Driver's license

My father got his driver's license done in Bangalore. Congrats, Anna ! It is commendable that you will start driving in today's Bangalore traffic !

Simply

Marriage. Married life. Long vacation from work. Trips to Tirthalli, Chennai and Udupi. Lots and lots of relatives. Zipping around Bangalore in the wagonR - Much happiness.

Cold. Logistical nightmares. Lagging behind at work. A zillion things to do, 6 days left to fly. The heart wants to stay back, what to do ?

Life has been good, many thanks to Venky.

Bangalore airport

Amma and Anna came with me to pick up the bro, and we all enjoyed the whole experience. The road is fantastic from Hebbal, comparable to US freeways imo, except for a few quirks here and there. Parking especially is beautifully done, and so is the Volov bus facility.

The approx 37 km drive to Bangalore airport was done in under 45 minutes, albeit at 12 in the night. If I recall right, getting to the old airport from home was taking comparable time. But oh, the drive is fantastic. If anything, I felt the wagonR needed more power/speed, I didn't go beyond 90 kmph for fearing of hurting the brother's car engine.

The bus conductors were standing in the corridor and trying to lure passengers to try the bus. There were empty parking slots, and many. The arrival and departure areas are wide and spacious, with plenty of standing place for people who are waiting for their folks to come out.

Well done, BIAL

Bangalore

- The direct flight from Hong Kong to Bangalore is a fantastic idea.

- Its a huge difference to have company on international flights. Huge.

- Bangalore's new airport and the roads leading to it are awesome.

- I flew in the first Dragon Air flight to Bangalore, and our plane was welcomed to the tarmac by the fire engines spraying water all over the plane from two sides, like an abhishekha.

- When we stepped out, we were greeted by silk saree wearing smiling ladies handing out bronze deepas to all passengers, and photographers clicking away like we were celebrities. All the passengers were mostly bleary eyed in contrast. The pilots and air hostesses got garlanded and were looking fabulous and surprised.

- The old airport's major bottlenecks appear to have been addressed well. No wait at the swanky immigration counters, no crowd/push-pull near the luggage carousals, all taxies were on one lane, while private parties had plenty of parking, and everyone was courteous and smiling. I had a fabulous experience.

Bangalore seems improving by leaps and bounds, and in contrast the US seems to be somewhat stuck and slow moving. The ambiance and the energy here is fantastic. Everytime I come home, I want to stay back. I already want to this trip.

Stick shift

Driving the stick shift in Bangalore has been fantastic. I landed on sunday night at 11:30 or so. The next afternoon, I drove to Channapattana with folks to visit a cousin's second baby. And the last two days, I have been driving all around Bangalore, zipping in and out of traffic like on a bike. Rajajinagar, Garuda mall, Malleswaram and Majestic areas have all been fair game...

It is fantastic, to feel our WagonR zip through little spaces in the road.

Bikerdude

Google's reader came up with this 'blog recommendation' feature, with the tool pointing out interesting blogs every now and then. Interesting to me, that is.

It is surprising how accurate it has been. With time, I have been adding more and more blogs to my list.

Today's recommendation of the bikerdude's blog had me rolling on the floor. If you are a kannadiga, or can understand a fair bit of Kanglish, check out bikerdude's blog!

I find his writing hilarious. Especially his poem here:
Good fun.