Weekend Pics

Below are some photos I took this weekend. I tried to mix up the "beautiful buildings" shots with the "gritty, exotic urban" shots b/c it feels like the city is a crazy mix of rich and poor, beautiful and falling down, exotic and everyday, and I wanted to indicate that in some small way here.



Below: Blossom Books is a used book store that a friend told me about. The first thing I did on Saturday was take a taxi to Brigade Road, where she'd said there are a couple of good used book stores. I spent forever in this multi-story shop, pouring over books I've read, been wanting to read, etc. In the end, I bought only four and was extremely proud of myself.


Below: This is a government building of some sort. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what... The blur on the right side of the photograph is an iron bar, which is part of the big fence surrounding the building. I held my camera in between the bars to get a better shot of the building and its immaculate grounds.

Below: This shot is taken right across the street from where I stay. These grounds are rented out for events, such as the wedding you see announced below.

Below: So against all advice, I took an autorickshaw ride alone before I know the city well. (Family, please don't panic; all warnings involve getting ripped off, not hurt. Everyone tells me Bangalore is very safe, and taking an autorickshaw risks getting cheated but not attacked or hurt. Plus, it was full daylight.) Anyway, so I agreed to let an autorickshaw driver take me to some sites for only 20 Rupees. The catch is that he also took me to three shops where the owners buy him gas for taking people like me there. It was no trouble to me-- well worth getting a cheap tour of the city. And, though I didn't buy anything at any of the shops, it was good to get a feel for the prices and the types of things available in the swanky shops, as opposed to the cheap street markets I tend to visit on my own. Below is one of the sites he took me to. It's where cars and motorcycles go to die in Bangalore before getting reborn (in pieces) in new vehicles. Cool!

Below: I'm pretty sure this is the parliament building. It's beautiful. Another of the sites the driver took me to.

Below: This is the best shot I got of an autorickshaw. Usually, in traffic, they are so close to you that you could count the hairs in the driver's eyebrows. Traffic is very thick here, especially on Saturdays, and the other vehicles near you are very near you. So this is my best shot of an autorickshaw far enough away for you to see what they're like in entirety. They have three wheels and motors that sound like lawnmowers. The sides are open, and you get whipped by wind, but it's a fun ride. The motor stops at traffic lights, and the driver pulls up a lever on the floor by his feet to get the motor going again. It seems they drive with controls on the handlebars, kind of like motorcycles.

Below: This is the gorgeous post office. There is a rose garden in front of it. Geez, makes me cringe to think of the grungy, dodgy-looking PO in the U district...

Below: This pet supply store looks to me like something right off a U.S. street. I snapped a shot b/c it seems disconcerting to see this on the some street as other sites that seem so exotic.

Below: This is a local market near a big Catholic church. I wondered around a little and ended up buying a new kurti (a long shirt to wear over jeans) for a little more than $2.

Below: You see a lot of signs in both English and Kannada, the local language. I shot this so you could see what it's like. I wanted to get a shot of the notice I saw stenciled on a wall, "Do not urine here." But I was in a moving vehicle and couldn't take a pic fast enough. "No entry" will have to do.

Below: This is a local Hindu temple, not far from the big Catholic church by the market. Interestingly, I saw more Muslims in that area of the city than I've seen anywhere else so far.

Below: This is the old Catholic church. It's beautiful, but the courtyard and church area are packed with shops selling religious articles and paraphernalia, and all I could think about was Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers in front of the temple.

Well, those are the highlights of my Saturday in pics. It was a super time. I started at the bookstore, then ate masala dosa and had an Indian coffee at a nearby shop (less than a dollar, total!). Then I wandered around until the rickshaw driver made his successful pitch. After the tour of city sites and shops, the driver dropped me back in the same shopping area, and I had a couple of beers while I waited for a taxi. I can hardly wait to get a SIM card so that I can have a mobile phone to call a taxi myself! I asked the owner of the beer cafe to call me a taxi, and he did for a small fee. Then the driver wanted more than twice what I'd paid to get there as the fare to get home again. Of course, it was after dark, at which point the rates go up, and it was in a tourist-y area. But still. I said no, that I'd find my own ride. (I'm not sure what I was thinking b/c if I'd known how to do that, I would have done it in the first place...) But I just couldn't see spending so much more for the same ride. The cafe owner kept saying, "But, madam, this is the minimum price." But I just couldn't see how. Anyway, I started walking away, and the cabbie reduced his fare by a quarter. That seemed more fair. So he took me home without issue, and all's well.