I think it is fairly obvious that, here in India, it is a rather difficult and expensive for someone to visit.
Fortunately enough my sister is a frugal spender at home and adores a good vacation to a new place, so my being here was the perfect excuse for her the check India off her list of places visited.
I must shamefully admit that I was not fully prepared for her visit. In the day prior to her arrival I bought a mattress and as a note for those looking for cushion and comfort, don’t by your mattresses in India. After doing so and haggling for a free delivery, as I was short of the free delivery minimum (by 500inr; 11 bucks) I had a mattress bed and bed sheets so I would be able to avoid sleeping in a beanbag. (Of course by in I mean on, because not only would that be hot and uncomfortable, but also I would freak out as to how I actually got in the beanbag) Note this is due to the fact that the younger brother should always sacrifice his comfort for that of his sister’s, and a beanbag is really the only other comfortable piece of furniture in my whole apartment.
When my sister arrived, I was thrilled. Not only was she a visitor from modern society, but we do not get to spend enough time together even when I’m stateside. She arrived late at night, so after a cab ride, and a quick tour of my apt we went to bed, planning to explore the next morning.
After waking up the next day, I soon realized how boring my life here really is. I got up looked around and thought, I have hardly any food, nothing to drink besides water and the closest decent restaurant is a 40 min rickshaw ride away. Luckily enough, the heat, which is getting ridiculous, held back our hunger and allowed me time to give a grand tour of my apt complex and get us a ride into town.
My sister’s first rickshaw ride showed me very well how desensitized I have become to the Indian driving style, which is get where you’re going as fast as possible, even if that means running lights, squeezing between cars and, my favorite, driving on the wrong side of the road. I had forgotten the utter thrill and awe I felt when I first started riding rickshaws, until I saw my sister’s face each time we served in and out of cars and passed using the opposite side of the road. What’s more the horns have becoming like showering or eating; something that just happens and is a part of my day. I believe that if my sister found any virtue in her trip to India, it is a new appreciation for how tame LA traffic really is.
When in the city I showed her a westernized mall with a bunch of food shops, where we had our “brunch”. Now I say brunch, but if it’s at 2pm, then it’s lunch and one is just saying brunch to not feel like such a bum for waking up at noon.
After eating, I again realized how boring my life is here and felt the shame of being underprepared for my sister’s visit. I had no idea what there was to do in Bangalore in the middle of the day. I decided to show her around the center of the city, where all the shops are. The main result of this walk through turned out to be showing her how many people there are on the streets that jump at the opportunity to scam a white person. As a related note, I want to know who all these people are that buy maps of India from a guy on the street. There are dozens of these people, one after another; selling maps of India and honestly, who would buy that? You’d have to carry it around all day, they’re too big to fit in any bag; it makes no sense, where is the demand that brings all the map sellers to the streets, I don’t get it. Anyways, we experienced the constant harassment of street vendors, who double the prices at the sight of white skin and eventually decided to move on and go somewhere we could just relax.
Bangalore is known as the garden city for all of its parks and I knew there was a big one near by and so we set off for it. On our way we stopped at a small park, which had a statue of Gandhi, sat down and were immediately harassed by an old toothless man who didn’t speak English, so we left. When we got to the large park I was quite impressed. There were acres upon acres of tall lush trees and even a small bamboo forest and for those who don’t know; bamboo grows tall, real tall. We walked through the vast park until our legs begged us to sit down. When we did our main topic of conversation was about all of the stray dogs and how literally every Indian that walked by stared at us.
At on point a man even came up to us saying how he enjoyed meeting foreigners and liked most Americans, except for Texans. His view of Texans is that they are all missionaries who come to India to convert people to Christianity. I avoided expressing my doubts with this generalization, in favor of taking it as a compliment that he liked me being from Boston. Once we were able to sleek away from the Chatty Kathy we left the park and circled its perimeter, where we watched a giant hawk sail just above us (which there are a ton of here; everywhere I go I see hawks, which I think explains why they don’t have many rats in India. So, New York, Boston; GET HAWKS) As we were walking back to the main part of the city we spotted a statue of a former English king. It was the one who was Colin Firth’s father (for those who can decipher that based on the movie reference, you get a gold star). This was pretty cool, as well as the cows we saw crossing the street near by.
We decided to spend the rest of the day walking and eating at a café and finally returned back to my apt to get some sleep. Just a note for any smart Alec’s out there, we didn’t just walk around the café, we walked around the city, so cool it Alec Baldwin.
The following days my sister accompanied me to very short days of work; 11-3:30, that’s how short. I showed her what I typically due and how my office functions. Most of our time was spent in the cafeterias however, snacking on fruit or just chatting. In one of my dining halls there is a gift shop, which has some books lining a window. I never realized how much fun making fun of book titles could be; I think times spent doing things such as this are where real fun and fond memories lie, topping any visit to an old temple or statue. We also discussed what was the motivation behind the Spa/Salon being built in the middle of the food court. After leaving work early we went into the city to enjoy some food. We weren’t very adventurous with our selections but I was able to show her some Indian-ish foods. All in all the first few days of her visit were fun, and I can’t describe how much I value just being able to chat and laugh with her about all of the interesting, stupid and funny stuff we observed.
Today’s lesson, buy an air mattress; you never know when you may need it.
You’re welcome,
x
P.S. Soon to follow: details of my sister and I’s trip to Agra, it won’t be one to miss.
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