I think that I have written about transportation in Bangalore quite a bit, but it never fails to provide some excitement. I plan to include other topics, and take more photographs (which I enjoy sharing most), of different parts of India, and wildlife etc, as I plan more trips during my stay. I feel as if I am truly just getting settled in here truthfully, so please look forward to more exciting blogs. So, today it is, once again, back to the basics of "getting around" in Bangalore. As many "want-to-be" India expats read this blog, I am writing this blog particularly directed at you.
When my assignment began, my organization offered to assist with finding a driver, etc, yet I decided to use cabs instead. It was definitely "driven" by the thought "I can't keep a driver waiting all day while I am at work" ("What will he do all day?") and also I take a lot of US calls at night from home, and so therefore can't keep a driver busy full time during the week, so I decided on cabs. Which work fine. They actually work great. Except...when you are at an unrecognizable corner (according to GPS) in the middle of an Indian concert, with amps that are loud enough to reach neighboring communities. And your phone is dying, yet again. The uber cab driver cannot hear you nor find you, though his car visual on your uber app says he is practically on top of you.
This was Saturday evening, which is a BUSY time in all areas of Bangalore. The thing is...these uber cabs run until the wee hours of the morning...I just needed a place to plug in and have connectivity until one arrived, as they find you using maps and addresses.
Sooooo...I entered the "Big Chicken", a restaurant. I wanted to see if I could plug in my phone. Of course the concert is going on right beside the Big Chicken, and it is loud in there. I am yelling over my phone (as you can call and talk to the uber cabbie)..."I'M AT THE BIG CHICKEN!!"..."Please come and get meeeee...my phone is dying!!!!"
An intent young guy working at Big Chicken, who is watching me, figures this out (as does probably everyone inside Big Chicken) and offers to plug my phone in, and talk to the uber driver (how nice!?) to translate every word after “Hello” which I will not understand due to noise, and of course our differing accents. Every worker...every diner...every family...at the Big Chicken on this night, is looking at me, and wondering, "What is going on?", I am sure. This kind worker at The Big Chicken is more intent on helping me than on doing his job at this time, so his work is piling up. Dear Lord I hope I do not affect the employment status of this Big Chicken worker. Though, everyone that works there, including management, remains extremely hospitable. I am sure there is an expiration time tied to this hospitality! (Luckily I leave before it is reached.)
Big Chicken connects with Uber, and I did get picked up. If I were to read this as someone “not living here, unfamiliar with Bangalore”, I would think to myself, skeptic that I am..."How hard can it be for a cab to find you, with an address typed in to a google map??". Well, in some areas of Bangalore, it is really hard, due to how many PEOPLE (literally every street corner, a hundred people) are standing outside in certain areas of Bangalore, and certain regions are displayed as “blocks” so you could be “anywhere” (especially when you are on a live concert corner!). There are so many people, a cabbie cannot find you in the throng of people, due to the traffic lines and heavy population.
I can say, that even in this situation, being in a heavily populated area, I never for one second felt unsafe or even nervous. I think, in Bangalore, from my experience alone, there are a lot more strangers ready to help you, than harm you. In reading the news as a foreigner, I would think I was taking my life into my own hands going out in Bangalore as a foreigner. However, I have not personally ever experienced any fear being outside, and am now approaching 6 months in Bangalore. Yes, at times I wish I had a driver for the weekend, so he could find me at the Big Chicken (!), but that is only for convenience sake, and not for safety.
If I were considering a year or more in Bangalore, I would potentially look into a driver, for evenings and weekends, as stated, just for convenience sake. Otherwise, just have your phone charged at all times (which can be easier said than done if you are out all day), or plan on being close to a Big Chicken!
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