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Bangalore, India

Safety

Safety in Bangalore, India
What do other Racers need to know in order to be safe? Current safety protocols/precautions in place? Any relevant issues/concerns? Any precautionary suggestions?

People’s Opinions

  1. We were with Prakash in Bangalore. We stayed in a 3 story apartment and were on the third floor. His family stayed on the second floor, and where we had our meals. We were allowed to venture to the store 50 yards down the road but otherwise went everywhere with Him and His hired help.. Overall felt safe….almost too safe.
  2. We worked with Morong and Sendmi at Jireh Children’s Home. We stayed in a small apartment that they rented. It was a short 30 sec walk to the home and we felt completely safe. The street dogs can be a little scary, but if you don’t run and leave them alone you will be fine. You could do things alone, but it is always best to take a buddy with you!
  3. We worked with Rise India and stayed in a house that they rented there. We were on the third floor, had keys, and had two other people from Rise staying in the second floor. We felt completely safe the whole time. Street dogs will leave you alone if you leave them alone. Just to be sure, always go with at least one other person if you leave outside of ministry.
  4. We were safe pretty much the whole time. The only issue was dogs. We were with another team and we were jogging one morning and a squad mate got bit by a dog and had to get multiple rabies shots. Pretty much all the dogs are fine except this one. When you get close to a dog, don’t run just walk. Other than that everything was awesome!!!!
  5. Our host was Prakash L and we lived with him and his family in Kammana Halli. We felt rather safe everywhere we went in Bangalore. During ministry we went to different neighborhoods and parts of Bangalore and were always with one of the pastors that works with Prakash. They asked that we never give out our personal information to strangers and if people ask what we are doing in India, tell them we are tourists. That is to protect ourselves as well as the longevity of the ministry. We were able to take pictures with phones and cameras without worrying about them being stolen during ministry.On off days we felt safe to take pictures and bring computers, phones, ipads, etc to cafes or ice cream shops to use the internet in Kammana Halli. Just always be aware that people notice you more since you are a group of Americans that stand out.Also… Prakash’s neighborhood is very safe and it was fine to go on walks around the area. (Girls do not need boys to be with them when out).
  6. Actually felt relatively safe in Bangalore. Didn’t have any issues at all. They asked us not to tell anyone that we were with YWAM for YWAM’s safety.

Ministry Summary

  • Rating: 4
  • Previous Racer:  “They gave us a lot of freedom to follow the Lord’s calling on our month. There were a few things that came up that we needed to be a part of but other than that we were able to be involved in as much or as little as we wanted.”
  • Ministry options include:  Esther Project, Jirah orphanage, ESL, the alcohol rehab center, other orphanages, slums ministry through DTS, as well as going to DTS (Discipleship training school) and SOMD (school of ministry development)

Ministry Summary in Bangalore, India
Breakthroughs? Suggestions? Concerns? On a scale of 1-4 (1 being not at all, 4 being absolutely) how strongly would you recommend another World Race team go to this ministry location & why?

