Fried Dough and Buffalo Wild Wings

I visited the North Carolina State Fair while home…lots of exhibits, contests and “best of” ribbons, livestock (cows, pigs, etc) massive vegetables, beautiful flowers and of course FOOD! Being in India for 4 months, I have witnessed the differences in cuisine on a daily, personal level, and so while home, I have found myself in constant comparison mode. I find myself thinking “would an Indian like this?”. Many items, I am pretty sure they would not, but 2 items that I am pretty sure they would love, include: 1) “Fried Dough”, found at the State fair, which is as sweet as some of the items that I have seen my colleagues in India really enjoy. Fried dough is hot and covered in powder sugar, or chocolate, or whatever, and so is basically pure “hot sugar”! Indians love sweets and I am positive would love this treat. 2) Buffalo Wild Wings, for non-veg Indians, should be a restaurant that would provide the spice level that they miss when they visit places like the US. They have 15 or so levels of “heat” for the chicken wings (or could be used to dip a veg item). I ordered the 3rd hottest (Mango Habanera), with the hottest sauce noting to “keep away from eyes and pets”. These wings were the hottest/spiciest item I have eaten in quite a while.

Posting a few pictures from the fair, that include some livestock, a picture of the Fried Dough, and one of the NC favorites: Jumbo Turkey Legs. 

Bangalore traffic makes NY traffic seem leisurely!

I travelled home to NC USA for a 2 week visit, beginning this last Wed Oct 15th. As I left for the airport at 4AM, there were a lot of cars stopped straight ahead upon leaving, and people standing outside pointing upwards. For every point past that area, this side of the road was dark, so no street lights were working. It was really impossible to drive on that side of the road, so we (did the logical thing??) and...headed into the other lane, into oncoming traffic. We drove in this set of “lanes” for about 5 kms. I really had thought I had reached the pinnacle of horror on the Bangalore roads until this particular morning. Seeing so many headlights coming at us, and saying “Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God!!”, so many times, really woke me up, and I am sure did not provide the driver any relaxation. Of course, like so many other trips, the fear lingers only for a short period, until you realize you are alive, and you “re-set” and move on. I truly thought this would be the highlight of the day. Well, it was quite a highlight, but it turned into a long and interesting travel day. I had booked the 3 flight option, of Bangalore to Heathrow to JFK to RDU. The flight out of Bangalore left on time, and then at Heathrow, the flight to JFK was delayed. It was delayed only for an hour, so still plenty of time, no worries. The Heathrow pilot announced, once we were all buckled in, that the plane had needed some maintenance, and also, realized they "needed to change a wheel". I thought to myself, “I could have done without hearing that”. Would I worry about this wheel for 7 hours? I think in situations like this, little white lies like “needed to fuel up!” would do just fine. The trip is still, at this point, pretty uneventful, just fine, and I can even help the fun couple from France fill out their declaration cards, though we don’t understand each other. “ZERO” is a universal symbol, and seems to work best on these cards! Ha

Getting off the plane at JFK is where things went awry. As I was arriving 1st destination “in country”, I had to pick up my bag, re-check it and go through customs. Down in the bowels of baggage and customs, there are no marquees with flight statuses. So I checked my bag and took the train to the other terminal, and right when I got there...I see that the flight from JFK to Raleigh is CANCELLED. Not postponed. It is the only RED status flight on the entire board. It is late at night, so I begin to worry I will be stuck. I move as quickly as possible to a long line of “every other passenger due to be on this plane”. There are 2 agents at the counter (and 75 people in line?). Many people are on phones, but at this time, I am in between phones as my India phone is not working (not international) and I have not been using my US iphone, so for internet, I was not connecting (turned out I needed a mobileiron update anyway, so that would not have worked), so I NEEDED THESE AGENTS. I met 2 other new friends in the line as we waited...one, a young guy who has flown from CHENNAI that day, home to see his family in Raleigh. He has been teaching in a school there for the last 9 months, most recently, and on and off in India for 3 years I believe. The other, a young student who is splitting education time between Columbia and Duke in finishing her NP degree, and is heading back home to Durham. We are all desperate to get home. The girl says she will drive if we can’t get a flight. I do not know her at all yet, but I know we are leaving NY that night, no matter what. She gets to the counter first and gets issued a new ticket. I think “Great, there is another flight!”. I find out soon enough that THIS NEW FLIGHT LEAVES FROM LA GUARDIA, not JFK. It leaves in 90 minutes. I immediately think of the Seinfeld show where they can never “get through NY traffic” without a lot of maneuvering, and delays. I also know I will not be able to get my bag (as it was checked a train ride away) in time. I decide to risk it, and so the young teacher and I get a yellow cab and head to La Guardia. I realize that NY traffic is a piece of cake compared to Bangalore traffic, as we ride into La Guardia with plenty of time to spare.

That flight is delayed as well……and so I get to Raleigh after being up for about 32 hours, on a trip sandwiched between driving down a street the wrong way and a cancelled flight. They flew my bag to Raleigh the next day, so I had no clothes or supplies (think: nothing), and since I arrived after midnight, I could buy nothing. At that point, my main worry was knowing that EVERYTHING was in that bag, and just hoping that it would arrive. Luckily it did, and though I lost a half day of time and was completely exhausted...I made it, and also made 2 new friends along the way.

In the meantime, I have taken a couple of pictures (today was able to go to the NC State Fair!) and will write a couple of blogs “from NC” and post these soon. The most awesome fall weather in NC right now...

I have used the phrases "In India...", or "In Bangalore...", only about 500 times in the last 3 days!

Uber cabs in Bangalore

The biggest difference for me, living in Bangalore, is not having a car to just “get out and go” whenever I want. If I am going anywhere, a bit of planning is required. Recently, I have discovered UBER cabs, which are phenomenal. I have an App on my phone and press a button, and it shows the nearest cab and driver’s ETA. (17 minutes out, etc.) A picture of the driver’s face actually pops up, so you can see who you are about to meet, with his name. Also brand and model of car. With the satellite, I can actually watch him make his way towards me on the screen.

I have been very impressed with all of the drivers, the condition of their cars, and the cost is very affordable. They all arrive, and I am in my normal position, holding up my phone up to the window excitedly, saying “Babu? Is this you??”, as Babu smiles, and off we go.

So today I went to a salon and was there (a lot) longer than I thought, and had left with a half charged phone. Time to leave, and I realize the Uber app is spinning and not responding. I am cutting off my phone and cutting it on frantically, and finally get an Uber signal a half hour later, and then, Hallelujah, “Abhijeet” is only 49 minutes away! I know my phone will not make it 49 minutes, and I don’t want to lose touch with Abhijeet, no matter what (as they normally need to call and find you once they get there). Bangalore is so busy with crowds, how will Abhijeet find me without my phone turned on? I call him and tell him my phone is dying. I am not sure if he understands. I text him a description of the sign I will be standing under. I tell him I am blonde. I wish I knew how to say “I am BLONDE, my phone is DYING” in Hindi all of a sudden. Before I turn off my phone, I see his car on the satellite moving towards me. Then...I see him doing what looks like a U-turn, and his car is moving AWAY from me, and suddenly the ETA is longer than before. Oh no! Abhijeet, where are you going? I cannot lose this man in the middle of Bangalore with no back-up and no phone. Thankfully, he did find me, and I swore then and there, that I am getting a 2nd phone, adding the Uber app, and also a battery charger back-up!

Personally, Uber is so valid and dependable, that I am 100% confident that Abhijeet would have parked that car and spent an hour trying to find me if we had missed each other. Highly recommend Uber in India.

Beautiful Train Scenery: Bangalore to Mysore

As you read and look at the pictures posted in this blog, please refer back to previous blogs.

The train to Mysore leaves daily, according to many different scheduled departures (more than 15 trains leave from Bangalore to Mysore daily).

Train travel is SO different from air travel. You dont "check your bags in". You dont "walk through security". (Passengers are free to step aboard brandishing swords, of course, but I feel domestic travel security is a bit much, and so it is nice to just "board and go". I will take my chances and hope the swordsman boarded another car.) You simply buy your ticket and get on the train. And on most, you sit wherever you desire.

I had travelled to Mysore from Bangalore in a car once before, which was obviously a great experience, having a driver who took me on a personalized tour to different places, which was fabulous!

For this targetted trip, the train took the same amount of time. About 3 hours. As we were going for 1 day and returning that same night, the train was a good option. It was one of the best travel experiences on which I can report. The beautiful scenery was simply....AMAZING.

India is so green....lots of sugarcane fields and palm trees in the countryside view from the train.

The train leaves the Bangalore station and arrives in Mysore in a little over 3 hours, depending on timing and route options. It is an absolute breath-taking experience, as you look out the windows which you can raise and lower, or you can sleep the entire trip on (a minimal) cushioned seating that is designated for lying down. Pictures here illustrate the scenery from this particular trip....

