My real adventure in Bangalore starts Sunday, June 10, after a few hours of sleep: Bangalore sightseeing. Our driver showed up at around noon and he took care to take us places.
For the beginning he just drove in the streets, explaining traffic rules. Amazing, no? There are almost none. Well, actually this is a lie, because maybe there are at least 5 traffic lights and the one (car, auto, bike, motor, person) on the far left is responsible for her safety and for the safety of the one (car, auto, bike, motor) on the right. There might be 2 or 3 maybe sometimes 4 lanes on each side of the road, no general rule though. Off course, they drive on the other side of the road, like the British. Basically you can do a U turn at any time, just decide you want to do so. You can also decide to take a left or right at the last moment by the time it can be almost too late to make the decision, so just act upon your decision. Please understand that this is an organized chaos.
For the beginning he just drove in the streets, explaining traffic rules. Amazing, no? There are almost none. Well, actually this is a lie, because maybe there are at least 5 traffic lights and the one (car, auto, bike, motor, person) on the far left is responsible for her safety and for the safety of the one (car, auto, bike, motor) on the right. There might be 2 or 3 maybe sometimes 4 lanes on each side of the road, no general rule though. Off course, they drive on the other side of the road, like the British. Basically you can do a U turn at any time, just decide you want to do so. You can also decide to take a left or right at the last moment by the time it can be almost too late to make the decision, so just act upon your decision. Please understand that this is an organized chaos.
Excerpt from official emails sent by my boss and myself to our team in Chicago:
"When Laura gets back, she will tell you what it is like to work and travel with me. She will have plenty of stories of our adventures. No reports from me! Like Laura said, you have to experience it. I will tell you this one story about driving here:
In all my worldly travels, I have never seen driving like in Bangalore. The roads are filled with all kinds of things! It is an obstacle course like one never seen ever. There is one intersection on the way to work that is the highlight of our drive every day. Imagine this...a four lane road with two side/service roads and another intersecting road. We need to turn right (here we drive on the left) and then immediately to the left onto the service road. By the way, there is no traffic light; a minor detail. Next imagine this intersection containing the convergence of the following vehicles all at once: cars, buses, trucks, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles, bicycles vans, mini-buses, and us. (side note: no street dogs or cows. Those we dodge at 4:00 a.m. on the way back to our apartments.). These vehicles are all going in different directions: straight, left, right, U-turn etc. Somehow everyone gets to go to the direction they want. You would think there would be gridlock, but it doesn't happen. We are not there for more than a minute before we reach the service road. Close calls are the name of the game. One second you see a for sure collision, and then nothing. It's a game of chicken but everyone wins! It's a beautiful thing! I ride in the front to get the adrenaline going on the way to work. We don't know how it works but it does! I am itching to try my luck but no one will give me the car keys! I love bumper cars! Later, Zain"
The government building and the high court buildings are 2 heavy stone a few floors tall buildings. One of them is plain red. Breathtaking almost. The sidewalk (oh, forgot, sometimes you will find sidewalks) is overcrowded as people are waiting for the bus. In between all that, a few street vendors: fruits, seeds, veggies (It looks like they like cucumbers a lot), ice-cream and ready cooked food as well. I got an ice-cream for myself. Chocolate is not chocolate, quite different. (and see, nothing happened, my northwestern doctor advised not too dare to eat from street vendors….)
The first attraction is the Bangalore Palace.Excerpt from official tourism websites:
"Bangalore Palace, inspired by the Windsor Castle, was built in 1887 AD by Chamaraja Wodeyar in Tudor-style. Standing in the heart of the city, the palace was earlier surrounded by beautiful gardens in the midst of a vast open area, which has reduced considerably today. This unique edifice gives the impression of a piece of England's architecture in Bangalore. Largely constructed of wood, the Bangalore Palace is famous for its carving and paintings. The structure has fortified towers and its interiors boast of elegant woodcarvings and Tudor-style architecture, complete with Gothic windows, battlements and turrets. An exquisite door panel at the entrance leads to grand settings inside. The interiors have breathtaking floral motifs, cornices, mouldings and relief paintings on its ceiling. It is said that the construction cost of this exquisite palace was just over Rs 1 lakh. The huge 45,000 sq. feet mansion on which the palace stands was originally owned by Reverend Garret. The palace ground, located between Jayamahal and Sadashivanagar areas, has now become the venue for various exhibitions, concerts and cultural programmes. "
WOW. And wow for two different reasons: there is a lot of history inside and there is a lot of beauty on the outside. And the second wow is for they barely do anything to maintain and preserve it. My third wow will show up when dealing with the “present king’s collection”: nude pictures on top of the walls. Now this is a wow because my general understanding about India was that different subjects are too taboo (if this can be said). When you hear that Richard Gere is arrested for kissing xxx’s chicks during a public campaign to promote fight against HIV, looking at the present king’s nude collections is at least mind-blowing.
No comments:
Post a Comment