How Life Changed … a Few Years Ago

I retired in 2007. Almost immediately, two life-changing events took place. First we moved lock, stock and barrel to southern France, and then only a couple of months after that, I went to India – by myself- apart from just over a week at the beginning when I was eased in by travelling in a small group tour of the more rural parts of Karnataka and Kerala. I even bought my first decent-ish camera for the trip.

Both those events meant I wanted to keep in touch with family and friends back in England, and frequent letters or emails to each one of them wasn’t feasible. The answer? A blog. I barely knew what a blog was, and was fairly technically inept. So I chose a platform that looked as if it might meet my needs: Travel Blog. And that’s where I stayed for our early days in France and my Great Indian Adventure. I’ve just looked at it now, for perhaps the first time in ten years, and discovered French posts I’d quite forgotten about. Eventually I moved, first to Blogger, which I didn’t like, and then to WordPress. For all I moan about its technical glitches, it’s here I’ve formed real bonds with bloggers all over the world (you know who you are!), and made more casual links with dozens more. Blogging has proved to be the positive face of screen-time for me, and the only bit of Social Media I engage with.

But hey! This is supposed to be a Lens-Artists Challenge post, delivered this week by Anne – photos obligatory. So here is part of my first blog post from India, typed on an ancient computer with not-always-effective keys in an internet cafe (remember those?) on 9th November 2007. I didn’t manage to post photos that day. So now I’ll include within my post the ones that should have formed part of it. I was even more of a newbie with a camera in those days.

The 36 Hour Day: 9th November 2007 …

…with no photos attached. Bangalore may be IT Central if you’re in the know, and I’m not. These are not good Internet centres I’m finding!

Still, life is very good. I arrived at 4.30 yesterday morning, just as you lot in the UK were tucking yourselves up. And that’s how I lost a night’s sleep. Way too excited to sleep all day. Bangalore for me vacillates between being stimulating beyond belief, and, er, overstimulating.

The garden area of my hotel
Another cool part of its terrace

I loved arriving early. The dawn was breaking, and dawn chorus Bangalore style was a series of exultant yelps and squawks from various unidentified birds of the large variety. My hotel, luckily, is in a quiet corner, and I can tell you there aren’t many of those here. From early till late, all you can hear is the irritated honking of horns as auto-rickshaws, motorbikes, laden bicycles, flash cars, very unflash buses, occasional random cows, all jostle for the same space (today, in an auto rickshaw, I counted 6 vehicles, ours was one of them, lined up across the lanes designed for 2. I’ve learned to jay walk with the best of them. There is no alternative. Really, there isn’t. Despite the warning posters saying how many people have died in the last year on the roads, and the slightly lower number of fatalities. Eh?

I’m converted to Indian breakfasts. Up on the roof terrace of my hotel, I enjoyed their crispy rice pancakes which, because they’re cooked in a curved pan, puddle into a soft light sponge in the centre. 2 spicy dipping sauces, one based on coconut, the other lentils, and the undivided attention of 3 members of staff…this by the way is only a mid-range hotel, nothing fancy at all.

Eagles fly above Bangalore as I enjoy my breakfast.

Other early impressions: dozens of women beautifully dressed in saris, in the early morning, crouching in the already busy roads, sweeping and sweeping with handle-less brooms.

Cows tethered to lamp posts on busy junctions, eating the weeds round the lamp posts.

Security guards at virtually every building. Not I’m sure because of a crime wave, but because labour is cheap.

Only time to tell you about part of yesterday. When I finally set off with the intention of exploring for the morning, I hadn’t gone too far when I was picked up by an auto rickshaw driver. Well, he could see ‘Arrived from England this morning’ tattooed across my forehead, I’m sure. He offered to show me round for Rs. 10. I didn’t believe it then, and nor did it happen, but I WAS exhausted and it wasn’t an unattractive proposition. It was such fun! He proved an amiable guide, whose English, while obviously hugely better than my Kannada, often led to mutual incomprehension.

My first friend in Bangalore: the rickshaw driver who took me on a tour of the city

Still, he hared round a variety of sites (‘This is my Parliament building. This is my national bird. This is my Rajah’s Palace’, which I found quite endearing). He waited while I ‘did’ Bengalaru Palace, one of the homes of the Rajah Wodeyar. As the Lonely Planet says, you are personally shown round by an aged retainer who is rather keener to show you fly-blown pictures of the royal family than the quirky furniture and fittings. Seedy but fun. And it’s not often you see cows grazing in royal gardens. My new friend gave me his number and urged me to ring him whenever I wanted a rickshaw. I greatly enjoyed this ramshackle mode of transport. He’s had his rick 15 years, and I see no reason why he won’t have it 15 more.

Let’s see if I can include a photo or two next time. You may have to wait for ‘My Holiday Snaps’ when I come back.

Street scenes from my first day.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

80 thoughts on “How Life Changed … a Few Years Ago”

  2. A wonderful read, Margaret, and what an adventure. I have 2 good friends who’ve just done a month’s tour of India, in a group and are heading home today. A very different experience from yours but I recognise much of what you’ve said in their photographs xx

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  3. It’s a wondrous thing to be able to re-read the events of your life from decades ago. I remember meeting someone in the Gambia in 2003 who was recording their travels via internet cafes around the world.

    No internet or easy way of communicating with folks back home when I was travelling around Europe for twelve months in 1988-89. My handwritten diary was typed into a word processor when I got back, and the 100 rolls of films developed. Slowly, now, I’m getting the words and pictures together on WordPress – I’m amazed and delighted that it doesn’t mind posts with a 37-year old date! The journey starts at https://naturewatchingdiaries.com/1988/10/30/oct-30-amsterdam/

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    1. Marvellous! I’ve ust had a quick glance and shall enjoy a longer browse later. Yes, I kept a diary too, recording those imoments I perhaps didn’t want to make public. I also transferred my Indian posts to a separate WordPress blog. I may post some of the more interesting ones on my current blog from time to time.

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  4. How wonderful to go back to this journey in India, Margaret! You have done many interesting things in your life, and I wonder…how come you went alone? I have only been to India a couple of times, and haven’t stayed but for a few days on my way to other countries. I stayed long enough to see the crowds and feel the loud life and busyness of Delhi – and I didn’t fall in love. But you had another journey, I know. The internet cafees I remember well – those were the days…

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    1. Going alone turned out to be a good choice. Members of my family had given me a generous 60th birthday gift of money – on condition it was used for travel. Malcolm just plain didn’t want to go. None of my friends was available. I followed up possible travellers on sites like Thelma and Louise. Then I thought – ‘No. I’ve spent the last thirty years organising my life (quite happily) round the needs of others. This is my first chance to please myself completely. To go where I want when I want, follow my nose’. And it was wonderful. I’d do it again. I had experiences you can only have alone (like collapsing on a train towards the end and relying on fellow passengers to make sure I was taken to hospital!) Starting off in a small group was an excellent way of acclimatising myself though.

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      1. Good on you! I have travelled alone or with my dog, but never in such countries as India. You are an adventurous woman, Margaret. But, the truth is as you say, going alone gives you more adventure and the opportunity to meet new people in a different way than if you go with a husband or wife or another friend.

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  5. Oh such a fantastic place to go and you bring back my memories but of the 70s and 80s. Have not been back but good to see the charm and the exhaustion of so much going on still there! Yes, quite a place to be to ring in the changes.

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      3. Bradford’s good! I had the Punjab in Southall for many years and still touch base there. I found the south more enjoyable than the north which was then a bit harder on tourists. But lots to see.

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    1. Indeed! Though those early internet cafe saved my life. Much needed down-time in places where solo women had few choices when it came to sitting down for a drink and a bit of a rest.

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  10. I travelled four months through India from Srinagar to Kerala about 50 years ago on my way back from Nepal to Sweden, my home then. For me, India was too noisy and too many people everywhere. After trekking in the Himalayas it was just too much.
    Klausbernd 🙂

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    1. I think you’re right. When I got home, my husband said I barely spoke for more than a week. I think my brain simply shut down after Indian urban life. I was lucky though to spend almost half my time in either rural or much smaller communities.

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  12. You didn’t do things by halves! I’m not sure I’d have worked up the nerve to travel in India alone – I still remember the culture shock several decades since we went. I was also at an age to attract too much male attention. I loved Nepal, though.

