Bangalore
For those of you that don't know, I'm going to be spending most of the next 6 months or so working in Bangalore (or, as I've recently found out Bengaluru - the local name for the city that was officially adopted as the official name about a year ago).
From time to time I'll post updates here of what I'm up to.
I arrived here on Tuesday morning, somewhat later than planned having spent most of Monday hanging around the airport departure lounge at Heathrow (thanks for the 5 hour delay BA). I've spent most of the week in our new offices. I've been in a hotel only 10 minutes walk from the office, and it's a refreshing change compared to my previous trips not to have to have to take an hour in the rush hour traffic to get to the office in the mornings.
I have seen the apartment that I am going to be staying in when I get back here at the start of October. I'll be living and working in Kormangla, an area in the South-West of Bangalore. The block that I will be staying in has a pool and a gym, and is about 10 minutes walk from both of my offices here. I'll have enough space to have guests, so visitors will be welcome - Mum has already booked in.
This weekend I've spent exploring. Saturday I walked around Kormangla, finishing the day in the 'Forum' Mall, which from the inside could be mistaken for an American Mall. The contrast between the inside an outside is quite dramatic. Sunday was spent exploring the city centre: MG Road, Brigade Road, Residency Road, and the shopping areas around Commercial Road. A Rickshaw takes about 10-15 minutes into the town centre (probably longer during the week - the traffic seemed to be very light today), and costs the equivalent of about $1.50. If only everything was that cheap. A little shopping, a few beers, and then back to the hotel for dinner. I have to say that I'm enjoying the food - where else in the world would it be considered acceptable to each curry 3 times a day. I'm going to have to watch my already too-large waistline while I'm here.