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7 MORE DAYS IN
BANGALORE/BENGALURU
Nov 24 - 30
MONDAY
OK, this week is about having a regular, normal work week anchored in a comfortable coworking spot and going from there. High hopes that this spot, one of zillions in/around where I'm staying, replete with a welcoming vibe and a process for Day Pass people like me, will satisfy. We shall see.
And coworking isn't coworking without inspiring messages -- on mugs AND walls. :)
And that's Bhanu, runs a B2B travel business, second coworking friend (met on Tue.) May see him in Delhi in Jan. Cool guy.
My personal coworking requirements: Friendly people; lots of light; different places to sit, including outside; coffee. Check, check, check, and check. Better: Camaraderie; events/introductions/welcomes/intranet/workshops/networking. But, for a week? This satisfies.
And there's THIS: One day at the uninspiring spot I went to a couple times in Delhi = $13.50. One day here = $2. And I have precisely zero words.
TUESDAY
Started the day facilitating a Spiritual Workout Drop-In from 6:30-8am from inside one of several phone booths in an otherwise-open space, as you see above. Super smooth 6am access and, of course, I was the only coworker in sight til about 9, but really 10.
So...sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, I made the decision to head to the third city on my agenda: Kochi/Cochin (there are so many names and spellings for things here), which is in the state of Kerala. Bangalore (in the state of Karnataka) was always a maybe that became a strong YES. And Kerala, broadly speaking, is a place I've felt DRAWN to since this trip planning began in the spring/summer. Kochi is a major city in it, tho not the capital. Readers of "The Convenant of Water" know this general zone as the location of that novel.
On one hand, coworking/networking is why I'm on this trip and Bangalore is clearly the epicenter of all that. On the other hand, as a veteran coworker/networker, I also know that connections take time and even if I stayed here through December, I'd probably need and want even more time and, either way, I'm unwilling to give up on Kerala at the moment and word has it that Kochi has something of a startup culture, too. My original booking here was til this Sunday and it was time to lock in what's next.
So I went online to buy a train ticket for an 8-hour modern train (my term from looking online and def not the truly old, famous Indian trains that I experienced last time) from here to Kochi and, let's just say, it did not go well. One must "create an account" with a government entity, buy the ticket from it or from a few other booking companies, all of which require said account. I was denied access on the website outright. "Error code something something." I spent the next 5 hours all over the place online, downloading apps that wouldn't download, blah blah, before giving up, checking flights (just in case), and losing my mind over this MASSIVE waste of time and energy and coming up with nothing while day two of coworking slipped away with nary a conversation with anyone.
So I decamped at about 3p to one of the coffee shops from the other day and had a not matcha tea drink, was hungry, the menu there was not robust, so I went to ANOTHER place from the other day, had a kombucha and a black bean burger and called it a day. But not before I found one of the ticketing platforms on Twitter and began an 18-hour engagement that also ended with nothing.
Boring vid (from same place as the one above) but this is def more of a coffee shop than cafe, aesthetic/vibe-wise and menu-wise. Still full of ppl and laptops (or laptops w/ppl taking smoking breaks or, more likely, talking on their phones) and a large room in the back of the same.
Foodies: I'm trying! You're clearly turning me into one of "those people." We'll see how long it lasts. And...you're right! Not much full-on Indian fare in these cafés I've been frequenting that have much more eclectic "international" menus. Then again, I've had and will definitely continue to have more "native" foods, esp when I go south, which is what everyone says.
So...then I went back to the over-the-top swanky place from the other day (I showed their menu). I was hungry and the kombucha and black bean burger hit the spot.
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That kombucha pic was really about the shelving in the background w/god knows what spread upon it. The pic to my left is a corner on the first floor for...you tell me as I have no idea.
THANKSGIVING MORNING IN THE U.S.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT :)
OK, FOODIES, THIS IS WHAT I GOT
Greetings from Kochi, Kerala
Yes, you heard that right...hostel! Was billed as a coworking type hostel and, as I failed to say, I booked it ONLY because I am in a private room with my own bathroonm. :) With that, I can handle anything and have actually met some cool people so far. Much easier to stay here for the weekend than shop for something else and move.
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