The Blog of Gord

Not many people think of going to India in the summer to escape the heat back home, but maybe they should:  NYC 38 C, Ottawa 36 C, Bangalore… 26 C.  I haven’t even had the AC on this week!

This past weekend was a quiet one, with no major adventures.  Saturday I mailed some postcards, only Rs 8 to send back to Canada and the US.  Perhaps the low cost is due to not pre-gumming the stamps.  At the main post office, where I walked Saturday morning to buy stamps, they provide a pot of glue you can scoop glue out of with your finger.  It’s tricky to get the right amount, so one of you might get ten postcards all glued together.

On Sunday I walked down Hosur Road (Hoser Road, eh? A Kannada name?) to The Forum, purported to be the biggest shopping mall in India.  Actually it didn’t feel that big (not even close to a corner of West Edmonton Mall) but it was big, five stories tall, including a set of movie theatres.  Stepping inside, after going through the security check (people dressed in commando outfits search all bags and purses) was like being teleported into a suburban North American mall.  Outside: a shepherd tending a flock of sheep, a guy sleeping on the road, and vendors selling live chickens and skinned goats.  Inside: trendy, expensive stores and restaurants, everything gleaming, everyone well-dressed.  Wow.  Just so I could say I did it, I ate at McDonald’s and had a Chicken Maharaja Mac combo for Rs 99.

I managed to find another couple of pubs to sample.  In both cases, only Kingfisher was on tap, so I’m getting the idea these guys have a lock on the local pub scene.  On Saturday I visited the Downtown Pub, which is in a basement in the core shopping area off Brigade Road.  It was busy, with loud western rap music and people playing pool in the back.  On Sunday I tried to find the Guzzler’s Inn (sounds like my kind of place!), but it appeared to be under renovation, so I went to a place called the Museum Inn instead.  It was empty:  I had the whole bar to myself, and watched a couple of hours of a cricket match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe while I enjoyed a few pints.

This weekend I probably won’t make it to any pubs.  Instead, I’m flying to Delhi Saturday morning and then driving to Agra to spend Sunday at the Taj Mahal.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.