. I felt bad for him sitting in the lot for 10 hours. The cost of this for a week was about 250CDN. And this is with asking him to drive me around sightseeing, a bit of shoppping, and driving me to the airport at 11pm.
The other thing I noticed is that Indians are very service oriented- like at the hotel, they always greet you, offer to help you with your bags. Even little things like I’m waiting for my car, I see him parked 5 yards away, and as I walk over, the doorman stops me, tells me to wait while the car drives 5 yards to the front. At restaurants, you basically don’t do anything but eat. They spoon everything on your plate. If you’re done what’s on your plate and you want more, instead of reaching out for the serving spoon, you flag the guy to put more on your plate. Tipping is also hard to figure out. You don’t tip % wise. If a lunch is 1000 rupees, you tip maybe 22 rupees?
Personal space was another issue I had to get used to. If there’s a 3 seat bench, and I’m sitting at the end, a stranger will plunk himself down next to you. Same with restaurants. If there’s 2 of you, and there’s a table for 4, you sit next to each other and it’s not uncommon for a stranger to come and share you table across from you.