Been a while coming

So it has been a few weeks since I last posted, here it is almost June, 5 months in India have gone by... It has been a busy couple of weeks, and that's why I haven't posted till now. Two weekends ago, I decided on Sunday afternoon to go looking for the lake which is supposed to be near our house. I left mid-late afternoon. Cindy asked if I wanted an umbrella as it had been threatening rain. Who-me? No, I don't need one, if it starts raining I'll just stand under an overhang. Well no sooner than I was across the street and heading through the vacant lot next to the neighbors, than I start to feel the pitter patter (more splat splat) of rain. So what--it isn't cold, I may just get a little wet...

Well I didn't get far before it started to pour, but I just found an overhang, and less than 5 mins later it was not coming down too hard so I set off again. The maps I had consulted were wrong. Supposedly I could exit our layout, turn left, go 2 blocks, turn right at the 5 way intersection and walk all the way through to the main road... oops, it only went half way, so I turn left and walk down to another main(cross) road. It is obviously a very mixed income neighborhood, but at no time did I feel unsafe. Great shopping I discovered, lots of carts with food, cows walking in the streets (watch out for the poop), and many people looking at me, but everyone very friendly. Turn right at the big gate, and take the thoroughfare down a few blocks, then it starts to rain again. I stood at the big corner for about 15 minutes, watching it come down. Here you see a bunch of people huddling under the bus stop waiting for the ubiquitous blue and white buses of Bangalore.

After the wait, the rain subsided a bit, so I head off, down the main road for a few blocks to this great park. It is located where the lake should be. The lake seems to be much smaller, but the park is delightful. I wonder why there are not so many people, then I figure it out. No it is not the lions. Although this park seems to have many displays (slightly larger than life size) of wildlife from India, Domesticated animals, and various peoples from India. There are no signs that I could see which describe what one is seeing. But there is a map at the entrance with a legend of sorts. I started walking through the park, and guess what, it started raining again. I took refuge in one of the many pagodas they have in the park, and by now I figured out why it was empty-- the weather.

The park is obviously new, the trees are vary short, and the only refuge from the sun or rain is the pagodas. As I was standing there, I saw one couple out in the rain. I thought 'they're brave.' Then I noticed 5 minutes later, they were still standing there. So after it stopped raining, I wandered around the park and went to meet them. Here you see them, still standing there, with the pagoda in the background... There is also a nice playground.

Remember when I was in Goa, I remarked on the colorful houses, well, I noticed, while wandering around, that there is also a lot of color in Bengaluru, just as in Goa, I is somehow lost in the urban setting a bit. The colorful houses are everywhere, even in our own neighborhood. This one I noticed through the short trees, next to the park. The other thing I noticed in the park, while I didn't get a picture, is that there are a large number of birds, both land and water. The lake is fenced off, presumably to stop people from swimming, and one is not supposed to walk on the grass either. But one can get close enough at points to see the birds, and the various plants growing around the lake.
All in all it is very nice. I did get a picture of a crane while walking around, but although it isn't the flying kind, it is fairly rare here in Bengaluru. Eventually I made it home, and had to listen to the laughter for not accepting the umbrella ;-)

The next day I went to Finland for 3 days. My what a difference. Hardly any people around. The air is fresh and cool in the mornings (yes it was between 5 and 10 degrees C in the morning). And, since it is spring there, everything was GREEN. It was beautiful. And did I mention that there are hardly any people around, there seemed to be so many open spaces. The trip was a bit of a bust from a work perspective and I didn't have time to take photos, but I did enjoy my morning quick walk to the train station, and from the train up the hill to the office.

Now I'm back home again. This last week, I got sick. Still recovering. I blame the trip to Finland, where I didn't sleep well for some reason, but the bug has been going around here.