My shopping trip to Mid Valley Megamall was very eventful. After waiting on an extended queue to change some money (Malaysian Ringgit is dropping faster than the Aussie dollar). I went off to find the few things I needed before leaving. Of these items one was packet of Penang 3in1 coffee for my friends in Mumbai. Yes, I know I should have bought it in Penang while I was there but then I would have had to carry it to Phuket and all around on the buses till KL. Anyway, after looking in the infamous AEON stores throughout my travels to KL I eventually found it in an obscure little private store at the Megamall. Praise the Lord! I also brought some durian as I thought this might be the last chance to savour this exotic fruit as it may be out of season when I return at the end of September! It was as good as I hoped! I took it back to the apartments to eat beside the swimming pool so I didn’t stink out the house. Yummm truly a fruit from heaven! Before traveling back to Lucille’s home I stopped for a coffee this time changed from my usual Cappuccino to Latte, thanks to Annette’s influence, and asked for extra froth on the top mmmmm! it was also good!
Just before leaving the Megamall I looked for my address to give to the taxi driver but couldn’t find it. I stopped a Caucasian and asked if she could read a map and asked for directions. She said although it wasn’t far there were too many highways in between and I’d do better to take a taxi. I took a seat next to a Chinese guy to rummage through my money belt for the address written on the scrap of paper I’d stuffed into one of the zipped pockets. Before sitting down I asked the guy if he minded me sitting down cos it was a two seater and he needed to move up for me. He kindly obliged and said he’d just offered it to a lady with a baby but she didn’t want to sit next to a stranger. We laughed. I struck up a conversation and we were soon exchanging names telephone numbers. He, Andrew, worked with the bank and was waiting to see a client. He said if I ever needed help when visiting KL in the future just to give him a call.
Once back at the house I opened my computer to do a bit of homework on where to stay. I contacted my host in Bangalore to confirm my stay and find out the contact details I needed to find the place. I then noticed another post referring to a Christian hospitality site, so decided to apply for membership there too. I then relaxed, or tried to, before leaving.
During this time my friend Anne, in Mumbai has called around to all her friends to see if she could help me out on my arrival in Bangalore. She wasn’t happy that I was arriving so late and suggested that I take the taxi she arranged with someone she trusted. He would wait with my name displayed and take me to my accommodation. This was a huge relief as I was a little anxious about traveling alone at this time of night.
I left the apartment with my 3 bags and after a short walk down the road hailed a taxi which took me to Central. Here I took the express train to KLIA2 (the new Kalua Lumpur International Airport). Along the way I tried to find a post office as I had forgotten to post my Thai postcards before leaving Thailand. Unfortunately there wasn’t one at Central. The train arrived and we all clambered on with suitcases and bags jamming the aisles. I sat across from a lovely chatty university student who was going home to Langkawi Island for the weekend. He was disappointed I had never visited his beautiful island. Passe
ngers who hadn’t disembarked at KLIA1 swarmed through the doors at KLIA2. I later found out I should have gotten off at KLIA1 for the only post office. Hmmm what to do? Do I go back to KLIA1 or battle the queues in India? I had plenty of time (arriving just after 2pm for a flight at 9:15pm) so I decided to try and find the post office at KLIA1 before I left. As I took the escalators back down to the train I overheard two girls in front of me speaking Thai. Was this an opportunity for me? I started chatting and explained my predicament and showed them the postcards. They were delighted to help me out. Wow! Thanks Lord!
I then found McCafe on the 3rd floor close to departures for a coffee fix. I hadn’t been seated long when a Malaysian Chinese lady asked if she could sit at my table as none were available. We started talking. We shared our experiences while she waited for her friends who were joining her on a shopping spree in Bkk. It was a lovely way to fill in time waiting for our flights.
