Bangalore

We are in Bangalore, have been since the train on Sunday. It's now Saturday, so yeah, been a little busy and issues with bandwidth here  ;) We're getting settled for a 3 month stay of work and exploring!

Sunday, we bid farewell Chennai, at least for now. I'm kind of sorry to leave.. not so much the dirty, smelly, crazy city, and the not so great hotel, but there is something here that is pulling me. It's the people. Made some new wonderful friends, and will definitely be back. But not completely sorry to leave. Next time I'm staying at the Radisson  ;)
The train ride on Sunday was quite the experience. Woke up in the middle of the night (well, 4:15am) to catch the 6am Shatabdi Express train from Chennai to Bangalore. My first "real" train ride. Taxi picked us up and the humidity was so high all the windows were fogged. At freakin' 5am!! Free saunas in Chennai - just go outside! and it's not even summer yet..
Got to the train station, got out of the cab, and porters were there to whisk away our luggage. I think my suspicious traveling companion thought she'd never see her luggage again, and held on to way too much heavy stuff instead of handing it over to the porters. The walk was fast and long to the train, and I think she may have regretted the decision to hang on to all that and lugging it herself, but her decision. I tried tipping them an unacceptably small amount, and the guy scoffed at me, so, properly chastised before coffee I handed over 300 rs which was much more acceptable. We settled into our seats and tried to find enough room for legs and my carry on and Lisa's assortment of bags, then looked around. Full train, as they usually are. I'd read about the Shatabdi and how they are considered some of the best trains in India so was not in the least concerned. I don't think Lisa had done the research I had so was quite a bit more apprehensive than I was, so while I enjoyed the coffee and the breakfast, she stuck with her bottled water. Five hours later, we arrived in Bangalore, and were met by our TCS Program Directors Shailaja and Raj. I love this aspect, of putting faces to names we've known for a while. Whisked away once again, this time gladly being led, so someone else could argue with the porters about the amount, where they just see our white skin and the price goes up.  Commonly done, and I get it, but hey now..
We are taken to lunch at a Chinese restaurant very close to our new home. OMG, is the Chinese food here ever amazing! Indo-Chinese, Chinese food with a kick.  SO flavorful!  then HOME!
Our apartment is a 2-bedroom, 2 bathroom, nice enough place to be comfortable for the next 3 months. We each have 2 single beds in our bedrooms, and what is with the freakin' straw mattresses around here?  :D  Oh well, my back actually seems to be ok with the firmness, but I have yet to sleep a whole night through. Going from a Sleep Number bed to these..  guess I'm spoiled. But they're fine. Place is good, close to work, close to the Main ITPL road so there are shops and malls from large western type malls and shoe stores to small shacks selling batteries, and open air stalls selling fresh watermelon and coconut water. We just need the time now to go explore.
We have a caretaker named Madhav, whose card says he's the Head Caretaker.  I have dubbed him the Head Dude, and that's what he now is. He's very sweet, and takes care of us well. He's from way up North near Nepal, so also understands cold weather. There are also a couple of "boys" here, and they too are sweet, but speak very little if any english. They do the cleaning and the serving of food, and just smile and say yes. No matter the question  ;) Thank goodness for Madhav. And that a sense of humor does not need to share a language completely. He's discovering that I like to joke and tease, and I love to make him smile. I think he's just used to being talked TO rather than being talked WITH. First two days, when we left in the morning, I said to him "have a good day". Day one took him by surprise. Day 2 he wished me in return.
Day 3 and 4 he beat me to it and wished me a good day before I him. That's the stuff I like!!

We have our own bedrooms, where the internet access is (a cord, no wi-fi) and our own baths, both of which have major deadbolt locks on the doors. Took us a minute to realize that our bedrooms were our havens, but the rest of the time people tend to come and go in and out of the apartment, whether it's to serve food or to clean. Unnerving sometimes, but I'm getting used to it. The door stays open, but we can bolt it if we want to. But, we each have laptop, tv, desk and our own space, so it's cool. Just different.  Power goes out every day, usually in the morning when most people are heading to work, and I think that's by design so that the power can be directed toward the IT and other businesses rather than homes during the day, but there is a generator so the dudes are great about getting that running right away. It gives us light, tv, internet, coffee and the blow dryer, but it doesn't heat the water.  So, if we haven't already turned the heat on for the hot water tank in each bathroom, we're sunk. BUT, I found out 2 days ago that there is a back up for the hot water, and that a bucket of hot water can be had for the asking.  Note to Payal...  I understand.  :)  I have not taken a shower here yet, but for the 1st day when it wasn't that great.  The bucket way is quite nice!

Bangalore!  Bengaluru  The Garden City What we have seen so far has been beautiful and amazing. The weather is glorious. So much cleaner than Chennai. Smells better most of the time, too ;) Flowers everywhere, parks, beautiful architecture. We are off to explore the city now, going shopping on Commercial Street.  More later about first week WFI  :)  (Working From India)