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Ah, good times…

This weekend was one of firsts, despite the fact that it's been more than two years since I first came to Bangalore. It started on Friday when Jonas and Hakan (coworkers of mine) decided to have an easy night out, and I tagged along.

We started by going to the Taj West End for dinner. I went there on my scooter, and because Jonas and Hakan had a difficult time finding an auto-rickshaw, I waited for them at the neighboring bar, Blue Bar, for some starters and some sangria…and a mojito. I should have known I was in for a good evening, when I realized the mojito was quite strong, but not overwhelming.

Once the guys arrived, we had a drink and went over to Blue Ginger, an awesome Thai restaurant that's just a stone's throw away from the Bar. There, I ate a tasty beef appetizer, green beans with garlic and bean sauce, and pork satay. So, yummy. We finished up just in time to head back to Blue Bar as it was heating up for some more drinks.

Bangalore First: As the bar was closing around midnight (amazingly late for Bangalore), we met some other expats and locals that invited us to an after-hours party at Paparazzi, at the Royal Orchid Central in Manipal Centre. This made the three of us quite happy for the following reasons:

1. we didn't have to invite random people to come back to our flat, so we could keep the night going
2. we got to pretend as if we were having a fun night in a major city like NYC or London where bars are open until 2:00 AM or later.
3. we got to have drinks with Drug-Cartel Roy (a doppelgänger for the founder and Chairman of the Board of the company for whom I work)
4. oh, and the drinks were free.

For us, it was a temporary, albeit welcome, paradise.

I started Saturday sleeping in a bit, then I went over to the outdoor lounge at Library Bar in the Leela Palace for a late lunch/early dinner, which was super relaxing. After a bit of shopping at the Galleria, we went home, watched a movie, and called it a night.

On Sunday, I went to my regular Buddhism study group, which was as usual, a delight. (As you can tell, I'm still trying to balance everything out.) I followed that by going to Spencer's on 80-Foot Road to do some food shopping, where I found…

Bangalore First: Fresh lunch-meat! Peppered salami to be specific. I finally got to make myself a sandwich (OK, two) for lunch. It was so comforting to eat “normal” food for once, and it's put a smile on my face.

Overall, these firsts just goes to show that there's still more about Bangalore that I have to discover. I admit these aren't profound experiences, but they still make a difference. They're comforts from the west that I'm so happy to find, and they've made a big difference in my overall comfort…