My first clue that this trip was going to be different was the foggy haze outside the windows of the plane as we taxied to our gate. I was in an aisle seat, so I peered over the heads of my fellow travellers, still wiping the sleep from my eyes, trying to get a glimpse of what lay ahead... all I could see was the glow of floodlights diffused in a deep fog. The last time I was here, there was never a cloud in the sky or even a hint of moisture.
I got to my hotel and was checked in by 6am. After a brief and refreshing nap I got some breakfast of idli sambar, my favorite from last time: its a steamed lentil dumpling served over a spicy vegatable soup. The sun was high now and Bangalore looked more like I remembered, hot and bright.
I'm still never sure the best way to deal with jetlag. luckily on this flight I got a considerable amount of sleep, which was amazing considering that generally I have never been able to sleep on a plane. After checking my email it seemed that chaos was breaking loose at work; I took another brief nap after breakfast and then headed into the office to try to get a handle on things. Our 'morning' status calls in Seattle start at 10pm in Bangalore; my goal was to make it throught this call and then make it back to the hotel for some dinner.
Occasionally I caught a glimpse out the window at the office, and I marveled at the overcast sky. It looked more like Seattle than the Bangalore I remembered.
As I left the office I was in for a shock. The rains had begun, and it was a rain like none I had ever seen before. There is a small balcony outside the main entrance to the office on the 4th floor, and water pourded through in sheets, running down the marble floor and presumably running down the elevator shafts. Thankfully my driver pulled right up to the back door, and the security guard was kind enough to bring an umbrella to keep me and my laptop dry. The drive home was truly amazing. There were inches of running or standing water on the roadway; occasionally a small river would be flowing crossways to the car and you could feel its pull as we slowly drove through. Small groups of motorcyclists were huddled under overpasses, possibly trying to wait it out. The rain showed no signs of letting up, and bright flashes of lightning illuminated the dark sky.
Despite the fact that the traffic was just as crazy as it is when things are dry here, and we had several close calls, I only saw one accident; a string of cars had clearly been involved in a chain reaction fender bender and were huddled beside their row of motionless cars trying to sort out the damage in the deluge.
Back at the hotel the concierge asked if I had had my dinner; when I suggested room service he insisted that I head up to the rooftop restaurant. I was glad he did, as it was an impressive experience... the dining room is covered in a heavy duty tarp stretched over a pipe frame, and it was deafening in the downpour. The lightning show over the skyline of Bangalore was like a constant strobe at times, with lightning flashes constantly in all directions. I stood with a security guard and my waiter, sipping a kingfisher and marveling at the rain. Even the locals seemed impressed. After dinner I chatted with the chef and he said that recently in a nearby village a 7 year old had been washed away by similar rains.
I probably stayed in the dining room far too long but I didn't feel bad, as the staff seemed to be enjoying watching the storm as much as I was. Finally around midnight I thanked them and headed to my room, to watch the lightning flashes through my now-steamed up windows and try to catch up on a few final emails.
I was here a mere 4 months ago. Things seem amazingly familiar to me, not at all as foreign as they seemed the last trip. But I can tell already that I will be seeing a different side of this city this time around.
