Incredible !ndia!!!!!!

While most Kentuckians spent the weekend at the track for the Kentucky Derby, John and I decided to experience a race of a different kind–we went to Bangalore, India!  We were hoping to visit Gingie, one of John’s childhood friends who has been living in Bangalore for the last ten months and to go with Rev who is from Bangalore, but he couldn’t get time away from work for our trip.  So our mission objective became one-fold–visit Gingie:).

We left Singapore last Wednesday night after a day at work and teaching English class (which included games involving the ladies tackling each other…more on that in another entry).  We hopped on the MRT with our suitcases and passports in hand and set off on another great adventure.  We arrived at the Budget Terminal whose tag line is “Budget Terminal–See the Difference.”  Hmm….I don’t know if I want to see that difference.  Everything turned out well though–four hours later we touched down in Bangalore.

In India, we were greeted by Indian doctors wearing surgical masks and plastic gloves.  It was time for the “swine flu” check!  After asking us a few questions about our health conditions (do you have a fever, cough, sore throat, etc.) we were allowed to pass and received a “swine flu approved” stamp.  I really wish that stamp was in my passport.  The guy sitting in front of us on the plane, however, had a terrible cough during the entire flight (so bad that I pulled out my own surgical masks for us to put on–hey, I’m not risking quarantine over here) and he got right through the check.  Here’s to hoping it was just a seasonal cough.

Finally, we cleared the swine flu check, customs, immigration, etc. and made our way to the outside of the Bangalore airport to search for Gingie.  All of a sudden, we saw this white face jumping up and down among a sea of darker Indian faces–she was not hard to spot.  After some big hugs (this is kind of a big deal, guys and girls are supposed to have minimal contact in public), we were off to Gingie’s apartment where we ate delicious pumpkin bread, met one of her two roomates and quickly fell asleep. We needed our beauty rest for our big adventure!

John and I woke pretty early the next morning–India time is 2.5 hours behind Singapore, so, really we woke at 11am.  It just happened to be earlier in India!  Then, we were off to meet Gingie at work–we walked.  This was my first real taste of the streets of Bangalore.  Some of the roads were made of dirt, there was trash lining the sides of the street, stray dogs were everywhere, and cows were roaming around randomly.  Although my description doesn’t indicate it, India is honestly one of the most captivating countries I’ve ever experienced.  We had to cross one of the main roads in Bangalore (Outer Ring Road), which amounted to a dead sprint across a busy highway.  At least the first time.  Luckily, we made it without incident.

Once we met Gingie at work, we took off downtown in what is called an “Auto” short for Auto Rickshaw.  These are basically motorized tricycles with a cab on the back built to hold two and a half adults.  Since we are three adults, it made it quite snug.  I was grateful for the snug fit though after realizing exactly how the Auto driver was going to drive (keep in mind, these things don’t have seatbelts.)  Riding in these things is like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  You never know which direction you’re going to go or how close that car is going to come, but somehow, you make it to the end.  We spent the first day shopping and dining.  That evening, we went to the movies where they played the Indian National Anthem and had an intermission (for a 90 minute movie) with Bollywood music.  It was fabulous:).

After an exhausting first day (no matter what you do in India, with all of the walking, chaos of the Autos, and the overwhelming of the senses you get tired), we woke up pretty late for day two.  We hired a driver for the day (this costs only around US$ 25.00) and headed about 70 km from Bangalore to Nandi Hills–a very tall cliff from which a Sultan supposedly dropped his enemies.  We drove through Bangalore, then through some villages just outside of town where the cutest kids in the world were selling grapes on the side of the road.  Too bad we couldn’t eat them (we can only eat fruits that can be peeled or fruits that are cooked.)  We finally wound our way up the side of the mountain and got to Nandi Hills.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the wild monkeys–500 of which live in a small space upon the top of this mountain.  We toured the site and stopped to admire the gorgeous view before going on to check out the Hindu Temple and having lunch.

John admiring the view

Lunch time--our tour guide guarded against monkeys

After our nice lunch, we decided to explore the site a bit more.  Our tour guide (who ripped us off–completely–westerners bargaining in India have no chance) kept the monkeys away with his monkey stick and really scary hissing noises while we ate.  The monkeys, if left alone, will actually “attack” humans.  Well, they only attack humans with food.  We saw a three year old boy who has happily eating an ice cream cone until a monkey ran up to him (his mother and older sister abandoned him at this point) and hit him on the hand until the monkey got the ice cream.  The monkey proceeded to run to the top of the temple and devour the ice cream.  Hilarious.  The monkeys also would steal bottles of soft drinks and figure out how to manipulate the packaging so they could get to the contents.  We also saw baby monkeys with their families.  The view was gorgeous, but the monkeys were the most entertaining part:).

