I've spent a week in India for a research, together with Wolfram as it was on the one project we work together.
This time it was in Bangalore. My overall impression about India remains the same, whether it's in the North, the Center of the South. India is very lively yet chaotic. Driving in India (or actually being driven) is an experience that only Cairo can compete with from what I've seen so far. There are cars, motorcycles and pedestrians everywhere in what appears to be a mess, yet traffic is moving. Slowly because messy but moving. The driver we had was convinced we could learn how to drive in Bangalore in only three days. I have serious doubt about that.
As always all the people I've met were very happy, somehow content with their lives no matter their income. Which always makes me think about my life and whether I really need all the things that I buy to be happy.
See some pictures of the streets where we went. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to see any of the city highlights, assuming there are some :)
Lot's of cows, domestic or free
Lot's of colors yet lots of garbage and dust everywhere
Joy, this one is for you
People dry coconuts on the roofs and later use it to make fire, in a similar way as charcoal.
Sadly we ate a lot of Western food during the week simply because we didn't have time or it was late and we ate at the hotel or it was the only one delivering where we were... many reasons, still no excuse to have eaten at McDonald's and ordered from Domino's Pizza in India. One detail, they do not serve beef as cows are sacred therefore the legendary BigMac is made with chicken and called Chicken Maharaja-Mac (that's not a joke). With a large population being vegetarian, there are many vegetarian options like the McVeggie that do not exist anywhere else or with paneer the Indian cottage cheese.
The few times were we did manage to get to Indian food it was excellent. I have tried new curries and Dosa a sort of big rice pancake that wraps a mix of potatoes and vegetables. At Sahib Sindh Sultan we had dinner in an old train compartment with waiters dressed like in the 19th century when the first Indian train was operated. They looked very colonial to me but the food was great and it was fun to sit there. We ordered randomly a selection of dishes with on top Raita and Naan because we love them. One thing I learned, although I probably knew already, India may have great food when it comes to desserts it's probably better to have a coffee. It's not really in the Indian culture to have dessert and therefore the choice is limited and not really impressing.
This time it was in Bangalore. My overall impression about India remains the same, whether it's in the North, the Center of the South. India is very lively yet chaotic. Driving in India (or actually being driven) is an experience that only Cairo can compete with from what I've seen so far. There are cars, motorcycles and pedestrians everywhere in what appears to be a mess, yet traffic is moving. Slowly because messy but moving. The driver we had was convinced we could learn how to drive in Bangalore in only three days. I have serious doubt about that.
As always all the people I've met were very happy, somehow content with their lives no matter their income. Which always makes me think about my life and whether I really need all the things that I buy to be happy.
See some pictures of the streets where we went. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to see any of the city highlights, assuming there are some :)
Lot's of cows, domestic or free
Lot's of colors yet lots of garbage and dust everywhere
Joy, this one is for you
People dry coconuts on the roofs and later use it to make fire, in a similar way as charcoal.
Sadly we ate a lot of Western food during the week simply because we didn't have time or it was late and we ate at the hotel or it was the only one delivering where we were... many reasons, still no excuse to have eaten at McDonald's and ordered from Domino's Pizza in India. One detail, they do not serve beef as cows are sacred therefore the legendary BigMac is made with chicken and called Chicken Maharaja-Mac (that's not a joke). With a large population being vegetarian, there are many vegetarian options like the McVeggie that do not exist anywhere else or with paneer the Indian cottage cheese.
The few times were we did manage to get to Indian food it was excellent. I have tried new curries and Dosa a sort of big rice pancake that wraps a mix of potatoes and vegetables. At Sahib Sindh Sultan we had dinner in an old train compartment with waiters dressed like in the 19th century when the first Indian train was operated. They looked very colonial to me but the food was great and it was fun to sit there. We ordered randomly a selection of dishes with on top Raita and Naan because we love them. One thing I learned, although I probably knew already, India may have great food when it comes to desserts it's probably better to have a coffee. It's not really in the Indian culture to have dessert and therefore the choice is limited and not really impressing.
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