Finally I made my way to the check in counter which
opened at 6:15pm. My carryon bag was nearly 11kg, well over the 7kg limit! I tried to repack into my other bags but then realised I’d have over the 2 bag limit to carry on board. Oh well looks like I’ll have to wait for the bag on the carousel when I arrive. At check in I was asked for the usual documents and noticed the guy was flipping through my passport. I suspected he was looking for the Indian visa. I guessed correctly. I showed him the paper I had of the email of my acceptance which he had never seen before. He rang a colleague at the other end of the counter and to ask about it. I prayed. Finally after much discussion he smiled and said it’s ok. I said yes, it was something new the Indian government had recently implemented through online applications. I asked if it was a full flight and was told there were only two seats left, and I had been given the middle of three seats. I said was there a change for me to have an aisle seat but unfortunately all were taken. When I was finally seated I realised he had kept the window seat free for me. How nice what that I was now able to change seats which I did on descent. Throughout the flight I chatted to a lovely girl who had taken time off her studies to join her family holidaying in Malaysia and Singapore. She was so expressive when she was making a point or an exclamation she had a habit of touching her forehead with the tip of her fingers, hand covering her eyes as she looked down then run her fingers over her eyes, as she pulled her hand away she wobble her head the way Indians do. It was just so cute. I found this clip of typical Indian hand gestures.
Our flight on paper looked like 1 ¾ hr flight but India being 2 b
ehind meant it was actually 4 ¾ hours. We arrived 15mins early but because the immigration fingerprinting machine wasn’t working at the counter I was at, I was delayed 15mins.
Breezing through customs I tried to connect to the free airport wifi before leaving the building but was unable to. I was also told there was nowhere at the airport to buy a local SIM card which was unusual as it seemed all the other airports I’d arrived at had many booths with a variety of choices. Without internet or a phone it was virtually impossible to let people know I had arrived so I exited the arrival area and I scanned the row of Indian faces for my name printed on a card. When we connected, my driver, Mr Shivakumar, called Anne to say he had picked me up, I reassured her I was safe and on my way to Salil’s home in 7th Sector. Mr Shivakumar then rang Salil to ask directions and let him know I was on my way. Salil’s home was about 50km, a 45mins drive (during non-peak hours, 2 + hours during peak hour) from the airport. We hustled our way, beeping along with every other vehicle leaving the airport. There were four streams of traffic all jostling for a position to merge into the two lanes that took us to the highway. Once free, we sped, weaving in and out of traffic down the highway heading towards Bangalore. The airport, which of course came many years after the city, had been built was quite a distance from the city.
It was a beautiful night with very little traffic. Much cooler here without the humidity and sticky heat of Southern East Asia. Bangalore is known for its mild climate especially during the rainy or monsoon season which is from June to Sep. I have arrived in India at the perfect time of the year for cool to mild weather.
If my driver hadn’t been prearranged I would have 
been concerned when we finally left the highway as we ventured along dark narrow streets and through a very smelly part of town. We finally arrived at Salil’s home where I thanked my driver and followed Salil upstairs to his little apartment. Two bedrooms with ensuite, another smaller bathroom and an office come guest room where a mattress on the floor was prepared for me. I had been concerned that I was arriving very late, it was now after midnight, but Salil reassured me he was hardly ever in bed before midnight. On connecting to wifi I messaged Anne to let her know I felt safe with Salil and his girlfriend, Jolly. The three of us then sat around getting to know each other before I mentioned I needed to sleep as I’d been up since just after 5am this morning and it was now after 1am Malaysian time. Before sleeping I jumped online and left a message that I had arrived safely and to thank everyone for their prayers then I crashed!
Sleep has never been easy for me and I tossed and turned till I finally got up at 8am. I find if I go to bed late I usually don’t sleep well. I was of course the first to wake in the morning so went about my normal morning routine of exercise, shower, breaky and online communications before we all went out for their breaky, my lunch at midday. I had a lovely cappuccino, a large plate of fluffy Parattah’s served with yogurt (curds), chutney and dahl curry followed by a waffle and golden syrup which Jolly couldn’t finish so asked for our help. On returning home we retired to our rooms for another vegout… well it was Saturday!
