Since we missed the train to Hampi and we didn’t really want to spend a long weekend sitting around the house we decided to make a quick trip that we tried to make once before but missed because Stacy got a case of the Bangalore Belly, Nandi Hills.  Our friends/neighbors headed there as well so we figured it would be kind of fun to meet them there.  Above is a short clip (poor YouTube quality) that I took when we first got out of the car.  We walked down some steps and saw monkeys and even children playing on the swing set.  There was also this music playing from a loud speaker which kind of took away from the scenery.  The hills kind of rise out of what is otherwise some pretty flat land.  It looks really neat from a distance and as you get closer you can really see the character of the rock formations.

Here are some pics from the drive towards Nandi Hills

The drive up hill is a long series of switchbacks and the road is a little unkept.  That made it a little more exciting.  Many people stop on the side of the road for picnics or scenery breaks.  Often you can see families of monkeys running along side the car.  We keep the windows up as instructed by Shantakumar, our driver.  I guess the monkeys are not shy or afraid of much including moving minivans.

Here are some pictures of temples and gardens.  The grounds here are very green and lush.  There is a Nandi temple down a path on the side of the hill and a cave temple as well.  Preston couldn’t resist climbing into the cave and pretending he was Master Shifu (from Kung Fu Panda).

Here are some pictures from the top.  The scenery was really cool.  Its strange how parts of the hills seem remote like a national park and then you turn around and there’s ramshackle temples, run down restaurants, noisy loudspeakers blaring music, and lots of crazy monkeys and garbage.  I’m sure the temples and the music have a lot to do with the tightly integrated religious beliefs and history of the place but to a naive foreigner it makes for some strange ambiance.

Here are some pictures of people we met along the way and our neighbors.  Many people loved Elise.  This is a usual occurrence in public.  People love to take her picture and have their picture taken with her.  I thought the group of ladies sitting on the rock looking off into the distance was kind of a cool sight so I took a picture of them.  Our neighbors Abhi and Amber are pictured as well as their son, Roshan, with Preston.

Here are some pictures of monkeys (Bonnet Macaques) that are everywhere.  Some of these guys got a little aggressive.  Lots of people were carrying long sticks to fend of the little suckers.  One guy got into a charging match with one (pic titled “mad monkey”) right next to us with the kids right there.  I wasn’t very fond of that move.

We stayed for lunch… inside the van with the windows up.  Our driver and another man kept a close eye on the van for monkeys and dogs.  They had to chase away a few.  A couple times you could here the monkeys jump on top of the van waiting for a momont to seize a snack.  We went for another short walk and then hit the road.  At a village at the bottom of the hill there were kids.. lots of kids.  Some of them had set up a “road block” with a pice of string.  They were attempting to stop cars and extract donations fo rthe upcoming Ganesha festivals in town.  It was cute.  There were also lots of kids selling grapes.  There are a lot of grapes grown here for many uses, amongst which is wine.  We stopped and bought some.  As soon as we stopped we were approached by kids asking for notebooks and pencils.  I guess these items are in very short supply in the villages.  Unfortunately we had none.  But we did have a bunch of flashy stickers that the kids seemed to get a kick out of.  We made it home after a 120 minute drive and we were quite happy with how our holiday weekend turned out.  In the end we did get to see some ruins even though they were only old resteraunts.

