Bangalore, India

I spent the past week in Bangalore - a city known as the IT hub of India.  People here also boast about the weather, which is considered to be the best in India.  At this time of year, I have to agree with them.  80's and sunny every day?  This is basically the best winter ever.  

We arrived in Bangalore at midday last Saturday and, of course, the staff was waiting in the hotel lobby to welcome us (they were actually working that day).  These Indian people need to adopt a 5-day work week!

My room had a sweet view of the colorful city: 

view from my room

During lunch, our local contact offered to take us to the market for some shopping.  Sometimes, I wonder if people feel obligated to take us out or if they actually want to spend time with us.  I actually feel guilty for taking more of their time when they are already working such long hours, but I certainly appreciate the sentiment. 

I'm not a huge shopper, but it was still nice to get out of the hotel and experience the mayhem of the shopping district.  Even the busiest shopping days in the United States don't have this many people browsing through the shops, but it's just a regular day in India! 

Just like everywhere else in India, people were everywhere.  

Fresh lime soda...one of many street vendors. 

After so much time around other people, I decided to make Sunday a spa and gym day.  This hotel gym was literally a greenhouse and the sun was blazing, so I decided to go shirtless for my treadmill run.  Apparently this look created quite a stir for the people eating at the adjacent restaurant because I got multiple curious stares. 

The week in Bangalore felt like a blur.  Daily tea at 10am and 4pm, drawn-out lunches, and lots of work.  I never found time to explore the city (although I heard there isn't really much to see anyhow).  The only thing I learned is that the local language actually uses a completely different script than Hindi and people from other parts of India can't even read the signs.  I wonder if they would understand this: 

A recognizable symbol in any language

Friday was Chinese New Year, so we went out for dim sum at a nearby restaurant that was surprisingly authentic and delicious.  My colleague was so excited for dim sum since she is from Hong Kong and had to be missing the holiday her family.  I can definitely associate, after spending 4th of July alone in Tanzania.  

We then went out by the pool and she asked to sketch me.  I was flattered and excited to relax with my kindle while she took the time to create art.  I was quite impressed with the final result: 

This is what I look like when I am reading

here's the real me

After spending almost a month training my new colleague, I will really miss working with her.  We provided comic relief to each other throughout the day and kept up the conversation with the local contacts whenever there was an awkward lull.  She really made this trip to India a lot more fun than I was anticipating.  Now, it's back to solo travel as I move on to my next India destination.