Mind the gap!

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Bangalore, India 080707 1553 local time



I’m somewhat disappointed in myself that things I would have written into my travel blog only 2 days ago have become so common place for me that I don’t even think twice about them now. I’m going to struggle to come up with some of those things but those are the things that make India, India.

Even though today is typically a day that those traveling on business get together and have fun in the community, I feel like I’ve been going non-stop since I’ve been here. I finally got the first decent sleep I’ve had since I’ve been here. I just woke up shortly before I started writing. I decided to take today to get back to me, reflect on what I’ve seen, heard, smelled, tasted, felt. Then share as much of it as I could with you.

In Bangalore, the sidewalks are concrete plates that cover troughs. I suspect the troughs are the drainage system for the city. Where it drains I have no clue. But as you walk along, large chunks of the concrete plate are missing, damaged, moved, removed, etc. This presents a grave challenge for a gawking tourist. The first time you walk around, your eye is drawn to so many things yet you have to constantly keep looking down to make sure you don’t fall in to a hole 5 feet deep. But that isn’t the only hazard that you’ll come across on your walk. Of course where the sidewalk is missing or people are talking or working you’ll have to walking out into the street which is a whole other story. Old rusted metal boxes, rods jut out from buildings, poles, etc. apparently serving some function once upon a time. (I’m sure glad I got my tetanus booster before I came here.) And there are the downed electrical wires. I’m not sure if they are live or not but as my American co-worker said, it’s probably better to duck or step over them than brush them aside. (See picture)

The uni-breed dog... The gentleman who made the quip above about the electrical wires is named Rick. Rick has a very dry sense of humor, which makes him funny as all get out to Americans traveling here but completely senseless to Indians. His observations have me rolling on the floor sometime. He observed there is only one breed of dog here, the uni-breed dog. They all look the same with some variation in color. Occasionally you might see one that is a little bit fluffy. The director who has come here from Latin America says that it’s like that in South America as well. So I now know what a dog would look like if you combined all the dogs in the world. By the way, I didn’t get enough notice to get my rabies vaccine before I left so I’m deathly afraid of the dogs here and they are everywhere. I could kick that Passport Health nurse for going on and on about rabies.

Most other things that I was told I would see, I have already seen in my 4 days here: a family of 4 on a scooter, cows in the street, monkeys attacking people for food. Actually, I’ve got to write about the monkeys. Yesterday I went to Mysore to see the Hindu temples and the palace. Outside one of the temples there were monkeys. They are so incredibly smart. I swear they were smarter than some people than some people I’ve met in my life. Monkeys was on my list of things to see this weekend so the first time I saw one I just took a step back and watched for a while. The monkey was working and working well. His first unsuspecting victim was a man walking with his wife carrying a plastic grocery sack. Oblivious he walks well past the monkey, the monkey catches up to him and grabs the bottom of the sack and rips it. Walla, out falls a banana! The man looks surprised, raises his sack into his arms but the damage is done. Now, I don’t know if the monkey could see fruit through the plastic or if he just hit the jackpot but it was a beautiful thing. Second victim was a woman who had just come from the temple carrying her offering plate in her hand; offering plates will hold food such a coconut, bananas and flowers, etc. She was wearing a sari. As she walks past, he grabs a hold of her sari and won’t let go. Quickly after the initial shock passes she is aware that it is time for another offering and down drops a banana. Score! Another lesson from watching the monkeys, sometimes it’s better just to give up a little bit than to carry on the conflict.

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Comments

[Julie]

Look out
George, George, George of the Jungle, Look for that TREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!