People’s Opinions

  1. Pastor Paul and Anita Victor were like a second set of parents to us! You will love your time with them and their sweet kids, Junior, Faith, and Hope. Anita’s food is amazing and not too hot. Paul focuses on discipling teams, so expect to spend a lot of time sitting down and talking with him. Ministry included leading VBS in their house and in the slums.
  2. My team was there working along team Hesed >> See Gabbie’s below comments about ministry.
    We feel strongly that we would give Rise India a 4 rating!
  3. Our ministry was very different than we expected. We came along side several ministries that are already established in India. The first week we arrived we went to several different ministries and did orientation. We spent a few hours at them and then left. The second week we partnered with Accept, a local HIV/AIDS clinic and helped them cool, clean, and garden. We did this the entire second week in the mornings. In the afternoons we tutored kids at a local afterschooñ program. This was our most consistent ministry. We did this the entire month and all enjoyed it! Another part of our ministry was house ministry. We did house visits in the afternoons when not all of us could go to the school. We also served our host. 4 people stayed home each day to cook and clean. Overall a big variety.
  4. We were with Jireh Children’s Home working along side Morong and Sendmi. We absolutely loved it here. They have 3 children of their own and have 9 others living with them. They are amazing hosts, Sendmi is a wonderful cook, she definitely spoiled us. Every day looked different, but every night we taught a bible lesson, played games and helped the kids with their studies when needed. Some days we would run a computer class, or help them with their English. The kids became our family, we built strong relationships with them all. While the kids were at school we did different things. We would host a bible study/prayer session with Morong and Sendmi or just do different things Morong needs help with. We absolutely loved it here! Leaving was incredibly hard, be prepared for an amazing month!
  5. We were with Rise India, and because of some VISA issues, our main contacts had to leave India, but their family members that work along side of them were so amazing. We basically had a different ministry every few days because of that, but it was awesome. We worked with Daughters of Hope and Glory Haus which is a training centre for girls to learn trades, as well as a factory where they make pillows and tea towels, ext. We also visited womens homes, mens homes, clinics, did house visits, and slum visits. So a little bit of everything! But we enjoyed our time here IMMENSELY and our hosts where great.
  6. Awakened Warriors were at Jireh Home. Moronge and Sendmi are incredible hosts. We were their 5th or 6th team to come. The kids are wonderful. Be ready for doing lots of bible teaching, and just loving on the kids. Sometimes they loved us so much better than we loved them. We stayed just a 2 minute walk from the children’s home. You will not want to leave.
  7. Abhayam Drug & Alcohol Rehab Rating: 3.5 We absolutely loved our hosts, Albert & Laly, and the ministry that they do at Abhayam. The girls rehab home is an apartment above Albert & Laly’s home. The men’s home (where the guys on our team stayed) was about 15 minutes away. We helped with their church’s VBS which was like an American Baptist church in the 90’s. We fell in love with the people there. The Abhayam ministry is incredible, but we felt limited. Most of them spoke English, but we were limited to what we could talk about with the members. We could not talk about their past, families, etc. It felt limiting in building relationships with them. We spent every day doing crafts (paper maché and glueing things).
  8. For those working with Rise India Ministries (Ravi): Rating: 4 Our month with this ministry was incredible. We had four teams with us and would split up between different ministries (we mixed people within teams so people could to places based on their interests). We did a lot of house visits with Pastors (praying over people in their homes–believers and Hindus), manual labor at an HIV hospice, we spent time at an HIV rescue home for men, children, and women, tutored at an after school program. We also spent one week in a town about 3hrs away teaching English at a technical college and helping at a pre-school. We also got to go to a couple of Hindu temples to pray which was a powerful experience for many of us. Through all of this we were able to intercede, support, and encourage many local pastors and ministries. This was a wonderful but challenging month for many because of the level of suffering we encountered. Yet, hopeful because of the work Rise is doing and the ways the Lord worked through us. The leadership team is amazing and loved us very well. We had a wonderful time with them. I highly recommend this ministry to another team.
  9. For those working with Rise India Ministries (Prakash L): Rating: 4 The focus of Rise India Ministries is usually to serve and work with pastors in villages outside of Bangalore. So this might not pertain to everyone working with Prakash. But if you work with Prakash in Bangalore, the majority of your time will be spent going house to house in the slums around Bangalore to pray for families and share the gospel, visiting other ministries around the area (i.e. orphanages, elderly homes, HIV hospitals, houses for ladies rescued from human trafficking). Our time in India was a powerful month and we very much enjoyed our time serving with Prakash and the other pastors that work with him. I would suggest to sit down with Prakash before you start going out to do ministry and ask him for his vision and heart of Rise India. He has a a huge heart for India as a nation to know Jesus. Hearing him will drive your time doing ministry. You will meet a lot of people doing wonderful things for God’s kingdom in Bangalore. Many will be in heartbreaking situations. If God stirs you to help them financially, Prakash asks that you talk to him first before offering to the person directly. This so that he can advise you on the best way to go about it. Also to protect Rise India so that the people don’t always expect such help every time Americans visit them. Prakash and his pastoral team are awesome and really fun to be with. Prakash takes care of missionaries very well. He understands what it is like to be an American in India because his wife is American. He cares for you well so that you will have endurance during your time in India. We all felt very well taken care of and any questions or concerns we had were always addressed right away. See tips section below for more suggestions.

