Bangalore is not my "cup of tea"

In Bangalore, I met with some relocation agents who were real pains in the asses. They asked me if AIRINC would pay them for future meetings. Relocation agents NEVER ask us that, and we deal with Santa Fe especially all over the world. We share the same clients, the meetings are meant to be mutually beneficial. I couldn’t believe they sat me down to ask me, I was perplexed and a bit offending, and tried to do what I could to defend my company and our reason for why we shouldn’t pay. Pain in the ass lady was annoyed. At least I got (almost) all the info out of them that I needed.

Got the red dot painted on my forehead for lunch. Bhindi, I guess it’s called? I ate at a “veg only” restaurant when I went to the mall and I was nervous, I have to admit. There were lots of different items presented with lots of different sauces and even though I said “no nuts, no nuts” it’s so hard to know for sure. I kept my trusty benedryl next to me at all times, of course. Everyone next to me ate everything with their hands (should be my paradise, right old roomies?) but I kept my fork and spoon in hand. Eating rice with your hands just doesn’t seem right. It was a messy, messy feat for everyone else. I surprisingly had no issues with any allergies. And, I was able to eat everything, though I stopped to stare at items every now and again for any hint of anything that looked nutty. I kept the bhindi on until it wore off by the end of the night. I felt a little self-conscious walking around with it (I had NO idea what it actually stood for) but I thought it was interesting to have, for sure.

Here in Bangalore, they have only negative things to say about people in Delhi. “They are very expensive. They rip you off. All they want is money, money, money.” I was told on multiple occasions. Hmm… besides my jewelry problem, I actually had a pretty good experience! I was surprised to see everyone’s reaction on Delhi. I thought they weren’t any better in Bangalore than they were in Delhi, for sure. They still tried to rip me off left and right. I didn’t like Bangalore much because I didn’t really have any time to check it out. And, it was rainy most of the time.
Today my stupid driver took me to some stupid shop after I said no to him 5 times. I am pretty mad at myself actually for not losing it on him. I already know the classic Indian “take advantage of tourist shops” very well. I walked in there, they took the time to show me rugs, and made me feel guilty when I didn’t buy anything. I curbed that a little bit by saying I would come back the next day. I took a quick look at prices and they were just absurd. Totally absurd. Oh, and by the way, the exit was through 6 different shop display areas. I was quietly fuming and definitely let the hotel know I wasn’t happy when I got back.

By the way, the "green bangalore" image I posted is totally a contradiction. Bangalore is anything but green and clean.