Last week was probably one of my more intereting weeks in awhile. Interesting, frustrating and fun. I will start off with the frustrating part that are in regards to road rules. There are a few road rules that are "in effect" that are really just plain stupid. The first is most insane, and makes no sense whatsoever. It is illegal to have any kind of tint on your car windows now. Most car owners get their windows tinted right? Not a severe, limousine dark shade, just your regular tint that we have back home, and are legal everywhere. Well, not here. Any "tint film" on car windows is no longer legal. Everyone must have the tint on their car windows "removed" or ese you will be fined, your driver will have points taken off his license and lose it after 3 stops if you do not comply. The enforcement of this rule is not consistent. The only exception is if your car has factory tinted manufactured windows. The glass itself made with the tinted glass. For us it is not an option to take the tint off. Simply my sun allergy would make leaving the house impossible. I can be out and about but must be under shaded roofs, or some canopy of sorts. I just absolutely cannot do direct sunlight for than ten minutes at a time. So this rule as you can imagine is literally harmful to my health. And the thing is it is not even consistently enforced. I have been toldt that the mini van we drive, is targeted by cops because well, it's the typical expat vehicle. And yes we have already been stopped twice for failure to comply. You look around at all the cards on the road and it seems as no one is complying. But I'm sure lots of peeps, like us, are paying fines.
Stupid Road rule number 2. The cops can somehow "scan" your license plate and immediately get a report back on if your car has any "fines" attached to it. Doesn't matter if the fines are from a previous owner, at a time when you did not own the car....even if you have proof that you did not own said vehicle when fines were issued, guess what? You are responsible. Although I wanted to scream and shout and make a scene, other scenes of Locked up abroad always play in my head and I do what is always easiest to do here. Pay up. Amazing that you are to give the cop the money for the fines directly. Boggles my already sometimes very weary brain. Okay, so these road rules suck. On Friday I went to a doctor and got a note regarding my sun condition. Don't know if it works yet, we haven't had to try it but we'll see. Think we'll still be paying fines....
On a fun note, my driver has taught me how to "negotiate" when I go shopping down commercial street. Commercial street is known for alleys and alleys of souvenir type items. Sari's, fabric, jewelry, shoes, you name it you can probably find it there. Street is also lined with lots of stores so a day on Commercial street can be fun if you are in need or fun things. So, the "bartering" lesson given to me by my driver Shankar went something like this: Shankar: Madam, if you are be told item is $1000 rupees what do you say? Me: Okay? Shankar: No! NO! NO! Madam, you come down to $500 then go up slowly. But only to $550 or 575, but do so slowly Madam. This conversation with various scenarios took place our whole way to Commercial street. By the time I got there and met with my friend Jennifer I figured I was ready! Well, I actually tried the haggling by myself before she arrived and I was immediately shot down by a guy in a kiosk who would not budge and had set prices. Shot down before I even started! Not to worry, by the time Jennifer arrived I was ready to try again. And I am very proud to say that I made Shankar proud. Well....he doesn't have to know that we didn't go as low as he would have advised us to, but we did negotiate and we never paid first price that was given to us once we started our real shopping spree. And I have to admit it became fun to negotiate and go back and forth and feel like it was win-win on both ends. Bottom line, still not great at it but learning. Thanks Shankar! Hmmmmm, just realized that I didn't take any pics of me and Jma haggling with the vendors on Commercial street. We'll have to do it again soon.
Our week ended up with brunch at a lovely place called ITC Gardenia where yours truly had entirely too too much to drink and embarrassed her poor husband. Brunching in Bangalore is really fun. I think all hotels have brunch specials in which you pay one set price to eat and drink from about 1:00 till 4 or 5. Different hotels offer different kinds of alcohol and menus but in general they are all usually fun outings and the thing to do on Sundays when most of our cooks have the day off and we don't feel like cooking. I don't remember much but I do remember not being able to keep champagne flutes in one piece towards the end there. I would have been ok had it not been for the huge long island iced tea that seemed like a taunting challenge that only I felt compelled to defeat! What an idiot. You make all kinds of promises with God and Budha and anyone else you think might be listening when you are feeling queasy all night long and hugging the toilet. Never again. I'll stick to champagne and wine from here on out.
Hope your Monday is less hungover than mine.
Laterz!
Stupid Road rule number 2. The cops can somehow "scan" your license plate and immediately get a report back on if your car has any "fines" attached to it. Doesn't matter if the fines are from a previous owner, at a time when you did not own the car....even if you have proof that you did not own said vehicle when fines were issued, guess what? You are responsible. Although I wanted to scream and shout and make a scene, other scenes of Locked up abroad always play in my head and I do what is always easiest to do here. Pay up. Amazing that you are to give the cop the money for the fines directly. Boggles my already sometimes very weary brain. Okay, so these road rules suck. On Friday I went to a doctor and got a note regarding my sun condition. Don't know if it works yet, we haven't had to try it but we'll see. Think we'll still be paying fines....
On a fun note, my driver has taught me how to "negotiate" when I go shopping down commercial street. Commercial street is known for alleys and alleys of souvenir type items. Sari's, fabric, jewelry, shoes, you name it you can probably find it there. Street is also lined with lots of stores so a day on Commercial street can be fun if you are in need or fun things. So, the "bartering" lesson given to me by my driver Shankar went something like this: Shankar: Madam, if you are be told item is $1000 rupees what do you say? Me: Okay? Shankar: No! NO! NO! Madam, you come down to $500 then go up slowly. But only to $550 or 575, but do so slowly Madam. This conversation with various scenarios took place our whole way to Commercial street. By the time I got there and met with my friend Jennifer I figured I was ready! Well, I actually tried the haggling by myself before she arrived and I was immediately shot down by a guy in a kiosk who would not budge and had set prices. Shot down before I even started! Not to worry, by the time Jennifer arrived I was ready to try again. And I am very proud to say that I made Shankar proud. Well....he doesn't have to know that we didn't go as low as he would have advised us to, but we did negotiate and we never paid first price that was given to us once we started our real shopping spree. And I have to admit it became fun to negotiate and go back and forth and feel like it was win-win on both ends. Bottom line, still not great at it but learning. Thanks Shankar! Hmmmmm, just realized that I didn't take any pics of me and Jma haggling with the vendors on Commercial street. We'll have to do it again soon.
Our week ended up with brunch at a lovely place called ITC Gardenia where yours truly had entirely too too much to drink and embarrassed her poor husband. Brunching in Bangalore is really fun. I think all hotels have brunch specials in which you pay one set price to eat and drink from about 1:00 till 4 or 5. Different hotels offer different kinds of alcohol and menus but in general they are all usually fun outings and the thing to do on Sundays when most of our cooks have the day off and we don't feel like cooking. I don't remember much but I do remember not being able to keep champagne flutes in one piece towards the end there. I would have been ok had it not been for the huge long island iced tea that seemed like a taunting challenge that only I felt compelled to defeat! What an idiot. You make all kinds of promises with God and Budha and anyone else you think might be listening when you are feeling queasy all night long and hugging the toilet. Never again. I'll stick to champagne and wine from here on out.
Hope your Monday is less hungover than mine.
Laterz!
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