Lodging

Lodging in Bangalore, India
Where did you stay? What were the accommodations (sleeping arrangements, toilets, showers, etc.)? Cost (per person per night in USD), Contact info.

People’s Opinions

  1. If you work with Rise India Ministries you will probably stay in their rented space. It is super nice! A 3 story building. A boys orphanage is on the bottom floor. The second floor is where Prakash and his family stays. The third floor is where teams stay! It is spacious with bunk beds and bathrooms with western toilets. The showers are bucket showers but there is purified water all throughout the house which is amazing!
  2. We stayed in an apartment that was a 30 sec walk to our hosts house. Morong and Sendmi rented it out for the month. The apartment was under construction, but we arrived to it all decorated with welcome notes. They provided sleeping mats for us and it had two bed rooms, which slept 4 people between the two of them and the rest of the team slept in the open room. There was no kitchen, but we had a bathroom with a western toilet. They also gave us a heat rod to heat up our bucket showers. It was a great place and we enjoyed having our own living space. Our ministry occurred at the hosts home, so transportation was not needed.
  3. If you work with Rise India, you will probably stay in the house that they rent out. Its very roomy with beds and a living room area (according to how big the team is staying) and a kitchen on the second floor. We had a live in cook that made all of our meals, so lodging was very nice and they drove us to ministry each day.
  4. If you work at Abhayam, the girls and guys will be split. They girls will probably stay with the hosts and the guys will be 15 minutes away at the guys’ home.
  5. We stayed at Prakash’s and Mary’s lodging that they had available. It is a three story building. The first level is orphaned children and they have a wonderful young girl there named Asha! Super sweet. Ask the children to perform skits, sing and dance for you. Second floor is where we stayed. One room has 2 bunk beds while the other one accommodates the married couple on our team. Third floor is usually where a YWAM team stays. The roof is perfect for hand washing clothes. The toilets are western but sometimes fill up slowly so you have to fill the bucket and pour it into the top of the toilet. Bucket showers but drains well. Loved the accommodations!!
  6. Bangalore Youth Hostel Website: http://www.youthhostelbangalore.com Phone: 9449816139 Email: bangalore_youthhostel@yahoo.co.in A Real Life team stayed there Sept. 2010
  7. We stayed at the YWAM Bangalore. Rooms each have 6 beds (3 bunks), own toilet (western toilet) and a faucet for bucket showers. Being that I had 7 on my team, they put me with the DTS staff leaders who were all amazing, incredible women. I think they charged us $9/night for lodging.

Food / Meals

Food / Meals in Bangalore, India
What did you eat? Where did you get the food? Cost (per person per day in USD)? Contact info (if applicable).

People’s Opinions

  1. Shilpa, Prakash’s niece, her husband, or a young girl named Esther, helped to cook with all the food. While staying at this house 4 people have to stay home every day from ministry to help with the cooking and cleaning. Be prepared to have a good attitude about their requirement, even on days you would rather be at ministry. In a way Prakash and his family was our ministry on these days we had to stay at home and help. The food is so amazing! Each meal is freshly cooked and hours go into the preparation. They keep the spiciness down to a tolerable level, and are so particular about making sure everything is clean. No one was sick from the food our whole stay!
  2. With Jireh, Sendmi was our cook. She is Morong’s wife and is an amazing cook. She didn’t want us to get sick from eating Indian food, so she asked us what we liked to eat. I have no complaints about her cooking. We were always given so much food and she often gave us food to take back to the apartment. If we wanted snacks we could walk down the street to the general store and get whatever we needed. Snacks were not necessary as we were always fed in abundance. We got 3 meals a day and evening refreshments. Be prepared for some amazing tea!
  3. With Rise India (Prakash) we had a cook, Regina. She cooked all of our meals and made us tea some days as well! She is quite a character.
    There was also a little snack shack right next to our house and it had chips, chocolate, drinks, ect. The lady there is Maria and she works there with her sister. They are great. Other than that, there are takeout places further in town, but overall most meals will be cooked for you.
  4. Laly cooked every meal we ate except on off days. If you stay at their house, walk to the bakery around the corner. They have amazing bread and rolls and hot chips.By the guys home is a street food stand with paratha with dipping curry sauce. It is amazing for 20 rupees.
  5. If staying at the Ywam home in the CSI colony, there is a delicious coffee shop about a mile down the road. If you go out to the main road outside the neighborhood and make a right, go about 10 minutes down the road and it will be on the right side of the road. It is a little place and does not look like much, but it is awesome! Great food, great drinks! The mac n cheese with a spicy bbq chicken sandwich and a Italian soda to drink! The shop is owned by an american missionary, great guy! We spent a lot of our down time with the people there and it was always a great time!
  6. Repeating Katie’s comment and saying that you are blessed if Mamatha is your cook (Prakash was our contact). If not, sorry Charlie. Go eat some pizza. Haha, but really I loved having someone cook for us =) Enjoy India!!!
  7. We stayed with Prakash and ate food at his house most of the time. Mamata prepares almost every meal you eat and she is a fabulous cook. She even tones down the spices for Americans. We would take turns helping her with each meal, whether it was preparing or washing dishes. The food here is seriously amazing. Mamata even made pancakes and french toast sometimes for breakfast!
  8. We generally ate at YWAM. They fed about 100 people/day so it was usually pretty basic Indian food – rice and veggies/soup with varying spice level. Pretty good food most of the time. Cost was I think just $1 /p day.

