I moved into a new apartment yesterday.
Let's just say that there were some issues (insert involuntary shudder here) with that Other Place and leave it at that.
The new place is the Sai Paryavaran House, also known by the much less poetic name of Transtree Suites. The new place is located in Brookefields, which is a reasonably-sized-village (as far as sizes of villages go) in the vicinity of Whitefield and the International Technology Park Limited (I.T.P.L.), a.k.a. the workplace. It's about 15 minutes from I.T.P.L. during what passes for light traffic around here and probably 30 minutes (or greater) with more typical morning and evening traffic. As the crow flies, however, it can't be more than 5 miles away.
Let's take a brief tour of the new place. . .
The Exterior
The Sai Paryavaran House would appear to be relatively new construction. A brick exterior is not very common around these parts, so at least the building has a bit of character to it.
The Interior
Looking at the main living area from the front door wall. This unit is a two-bedroom, but it's set up so the two bedrooms can be rented out separately and the main living area becomes the common room. . .room. . .room. . .
Looking back at the front door. . .door. . .door. . .
High ceilings, but not a whole lot of furniture. . .furniture. . .furniture. . .
Did I mention the fact that it echoes in here. . .here. . .here?
Let's take a glimpse into the kitchen:
Small but functional. The red gas tank looking object hiding in the corner in the above picture is, in fact, a liquid propane tank. It fuels the countertop/portable 3-burner cook top.
Looking at the main kitchen area. I'm standing next to a small refrigerator that's on the opposite wall. They actually had the refrigerator located out in the living area when I first moved in because there was no extra wall outlet in which to plug it in. The microwave was using the one and only outlet. They managed to install an extra one for me. Now, you may be wondering where all the cabinets are. Me? I don't ask those kinds of questions any more.
The standard, common cold-water-only kitchen faucet. Again, I've given up asking those kinds of questions. I'm not sure the answer would make me feel better or worse. . .but I do think maybe someone needs to come glue down the sink again.
Bedroom #1: the one being used.
Ignore those dirty socks on the floor. No washer and dryer in this unit. The building has laundry pick-up services. It's generally a second-day return (i.e. laundry is picked up Monday morning before 10a.m., it's ready Tuesday night). Generally. Not always. A little bit of thought and planning needs to be involved. And some crossing of fingers never hurts either.Bedroom #2: a somewhat smaller version of the first.
Each bedroom has it's own in-suite bathroom. Again, the bedrooms are often rented out to separate individuals. Each bathroom comes with a large plastic bucket and smaller plastic bucket under the sink. Again. . .not sure I want to know the whole story behind the buckets.
What's with the extra sink in the living area? Why did I put the toaster out here instead of in the kitchen? We'll consider those unasked (and hence unanswered) questions #6 and #7.
All the bathrooms share a common, modern design. Each one has a separate, small hot water tank called a geyser (pronounced "geezer"). These tanks would appear to be even smaller here than at the other place, as I find showering in one bathroom and shaving in another is a necessity in the mornings. Of course, I'm considering hot water to be a necessity for those two activities.
All in all - a definite upgrade to the living arrangements.The Neighborhood
These are photos of the village of Brookefields and all within a few blocks of the apartment.
M.K. Retail - the neighborhood grocery store, and a halfway decent one compared to most of the other food stores in the general Indian subcontinent area. (The Hermosa Beach Von's may not be much relative to some other supermarkets in the states, but I am really really looking forward to walking back in there upon my return! I will never complain about it again.) M.K. Retail is about a 5 minute walk away. They had Metallica playing on the store audio system today. A little random. A little bizarre. But certainly not unwelcome.
The neighborhood hardware store:
The neighborhood pharmacy (hopefully you can make out the "chemists" & "druggists" signs painted on the storefront):
The neighborhood 7-11:
The neighborhood bakery (Ragam Bakery & Sweets):
The neighborhood department store:
The funny-looking vehicle in the above photo is the ubiquitous auto-rickshaw. It's the Bangalore version of the taxi. 3 wheels. Lawnmower motor. Cost-to-destination is mostly just agreed to beforehand (a little haggling is usually required).The other neighborhood 7-11 on the corner:
The neighborhood has everything! What more could one want!
So that's the Sai Paryavaran House and Brookefields: home for the next couple of months.
1 comment:
Eric, You didnt mention anything about the food. Can you order food here? is there some kind of house help maid service here?
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