In the thick of Bangalore

DAZED AND CONFUSED IN INDIA 1

We are making the rounds in Bangalore, by car and on foot. It's seems no matter how often you go out of the door, it's hard to orient yourself here. The city planning is virtually non-existent and the roads and streets twist and turn in a sort of maze that I have never experienced before. I can proudly say I am good at directions, but in Bangalore I feel blind. To me Bangalore defines the word mayhem. An urban jungle of cars, people from all walks of life, trash-rummaging cows, herds of goats, stray dogs, a family of four riding a motor bike, auto rickshaws, trucks blaring horns, constant construction activity and, you name it, it's on the streets of Bangalore.

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On and off switches are opposite from what I am used to in the US. Off is on, on is off.

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We eat a wonderful breakfast at the Sundance Service Apartment. It's different every morning with array of fresh fruits and freshly made Indian breakfasts. One morning, I wanted a plain omelette just with eggs, the kind manager kindly took my request and with the Indian head shake say "Yes ma'am, I'll get you an omelette". A couple of minutes later and my omelette came with loads of onions and chilies.

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In India one drives on the left-hand side. But there is a stretch of street in front of the Garuda mall that has right-hand side driving! It's utter chaos to drive on that stretch. 

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We are in search of organic milk in Bangalore. This hasn't been an easy task. I've made many trips to organic/natural grocers here but come home empty handed. Yesterday I received a tip-off about an organic milk supplier in town, Era Organics. I called to confirm if the information was true and I was pleasantly surprised that it was indeed correct, we just need to come down to the store as they have it in stock. Although the man who was on the phone hung up on me after asking how often they get their supplies replenished, I was hopeful. First thing in the morning, l got Leela ready to go as this was a long trek across town. After confirming with the driver who was confident he knew where we needed to go, we were off to Dollars Colony. After driving for almost an hour I knew something wasn't right, he didn't know the directions after all. Somehow, we managed to get to the grocery by asking people on the road. I was filled with excitement but my hopes were finally dashed. What, they don't have milk? They don't have a supplier? They never carried organic milk? They are hoping to carry organic milk?

I took a deep breath for an Om. 

Our first week in Bangalore, India

DAY ONE: HERE WE ARE IN BANGALORE
We have officially made the move to India, specifically Bangalore, on June 06 2011.

Hello to friends that we could not say 'Goodbye' to before we left. It was hectic, as you can imagine a continental move might be.

We are here after a long-anticipated move. It feels somewhat unreal, and yet it is very real. India greeted us with its ash-smoke filled air, assemblage of cars honking their horns, and monsoon humidity that makes you feel like you are a sticky sticker.

We found our retreat at Casa Cottage and here our first days begin. Zzzz for now.

DAY TWO: WHERE ARE WE AGAIN?
We have had our first full taste of the difficulties India has in store for us. On the first day, no hot water in our room. On the second, no water at all! Just as they 'fixed' the problem, the water disappeared again as George went in for a shower. They finally fixed the water, and than there was a power outage as Michelle started her shower. She was left in the dark, wet with shampoo in her eyes and hair, with no water at all. All the lights and fans stopped working. 

What to do? We retreat on a dark, sticky night in Bangalore, as we cross our finger and pray to the gods. The Indian gods should work better here!

DAY THREE: PEACE BE WITH US
We wake up to a beautiful, fresh-air morning after the downpour the night before. We've moved to Sundance Service Apartments. This place is a little sanctuary in the mist of chaos of the city and it made a heavenly difference from what we were faced with at the previous place. Thank the (native) gods. Leela had her first full nights sleep, and we are all well rested. We were presented with a wonderful breakfast of juice, watermelons and cantaloupe. We ate piping hot idlis with sambar and coconut chutney. We were well fueled up for the day. Now, we can focus on the task at hand and, first thing first, the office and house search begins.

The Selling point - Best of the worst

George's office search marches on as with the house. The three spaces were presented to us as the 'Best of the Worst' by the broker. What a selling point!. NEXT, please.

DAY FOUR: LEELA'S INDIA
India is a marvelous place for children, the attention and interaction Indian adults and young teenagers give to children is unparalleled any where in the world. This interaction is very healthy and good exposure for Leela as she learns to communicate. Leela is absolutely fascinated with the people here, as they are with her. She slaps high-fives with strangers and waves & kisses good-bye as we leave restaurants and shops. Is this my daughter? India is changing Leela.

DAY FIVE: OPEN KITCHEN, PLEASE

Kitchens seem to be of little importance in India. It's a place for maids and servants to prepare food, to be hidden away. Most are placed in dark and dingy corners of the house with maids quarters adjoining. Do people not enjoy cooking? Are they not enticed by the sights, sounds and smell of food? Don't they want to peek, poke and taste as the food is being prepared? And roll up their own sleeves to try their hands at it? I spent most of my childhood, after school, in the kitchen, peeling garlic and oiling seaweed sheets and helping to set tables. It was an absolute joy to see what magical things happen in the kitchen at all times of the day. My mom and grandma taught me how to measure water for making rice, scale a whole fish and taught me the importance of picking and using fresh local ingredients. So, till this day the kitchen is the room I enjoy being most in, for the pure fact that this is where my heart is. This is where I openly show my love for cooking and sharing the food with my loved ones.  The brokers tell me, 'You don't need to cook here, the servant does that', which sounds like a death sentence to me.

DAY SIX: UB DELICIOUS
UB City, a high end mall with outdoor restaurants, has been my go to place for Leela and our meals.  They have a small interactive fountain (ones that shoot water from the hole on the floor) with lights that Leela and other kids go crazy about.  It has a number of nice restaurants, Italian, French, Middle Eastern, Indian, etc., all quite authentic with excellent food.  Fortunately it's really close to where we are staying, so we can walk over in the evening and get something to eat.  There is a "pan-Asian" restaurant which serves "Vegetarian Bulgogi", what an oxymoron. Their regular bulgogi tasted like soy sauce candied meat, which did not please Michelle too much!  A few days later we met a couple who have a "multi-cuisine" restaurant in Bangalore, and to our surprise they also have bulgogi on the menu. Supposedly it's a new hip thing to eat for Bangaloreans. They have asked Michelle to check out how authentic their bulgogi is. And introduce to their chefs few other Korean foods to include in their menu.

Finding sticky Korean rice!
I didn't think finding sticky Korean rice would be even more important to me than looking for a place to live in Bangalore. I visited many markets, brought a bag of Indian rice that resembled short grain rice. Many people have told me it is very hard to come by, sometimes a Thai shop in the next town may have it but it get sold-out almost immediately. Tonight, we decided go eat some Korean food at one of three Korean restaurants in Bangalore called Hae Kum Gang in Askoknagar area. The menu is quite extensive covering soups, kim bap (Korean rice rolls), many kinds of jeon (Korean savory pancakes), stews, rice dishes, stir-fried entrée and some korean-chinese dishes as well. I look around the restaurant, lo and behold, a small stand of Korean ingredients to purchase. I was so excited and brought home a bag of rice (three times more expensive than what I'm used to), some seasoned seaweed sheets and a bottle of soy sauce. I'm a happy Korean girl in Bangalore.