I was up early (for a change) but think I fell back asleep and showered and got ready by 7. I went downstairs for the boring buffet, but managed to have a bit ... same thing day in day out. I hit the office by 7:45am and was the first in naturally. I took my bags for the trip to Bangalore so I could leave from the office.
I watched the first two periods of the Sens and the Sharks and left when it was the end of the second and 3-1 Ottawa. I received a number of calls on my cell in the morning and figured it was a wrong number. The person called back many times so I was not sure what was going on. I prepared to grab the cab that had been reserved about 10:45 and Raju asked if the driver had called at all during the morning. Ah hah! That is who kept calling and he must have thought I was some rude foreigner who did not speak English well.
The ride to the airport was long, but I love whizzing through unfamiliar parts of cities I have sort of seen. I received a call from Raju who told me that the plane was leaving at 12:15 not 1:35. Say what? Anyhow, I was so close to the airport when I found this out there was lots of time. I left the cab and gave the driver a small tip.
I approached the guarded entrance to the airport and was told to go see the Jet Airways kiosk beside the front door to get paper work. They actually gave me a boarding pass and placed me in 18F. I had a muffin and wandered through the departures level then settled in to seat 18F about 12:30pm. The plane left and I dozed off (surprise surprise). I checked the NHL web site before boarding and found the Sens had finished them off 4-1. They are now a few points away from the top of the eastern conference, say what!
Landing in Bangalore was soon thereafter and we were bused from the jet to the arrivals area. I was accosted by 2 two cabbies but ended up doing what all good travelers do ... went into the "official cab waiting area". I was told the fare to my hotel would be about Rs. 1000 and it was. It was a long drive, over an hour. We weaved our way through some rustic sections of the city and there was ample evidence of massive construction efforts, both commercial and residential. I am still struggling with their driving on the other side or, as Mr. Dudley claims, the ONLY SIDE.
The scenery along the way was pretty standard India fare from what I have seen since my arrival some 10 days ago. There were shops of all sorts sharing weathered structures. The little good stores were especially busy and I wonder if they are all preparing for the erev-shabbat meal. We stopped at one point and the driver disappeared to do something at a counter and returned some five minutes later. We were on run down dirt roads, some nice wide limited access highways, and some paved thoroughfares teeming with traffic of all sorts. The auto-rickshaws here are mostly painted yellow and black rather than Hyderabad's yellow and green.
I checked in and the room is lovely. I did like the look of the Vishwaratna hotel when I looked at it here. I settled and washed up then went for a stroll to the Total mall right next to the hotel. That was an experience especially the food floor number 2. I always find it so fascinating seeing what people buy and live on in other countries. I scored some roasted peanuts and am glad I asked for assistance as the ones I was thinking of buying were raw. Once when at Just Kickin' in Kampala, I was so pleased with myself to pick up some peanuts from a vendor flogging his wares at the bar, only to find they were raw; yucccch.
There was a wide assortment of stores in the mall and I could not get over the number of people working in some of these establishments. I would imagine, unlike North America, labour is so inexpensive that there are so many people working everywhere. I applaud the business owners for creating so many jobs. I noticed the same thing when I lived in Addis Abbeba. I spoke to Giri and we are meeting in the hotel lobby at 6:15. I have a private driver reserved for 6am tomorrow for a fun-filled day of sightseeing within 120k of Bangalore. Giri mentioned I could be gone as late as 10pm ... fine with me, bring it on.
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