Sometimes life can be never explained or understood no matter how many experiments or studies are carried out to further understand it. Note in point, me coming to India. I've always had the thought of visiting this land that holds a close spiritual connection but it was never on the priority list. When I was informed that I was to come here, it was a pleasant surprise. No matter if you're a God fearing, pious person or an atheist the presence of a higher power can never be doubted. Now here I am blogging again in India which I had never imagined. Okay enough with my inner thoughts, now let's get to the actual story I wish to convey; my 1st week in Bangalore, India.
Saturday, 13th March 2010 Flight SQ502 a Boeing 777-200 left Terminal 2 of Changi International Airport en route Bengaluru International Airport at 2010 SLT. The flight touched down at Bengaluru International Airport approximately 2155 IST. Three guys from Tech Ops, MTC Singapore of Thomson Reuters were on the flight each on assignments that were between a week and eight weeks. By three guys I mean Razali, Montjoy and myself. We got off and went through the normal Immigration clearance. After collecting our luggage, we had to go through the customs check where I got a first hand experience of India's bureaucracy. I was carrying 2 laptops - one official, work use and another my personal - and declared it to the customs official. I did so as I didn't want to run foul with the customs if they were to inspect my bags. The customs told me that every visitor was only allowed to carry a single laptop and any additional laptops were to be taxed 35% of their market value. I argued that it was my first time visiting India and there was no prior information on the number of devices that each visitor was allowed to carry. Seeing that it was my first time, the officer decided to let me go with a Rs. 5000 "tax" payment. You should get the idea what I meant by "tax". We were fetched at the airport by transportation that was pre-arranged by Sriram, the manager of our Tech Ops counterparts in Bangalore.
Outside of Bengaluru International Airport
We were then taken to the Service Residence that was specially arranged for us - Mercure Homestead Residences. To describe the place in a single word, I should say wonderful. The staff are so polite and their attitude towards guests are top-notch. It's such a hospitable place with your privacy their main concern.
Mercure Homestead Residences
The comfortable bed
The kitchen and the mini bar
On Sunday morning after breakfast, we decided to make our way to the office just to ensure we had no problems in accessing systems in Singapore from Bangalore. The journey to the office from our place gave me a first hand look at the daily lives of the average Indian populace. Life did not seem as fast paced and rushed like Singapore. You could see people walking on the busy roads, cycles, autos, dogs and the odd cow here and there. Life was really different here.
After a short day at the office we left and got back to our hotel. Since we had nothing much to do, Montjoy and I planned to go to the nearest shopping mall to get some toiletries and light bites. Bangalore seems a nice a place but the same can't be said of the locals. They seem apprehensive towards outsiders and are not forthcoming with proper information when asked. Imagine asking three different people on different floors as to where the supermarket was and getting three different directions which led to no where!!! Also another point to note is that since India has been under threat from terrorism, every public place you go to i.e. hotels, hospitals, malls etc, you have to go through metal detectors and have your bags checked.
On the third day of my stay, I was struck by fever. I guess the dust and pollution just was not agreeable to my body. Now I am recovering and beginning to get used to the environment over here. I am yet to explore this city and plan to do so in the coming week as well as plan for trips to places of interest in India which I could cover in my eight week stay. Top of the list is visiting some of the magnificent temples of South India such as Thirupathi, Madurai Meenakshi, Tanjavur Brihadeeswarar as well as the Mysore Palace and Hampi the ruins of the ancient Vijayanagaram city which was an empire in itself. If time permits I would venture north to visit the Taj Mahal and Varanasi the site where the holy Ganges runs through.
Watch this space as there would be a lot to share over my eight week stay here...
