Dispatch from Bengaluru

My week in Bengaluru (aka Bangalore) ends today. The second time visiting was easier, because even though the only things I remembered from the outside were that everything was a huge hassle and the food was delicious, as soon as I landed I recalled how to be here. I'm sure the experience is different depending on who you are and where you're coming from. How people treat you depends on who they think you are in their world, and what you find strange or difficult or different depends on what is usual in your world.

Even in just the five years since I've been here, Bengaluru has become, it seems, even more dusty, chaotic, built-up, technological, and dirty. I would swear there were more trees. Then again, last time I was in Koramangala and this time I stayed in a hotel walking distance from the office in HSR Layout which is off just the most nightmarish stroad you can imagine. Seriously, Outer Ring Road makes the worst stroads I drove on in Austin seem relaxed and lovely.

Well I just found some notes from five years ago giving me advice about where to stay when I visit the company office, presumably some copy-pasted Slack message. The notes, which reviewed my options for hotels, and suggested the Grand Mercure in Koramangala, said

[...]the DoubleTree, which is a little closer to the office is in a crappy location with nothing around it apart from apartments and tech parks

Yeah, guess where I was staying this time. On the one hand I could walk to the office. On the other hand, it is a crappy location, so dusty during the day that I took to wearing my KN95 mask outdoors to protect against the dust.

Everyone who lives here, or who used to live here and visits keeps telling me that it used to be greener and there were more lakes and they keep building office parks over the lakes.

Last time I was here, the office as in a different Indiqube, one that overlooked a lake, and even if that lake was rather polluted, it was something to look at that wasn't a huge road. It absolutely swarmed with kites, and I loved to see them. There were hardly any pigeons. This time, pigeons were everywhere and I felt lucky to spot just a few kites. I mentioned this to my coworkers, and they said that the pigeons love roosting in the new high-rises, while the kites need tall trees, and the tall trees keep being cut down. I remember back then staring out the window when the kites gathered in masses in the morning and afternoon.

Like I said earlier, the second time is easier. For example, I learned from the first time that you need an Indian phone number to use any of the myriad of delivery apps here, and that getting a local SIM card is quite difficult and heavily regulated, so while it seems like a huge hassle to get one at the airport when you arrive at the middle of the night, it's worth it. The supposedly 5-start hotel work put me up at had pretty uninspired and really expensive room service, while for the price of a 900INR local SIM the world of delivery apps was open to me. A feast can be had for 500INR through Zomato. A barely adequate snack might be possible through room service.

It's very late. I've been filling out my expense report and approving the other people's. I will end here with just a few more things. My advice to people from Silicon Valley and surrounds visiting Bengaluru is qualitatively a lot like the advice I used to give and get for Burning Man, which is to say a list of hints that won't make much sense until you come here, and that I myself will forget when I leave--anyway here goes:

• Get a local SIM card at the airport, yes, even if it's 3 a.m.
• People will offer you help. Take it.
• Eat with your hand. But only your right hand.
• Careful with the water and with anything that might have touched tap water. This is the key to avoiding intestinal distress, not, as locals are convinced, avoiding spicy food.
• Brush your teeth with bottled or boiled water.
• But do drink enough water.
• Don't eat raw vegetables or fruit, but good news, most vegetables in Indian food are cooked.
• If you're a woman you may be tempted to get and wear a salwar suit or kurta or even a sari. You can do that if you want but in a city you'll get way more unwanted attention in ethnic wear than in Western clothes. I wouldn't recommend it if your goal is to just hang out.
• The head shake means yes, or maybe, or maybe even no. It'll make sense in context. Don't overthink it and don't be surprised if you pick it up yourself.
• If you need to cross the street, wait for a big group and just attach yourself to them.
• The sun is intense and heatstroke is a serious danger.
• Have some idli.
• Dosa are kind of like crepes and you'll probably like them. You should have some dosa, too.
• Bring a face mask for the dust.

Tomorrow, I fly to Tokyo. It's going to be like a contrast bath of culture shocks.