Bangalore

Humor: The name of British Airways in-flight magazine is High Times . Really - no one saw a problem with that?

I have arrived in Bangalore. Things were so crazy, super-hectic before I left that I didn't get a chance to post. The night before I flew out I was at work until 9:30ish. Mmmyeah - and I hadn't packed. I was up most of the night - partially because I was getting things done, partially because I knew I was too excited to sleep. Sleep deprivation served me well: I slept a good part of the flight to London, and also a large chunk of the flight to Bangalore.

When we entered the airport in Bangalore, I was immediately happy. The air has a certain smell here (and for once when talking about smells in India I do not mean something noxious.) It just smelled so familiar. Another "we're not in Kansas anymore" moment: the guy in front of me at the immigration counter was totally thrown by the Indian head nod. For those unfamiliar, it's sort of a horizontal figure eight-type nod, roughly translating as "yes", "okay", or "whatever."

There's nothing like being greeted at the airport by friendly faces, even better when it's 6 am!

Adventures/misadventures in Bangalore:
- shopping on Commercial Street. At one point, I felt like a "john" - we were walking through a sort of alley/hallway of shops, being called to from both sides by vendors. The vendors were flinging open their wares so that we could see the colors, embellishments, etc. It was awesome, overwhelming and somehow tawdry.
- getting lost in an autorickshaw, made even better by the fact that (1) we had half-dry mehndi on our hands (Indian cliche alert!), and (2) I was forced to actually try out my Malayalam and hope it was close enough to Kannada to get the job done. Horrifying, but amusing.
- being absolutely, and utterly treated like family
- feeling like the biggest tourist ever for taking pictures of the food (I haven't eaten on a banana leaf in soooo long!)