Observations from recent India trip

BeeAndButterfly · Post by **BeeAndButterfly** » Sat Jan 01, 2011 7:21 pm

Happy New Year to fellow members of this forum.

I am starting this thread to share data points from my just concluded India trip. Trip lasted for a month and I visited Chennai, Bengaluru and my hometown (tier 2 city in Gujarat--anonymous at this point). We were keen on observing the lifestyle of the various places we visited. The thread is more a jotting down of impressions gathered during the trip.

Impression 1:
The everyday experience is totally dependent on the city that you live in.
Traffic/ transportation
As expected the energy and time needed to travel was similar between Chennai and Bengaluru (unreasonably long) as opposed to my hometown (relatively small tier 2 city). Air seemed less breathable in Chennai and Bengaluru compared to my hometown. Pavements seemed more walkable in Bengaluru compared to Chennai. Chennai auto drivers invariably tried to demand ridiculously more money and a person new to the city will invariably get cheated. At one point the traffic (at a railway crossing) included trucks, cars, bullock cart, bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, auto-rickshaw, hand cart puller, woman in wheel chair ... Aggressive attitude is needed to cover any distance on the roads. If you leave a bit of space, in front of you, invariably it will be quickly filled in.

More to come on various topics.

BeeAndButterfly · Post by **BeeAndButterfly** » Sat Jan 01, 2011 7:44 pm

Meant to open the thread in the "R2i dilemma and Planning" section but bungled it and opened it in the R2i Diaries section. Would be great if the admins could move it to the "R2i dilemma and Planning" section. Thanks.

BeeAndButterfly · Post by **BeeAndButterfly** » Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:53 pm

We had a fair idea of items we wanted to purchase in India (books, kids clothes, dvds, kitchen items).

Chennai
Everday sundry items were purchased at the local chain stores (nilgiris etc.). For books we checked out Landmark. For kitchen utensils, Ratna stores. General observations/experiences:
1. On a couple of occasions the price charged was different from what was marked.
2. Marked discount was not given by the staff. They charged full price although the discount was mentioned in big red bold letters on the cover.
3. Free gift was not provided by default. We had to ask for it and ensure that the proper size was provided.
4. Getting to the shop was draining given the transportation conditions and the swindling rickshaw-wallahs. Comparatively shopping in the US is a breeze.
5. The staff kept stalking where ever we went and tried to sell other items (cosmetics).
6. Major gold store in Chennai refused to accept credit card!!!

Upside:
Was able to procure some very good items that are not available elsewhere.

Bengaluru:
Went to a couple of touristy spots and as expected prices were ridiculously high so did not really shop much. Purchased a few mementos fro Cauvery. Checked out the MOR store. Liked the layout but did not shop much. Again transportation to/from the shopping locales dampened the enthusiasm.

My hometown:
Had a relatively good experience. Old time mom-and-pop grocery stores seem to be on the decline with people preferring to purchase from retail chains. Even mom-and-pop stores are trying to emulate the shopping experience of the larger chain stores. Home delivery is an option. For my parents, groceries and medicines are a phone call away. Vegetable vendor comes to the doorstep.

Journey to the city is easy and affordable with auto rickshaws and traffic is not too bad except for a couple of congestion points (due to ongoing construction). Lots of choice in kids clothes, home items etc. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Checked out reliance fresh. I decided to return an item as soon as i got out of the store. Personnel said that they can only exchange it immediately and i would need to give all info (name, address, phone # etc) to even avail that. Very disappointing. I just walked away from the item.

If one knows where to look and what to pay, one can get good deals. QUALITY IS NOT ASSURED and return policy is almost non-existant.

KirKS · Post by **KirKS** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 4:07 pm

beeamma;359038 As expected the energy and time needed to travel was similar between Chennai and Bengaluru (unreasonably long) as opposed to my hometown (relatively small tier 2 city). Air seemed less breathable in Chennai and Bengaluru compared to my hometown. Pavements seemed more walkable in Bengaluru compared to Chennai.

beeamma: Happy new year to you too!
You probably visited Bengaluru at the worst time. Right now, over 60% of most major streets is under the control of Metro, BWSSB, BDA, BESCOM & other authorities for massive infrastructure projects.

Visit again in 2012 and you will see a huge difference, most likely on the positive side. The amount of infrastructure projects going on simultaneously is unheard of.

The nearly 20 KM elevated road just opened near Yashwantpur (still residual mess exists) ->
http://www.pics4news.com/daily_news_photo/37778/Yeswanthpur_Nelamangala_Elevated_Road_Opened_for_Traffic.html

The most talked about Metro project in full scale digging & diverting traffic in a countless roads/localities -->
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshowpics/7203740.cms
http://www.timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/126950/Feature/Metro-Rail-project-Bangalore.html
http://www.timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/126946/Feature/Metro-Rail-project-Bangalore.html (older pic)

Various underpass projects:
Nayandahalli: http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/09/stories/2010120963720300.htm
Madiwala: (completed now) http://rindojustrindo.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/half-done-is-well-begun-the-madiwala-underpass-bangalore/
KR Market Subway: http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=10&contentid=2010082420100824010037975a4692abb
Kadirenahalli underpass: http://www.commonfloor.com/stories/tag/compensation-for-kadirenahalli-underpass

It's obviously a very frustrating period for residents & commuters. When literally dozens of huge projects are underway simultaneously, compensation rate problems, contractor issues, "big boulder blocking digging" issues are just the tip of iceberg.

