Bangalore, Day 10

[bjarvis]

Today is another day of light activities. Work continues to roll along: I'm tackling my usual stack of maintenance work tickets from California, attending a few conference calls and generally writing, writing and more writing. Each day has become more routine as the novelty of being in Bangalore fades and I get into a new work habit.

This evening, I went shopping again specifically to look for t-shirts or sweatshirts for my guys back home. All I want is something which is distinctly India, something moderately special, something which one wouldn't normally find in DC.

Such is not to be had around here.

American fashion, brands and logos completely dominate the shopping & commercial district around me. I can find t-shirts & sweatshirts for sports teams in North Carolina, but I can't find a one for a cricket team in Karnataka.

As it stands, I've been here 10 days and am still empty-handed when it comes to gifts for kent4str. He'll probably change the locks before I get home if I don't have something to offer. *sigh*

I ordered chicken biriyani from room service tonight: that particular dish was strongly endorsed on Foursquare so I thought I'd give it a try. Yup, just as good as it was described but the servings are huge, large enough for two adults. I wish I had some sort of container I could use to take the leftovers with me to work tomorrow as lunch.

I had mentioned previously my guest room's key card activation: once you unlock the door, you place the key card into a slot by the door and thereby activate all of the outlets, lights & appliances. Remove the key card when you leave and everything powers down. It's a brilliant way of ensuring electrical conservation when no one is in, although my room's configuration has one major flaw: all outlets shut down when I leave, including the refrigerator. This means trouble for anyone with, say, medication which must remain refrigerated and, as I was reminded this evening, trouble for any laptop with a processing job that will take longer than the machine's battery life. Oops.

This afternoon, I made arrangements through the hotel travel desk for a car & driver for Saturday, 6:30am. My plan is to see the temples of Mysore, an ancient temple ruins site nearby and possibly a bird sanctuary if daylight is still available. The cost is reasonable, about 12 rupees per kilometer of travel and 200 rupees per hour for the driver, with an extra 200 rupee/hour surcharge after ten hours. That said, I have absolutely no idea how many kilometers this trip will be in total. I'll let you know how it works out.

I'm spending the rest of the evening curled up in bed with an ebook. I'm reading about the 1920s in America in the lead-up to the great depression. I love a happy ending.

Comments

[kent4str.livejournal.com]

Ah, you know you're welcome back even if you're empty handed. The quality of that welcome may be effected, however.

Hurry home!

[kent4str.livejournal.com]

You know, you could just bring me a bolt of silk and I could make my own souvenier. I'm thinking something in red...

prezzies for kent4ster

[trawnapanda.livejournal.com]

.
you could always try a rubber duckie -- I understand that duckies were a big hit when found in a certain hotel in Boston.

[pklexton.livejournal.com]

For what its worth Bangalore - Mysore is approx. 150km each way/300km round trip according to google maps (since i have zippo personal knowledge of this area).

Happy to be of service. :)

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had been told by the locals it was about 150km away but completely worth the trip.

[debbieann.livejournal.com]

(found you through Eric Miller, I lived in Bangalore for a year) usually any card will work in the card reader slot if you'd like to leave it on to charge things.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Ah, great idea! I just presumed it was keyed to the magnetic strip of the key card to match the door lock. It never occurred to me that any magnetic stripe card or perhaps just a physical object the shape & size of a room key card would work. I'll give that a try to see what happens! Thanks!

[debbieann.livejournal.com]

the long distance driving is exciting in a whole new way - all the drivers we had would pass in situations that I would never try to pass in, also coming back they would drive really fast. It is good to get out of the city. there is some great dosa in Bangalore at vidyarthi bhavan -photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/haynes/2049950136/in/set-72157603244017130

a local place, great for breakfast. w filter coffee.

We enjoyed getting custom made clothing. also filling prescriptions.

hope the card trick works, we use any card, a business card.

Search for souvenir shirts

[joyce duffy-bilanow (from livejournal.com)]

Steve, to his dismay, had difficulty finding tees in China and Japan that didn't have western imagery. He came back with a tee that has the title of a Chinese Soap Opera. When I wear it, a Chinese speaker will often stop me and translate it for me, always a little different. Makes me wonder how business is done there. Aren't there and items with wonderful Bollywood images?

Joyce