Brian Hart

india

Back in India

This time with travel buddies

· 6 mins read

I’m back in India. Arrived here Saturday evening with two colleagues, Walter and Andy. A few things stand out about the trip from San Francisco to Bengaluru; the rest is the usual travel stuff of hurrying and waiting.

A man in a dark navy sweater and jeans sits cross-legged on the curved beige leather banquette of the onboard lounge on an Emirates A380, holding a phone in one hand and a short glass in the other, with wood-paneled walls, three oval windows, a brass vase of pink roses mounted on the wall, a polished brass pole in the foreground, and blue LED lighting glowing along the base of the seat

We did an overnight extended layover in Dubai, arriving around 7:30pm on Friday night and scheduled to depart at 1:30pm the next day. It’s the second time I’ve done this long layover and I scheduled it that way by design: it offers the opportunity to start to adjust to the wicked time change, allows us to see the spectacle that is Dubai, and so far it’s been much less expensive than the ~3 hour layover itinerary (even when you factor in taxis and a hotel stay).

Since there were three of us traveling, I decided to try an apartment on Airbnb instead of hotel rooms. I was expecting I could give the taxi driver the address listed in the Airbnb listing and that we’d be whisked right to our destination. This turned out not to be the case: the building name is what you need, and I hadn’t pulled that info to my phone beforehand. We sorted it out by tethering phones and starting the check in process in the Airbnb app, but this was unnecessary complexity… especially after a 15 hour flight. There was some confusion at the security desk, as well, but we worked through it. The apartment itself was perfect for our needs: amazing views, close to things to see and do, and nice amenities. We learned some travel lessons along the way, so I’d feel comfortable doing Airbnb there again, and would be better prepared next time.

Selfie of four men around a restaurant table in Indiranagar, Bengaluru: a man in glasses and a white shirt in the foreground, a man in a blue polo and a man in a black T-shirt seated against a brown leather banquette, and a man in a gray sweatshirt at right. The table holds a wooden board of fried appetizers, a bowl of chicken, bottled water, and glasses of beer, and the cream-colored cabinets behind them are painted with whimsical line drawings, beside a lamp shaped like a gramophone horn

Inner courtyard of Bangalore Palace, framed by a carved stone column in the foreground: two stories of pale yellow pointed Gothic arches trimmed in orange and cream, white columns with gilded capitals, ornate white latticework railings on the upper gallery, framed photographs on the walls below, and a small tiled fountain surrounded by potted plants. A man in a black T-shirt stands in the courtyard while another man looks at his phone at right, under a partly open sky strung with wires

Rooftop bar in Bengaluru at dusk, with a curved translucent canopy on white steel supports edged in glowing blue LED strip lighting, green-lit racks of hanging wine glasses above the bar, bartenders at work, a row of empty gray bar stools along the lit counter, potted palms, and an orange and pink sunset on the horizon

Two men eating dinner at a table on the same Bengaluru rooftop after dark, both lit in purple and blue from the LED-edged canopy behind them: a man in a dark T-shirt in the foreground at left and a man in a white G-Star sweatshirt at right, with a pint of beer on the table and empty tables, chairs, and potted plants across the deck under a hazy violet sky

Sleep has been a problem. Last night I slept from 10:30p to 1:30a or so, and then from 5:30a to 7:00a. (Aside: Burning Love was on HBO in the middle of the night; I’d never heard of it but it’s a Who’s Who of funny people, and they do an amazing parody of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette). The night before was similar, and I only managed around 2 hours of sleep on the 15 hour flight. I’m fighting through the jet lag but a full night’s sleep sure would help a lot.

It’s only been a few days but I don’t know if my writing practice here will bear fruit. I’m not happy with my writing voice. I’m saying “I” and “I’m” way too much but can’t figure out how to do otherwise yet. Getting frustrated. I need to write about topics instead of what I’m up to. That would help. 😕