So we've finally made it! I can't believe we've been in Bangalore for almost three weeks already. I didn't have easy access to the internet for a while because my computer had been damaged on the flight over from Frankfurt. Bangalore, being the tech haven of India, had a special store just for my brand of netbook, so they ordered the part and had it fixed in two days.
Friday April 15th:
We arrived in Bangalore at 2 a.m. Friday morning. They boast a new airport which they are proud of. I was impressed with how efficient and clean it was. To my relief, Steve had coordinated with the hotel in advance to provide us with two cars to shuttle us back to the hotel so there wasn't the taxi mayhem that I was expecting to see. If you've seen the movie "Outsourced" then you know what I was expecting. I think arriving in the middle of the night into a new city half way around the world makes the transition easier.
There wasn't much to see at that time of night driving to the hotel. A few stray dogs, which I expected, but the thing that I forgot to expect were the mosquitos. The hotel lobby, elevator and hotel room had mosquitos. How do mosquitos get into a 4th floor room?
The airport was about an hour drive from our hotel, Royal Orchid Hotel. This was to be our new home for the first seven days. Again, this was a nice transition. We were really spoiled there. The staff really loved Owen and someone told him he was famous in the hotel. All the staff knew him and during slow times the restaurant staff would gather around him to watch him perform some half made up magic trick. Owen was loving the attention.
Each morning there is a complimentary breakfast that has a selection for every taste. Of course I wasn't yet brave enough to eat the raw fruits or vegetables, but they had lots of hot options and fresh pastries including croissants which were so addictive. If you've ever had a fresh, made from scratch croissant then you know what I mean. They also served a delicious version of south Indian coffee which is basically a latte, hot milk infused with a splash of espresso.
It's a business hotel so there were lots of business folks staying and working in the area for Dell, IBM, Volvo, etc., people from all over the globe. We even met a couple from Japan who moved to Bangalore to wait out the disaster in Japan. There was a guy from Houston, TX here for Microsoft, and one from Sweden, another from Milano, Italy who worked for Accenture (the company Steve is working for). I met a lady who was so happy to hear American accents and see my children. She was orignally from California but had permanently moved to Mumbai for the shipping company DHL. It was just amazing the range of foreigners we met here on business. That's the life and breath of Bangalore.
Just over a week ago we moved into a serviced apartment that is also spoiling us because of the sheer size of the rooms and the view we have. It's a "penthouse" two floor apartment with a view overlooking a central park and pools. There is a grove of coconut trees that shades the park below us. Every morning there's complimentary breakfast as well, but I'm missing my fresh croissants.
Back at the Royal Orchid we enjoyed a late afternoon swim on their rooftop pool when the sun wasn't so intense. Here at the Diamond District apartments, the pool is broken but it is in a beautiful garden setting and huge. It would've been amazing if it was working. I'm kind of glad it's not working, actually, because the kids and I would not have wanted to leave this spacious place.
The days are getting warmer and now we can look forward to moving into our new home in Palm Meadows neighborhood in just a couple of days. The clubhouse pool at Palm Meadows is incredible, like a resort. It has an attached restaurant, pub, spa, and gym. I may not want to leave.
Friday April 15th:
We arrived in Bangalore at 2 a.m. Friday morning. They boast a new airport which they are proud of. I was impressed with how efficient and clean it was. To my relief, Steve had coordinated with the hotel in advance to provide us with two cars to shuttle us back to the hotel so there wasn't the taxi mayhem that I was expecting to see. If you've seen the movie "Outsourced" then you know what I was expecting. I think arriving in the middle of the night into a new city half way around the world makes the transition easier.
There wasn't much to see at that time of night driving to the hotel. A few stray dogs, which I expected, but the thing that I forgot to expect were the mosquitos. The hotel lobby, elevator and hotel room had mosquitos. How do mosquitos get into a 4th floor room?
The airport was about an hour drive from our hotel, Royal Orchid Hotel. This was to be our new home for the first seven days. Again, this was a nice transition. We were really spoiled there. The staff really loved Owen and someone told him he was famous in the hotel. All the staff knew him and during slow times the restaurant staff would gather around him to watch him perform some half made up magic trick. Owen was loving the attention.
Each morning there is a complimentary breakfast that has a selection for every taste. Of course I wasn't yet brave enough to eat the raw fruits or vegetables, but they had lots of hot options and fresh pastries including croissants which were so addictive. If you've ever had a fresh, made from scratch croissant then you know what I mean. They also served a delicious version of south Indian coffee which is basically a latte, hot milk infused with a splash of espresso.
It's a business hotel so there were lots of business folks staying and working in the area for Dell, IBM, Volvo, etc., people from all over the globe. We even met a couple from Japan who moved to Bangalore to wait out the disaster in Japan. There was a guy from Houston, TX here for Microsoft, and one from Sweden, another from Milano, Italy who worked for Accenture (the company Steve is working for). I met a lady who was so happy to hear American accents and see my children. She was orignally from California but had permanently moved to Mumbai for the shipping company DHL. It was just amazing the range of foreigners we met here on business. That's the life and breath of Bangalore.
Just over a week ago we moved into a serviced apartment that is also spoiling us because of the sheer size of the rooms and the view we have. It's a "penthouse" two floor apartment with a view overlooking a central park and pools. There is a grove of coconut trees that shades the park below us. Every morning there's complimentary breakfast as well, but I'm missing my fresh croissants.
Back at the Royal Orchid we enjoyed a late afternoon swim on their rooftop pool when the sun wasn't so intense. Here at the Diamond District apartments, the pool is broken but it is in a beautiful garden setting and huge. It would've been amazing if it was working. I'm kind of glad it's not working, actually, because the kids and I would not have wanted to leave this spacious place.
The days are getting warmer and now we can look forward to moving into our new home in Palm Meadows neighborhood in just a couple of days. The clubhouse pool at Palm Meadows is incredible, like a resort. It has an attached restaurant, pub, spa, and gym. I may not want to leave.
Thanks for the update, Lisa. Glad you were able to fix your netbook so quickly. Between your blog and seeing your apartment and surroundings on Skype, I feel like you are just down the road instead of 8000 miles away. But I still miss my hugs from the kids. Skype hasn't figured that out yet.
ReplyDeleteLove everything you are writing....makes us feel like we are experiencing it all with you!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share....keeping you in my heart and prayers everyday!
ReplyDeleteGreat update! I want a croissant and some coffee, and I don't even like coffee!
ReplyDeleteHey. I live in Palm Meadow too :) catch you when you move in. Nice blog - I'm the one from http://kindazesty.blogspot.com/.... Lemme know when you move in.
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