Transportation

  • Tuk-Tuks into Kamminahalli which had the coffee shops and a couple restaurants. They were challenging to bargain with. Ask them to go by meter. (it’ll cost around $.80 with meter) They will try charge up to $2 sometimes.
  • We went to Commercial street by public bus which timing wise is really not dependable.
  • Bus came anywhere from every 15 minutes to over an hour, and cost around $.50.
  • Often we had to use transportation to get to ministry. If it was through one of the YWAM set up programs (you’ll ride in an old ambulance) it cost $10 per day.
  • We did not pay YWAM for transportation. We kept it separately under team.

Transportation in Bangalore, India
What transportation did you use to enter the country? Where were you coming from? What transportation was used to move throughout the country? Be sure to include the cost per person in USD and contact info if applicable.

People’s Opinions

  1. We never had to utilize our own transportation. Prakash had a hired driver named Jagadish and he drove us everywhere we needed to go!
  2. Transportation was not utilized a ton. We lived exactly where we did our ministry, so we didn’t have to seek out any transportation. Morong has a vehicle that he will squish the team into if need be, we named the car JJ. We only used transportation for church visits and hospital visits.On off days we used Uber and Tuk Tuks. I would suggest that you use the meter if the Tuk Tuk has one, it is always cheaper than negotiating a price. We would usually pay about 80 rupees one way, depending on how far you went.
  3. Our hosts (Parkash) drove us to ministry every day, and on off days would usually book Ubers for us. Other than that there are Autos(tuk-tuks) almost everywhere so its pretty easy to get around.
  4. There are Uber Drivers in India!!! I would recommend to download the Uber app. It is inexpensive depending on how far you want to travel. The only trick is to have access to WIFI to request an Uber. You don’t have to use your card but request “cash” on the payment option Thankfully our ministry had Wi-Fi to request it but we had to be proactive to think ways to come back if the location didn’t have WIFI. TukTuk drivers are everywhere in India also!
  5. Shahid is an excellent auto driver. We met him while walking around Commercial Street. We started off headed to the mall and he offered to give us a tour of Bangalore. We spent 4 or 5 hours with him. He stuck to his original price of 20 rupees even after taking us around for a tour of the city, taking us to a great restaurant and sharing about his family. We chose to pay him generously for his time and awesomeness. We highly recommend him!
  6. We used a sleeper bus to get from Hyderabad to Bangalore and our host, Prakash, booked it for us. He also has his own 13 passenger van and driver to get to ministry so the transportation cost built in will cover transportation to and from ministry. Rick-Sha’s are the easiest way to get around for none ministry needs if you cant use the van. They are very cheap (60-80 rupees to get to Kammanahali street) and his neighbor, Kevin, is a driver and can help you get one or take you himself. (this is at Prakash’s house in Bangalore, not in the villages)

Medical

Medical in Bangalore, India
Information on local hospitals / doctors / pharmacies. Where would someone go in a medical emergency? (addresses and contact info).

People’s Opinions

  1. There was a near by hospital where a couple people when when they had various sickness! