Escape!

Leaving India was beginning to sound unfathomable. Even though I knew I had booked the plane ticket, I had this sick feeling that I couldn't make it actually happen.

But then I boarded a plane—and stepped into a different world.

I knew at first something was different when I went to the foreign exchange counter: it took me 30 seconds to do in Singapore what took my friends 15 minutes to do in Bangalore. The key was no paper, actually, no forms at all.

Our next step was to find our hotel, so we approached a counter & asked. The response was helpful, truthful, and understandable; none of which I'd grown to expect over the last 3 months.

Next was the streets: paved. Not a speck of trash. Compare this to regularly seeing public urination... was I in heaven?
It's not just comparative cleanliness. I'd be as-shocked coming from the U.S. You could eat off the floor of the subway stations (although food is prohibited); you could deliver a child in the bathrooms.

And it's efficient. The trains were fast and the stations well-placed. People respected the queue and didn't push to get ahead. As many microprocessors are manufactured in the city, everything is electronic and RF-ID is used whenever possible. Food is delivered in restaurants with impeccable timing. Fast food is in your hands before you can finish paying.

And it's beautifully modern. Helvetica was used quite liberally (here I am hugging the 'S' in Sentosa).
With 4.6 million people, it should be a crowded place. However, Bangalore feels 10 times more crowded and it only has 5 million. Efficiency goes a long way.

So now I'm back. It was hard to come back. There was no "end of vacation" relief. Just a familiar smell.

Picasa Web Albums: India