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Auto Rickshaws
standard bangalore traffic jam This is Emily Gore and Jelena Djordjevic, reporting live from BangBangBangalore, India. Em Y, Em G and Jelena each flew from the States to London Heathrow. Albeit difficulties in finding each other, Emily G cleverly went to British Airways customer service and requested that the nice gentleman make an announcement on the loudspeaker for “Yelena Jorjevich and Emily Yao.” We met up and enjoyed a fine traditional English breakfast. Emily Yao opted for the vegetarian, however, we are unsure of the ingredients of her sausage. With about an hour left until take off, we went to our gate, where they were greeted with countless saris. The 10-hour flight from London to Bangalore was rather uneventful, as all of us tried to sleep. Although we appreciated British Airway’s good intentions in introducing to fine Indian cuisine, we were rather disappointed that we did not get bagels or toast for breakfast.
Our arrival was a bit shaky, as the airplane screeched to a halt. Despite Thomas Friedman’s ranting and raving about the high tech “flat world” city of Bangalore, its airport was rather low tech. It was flat out ghetto. Passport control and customs were a breeze. The baggage claim seemed
Breakfast
it's okay to eat chinese noodles, vegetable curry and naan for breakfast in india. to have more taxi drivers surrounding it than passengers. Men kindly offered to help us with our bags, but we (not so) kindly declined. (I was a little scared that they would run off with it.) The customs agent collected our slips and sent us on our way. The mob of taxi drivers by baggage claim seemed miniscule compared to the one waiting outside. To our right we saw Vikash holding a “Grameen Koota” sign and we loudly cheered. Some men grabbed our luggage and put it in the vehicle. They proceeded to hold their hands out, asking for “teep.” Emily G grabbed $2 from her wallet and handed it to them. They asked for more, pointing to their third friend who kindly helped us. Emily G gave them another $1. On the ride home, Vikash told us that we should tip 10-20 Rupees ($0.25-.50).
At the hotel we saw Yuko, who arrived from Japan the night before. A couple hours of shuteye were enough for us. Before heading to the GK office, we ordered breakfast. However, we were still unable to get bagels or toast. Instead, we shared naan, vegetable curry and Chinese noodles, as well as unpleasantly
warm mango juice. Vikash picked us up at 14:00 and we headed to the office. We received an overview of the organization and the individual loan product that GK is planning. Saresh (the COO) came to the meeting and introduced himself. We made tentative plans to formulate our research proposal the following day and begin fields visit to interview GK members.
With boundless energy, we headed into the city. It was a little difficult to find an auto rickshaw that was willing to drive us 10 kilometers to MG road. However, the hotel staff helped us wave one down and negotiate a fair price for four passengers. The drive was a bit hectic, as Emily Yao sat on our laps and our friendly driver gave us an audio tour in broken English. We passed by he Accenture, IBM and Oracle offices and saw the military academy and a Christian cemetery that Jelena mistook for a nice park. We also noticed a couple marriage signs outside of large venues.
With loud traffic and crowded sidewalks, the city was a bit daunting. We walked around and found a mall with a food court, where we had our dinner. We found
The usual rickshaw experience
Please compare the driver's and Egore's facial expressions.
Quite possibly, my
favorite.
photo.
possible. a grocery store, where we stocked up on juice boxes, crackers, bread and peanut butter. We also went to exchange money. For some reason the exchange rate was better for $50 and $100 bills, than $20. The city was different than we expected. Thomas Friedman’s “Silicon Valley” turned out to be more of a chaotic mess with lots of smog. Crossing the street was almost impossible, as there were no traffic lights in sight. The Indian drivers somehow managed, but we feared for our toes.
After dinner, we wanted to head back to our hotel, but finding a rickshaw willing to drive 40 minutes to the outskirts of the city. After about six attempts, we finally found one. However, we made a rookie mistake and forgot to ask him to turn on meter. When we asked him about it a couple blocks later, he informed us that the 75 Rupee ride would cost us 400 Rupees. As helpless girls, desperate to get back to our hotel, we didn’t even care that we were being ripped off.
At the hotel we discussed our project plan and got ready for bed. Hope you enjoyed. We’ll be back soon. Over and out. Jel and Em.
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emily g
non-member comment
yeaaah pibv
bangalore is hott. two t's. getting rickshaws is really tricky (we definitely haven't mastered the art of not getting ripped off!)...