Today was a pretty good day! We got this great box to crawl into! We also got to go outside on the balcony for a little while and we also saw those strange creatures again- what fun!
Those strange little creatures have even smaller ones too- we don't count too well but we think there were 4 big ones and 2 little ones. The little ones were clmbing all over the trees outside and jumping from branch to branch. We could do that too- if our human companions would only let us out there! We could chase those guys all over the trees! We can let the people write some now.
Today was the first day we had in the nearly 3 weeks since we arrived that we did not have anything scheduled that we had to do. It has been a more relaxing day, though we still had lots of things to do around the apartment. We ran the dishwashing machine for the first time where it did not flood water all over the kitchen! We also verified that the air conditioner that flooded one bedroom also seems to be fixed- though we are concerned because two guys showed up at our door yesterday wanting to fix it! We tried to explain that it was supposedly already fixed, but we had not tested it. Later we realized that the repair might have been a temporary one and they meant to make it permanent... but we don't know. We'll hope for the best! Such situations are quite common. Communications are not all that clear. It seems that the service people are used to coming back another day to finish what was started or starting something later when you are not home. Labor is so cheap that the workers can simply come back another time without thinking too much about it. $1 an hour seems to be a pretty good wage.
We did a number of chores and then went out to walk around the area some. We walked to a nearby main road and had brunch about 3:30 PM. It was a mexican/indian/thai sort of meal with a band that played american music. The food was good though the place was a bit messy and dirty. They cater to families and there were a lot of kids running around. As we were about to leave a little after 4PM we got a heavy rain that lasted a little while so we went to a shoe store. Jim finds the marble floors a bit hard on the feet and knees, so he got some house shoes. People normally remove shoes when entering a home- which we normally do back home too. The house shoes will only be worn inside. Bangalore is noted for the rapidity at which dirt accumulates, and it seems to be true. Surfaces need to be cleaned every other day if not every day... maybe even more than one time a day! Anyway, the shoe should ease the strain on the feet and knees. After the rain let up we walked toward "UB City"- a big complex of stores with very high prices. We found a nice clothes store, a patisserie and a very nice furniture store. As it got dark we stopped in a fabric and art shop with bad art. As we walked toward home we found a gourmet food shop that had some interesting and unusual items including Ben and Jerry's ice cream! It is expensive though. As we paid for our few purchases- mainly ginger ale soft drink, which is also uncommon here, the rain began to pour! So we got some ice creme and ate it! The rain did not let up for awhile so we left and got wet. We walked past the Bangalore Club, which seems to be the private club in town with the highest prestige. We continued to walk back to the apartment in the rain and were quite wet upon arrival. We changed clothes and then relaxed. As we rested Ziggy climbed into the elephant chair that we just had to have when we saw it (it is carved from a single piece of wood- except for the tusks. He rolled partly onto his back and went to sleep showing what a relaxed cat he is! He awoke when his picture was being taken.
Overall, it was a pleasant day- despite being drenched- we finally got out to look around the area on foot. Of course, walking here is not an easy sport! On Sunday the traffic is generally lighter, so one is a little less likely to be taking a great risk in crossing one of the major roads.
Zoe and Ziggy back now... how come this is our story and they get to write so much?
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