That evening I joined Jolly at the gym for one hour Boot Camp class. I don’t know how my legs survived! I felt really unfit having not done any cardo exercises since my early days in Thailand. On route home we tried to find somewhere to by a local SIM but finally gave up as there were so much red tape being a foreigner. Salil later went out and bought one in his name for me. All countries are very cautions with SIM cards ownership due to their use in terrorism making it very difficult for visitors to purchase them.
Now with a new SIM I registered with Uber cabs to make it easier, cheaper and safer for me to get around Bangalore as well as other places. I’m not sure if you know the Uber set up. It works through your mobile phone to pinpoint where to send the cab. You can also request an estimated fare cost avoiding the inevitable ‘tourist tax’, a well-known tariff added for all unexpected travellers, especially Westerners. It’s great to know the regular price before booking the cab. The app also has the ability to let your friends know where you are on route eliminating the stress of commuting wherever you are.
The 30th August is a special day of celebration for the people of Kerala called Onam. Onam is an ancient festival which celebrates the Asura King Mahabali reign. Mahabali has been revered by his people since prehistory as his rule is considered the golden era of Kerala. It is suggested that the Onam mythology may have been devised as a political allegory or tool for the subjects to remind the rulers about an ideal king and a welfare state.
Onam songs mention many of the modern social and economic indicators of a Welfare State including fighting crime, child mortality and living moral lives. Onam helps to create an atmosphere of peace and brotherhood, bringing people of all religions, castes and communities together celebrating the festival with equal joy and vigour.
The Onam sadya or feast is served on banana leaves and consists of about 26 dishes, including: banana chips, pappadum, rice, Dal, various vegetable curries, chutneys and pickles both sweet and sour, followed with a sweet rice pudding. This is the feast we were served. As we finished something we could ask for a top up until we were satisfied. The problem was our eyes were bigger than our tummies and we all over ate. Leaving the restaurant very full we decided to walk home instead of taking a local auto rickshaw which is the Indian version of the Thai tuk tuk.
Monday 31st August was a tourist day in Bangalore. I’d booked an 8hr/80km taxi to show me around some of the sights, a little over $25Aust. I wanted to see and experience some of the sights of Bangalore including: the City Markets and markets on MG & Brigade Road, some of the spectacular landmark buildings such as Bangalore Palace, Vidhana Soudha, Attara Kacheri, Mayo Hall, Tipu Saltan’s Summer Palace and both the Cubbon Park and Lalbah Botanical Gardens. It certainly was a day of walking and my legs were only just recovering from their strenuous exercise in the gym!
The taxi picked me up at 11:15am. The driver knew a little English which was helpful. I showed him a list of all the places I wanted to go and in the order I thought would take me from the furthest to the closest so that we hopefully wouldn’t get stuck in peak hour traffic on route home. He looked through my list and told me that both palaces were closed. Bangalore Palace was the venue for a famous movie star’s wedding and all the roads were closed except for guests and the other was the same. Or that’s what I thought he said. I later found out the latter was not true. I don’t know his reason for telling me this.
Unbeknown to me my driver first took me to the last thing on my list because I was told later, it was the closest and I might need more time to wander around the gardens. Hmmm not in the middle of the day even if it was fairly cool under the trees. I climbed the stone hill here and then wandered around the grounds looking at some of the gardens. These botanical gardens spread over many acres but without a map I was unsure of what was where. I think it took me 45 mins to hike around before heading back to the car.
Without a connected phone I felt rather vulnerable as I couldn’t call the driver if I got lost or let him know where I was if I needed to be picked up so most of the time I would go with him till he parked so I would know where to return. This worked at most stops but not all as I will explain.
