Day 2:

Today we decided to adventure around the city again. There are five of us here and we’ve really been enjoying our time alone and exploring the city at our own pace. The manager of Mathyoo was talking to us this morning and wanted to give us advice on where to go so we “wouldn’t waste our time exploring.” Needless to say we didn’t tell her we had spent the previous day aimlessly walking around Bangalore for 5 hours! After breakfast we found our little neighborhood convenience store, where we bought water, snacks, and lunch to share- maggie, India’s version of ramen. This past afternoon we ventured to the Bangaluru Palace. We took an audio tour and listened to the history of the different people and rooms and then sat in the garden for a while talking- a really nice break from all the walking we’ve been doing lately! Afterwards we headed back into town for dinner at a small local place and now we’re back at the suites ready to go to sleep!

In terms of jet lag, I think we’ve done a pretty good job with the time change! We’ve stayed so busy in the last 48 hours that we really haven’t had time to sleep during the day, which is good because I feel like I’m pretty much on India time already. We’re all waking up earlier than normal and going to bed earlier, but other than that we’re doing pretty well.

Also, just a little about the transportation here: it’s crazy! There are traffic laws and they’re generally followed, but for the most part cars and autos (auto rickshaws, little motorized vehicles) and scooters just weave in and out of each other trying to find the nearest opening in traffic and quickest route to where they’re going. Normally we just wave one down and usually they know where to take us, but we also have to negotiate the price. Because we’re foreigners they try to charge us at least double what the fare should be, so we either have to argue or make sure they use the “meter” so we’re getting a fair price.