“You are Christian, yes?”
“Well, no…I’m not really anything.”
“Oh. What are your parents?”
“I think my Mom was Lutheran a long time ago, which is a type of Christianity.”
“So who do you pray to?”
“Uh, no one?”
“Indians are very religious.”

“Drinking is part of your culture, yes?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say its required. I mean, yes, I drink, but I haven’t had any alcohol in the last couple weeks. I wouldn’t say that I have to drink….I mean, some people wear a turban as part of their religion. Drinking isn’t a religion. But its common, I guess…”

The traffic signs in Bangalore are pretty blunt. But people ignore them anyway.

I was at one of the most expensive coffee shops I’ve seen, and going down the menu. You can get ice cream with pretty much everything. I looked down the prices and saw something for 125 rupees, easily 50% more expensive that any of the other fancy stuff on the menu. What is THAT, I thought! It was a bottle of Snapple.

Another coffee shop I wandered into serves Red Bull-flavoured Sheesha.

(Wandering into Mysore with a backpack, clearly travelling)
“Hello! Today is marijuana festival! You want marijuana?!”
…
“You are from Canada? I like ice hockey! I don’t like field hockey, ice hockey is better.”
[Context: field hockey is actually pretty popular in India for both genders.]

(Describing Bangalore’s two-tier bus system)
“It’s not discrimination, it’s just providing comfort to those who can afford it.”

As I’ve learned, Bangalore has the nicest weather in India. This is partially because it is on a giant plateau (920 m high) and also because of its amazingly consistent tree cover. I’m not sure exactly what these trees are, but they’re amazing.

(After I had to pay 100 rupees to access a temple, for which locals had to pay 5 rupees. I wasn’t getting ripped off – there was a big official sign)
“Why do foreigners have to pay so much.”
“I guess because they assume I was able to pay for the flight.”

(After a long conversation about the differences between the East and West)
“Women will be different here than in Canada for you.”
“Yeah, what’s the deal with that? Nobody I’ve met seems very talkative. They’re all fairly quiet.”
“You shouldn’t hit on them.”
“Uh…I wasn’t…planning on it?”