August 15th is Indian Independence day. It is also a long holiday weekend for Stacy and kids as there is no work or school. We decided to take advantage of the extra day off and make the 8 hour journey to a place north of Bangalore called Hampi. Hampi looks like a pretty cool place with lots of ruins of temples, sacred places, and royal dwellings. There is also a neat landscape surrounding the area that I really wanted to see in person. There was some discussion about how to make the trip: minivan or train? We thought we were up for the added excitement of a train trip. It seemed like a good idea at the time. So after a great deal of frustration with the Indian Railways on-line booking system (maybe I’m just a little critical coming from an computer application support career.. but I don’t think so), I was able to procure some second class A/C births to Hospet. Hospet is the town with the train station nearest to our ultimate destination. I reserved a hotel room and plotted out a little itinerary for our walks when we got to Hampi.
Finally the big day came and Stacy and I were pretty excited. I had packed the bags full of clothes, food for the train, and stuff to keep the kids busy. As this is an overnight train it was scheduled to depart the station at 22:30. So we took our time eating dinner and got prepared for the car ride to the train station. I hadn’t considered it a factor at the time because I’m not really a seasoned Bangalore travel veteran but it was raining hard. So at about 19:00 our driver, Shantakumar, got a phone call notifying him that traffic was real bad and that we should get going asap. The estimate at the time was that it would take about 2 hours to get to the train station. So we got the gear loaded into the van along with the kids and headed out at about 19:40. Seemed like enough time. We did hit some traffic as there are many festivities and ceremonies on and around Independence day. But it didn’t seem like we should be that concerned… until we neared the train station.
The train station is right next to the bus station. Both of these stations serve a large portion of the Bangalore inter-city and inter-state traffic… especialy on holidays. Unfortunately we found out this little fact to late. According to Shanta we were about 2 km from the train station when we hit dead stop traffic. The entire portion of what loked to be a four lane street was filled with cars, vans, rickshaws, buses, trucks, and motorcyles all going one way (keep in mind this is a 2-way street ;-). It looked like a parking lot. There were motorcycles and rickshaws that had even decided to use the side walks as part of the street. At about 22:15 it seemed pretty obvious that if we sat in the van any longer we were definitely going to miss our train. So we decided to make a run for it. Shanta said in his calm voice “no. don’t go” but this wasn’t convincing enough. He had told us that the train station was just around the corner. Sounded simple. Get out of the van with the luggage and the kids, run a few yards, take a right, then the train station would be on the right hand side. Easy, huh? Not so much. We made it to the turn alright but then everything went south. Stacy was ahead a little carrying Elise and hurrying Preston along (who was noticeably not happy about the situation). I was in back with the luggage (thank god we packed a little light). Preston had actually started to cry and sob a little. The rain started coming down a little harder. The road started splitting off in mutiple directions. The sidewalk became more precarious with missing sections, mud, holes, standing water, and, of course, a steady stream of others running for buses or trains. We zig-zaged in and out of traffic, around buses, through intersections until we were actually lost (I think). We asked for directions on several occasions. We were directed to take turns, go here, go there, or Stacys favorite direction: “go opposite” which could have meant several things at the time. Eventually we were lost in a see of buses and people. We were soaked up to our knees with who-knows-what sort of gray cloudy liquid (I kept telling myself it was just rain water but I knew better of the drainage issues in the fair city). We crossed some over passes and went under some bridges then into a hotel/inn of some sort. By this time it was 22:50. We asked for directions one more time after passing through the hotel. “opposite” with a hand wave was the instruction. So gave a shot at “opposite” one more time. Only this time opposite meant crossing two lanes of buses and somehow scaling a 10 foot fence with luggage and children. And “opposite” showed no signs of being a train station. It was 23:00 and time to give it up.
Luckily, we were right at a police station so we figured this was the best place to call Shanta and inform him of our failure to locate the train and to come pick us up.

Stacy wasn’t happy but I tried to see the humor in the situation and take a quick picture.

In the end Shanta found us sitting in the only shelter from the rain that we could find under teh police station overhang. Actually the trip back to the van where Shanta had parked was a lot like the walk to the train station only slower. It was another sea of people, buses, water (kind of), and garbage. All in all it was a very exciting and educational adventure. We learned some valuable lessons like: 1) listen to your driver when he says “no. don’t get out” even if he doesn’t sound serious. 2) “just around the corner and up the road on the right” doesn’t mean what it sounds like. 3) “opposite” means… I think we’re still undecided on that one. 4) Not all “adventures” are fit for children.

We still plan to get to Hampi only I think we’ll skip the train next time.

Palm Meadows is definitely one of the nicest places to live in or around Bangalore.  One could argue that all of what one really needs for a very comfortable existence is right here inside our white-washed concrete block walls.  Not only are there an abundance of conveniences but there is also tons of beautiful plant life as well.  One of Palm Meadows trademark landscape designs is the glorious palm tree lined streets.  Oh this tree makes for wonderful shade and a very picturesque street scene Ill admit.  And up until a week ago I really had no doubt that the palm tree was an enduring symbol of paradise on earth.

But then it happened…. a small monsoon storm blew into our sheltered neighborhood and turned our whole world upside down. We had all (minus the working girl) sat down to dinner when there came a door bell ring.  I went to see who it was.  As I opened the door a small boy stood there.  He said “…um… umm…. sir? I just thought I should tell you that your car is broke.  Your mirror is off”.  I thanked him and decided to take a walk into the driveway to see if I was understanding him correctly.  To my horror, this is what I saw:

The monsoon winds had blown a large palm leaf off of the tree near our mini van. How could such a picturesque plant cause such damage? How could this leaf that shades my children’s afternoon bike rides be so brutal? How could this happened? My whole image of the palm trees that line our streets is now destroyed along with my Innova’s side mirror. Thanks Palm Meadows for placing these instruments of destruction smack dab in the middle… or just to the sides… of our paths to complete happiness!