Desmonds -- Where Tycoons Dine
"Infant Jesus Cement Store" (picture coming)
1/18/07
It makes you tilt your head to one side...
Some of my favorite signs so far:
Desmonds -- Where Tycoons Dine
Desmonds -- Where Tycoons Dine
Curry some favor with Indian cuisine
I've gotten to try some great Indian food in the last few days:
On the plane: Vineet Bhatia's prawn bhuna masala with coconut and curry leaf rice
For breakfast: dosa or idly with masala
For lunch: pepper mutton gravy, with rice and chapathi (South Indian); Ahndra double masala (North Indian)
For dessert: fruit smoothies; yogurt; sweet rice pudding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_dishes
On the plane: Vineet Bhatia's prawn bhuna masala with coconut and curry leaf rice
For breakfast: dosa or idly with masala
For lunch: pepper mutton gravy, with rice and chapathi (South Indian); Ahndra double masala (North Indian)
For dessert: fruit smoothies; yogurt; sweet rice pudding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_dishes
Defying physics
Today at work, the guys from Bangalore were talking about going to an amusement park. I don't see why you need amusement parks in Bangalore -- the traffic is a ride in itself. A ride through traffic at rush-hour can make a US driver cringe about, oh, every 4 seconds.
A typical ride through town (6km) costs about 70 Rs, or about $2 US. For your money, you get a friendly driver that will keep you alive and take you across town at the same time. These guys are great -- they sit in the middle of a city of 6M people, take an address like "Vittal Mallya Road, Across from the Shell petrol bunk", and thread you through traffic to your destination in no-time.
On the road in your 10hp auto rickshaw, you zip along in short 1 block bursts, all the way across town. Rules of the road:
1. If you want to pass someone, honk at least once. If you just want to let them know you're there, honk. Bored? Honk.
2. If there's a gap at least as wide as your rickshaw or motorcycle, plus 3cm, passing is fare game. Gun it. Make sure you leave at least 1 cm between you and them, so you don't crash.
3. If you want to turn across traffic, stick your nose out there, and hope the oncoming traffic stops soon.
4. Stopped a light? Turn off your engine to save gas.
5. See a car in front of you? Honk once.
6. See a person in front of you? Honk twice to let them know they shouldn't be in front of you. DO NOT slow down, or they might get the idea that they can do it again...
7. No room on your side of the road? Cross into oncoming traffic for a while. That lane is yours, until an oncoming rickshaw honks incessantly and runs you back onto your own side of the road...
A typical ride through town (6km) costs about 70 Rs, or about $2 US. For your money, you get a friendly driver that will keep you alive and take you across town at the same time. These guys are great -- they sit in the middle of a city of 6M people, take an address like "Vittal Mallya Road, Across from the Shell petrol bunk", and thread you through traffic to your destination in no-time.
On the road in your 10hp auto rickshaw, you zip along in short 1 block bursts, all the way across town. Rules of the road:
1. If you want to pass someone, honk at least once. If you just want to let them know you're there, honk. Bored? Honk.
2. If there's a gap at least as wide as your rickshaw or motorcycle, plus 3cm, passing is fare game. Gun it. Make sure you leave at least 1 cm between you and them, so you don't crash.
3. If you want to turn across traffic, stick your nose out there, and hope the oncoming traffic stops soon.
4. Stopped a light? Turn off your engine to save gas.
5. See a car in front of you? Honk once.
6. See a person in front of you? Honk twice to let them know they shouldn't be in front of you. DO NOT slow down, or they might get the idea that they can do it again...
7. No room on your side of the road? Cross into oncoming traffic for a while. That lane is yours, until an oncoming rickshaw honks incessantly and runs you back onto your own side of the road...
Bangalore Jan 2007 - Arrived in Bangalore
I've arrived!
After a 27-hour or so set of flights, I got to Bangalore Wednesday at 5AM.
After a 27-hour or so set of flights, I got to Bangalore Wednesday at 5AM.
Cool things happened on the way here:
1. I managed to escape Dallas icing over.
2. I flew through 11 time zones -- I'm 11.5 hours ahead of Dallas, now.
3. I saw Gordon Brown on my flight to Bangalore http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=8495020 . He was maybe 10 rows in front of me on the plane. I stood with him, some passengers, and pieces of a press entourage, while he answered questions from people on the plane. It was really interesting to see him handle a crowd informally -- he's energetic, engaging, and listens well.
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