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Published: July 23rd 2012
Today was another solid day in my Bangalore trip. It started out quite early, around 4:30am or so, because my body still hasn't quite adjusted and decided that it had had enough sleep, thank you very much. I actually wasn't tired because my brain had gotten into the habit of sinking straight into deep REM the instant I fell asleep (thanks to excessive sleep dep.) so even though I only slept for less than 5 hours I was awake. Around 4:40 or so the islamic prayer came over the outside loudspeakers--a man's voice in a wailing, ululating cry that echoed a bit eerily around outside. Not that I really heard it over the howling dogs. Yes, that's right. People who have been here for a couple days inform me that every morning around that time the prayer comes on and the dogs howl with the singing. Right now I find it hilarious. In a couple days, I will probably hate it. In a couple weeks I may be able to sleep through it!
Breakfast was served on the fourth-floor Kebab restaurant, buffet-style. There was a large variety of food and, of course, I tried to eat as much of it as I could. I had a pinwheel-shaped baked good, a slice of white bread studded with candied fruits, some sort of cold noodles, "french toast" (more like flatbread with a thin coating of egg), vada with sauce (savory fritter with chives shaped like a donut), idly (pronounced "id-lie" it's this kind of salty sponge-like cake-thing made of rice and lentils) with coconut chutney, a brown-style omelette with no cheese and some chives and tomatos in the egg, a boiled egg, and, last but not least, I tried my first cup of tea. I'm not sure what kind it is specifically, I asked our Indian friends and they just said it's tea, but it's served with milk and adding two lumps of sugar made it delicious. It almost tastes like they added cocoa to it, but I don't think they did.
After breakfast we piled into the bus to travel to the Institute of Science's campus. Day 2 and I'm already getting used to the driving methods here. It's rather strange, but the rules make a lot of sense to me. It reminds me of swarming ants and large flocks of birds. On the surface it looks like chaos, but when you get down to it there's no collisions between people. It's just like cooperative control and rigid formations. Then again we were in a large bus and people had to navigate around
us. Things were still sketchy when viewed from the back of an auto-rickshaw (details below).
The schedule today dictates what almost every day is going to be like for us for the next week and a half: two lectures in the morning, with a break for tea, then lunch, then two lectures in the afternoon, with a break for tea, then a bus back to the hotel where we scrounge our own dinner. The teas and lunch were served in a small courtyard right next to the lecture room. A small courtyard that was also inhabited by...monkeys. Patrick and I had had a conversation earlier in the trip about how we'd both heard we weren't supposed to touch dogs, cats, or monkeys since there is a large rabies epidemic here. We'd laughed at the last. I mean, really, what were the chances we'd be anywhere near monkeys? Turns out, pretty high. These monkeys looked similar to Jack the monkey from Pirates of the Carribean, except they were a bit bigger on average, about the size of cats, and were all grey. The alpha male was the biggest of all, maybe about the size of a medium-small dog. All of them had tufts of hair that made them look like they were wearing toupees.
The lectures today were really good, all topics that I am familiar with and like. The first was an overview of structural dynamics, then wireless sensing and digital signals processing, then experimental modal analysis and finally system identification. I really wanted to pay attention in the last lecture, as he was discussing the theory behind wavelets and some system ID techniques I didn't know, but jet lag hit me hard and it was all I could do to keep from literally passing out. At one point I fell asleep and did a head-bob, with my eyes wide open and staring at the screen. It did not help that my bag had been delivered and all I wanted to do was shower, brush my teeth, and change my clothes.
That's right, my bag was delivered today! Some of the program guys have been really awesome in keeping in touch with the baggage people, so they delivered the bag to me at the lecture hall and I got to sign for it and regain posession of my bag right then and there. Unfortunately the bag did not come through unscathed. There's a zippered panel on the bottom side that hides some backpack straps, and somehow that zipper was torn completely off the bag. The plastic handle on the bottom side is also broken. But the program guys are so awesome, they've told me to bring the bag tomorrow and they'll get the zipper fixed. I think the handle's out of commission, though, but I don't use that one so it's okay. But this is a good lesson for travelers to India: be prepared for damage to your baggage, and possibly the contents within. Especially bags like mine, which have several straps and buckles hanging off it.
