Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Placement and Travel: India

So, I've seen my flight details and placement location for when I begin the start of my trek to the other side of the globe. I fly into the city of Bangalore for starters. I learned that this city is very diverse in its ethnic make up and cultural experiences. One of the sites I visited said that Bangalore is the rock and roll capital of India. I find this feature intriguing because I live outside of the live music capital of the world: Austin, TX. So, as a resident of this area with access local bands every night of the week, I feel that it is my duty to see if there are any local Indian rock bands playing while I am there. As a foodie, I discovered that Bangalore has a strong culinary scene. I wonder what I shall discover while there.

My placement city is a mouthful for most Westerners to say: Thiruvananthapuram. Most seem to refer to it as Trivandrum. It is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala with 750k people and some change. It is located on the south western part of the Indian subcontinent. I would be hard pressed to get much more south in India than I will be. The area has a deep and rich history with some ties possibly going back to King Solomon's fleet landing to trade at what is now the docks at Poovar (was Ophir). I am hoping to see some ancient buildings and historical sites with a city and region with roots that deep. The Indian Space Research Organization also has several branches here in town. There are many beaches in this area that aid in the growth of the city's tourist industry. Trivandrum also has an old fort that houses an old Hindu Temple that requires a strict dress code to visit. I do not know if it is open for Westerners or not. I think it would be intriguing to visit if it is.Soccer and cricket are the popular sports in town (and seem to be for the country). I wonder if I can find a rugby pitch in the area. Most of the food in the city is characterized by abundant use of coconut and spices. Fast food is also popular. The street food of choice (and safest bet for tourists) seems to be the fried banana chips. I went to Frommer's tourist guide to check up on this and it said to get them piping hot and slightly salted to get the full extent of this snack. I cannot find myself objecting to this if presented with the opportunity.

I have copied the link from Google Maps with the location of my placement.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Thiruvananthapuram,+Kerala/@8.499733,76.9244767,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x3b05bbb805bbcd47:0x15439fab5c5c81cb