As I mentioned prior, I will take this train again while in Bangalore. I enjoyed it very much.

The Palm Versus the Coconut Palm

Before coming to India, I did not realize the number of coconuts that are produced here versus the rest of the world. When I thought of India, I thought "Curry", not necessarily "Coconut". Well, according to what I have researched since then, (after seeing so many coconut palm trees!) there are 3 countries (Indonesia, Philipines and India) that produce around 75% of the world's coconuts, with India being around 15-20% of the world's total production. I remember when I first arrived in India and stepped out of the airport, I saw so many "palm trees", and felt like I was in Florida. These were actually coconut palm trees. Apparently, there are many palm trees in southern parts of the US, yet not all are coconut palms, and even if it is a coconut palm, it can be affected by periodic freezing temperatures and not produce a coconut. In India, the temperatures are always warm, so the factor here is a bit different...coconut production is due to how fertile the soil is, rather than potential freezing temps. A coconut palm in India can result in as few as 30 coconuts from one tree, or up to 75 per year, depending on soil factors. Pretty amazing.

While in Trivandrum with my friend and colleague Subhash, we stopped at 2 coconut stands, where someone with a machete cuts into a young coconut and places a straw in it, and there is up to 30 ounces of coconut water inside for you to drink. It is refreshing.

While there, I visited his parents' home, where they hosted me and cooked an amazing lunch, with such a variety of good food, and an amazing dessert. Their land around the home was beautiful, and had mature, very tall coconut trees on the property, along with so many other beautiful plants. I was trying to figure out the coconut yield from each tree, as I saw some growing on the tree we were standing directly below. I mentioned that I would "not want to be standing under this tree when a coconut fell". My friend said "Pam, we have them harvested. We do not let them fall on people's heads." Haha

Posted here are pictures of coconut trees along a lake in Trivandrum, as well as the coconut stands where vendors can cut open a young tender coconut on the spot, and provide a straw for fresh coconut juice. These coconut stands have been found in every city in India that I have visited so far. The next blog, on the view from the train to Mysore, will showcase pictures of many of these coconut palms.

The Cricket Comparison

Before you read this blog, if you are a big cricket fan…knowledgeable of the sport….a life-long, die-hard fan….well…please, prior to reading this blog, lower your expectations and be prepared to cringe, or giggle, whatever may be your style. I am a pretty big baseball fan, so I thought “Oh! Cricket is similar to baseball”.
I could not have been more wrong.
Well, it is similar, in a way. There is a bat, there is a ball, there are men, and there is scoring. I am sure if I was here in India long enough and actually understood this fast-paced, dynamic game, I would come to enjoy and follow it as much as I do baseball. For now, however, this is the “cricket comparison”, through my naïve eyes. Truthfully, I have no idea what I am watching:

Cricket players wear A LOT of gear. And apparently they have drawn ideas for this gear from many different sports!
There are guys out there wearing lower leg full ice hockey pads.
There are guys wearing 3 different types of head gear depending on position, which can include a simple baseball cap, a wide-brimmed straw-looking hat (golf-look or a Kentucky Derby horse race sun hat, without the flowers), or one, which is a combo of a horse jockey cap and an American football helmet. This one offers the batter the ultimate protection.
The guys in the immediate hitter’s circle (area?) wear apparently very heavy gear (almost every limb has a padding attached) and they run with this, and do not remove it, which I am sure has got to be heavy and exhausting.

The pitcher versus the bowler:
In baseball there is obviously a pitcher, on a mound, that makes the pitch from a basic stance, which is unique to what they have mastered over time, personally. They stand there for a while, communicate with the catcher for signs of what kind of pitch to throw, and heck, if they are stressed (much of the game falls on the pitcher), they take a time out, or rub some chalk on their hands, etc. They take their time. A big part (not all) strategy in baseball for controlling the game is in the pitch.
The cricket pitcher is a “bowler”, and does not have the mound. He runs at a dead sprint towards the place (around where a pitcher’s mound would be located) where he “stops short”, and suddenly winds his arm in a full windmill motion and hurls the ball…where it lands in the dirt….right in front of the batsman. (This technique, when I first saw it, initially made me think of “opening day” at a baseball game, where they have a guest pitcher throw the first pitch who is a TV star, and obviously not a professional pitcher. With thousands watching, they throw and the ball drops in the dirt right before it can make it over home plate. Haha)
In baseball the pitching strategy has a lot to do with a variety of ball grips, timing of releases, speed and placement of ball inside or outside of the strike zone. In cricket, while it appears there is this fast run, and windmill throw, apparently there is also much room for strategy in the throw as well, with the timing of the release, and also the placement of where that ball hits the dirt, close or far to the hitter, and at what kind of an angle. I am sure a lot of other strategy, too.