My best adventure for the day commenced after returning to the hotel, showering, and changing into some new clothes (FINALLY). The title? AUTO-RICKSHAW DINNER ADVENTURE! A group from the American contingent (Reggie, Samantha (Sam), Fae, Patrick, Chungzhao, myself, and Jim) and Nick (the Swede attending a university in Japan) decided to go out to dinner to a restaurant called Oye! Amritsar based on Sam's Lonely Planet book. Of course, to get there we would need to be driven, and what better way to get around the streets of Bangalore than in the wonderfully comfortable, uber-safe backseat of an auto-rickshaw? So we split up into smaller groups (I rode with Nick and Sam, all the blonds in one rickshaw!) and all found ourselves some rickshaws. Jim, Sam, and Fae had all taken an auto-rickshaw around yesterday so they knew how to go about it properly. Here's what I've learned based on our experience:
• They are wicked fun and exhilirating to ride in.
• Stop panicking. The driver knows what he's doing and you'll be fine. Probably. Even if he pulls a u-turn
into and
through a line of oncoming, full-speed traffic. We kinda thought we were gonna die on that one.
• Write down where you want to go, show it to them, and ask them if they can take you there. I'm not positive, but it seems the drivers are honest enough to tell you if they don't know where it is or if they can't even get you close. If there's another driver near they may flag him down for you. Be aware that if they don't know exactly where it is they may just drop you near and you'll have to hoof it and possibly ask for directions along the way.
• MAKE HIM TURN ON THE METER. Once you've ascertained that he can get you where/near where you want to go, tell him to turn on the meter. If he hems and haws, say "meter or nothing." If he still refuses to turn on the meter, find a different driver. If you don't do this, and don't agree on a price beforehand he will rob you blind. If you agree on a price beforehand he may just up the price midway because he can. This happened to Jim, Fae and Sam, and Jim threw a fit but they still paid. In my personal opinion, if this happens to you, just pretend to grumble but have the bills for the original agreed fare in your hands. Then when he drops you off, hand over the bills and walk away. He tried to cheat you, might as well cheat a bit back. But really, best way is to just turn on the meter.
• Enjoy the experience. There's nothing like it.
• Sometimes you can get away with paying a few Rs less than the agreed price, but only if it's 2 Rs, none of you have 2 Rs and another customer comes along and the driver needs to go. Then he'll curl his hand into a fist, face down, then sweep his fingers down and towards you and say "take it and go" like he's disgusted with you. But you keep your rupees!
Our driver dropped us off on some corner and pointed in some direction and said something unintelligible. We wandered down the street in the direction he had pointed, asked for some directions and eventually found the others in our group who had been dropped off closer to the restaurant. Unfortunately, it had closed down between the publication of the book and tonight. So instead we dropped into a restaurant we had seen while walking down the street, one who's name I had recognized as also being in the Lonely Planet book--the Coconut Grove.
The place was cool, dark-wood and lamp ambiance with northern Indian-style food. When I ordered the "chettinad button mushroom" (chettinad is a region of india) the waiter graciously warned me that it was spicy. I then added a side of naan, and at the waiter's and Fae's suggestion (Fae is Iranian and so has experience eating similar cuisine) added in a side of curd (basically yogurt) to tame the capsaicin. Everyone got a "plate," a 14" metal circle with 2" sides as the rim, with some sort of large leaf inside. Our dishes were then brought to the side of the plate, and you spooned stuff onto the plate and ate it from there.
The button mushroom was, indeed, spicy, but not unbearably so. It was a very thick gravy, laden with spices, with hunks of mushrooms floating around to make you feel all happy inside. The naan helped a little (mostly it was just tasty), Sam gave me some of her rice which helped too and made it even tastier, and the yogurt helped a lot. I'm very glad Fae and the waiter told me to get it or my stomach would have been extremely unhappy with me. The naan was a style I haven't seen yet--this time it was similar to a tortilla that has had lots of slits put it in it so it looks kind of like something a goth might wear, except it wasn't black. I finished off my meal with a "mango waltz"--mango and vanilla ice cream with pieces of mango.
The ride back was relatively uneventful, but I really liked our driver this time. He made no fuss about turning on the meter, had mostly intelligible English, and asked us about what we were doing in Bangalore, how we liked it, etc. I even forgave him for trying to wheedle extra money out of us when we got to the hotel. I then finished unpacking, assembled Tweaker, hung out with Fae and Sam for awhile, then started blogging. It is now WAY past my bedtime, so I'm signing off!
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Mom
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Love to see pictures!!
Are you taking pictures?? Can you post them?? Looks like a great experience!! Love ya ! Mom