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  14. This is a fabulous post. I’ve been to India twice with 35 years between and nothing changes except more people, more noise, more dirt. It’s definitely a culture shock whether there as a backpacker or in more luxury accommodation.

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  15. I loved this post! It was ‘fun’ being reminded of the need to find an internet cafe (in our case to reassure Chris’s mother every few days that we were still alive and well!) And I’m always happy to be transported back to the sights and sounds of India where we’ve had some memorable travels 🙂 I do admire you for going it alone there – much as I love it I’m glad to have had Chris’s company on our visits and the reassurance that sharing any challenges can bring.

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    1. It was quite an experience. I too love Italy, and lived there – with a longish break – for nearly two years before going to university. Hope your life there is as good as ours was in France!

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  18. Oh wow! I used to live and work in Bangalore then and have no recollection of what I was doing in November of that year! I looked into my blog (reflectionsontheriver.wordpress.com) and I can find 2 posts from October 2007 and 3 from December 2007, but absolutely nothing from November! I wish I’d been more disciplined in posting 😀. Nice post..

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    1. I must explore some of your older posts and see what I can find from your India days. This Country Mouse probably couldn’t have coped with actually living in Bangalore. Crossing roads was quite enough stress!

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      1. Oh yes, crossing roads in India is a life skill that comes naturally to us natives 😉. I was visiting Bangalore in January this year and it felt like there was more traffic than during my last visit which was two years back, when I thought it was already more than in my penultimate visit 😬. One of those “unbelievable but true” stories!

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  21. I started blogging in 2006 while going to grad school at age 50. I started out with a friend being the server, but I soon outgrew him and ended up at WordPress. My blog is too big now, and getting expensive because of it. Still…it would be hard to let it go. I find one of my favorite things is to randomly go waaaaay back and read posts from ages ago. Like you I find things I’d forgotten. And the friendships developed due to the blog are priceless.

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  23. marvellous post Margaret, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. As I have said to you before, I was impressed with your determination to get there even if it had to be alone and you enjoyed the freedom you had as a single traveller the photographs can drop colour noise mayhem a complete different culture! And sadly something I will not ever experience but hey you can’t do everythinga

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    1. I know your travels have been forced to stop, Sue, but my goodness you’ve explored so many places that many of us haven’t, and definitely got away from the Hotspots. And your memories are stored in your vivid photos of your travels. And ‘had to be alone’ sounds negative. It wasn’t. It was a positive choice which I never regretted, and would happily do again.

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  26. Amazing Margaret, the reasons for starting blogs is varied amongst us all, but I think you hit the nail on the head about the blogging community here on WP. I’ve found exactly the same thing, I’ve met so many people from blogs and it has been amazing. Like you I also started on Blogger, but moved to WP soon after and so glad I made the move. Thanks for sharing this, it was good to hear.

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  27. What an eventful start to your blogging days! Even considering it was twenty years ago, Rs. 10 sounds like an incredible bargain, especially in a town where transport is costlier than in any other town in India.

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  28. A blog is an excellent way to inform others but also to preserve memories of small and large experiences. I’ve sometimes attempted to write a journal, when doing longer trips, but haven’t been very persistent.

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  29. I enjoyed this post and also thinking about travelling alone. I have only travelled from a to b alone, which is very different from a tour or holiday alone. Exciting yes, but I agree with those who think it is brave!

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      1. Hi Margaret – (I logged off last night before I saw your reply!) It must have been very liberating and relaxing, and yet at the same time exciting and even a little edgy. At any given moment you can even decide to do nothing! No pressure!

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      3. Interesting and yes I get that. Even travelling when as one of two women together, one cannot be suspected of ‘loitering’ (i.e. seen to be making oneself available).
        Btw, we still get Internet cafes here. Or perhaps you mean something more specific than I am understanding? I didn’t know they were a thing of the past elsewhere!

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      4. I guess you and I mean the same thing by internet cafes. Somewhere where you can make use of a computer and get a drink. They no longer exist here, though many bars and cafes encourage you to sit for hours with your own laptop, nursing a cold cappuccino.

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      5. Oh I think the distinction I missed is that in the true Internet Cafe they supplied desktop computers to be used by customers. I had forgotten about them!
        I was thinking about the cafes with wifi that encourage laptop users to work there. Not really Internet Cafes in the old way …

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