So after 5 hours spread over the last 2 days I have yet to find a grocery store. The maps I have are not detailed enough so I am googling downtown Bangalore and zooming way in.
City Super Market was my first destination. On route yesterday I got distracted as I found the street that our apartment is on - Lavelle Road. Just by chance I started heading down the road (there are no signs labelling the roads) and noticed the Bangalore Club which I knew was really close to where were going to be staying. Excited, I backtracked and headed down the first side road which are called crosses (little dead end streets off of Lavelle) knowing that our apartment is on one of them. At the start of the first street is a rod that stops traffic from going down the street and a security guard sitting next to it. I ask him if the 'Aspire" apartments are down this road and he looks at me like I am retarded and says 'I don't think so ma'am.' I keep walking down the street and come to the next cross street. Again, a bar is across the front of this street and no security guard that I can see so I just walk around the barrier and low and behold, find our apartment. It was a good moment! As I walk back out of the complex, security guard now in place I am psyched that I was making good progress today in getting myself organized with my surroundings. I decide to walk back to the hotel to make sure that I really know where I am so that I can get there again. I walked for 30 minutes or so before I ended up at our apartment. It took me 5 minutes to get back to the hotel. Not the most efficient use of my time to get there but it worked!
Ok, back to the objective, find City Super Market. I recheck the computer and send the map to Ryan so that he can print it for me at work so that I don't need to be back at the hotel every time I need it. Out I head again. This time, I really feel like I know where I am going. I head back down Lavelle Road, just to get myself familiar with it. I head the way I feel my memory is leading me as I think that I have the map ingrained in my memory. I do the incredible. I cross a road with 8 lanes (at least) of traffic and don't get hit! I am walking along and see the next picture and know that this morning, I saw this place. I took the picture on my first walk.
I stopped and pulled out the map that I did have and tryed to figure out where I went wrong. A rickshaw driver stopped and got out of his vehicle and came over to try and help me. It wasn't much help and he then tried to get me to take a ride with him which I declined and kept walking. I gave up and ended up heading back to the hotel.
Today, we needed to go and get passport photos to register so our driver Venkatesh took us there this morning near Brigade Road. He took off with Ryan and I waited for them to develop. It took them an hour to develop them but for 250 rupees for 16 copies each, so cheap. While they were developing I went out looking for a Spencers (another grocery store) that I saw on my google maps was really close to the passport place. I walk around. It is 10:30 am in the morning and nothing is opened yet. During my walk I see these monkeys just hanging out on the wall next to the sidewalk:
I can't seem to find Spencers. I finally stop and ask someone where it is and I get told that Spencers has gone out of business. No luck there.
Get my photos and then start to walk home. On my walk is a place that I remember from my map called Koshys. It said that is was a grocery store. I actually find this place but as far as I can tell it is not a grocery store. Looks like a ice cream place and a fish and chip restaurant and a little hole in the wall that sells chips etc. So I walk back to the hotel...
After I work out, I head back out to find the elusive City Place Market. With new detailed map in hand, this should be a breeze.
I get to the right area. It is a really poor area of the city. I see my first cow!
And chicken:
I really have to watch my step but that is not new, you have to watch out everywhere:
My walk is super interesting. I really wanted to take pictures of some of the people. They were doing things like washing clothes at the side of the street but I was a little shy in taking their pictures as they were all staring at me. I hope to get over that so that I can show you how some of the people live here.
Not sure if this next picture is a makeshift barn for these cows or if they just made it their own to get out of the sun. Remember I am in the heart of downtown Bangalore.
I finally ask a man who ended speaking really good English where the City Super Market is and he told me that the City Super Market is an actual market - not what google would have had me believe since I googled grocery stores. He said that it opened at 3 am every morning and since it was 2 pm in the afternoon, it had been done for hours. So not the 'grocery' store that I was looking for. I continue on my way...one last attempt before I go home. There should also be a Foodworld somewhere near me, so I head to check it out. I am standing in the exact position on the map that it says it should be and it is not here. I don't know what I am missing but this seems ridiculously hard to find somewhere to buy some groceries.
I officially give up trying to find one (at least for today :))
Venkatesh is going to come and drive me to one tomorrow. It feels like I am wimping out.