I then asked my driver to take me to the city markets where I hoped to wander around looking at wares and just taking in the essence of the place. On route my driver said it would not be possible to park and without a phone contact I would not take the risk of being dropped off and not being able to reconnect. So he just drove me there for a quick look as it was near to the next stop the Seat of Chambers. A beautiful building and a popular tourist attraction. The problem is you can’t get past the gruff guards to take a photo without the fence obstructing the view! Never mind, my driver did a U-turn so I could take a photo from a distance which was much better. Also on this side of the road was the Attara Kacheri the High Court building which is an amazing fire engine red. The gate was open and no guards, or so I thought, so I strolled in and was just about to take a photo when I was shouted at by some guards sitting under a tree! The motioned for me to come over and then told me unless I had business here I was not allowed in. Fortunately I didn’t have any business matters at the court but tried to explain I only wanted a photo. I was told I would need to do that outside the fence. So once again distant photo’s but this time I could put my hand through the fence so it was not obstructing my photo.
I would have liked my phone then to call my driver but no still no signal so I walked back to the car. It was time for a coffee. Fortunately Jolly had given me some place near where we were going next which was MG Road a popular shopping destination for locals and tourists with a range of shops selling fabric, clothing, carvings in silver, brass and wood as well as tailors, jewellers and street knickknacks. I found a coffee shop to take a break and to connect on wifi to let Salil know still no service on my new SIM!
After my short break I found a money changer. Fortunately I knew the morning’s rate so was able to bargain for a good exchange. Unfortunately I had handed over my money before I remembered I should have gone to Western Union as many of these smaller dealers are used for money laundering. Opps! Too late, he wasn’t going to give me my money back once he had it in this sticky paws. I got quite a good rate as I checked when I reached home and the Aussie dollar had dropped again! As I exited the shop my driver was standing on the corner so I asked where he’d parked and said I’d have a look around before coming back to the car.
It was interesting to see what was available as I strolled along the MG Road, shop owners calling out and waving for me to come in and have a look around. In one of the malls I found a small shop that looked like it might be a post office. I inquired and was told yes I could buy stamps here. I was pleasantly surprised to see there were no queues, in fact there were only two other people in the shop! I bought my stamp and had it franked before leaving it with the postmaster.
Cubbon Park, which was close by, was our next stop. It was here under the canopy of beautiful trees that I was stopped by a young guy who wanted to chat. I often get people wanting to practice their English or just talk with a foreigner. Amongst other things he inquired what I’d seen and what I still wanted to see. It was then I found out that the Sultan’s summer palace wasn’t closed.
I meandered back to the car but no driver in sight! Hmmmm now what to do. If I wanted to go to the summer palace we would have to move fast as I needed to be back by 7pm and I didn’t know how much time it would take to get there and stop for something to eat before heading home. It was then 4pm. I tried finding him but he was nowhere to be seen. I then decided to ask if someone could give him a call. One of the other friendly drivers tried calling but told me I had one number short! Hmmm ok another call to Salil who then called the driver for me. He had also been in the park but I hadn’t seen him.
The sultan’s summer palace was a bit of a letdown being just a large room but I did have an interesting walk around the area before we headed to an eatery near where I was staying. I had an awesome Masala dosa so thick and crunchy!
Arrived home exhausted. Still no phone connection!
Pictures: 1. Map of India 2. Flying into Bangalore 3. Onam feast 4. Salil(trying to work out which way for the fingers-its not a rude sign here), me & Jolly 5. Vidhana Soudha 6. Seat of Chamber 7. High Court or Attara Kacheri 8. Sign for Summer Palace 9. School with cow wandering around it 10. Cubbon Park 11. Cubbon Park trees and pigeons
Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for my safe arrival in Bangalore, somewhere friendly to stay and time to relax as well as look around and experience the place.
Praise Him for safety on the roads and with all my traveling arrangements.
Please pray for my travels around Mumbai as well as my journey to Goa, India as I may be traveling by bus which is 13 hrs.
Praise the Lord for He continues to provide hospitality, guidance, generosity and love wherever I go through people I meet and friends I stay with.
Please pray for the Lord’s guidance and safety as I continue my travels through India.
Please continue to pray that I have wisdom as I minister to people along the way and the opportunity to share my faith.
Please pray for ongoing good health, protection and safety on my travels through India.
Thank you all for your continual prayers for my mother who is being well looked after in Perth by the Baptist Home Care. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.