There are obviously a lot of arm injuries in sports that require repetitive motions, and in baseball these can vary from the forearm to the elbow to the shoulder, but I would bet that in cricket, most injuries have to be mainly found in the shoulder, as surely is is harder to control a full windmill while running at the same time! The throw seems to be very intense.

The bat:
In cricket, the bat looks like a paddle, and from my naïve assessment, so far, part of the strategy in cricket is the hitting, as the field is completely different. In baseball, the field has foul lines and ends in front of the hitter and does not extend behind (though a ball hit into the air and caught behind the hitter will obviously produce an out). In cricket, the field is a circle (or elliptical?) and the batter can plan to hit that ball ANYWHERE he wants, in front or behind.

The length of the game is still confounding to me and so I won’t write much about it. A baseball game ends in 9 or 8 and a half innings (or longer if tied). A cricket game can go on for days, though some say now “this has changed” and it ends “within the day”. I am still very unclear on this.

The announcing to me is, fascinating...It is not uncommon to hear things like ‘And Patel is on his merry way!” during cricket games, on major TV channels. It is kind of a “jolly good time”, and reminds you of the international nature of the sport. This is suddenly, not, an Atlanta Braves game. haha

Many young boys in India have dreams of “being a cricket player” when they grow up, and if they are good enough, and can get discovered, they still need to pay an exorbitant amount of money along the way to joining a professional league. It is all very interesting to watch and ATTEMPT to figure out! Attached below are pictures of young boys playing cricket outside in pick-up games in Bangalore.

Festival in the Parking Garage

Riding around Bangalore with different drivers has provided some of the best humor I have had while in India. Thankfully we are riding together, and not trying to execute an important plan, as they know 3 or 4 languages that I do not understand, and I on the flip-side, know ONE language, that they understand in a very limited fashion. It really makes for some interesting experiences. Some funny stories that stand out:

After riding with a guy who seems to hit the gas rather than the brake when he sees pedestrians:
Me: "Have you ever hit anyone?"
Driver: (enthusiastically) "Yes, Madam!"
Me: "REALLY???"
(Silence)
Me: "Were they seriously hurt?"
Driver: (Indian version of) "Pardon, ma'am"?
Me: (leaning forward, feeling inquisitive, making crashing gestures) "So you HIT someone with your car?"
Driver: (smiling, as he gets it now)....."Oh Noooo, Madam."


Talking about a festival weekend:
Driver: "It is festival in Bangalore."
Me: "Yes, it is! Where should I go to see some activities?"
Driver says 5 or 6 sentences and the only thing I understand is "hotel parking garage".


Driver is going fast, and a dog is looking like he is about to head across the street.
Me: "Watch out, we have a 4-legged friend ahead."
I giggle.
Driver giggles.
We continue to barrel towards the dog.
We get really close.
Dog is inching out.
Me: "Don’t hit that dog, Don't hit that dog, DON’T HIT THAT DOG!!!"
Driver giggles.
Dog lives.
I tell driver that if he hits a dog, I am pulling him out of the driver seat and am taking over.


Driver saying something about "someone from the US" and says the word "friend".
I am not sure if he is talking about a friend of mine or a friend of his, but when I get into these conversations, I am simply not giving up until we exhaust all possible options of understanding each other.
Me: "WHO is coming from the US?"
Me: "Is it someone I KNOW, or someone YOU KNOW?"
(I am speaking louder as I somehow think this will help.)
Driver: something something something "He is ill."
Me: "He is COMING TO INDIA AND HE IS ILL?"
Driver: "Yes, Madam".
I am still not positive who is coming, and why he is coming if he is ill.
I plan to follow up on this one as I see this guy a lot.


Me, standing outside before departing, clarifying the plan. I am telling driver to please stop at Marahathalli bridge. We need to pick someone up along the way.
He is silent.
He looks very confused.
I have provided a destination, yet this "stop" in between, creates a ball of confusion.
I begin using my hands and arms to try to assist with the explanation, and this demonstration ends with me looking like I am standing on a tarmac waving in an airplane. "We need to PICK HIM UP and then GO....We leave HERE...pick him up THERE, and GO.... We leave HERE....stop THERE...pick him up....GO."