So here I am eating Miloni Subzi from room service. I guess things could be worse... :)
City Super Market was my first destination. On route yesterday I got distracted as I found the street that our apartment is on - Lavelle Road. Just by chance I started heading down the road (there are no signs labelling the roads) and noticed the Bangalore Club which I knew was really close to where were going to be staying. Excited, I backtracked and headed down the first side road which are called crosses (little dead end streets off of Lavelle) knowing that our apartment is on one of them. At the start of the first street is a rod that stops traffic from going down the street and a security guard sitting next to it. I ask him if the 'Aspire" apartments are down this road and he looks at me like I am retarded and says 'I don't think so ma'am.' I keep walking down the street and come to the next cross street. Again, a bar is across the front of this street and no security guard that I can see so I just walk around the barrier and low and behold, find our apartment. It was a good moment! As I walk back out of the complex, security guard now in place I am psyched that I was making good progress today in getting myself organized with my surroundings. I decide to walk back to the hotel to make sure that I really know where I am so that I can get there again. I walked for 30 minutes or so before I ended up at our apartment. It took me 5 minutes to get back to the hotel. Not the most efficient use of my time to get there but it worked!
Ok, back to the objective, find City Super Market. I recheck the computer and send the map to Ryan so that he can print it for me at work so that I don't need to be back at the hotel every time I need it. Out I head again. This time, I really feel like I know where I am going. I head back down Lavelle Road, just to get myself familiar with it. I head the way I feel my memory is leading me as I think that I have the map ingrained in my memory. I do the incredible. I cross a road with 8 lanes (at least) of traffic and don't get hit! I am walking along and see the next picture and know that this morning, I saw this place. I took the picture on my first walk.
I stopped and pulled out the map that I did have and tryed to figure out where I went wrong. A rickshaw driver stopped and got out of his vehicle and came over to try and help me. It wasn't much help and he then tried to get me to take a ride with him which I declined and kept walking. I gave up and ended up heading back to the hotel.
Today, we needed to go and get passport photos to register so our driver Venkatesh took us there this morning near Brigade Road. He took off with Ryan and I waited for them to develop. It took them an hour to develop them but for 250 rupees for 16 copies each, so cheap. While they were developing I went out looking for a Spencers (another grocery store) that I saw on my google maps was really close to the passport place. I walk around. It is 10:30 am in the morning and nothing is opened yet. During my walk I see these monkeys just hanging out on the wall next to the sidewalk:
I can't seem to find Spencers. I finally stop and ask someone where it is and I get told that Spencers has gone out of business. No luck there.
Get my photos and then start to walk home. On my walk is a place that I remember from my map called Koshys. It said that is was a grocery store. I actually find this place but as far as I can tell it is not a grocery store. Looks like a ice cream place and a fish and chip restaurant and a little hole in the wall that sells chips etc. So I walk back to the hotel...
After I work out, I head back out to find the elusive City Place Market. With new detailed map in hand, this should be a breeze.
I get to the right area. It is a really poor area of the city. I see my first cow!
And chicken:
I really have to watch my step but that is not new, you have to watch out everywhere:
My walk is super interesting. I really wanted to take pictures of some of the people. They were doing things like washing clothes at the side of the street but I was a little shy in taking their pictures as they were all staring at me. I hope to get over that so that I can show you how some of the people live here.
Not sure if this next picture is a makeshift barn for these cows or if they just made it their own to get out of the sun. Remember I am in the heart of downtown Bangalore.
I finally ask a man who ended speaking really good English where the City Super Market is and he told me that the City Super Market is an actual market - not what google would have had me believe since I googled grocery stores. He said that it opened at 3 am every morning and since it was 2 pm in the afternoon, it had been done for hours. So not the 'grocery' store that I was looking for. I continue on my way...one last attempt before I go home. There should also be a Foodworld somewhere near me, so I head to check it out. I am standing in the exact position on the map that it says it should be and it is not here. I don't know what I am missing but this seems ridiculously hard to find somewhere to buy some groceries.
I officially give up trying to find one (at least for today :))
Venkatesh is going to come and drive me to one tomorrow. It feels like I am wimping out.
So here I am eating Miloni Subzi from room service. I guess things could be worse... :)
Hahahaha...I found this halarious Sue :)
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