Holy Ice Cream?

On top of the world!

That night, we went to a movie night at a friend of Gingie’s home and had Papa John’s pizza.  We don’t have that in Singapore–oh how we’ve missed Papa John’s.  Just FYI–it was started in Kentucky, so I figured it was worth mentioning:).

We had been told by various people that India is a country of extremes.  Our third day in Bangalore illustrated this.  We spent the morning at “City Market,” the local market for spices, flowers, fruits, veggies, and other assorted everyday items.  This place was incredible–definitely overwhelming to all of the sense.  The colors were bright and beautiful, the market was loud and bustling with life, it smelled of flowers and incense, it was hot and crowded, and there seemed to be lots of yummy foods.  It is amazing how alive you feel in the middle of all of that activity, yet how out of place you can feel (my white skin seemed glow in the dark).  John and I both can honestly say we’ve never been anywhere quite like it.  Many of the flowers you see are made into strings of flowers to be offered to Hindu Gods and many of the foods are purchased for the same reasons.  The children of the marketplace were anxious to see us “westerners” walking through.  We stood out–I can tell you that much.  We also got to see (and smell) many of the Indian spices that the European explorers were after so many years ago.  I can see why they made the trip!

Here is a video (on YouTube) of our journey through the market.  This was shot on the outside looking at all of the fruit and veggie vendors.

Later that day, we went to the Leela, a five-star hotel in Bangalore.  It was very similar to Las Vegas hotels sans casinos.  It had a lovely shopping mall, restaurants, and was definitely how I envisioned “luxury India.”  Check out the juxtaposition of these two photos.  The Land of Extremes is really quite amazing.

The busy flower section of City Market

The Leela--what a difference

That night, we had the honor of having dinner with Rev’s parents.  Sadly, Revie couldn’t get time off from his job here in Singapore to come to Bangalore with us.  I guess we’ll just have to go back and do some more exploring with him:).  Rev’s parents have a lovely home where we gathered for drinks and delicious appetizers including paneer–Indian cheese–and potato cakes with some delicious corriander dipping sauce.  She also set out ketchup in case we wanted an “American version.”  After a bit of catching up and saying “hi” to Rev’s room per Rev’s request, we were off to dinner at a delicious restaurant!  There we had Black Dal (very similar to Mexican black beans) and some delcious mutton, chicken, fish, and nan.  The meal was fantastic–the best we had in India!  Then, Mr. Singh taught us how to play Cricket (the Indian National League was on the TV at the restaurant).  We had a wonderful evening with them–we can see why Rev is so amazing:).

The next morning came very early and we were off to church.  We rode to church with the pastor of Bangalore Presbyterian–Paul Billy, the man who hosted the trip to India John and Gingie went on in 2006.  We went to his church on the second story of a shop house and met lots of wonderful people over tea after the service was over.  Then, we went for a lunch of butter chicken.  We had entertainment in the car that you really must see.  Here are videos of “Amish Paradise” and “The Twelve Days of Indian Christmas.”  Enjoy–they are hilarious!!!!

After lunch, we went to a “drop-in” centre for train station children.  Train station children are children who live on the train tracks near the main train station of Bangalore.  During the day, they can come to the centre and receive meals, schooling, and mentoring.  Eventually, if they ask, they can even stay at the centre.  John, Gingie, and I went to play games with these precious boys.  We played duck duck goose, tag, and even some board games.  Soon, it was time for us to leave and pack up our things to come back to Singapore.

The boys

Goodbye, India!!!!

Incredible India was beyond incredible.  All within a few days and a few square kilometers, I saw the lap of luxury and absolute poverty.  I saw cows wandering the streets and eating trash and ten year old girls with babies on their hips in the middle of traffic begging passing cars for a spare rupee.  I smelled the putrid odor of rotten trash on the street, and breathed in the delicious aroma of Indian spices.  India is one of the most captivating places I’ve ever been.  The people were warm and friendly, the food was delicious, and the weather was wonderful!!!

In a lot of ways, I’m still processing everything that I saw on our trip–sorry if this entry seems kind of boring as a result.  Words can’t describe the place–the harder I try to describe our experience, the fewer words I can find to capture what we saw and what we felt.  Look at our pictures and videos–I think they’re the most telling.  I LOVE India and can’t wait to go back.  Maybe Rev can come next time:)

Check on my facebook profile for more pictures from our trip (including monkey photos).  John is off to Indonesia for the weekend on a church retreat.  Hopefully, he’ll write an entry on his adventure once he returns.  Who knows what I’ll get into this weekend in Singapore.

Until next time, we miss you all.  We’ll be back in the states in a little over two months:).  Hope to see you then!!!