Another Indian Summer Weekend (and a picture of one of our monkeys)

Greetings from my desk on a tired Monday morning. This weekend I put a significant dent in the Bangalore night life. Both Friday and Saturday were well spent as the clubs were allowed to be open as late as 1:00 AM!!! May not sound impressive to the folks in Chicago, but that’s the latest a bar has been open around here in months. It’s ok, though. It just means that we get to the bar around 8:30 or 9:00 instead of 10:00 or 11:00 and you generally get a better night’s sleep, unless you end up at an after-party in some Indian guy’s penthouse apartment till 3:00 in the morn. I’ll explain.

Friday night I went out with Winnie, Josh and a few of Josh’s friends, Armand, Roma and Liviani. Pretty fun crew. Armand is quite the guy. I’m pretty sure I’ll only be able to take him in small doses. He’s a very loud, very large Iranian guy from Berkley, California who manages a bank here in Bangalore. He turned out to be a good connection on Saturday evening. We also had the opportunity to discuss Winnie’s obsession with Indian men openly for the first time. I honestly think that is one of the reasons she took this job. Me? Not a big fan of Indian women yet. Overall, pretty ordinary night. Winnie and I ended up taking a rickshaw home with the worst driver on the face of the earth. He demanded 200 rupees when that is roughly 5 times the normal fare. Paying 2 times the normal fare after midnight is acceptable, but that was just ridiculous. We let him take us home, we paid the fair rate of about Rs 100 and bolted through the gate at Adarsh Gardens. Our security guards will never let a rickshaw driver through, so we knew we were safe. You have to be careful about these kinds of things because I have friends who have gotten knives pulled on them for arguing rick fares. I’m getting really sick of drivers trying to rip me off just because I’m white. True, the difference between getting ripped off and getting a fair price can be about 25 American cents, but it’s the principle. They will say, “You are so rich, and I am so poor. What is 25 rupees to you?” I make a concerted effort to make this place feel like home, and that’s not going to happen if I’m constantly getting ripped off like a tourist. Besides, if you admit to me that you are trying to rip me off because of my skin color, that only makes me much less likely to help you out. Just a little word of advice for any aspiring rickshaw drivers out there.

Saturday was my day as an aristocrat in Bangalore. We spent the majority of the day at Deluxe 5-Star Hotels. Winnie, her friend Maghal, and I met Josh and a few of his friends at the Hotel Oberoi for tea. I’ve said it a thousand times, but these hotels are the most ridiculous places on earth. We had tea and I had my first bite of beef in a few weeks. There are places in Bangalore where you can get beef, but it’s rare. Most of the 5-star hotels will have steaks and hamburgers, but it is difficult to get good beef in India. These are the only places that can afford to have it imported. I still ordered my burger medium, which is more well-done than I usually like. I need to buy a white linen suit and a cabana hat. Here’s a picture of the place we ate (not exactly where we ate, but till I get my camera this will have to do):

We then stopped by a bookstore on MG Road where I purchased a copy of Herb Cohen’s book “How to Negotiate Anything,” which comes highly recommended by a relative of mine who is a very successful businessman. Book stores are an experience around here. Basically just thousands of books pilled from floor to ceiling. I don’t know how they keep it organized, having no shelves and all, but I found the book I was looking for in less than 5 minutes!

Then I met Matt, Ricardo and Armand at a bowling alley near the bookstore. We bowled a game and ordered food and drink. Good time was had by all, nothing too crazy. This is where the evening gets good.

Armand knows an Indian business man who is a member at Club Athena, maybe the nicest, most exclusive club in Bangalore, which is located in the fanciest, most decadent place on the face of the earth. This place is the Leela Palace. Here is a picture:

You pay Rs 700 at the door, but they give you a personal debit card with Rs 700 credited to it. We were taken to the VIP section where we had a private bar. It’s impossible to really explain this place without pictures, which I obviously don’t have, but there are a few shots that Winnie took below. The clientele was certainly impressive by several measures. More beautiful Indian people than I had ever seen in one place before. I hung out with this French guy who ordered me champagne, talked with several Indian businessmen…everyone is very open to meeting new people because so many of them are here temporarily on business. Such incredible networking opportunities. However, these people had no interest in networking and placed much more importance on ordering drinks. My kind of crowd.

I met up with Farah, a friend from NU, and she invited a few of us to go to an afterparty that her friends were having. It was really nice to hang out with someone from school. We partied till around 4:00 in the morning when I realized that I had been out “having fun” since 7:00 PM and I was clearly passing out. Nevertheless, I lived up to my promise to have a wild night in honor of Daniel Hess’ birthday. Could he have seen me, he would have been very proud.

Still having a good time in Bangalore and it’s starting to feel more like home rather than an extended vacation in a third world nation. This coming weekend will be spent doing less partying and more exploring of India. (I know you’re getting sick of my stories about my evenings in fancy clubs. If you’ve heard one, you’ve heard em all.) I think we may travel to Mysore to visit a few temples and see the Infosys campus there which is supposed to be very impressive.

Now, the picture you’ve all been clamoring for.

Here is your moment of Zen: