Bangalore Observations

I figured if the nun at the baggage carousel couldn't find her luggage, I didn't stand a chance. As it turns out, someone had removed my bag, but I found it in their pile before it wandered off. We have a driver wherever we go, and if you could see the streets and traffic, you'd understand why. No lines in the roads, the guiding rule seems to be that whoever is bigger has the right of way. That leaves the bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds, motorized rickshaws, and the occasional horse at a bit of a disadvantage. They compensate with constant horn honking. The hotel here is an oasis of luxury, and you would not want to walk the streets surrounding it. Coming back this evening, I wondered what the dense smoke was in back of the hotel. Turns out it was smoke (and presumably insecticide) they were using to fume for mosquitos. I'm glad about eliminating mosquitos (although I am up to speed on the malaria pills!), but I wonder whether my lifespan was reduced by eating Thai food outdoors there shortly afterward.

There really are cows in the street every now and then, although most of them seem to be more interested in nuzzling through piles of garbage. I often think that the malling of America has left almost anyplace you travel in the US looking the same. Apparently there is a mall near the office that has your typical Gap, etc, but I doubt you'd mistake it for a mall in the US. It's an interesting Caribbean-like mixture of dirt poor and luxury, high tech amidst the squalor. Tomorrow evening I am off to Hyderabad, so I might not report in until Friday night my time.