Hopefully all the hype about Metro declogging nearly half of city center streets would come true within the next 18 months!

http://bangaloremetromap.com/bangalore-metro-model-coach-pictures/
http://www.discoverbangalore.com/Metro.htm

Personally, I have never seen this many projects in Bengaluru.. It has literally been a dug up city as of today. So come back in 2012 and hopefully you will see a very different traffic pattern or load :)

BeeAndButterfly · Post by **BeeAndButterfly** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 7:39 pm

I got some dental and bloodwork done in my home town (tier 2 city in Gujarat). For the bloodwork the person from the lab showed up to take the sample and deliver the report.

ECG was done effortlessly. I was unable to do the same in the US for my mother when she visited the US as the lab here wanted a doctors prescription to perform the ECG.

The dentist was very able and accomplished a great deal in the limited time and charged very reasonable rates (by US standards). She was able to rope in/refer to other specialists as needed within the time provided. Very impressive.

Janu2010 · Post by **Janu2010** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:46 pm

KirKS;359098beeamma: Happy new year to you too!
You probably visited Bengaluru at the worst time. Right now, over 60% of most major streets is under the control of Metro, BWSSB, BDA, BESCOM & other authorities for massive infrastructure projects.

Visit again in 2012 and you will see a huge difference, most likely on the positive side. The amount of infrastructure projects going on simultaneously is unheard of.

The nearly 20 KM elevated road just opened near Yashwantpur (still residual mess exists) ->

http://www.pics4news.com/daily_news_photo/37778/Yeswanthpur_Nelamangala_Elevated_Road_Opened_for_Traffic.html

The most talked about Metro project in full scale digging & diverting traffic in a countless roads/localities -->
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshowpics/7203740.cms
http://www.timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/126950/Feature/Metro-Rail-project-Bangalore.html
http://www.timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/126946/Feature/Metro-Rail-project-Bangalore.html (older pic)

Various underpass projects:
Nayandahalli: http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/09/stories/2010120963720300.htm
Madiwala: (completed now) http://rindojustrindo.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/half-done-is-well-begun-the-madiwala-underpass-bangalore/
KR Market Subway: http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=10&contentid=2010082420100824010037975a4692abb
Kadirenahalli underpass: http://www.commonfloor.com/stories/tag/compensation-for-kadirenahalli-underpass

It's obviously a very frustrating period for residents & commuters. When literally dozens of huge projects are underway simultaneously, compensation rate problems, contractor issues, "big boulder blocking digging" issues are just the tip of iceberg.

Hopefully all the hype about Metro declogging nearly half of city center streets would come true within the next 18 months!

http://bangaloremetromap.com/bangalore-metro-model-coach-pictures/
http://www.discoverbangalore.com/Metro.htm

Personally, I have never seen this many projects in Bengaluru.. It has literally been a dug up city as of today. So come back in 2012 and hopefully you will see a very different traffic pattern or load :)

--Yeah. It was like that since 1996 or even before that. At that time it was ring road and Hosur-Bangalore Road. I bet even in 2012 it is not going to be any different.

Old-Spice2 · Post by **Old-Spice2** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:20 am

>>>Personally, I have never seen this many projects in Bengaluru.. It has literally been a dug up city as of today. So come back in 2012 and hopefully you will see a very different traffic pattern or load

BLR is like what Delhi was 10 years back. Lot of flyovers, metro construction and other infra projects made life difficult in NCR. Now most of the constructions are over and the city looks different. The international airport is stunning compared to old dingy airport that existed 8 years back. During my current trip, after getting down at T3 thought I got off at the wrong city and was about to head back to the plane :)

R2I-2010 · Post by **R2I-2010** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:38 pm

OP, thanks for starting the thread..
(First of all now that its 2011 i need to change my handle name from r2i-2010 to something else as I have not yet R2Ied....)
Here are my observations from recent India trip in no particular order....

India is expensive....
India has changed for better and India has changed for worse....
It takes a lot of time to buy a piece of furniture.....
India is very expensive....
Too many cars on the road now (with not too many roads, lanes on existing roads)...
You can charge your cell phone for free on the charging stations at airport and nobody steals your phone....
Mumbai Airport is too much of a hassle .... (never going there again, and if I do I am not going to complain) ...
India is very very expensive.....
Most of the TV channels (especially news channels) are horrible....
Politicians and bureaucrats are beyond horrible...
People have started to ignore the scams that are less than 100 crore.....
Young India is very confidant....Old India is having hard time adjusting to new India...

Last but not least, did I already mention India is very expensive?

dcnri2india · Post by **dcnri2india** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:28 pm

Last but not least, did I already mention India is very expensive?

Please elaborate with some specifics (Not personal information just enough to give an idea).
It will help people who have not been to INDIA in recent years.

Personally I am looking for expenses related to eating out :p (both high and low end of spectrum).

DCNRI

Rajram · Post by **Rajram** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:12 pm

beeamma;359038As expected the energy and time needed to travel was similar between Chennai and Bengaluru (unreasonably long) as opposed to my hometown (relatively small tier 2 city).

Chennai traffic is a shade better than Bangalore. The traffic stops but doesn't stagnate like in Bangalore in most parts of the city.
[quote] Chennai auto drivers invariably tried to demand ridiculously more money and a person new to the city will invariably get cheated[/quote]

In Bangalore you have to stop atleast 4-5 autos before one is willing to take you to the place where you want to go. It is really frustrating and rude when these autodrivers ask you where you want to go and then they just refuse nodding their head and drive away. After 8-00 PM or so they start charging 1.5 times or 2 times the standard rate. In chennai the autos usually don't refuse to take you any place you want to go except they may charge a bit more. Auto drivers in general try to cheat in both cities.