Taken in October of 2013 in KR (City) Market in Bangalore.
As I skipped posting Daily Photos over the weekend, I’m posting two today–in honor of a Western and an Indian holiday respectively. Holi is the festival of colors, and today one can see plenty of people with faces and clothing powdered in vivid colors. In the markets one sees these conical piles of color defying gravity in a most stubborn fashion. FYI- Today isn’t the day to wear your finest, pristine white dress shirt.
This is Saint Patrick’s Church in Bangalore in honor of St. Paddy’s Day.
Taken in November of 2013 at Hampi.
This 89 pound man rowed tourists (usually weighing much more than 89 pounds a piece–and sometimes including five or six per group) upstream, and then float them back downstream. He was definitely putting his back into it.
How deep is it? No one knows.
In the interest of enhancing global understanding and camaraderie, I’ve built a translator of common first world (FW) problems–putting them in terms of their Rest of the World (RoW) equivalents.
FW: This food needs salt.
RoW: This food needs food.
FW: My health insurance premiums went up $20 per month.
RoW: My right foot, which recently turned from purple to black, just fell off.
FW: My car is in the shop again.
RoW: My right foot, which recently turned from purple to black, just fell off.
FW: It’s raining again today.
RoW: My house was washed off its foundations and is currently floating down the Brahmaputra River.
FW: Looks like those devils from the other party got a majority in the legislature.
RoW: This coup was particularly bloody.
FW: Squirrels are getting into my bird feeder.
RoW: A tiger ate my family.
FW: A traffic jam made me late for Pilates class.
RoW: While limping through the Kyber Pass to get antibiotics for my right stump, I was socked in by an unanticipated blizzard.
FW: My GPS says this road cuts under the interstate, but now I’ve got to go around.
RoW: What’s GPS?
Taken on March 12, 2014 in Bangalore.
Taken from across Mysore Road near the front of Badami House (the Karnataka State Tourism office.)
The inscription reads: “Through this breach the British assault was delivered March 21, 1791.” I guess that means that the 223rd anniversary of the British attack on Bangalore is right around the corner.
Bangalore Fort is a tiny piece of the 16th century Vijayanagar fortification that remains intact–it’s all that remains. It’s located between city market and Tipu Sultan’s Bangalore Palace. As it takes only about 10 minutes to walk through, a lot of people don’t even realize it’s there.
Taken in January of 2014 at Phuket, Thailand
These billboards are all over Phuket, which isn’t to say that it’s one identical billboard (or even just one shooting range), but billboards showing ALMOST the widest possible demographic enjoying their arms. I say “almost” because for some reason they don’t include any old folks. I’m a little offended by that. Do they think that seeing crotchety elders holding guns will scare their potential customers, or are the old just not sexy enough for the advertising world?
I wonder if there was irony intended with the little girl with the Hello Kitty! shirt, bows in her hair, and gun bigger than her head in her hands?
Taken on March 10, 2014 in Bangalore.
This sculpture is on the MG Road Art Station promenade. If it were an actual guy, he’d be hauled off to the drunk tank, but because he’s stone, it’s art.
Taken in February of 2014 in Bangalore
Taken in January of 2014 at Wat Chalong.
At Wat Chalong there is a big, brick kiln that is shaped somewhat like a beehive. Loud and long strings of fire crackers are frequently set off in it. I had read that this was done to drive demons out. That turns out to be patently false, but it’s such an awesome explanation that I can see why it had traction. The firecrackers are actually set off to signify a prayer has been answered. (That makes much less sense than driving away demons… I know, right?)
True story: When I was there a guy actually stuck his head up into the kiln to see where they kept the fireworks. Natural Selection was not put to work that day, but I wondered what would have happened if a string went off just then. On the other hand, the dogs seem to be able to completely ignore it. I know they’re probably deaf, but you’d think the falling paper would unnerve them.
