Nope. Nada. Nyet.

NO LUGGAGE. And it is technically Day 4, since I left the States on Sunday… and as of Wednesday night I’m still trying embrace this new minimalist approach.

This calamity (and goodness knows I’m looking for that silver lining) led to a small adventure. The airline led me to believe the luggage would arrive on the Wednesday morning flight, so I moved some meetings and worked later from the hotel just knowing I would reunite with my luggage, my clothes, my hairbrush, my makeup, my moisturizer, my shoes (i’ll stoppppp) before heading in to the office. No such luck. I met a nice American lady in the lobby who had a lovely Indian pantsuit on that was just demure enough that I thought I could get away with buying one and giving it to my Mom. (Sorry, Mom – you know you’re the recipient of my fashion rejects, particularly when they’re “flowey”…) She recommended I go to Commercial Street, where even a “healthy” girl like me would easily find something…

So I implored the driver to make a detour to this shopping area. I’m a desperate woman – if I wear these khaki capris one more day, I think I’ll lose my mind. Commercial Street reminded me instantly of Istanbul and Kusadasi. Crowded, street stalls, run-off water flowing down the sidewalks, sub-level (underground?) shops… So here’s your first picture of Banaglorian life. Any of my colleagues would tell you this is classic — classic traffic. Actually, they’d probably say it was slow compared to rush times… The yellow “cabs” you see are called Auto-Rickshaws. They’re three wheeled scooters with a cab shell – and a primary mode of transportation in Bangalore. Traffic rules here — there are none. Painted lines on the street and road signs – they’re just suggestions. What fun.
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So – no, I didn’t find anything clothing-wise at Commercial Street. The “ready-made” wear runs quite small (and you guys know I’m not). Apparently, most folks choose their fabrics and the tailors can whip up custom garments in about a day. The ladies here at the office wear some beauuuutiful outfits. The majority of the stores on Commerical Street had lower-quality ready-made wear and very high quality fabrics. Made me think the ready-made stuff was for tourists 🙂 and all the locals come pick from the gorgeous textiles.
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Other than the luggage issue being a real distraction, I’m having fun and have just almost whipped the jetlag. I’m set up to go to Mysore this Saturday — they’re having a festival and the palace will be draped in lights. I’m hoping to bring back some great shots. Then on Sunday I’m going to spend some time cruising Bangalore. This is a “Garden City” and is said to have some beautiful photo opportunities. I’ll also do some shopping here locally on Sunday – I just may have a long skirt made. Practical me – I don’t want to go have something custom made that I really wouldn’t have an opportunity to wear at home. But a nice long skirt… that might be doable.