First Day in Bangalore

Isn't jet-lag just great? It's half past midnight here in Bangalore and I'm still wide awake. Sorry there's no photo yet but today's been a bit of a blur.

Once we touched down at the airport, we saw a notice asking us to visit the British Airways desk. We couldn't see one anywhere and eventually we found our driver who put us in the car and drove us to the departures building where Lea went in search of BA. Turned out one of our bags went missing. At the time we couldn't figure which it was and so said it was probably a mistake, but now we know which one it is so it's back to the airport tomorrow to see whether it's arrived yet.

So, from the airport we came to our apartment. The driver was insistent that we provide a credit card number which wasn't great as it was supposed to be pre-payed. That plus the missing bag and the lack of sleep put a bit of a downer on that drive, but as soon as we got to our apartment it was soon forgotten.
It's a lovely two bedroomed flat with a small kitchenette and two en-suite shower rooms. There's cable telly in both rooms and the lounge with BBC News and a few American channels so there's stuff we can follow if we want to stay at home.

So, after getting to the flat we all went to sleep. We woke up at about 1pm and then went out exploring at 2. We had a few communication problems with the driver, and whilst we wanted to go shopping, he took us to Dell. So, as we were there, we thought we'd go in and meet the team I'll be working with for the coming months. It turned out that my office is on the other side of town, so we got back into the car and headed over there.
On the first journey, Daisy began vomiting which got us both worried and made us really think about the risks involved in bringing Daisy and ourselves to India for such a long period. Thankfully it turned out that she was just a little travel-sick and was right as rain once we'd stopped driving. On all subsequent drives we made sure she kept fairly still and faced forward. Not easy when you're only 11 months old and in an exciting new country!

Eventually we made it to the correct Dell office. It's pretty impressive. Bigger than my office in the UK and light and airy too. The team that I'm going to be working with were a lovely bunch and Daisy was soon whisked off by Mala to go meet people. Everywhere we go, people want to wiggle her cheeks or pick her up. It feels a bit odd for strangers on the street to do this (and we don't let strangers hold her) but it seems to be genuine so we go with the flow.


After the office, we headed out to do some groceries and get some rupees. It was when we were shopping that we realised that we don't have a hob in our flat and so everything that we cook with either be boiled with water from the kettle or done in the microwave. We'll have to see how this goes and if it doesn't work out we may have to look around for a different place which is a shame as this one has a lot going for it.

This evening we had a lovely chat with Grandparents Reynolds who have Skype and a webcam. Our webcam seems to have been lost in transit so they couldn't see us, but as we look pretty much the same as we did 48 hours previously it's not a great problem.

So, it's nearly 1am now. Daisy's been awake since the reception phoned at 10pm. She's just gone to sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor in our room. The crib that they supplied isn't big enough for her and our cot hasn't arrived yet so we're both going to be waking throughout the night to check on her.

Hopefully we'll get some photos of the streets of Bangalore tomorrow so be sure to check back soon!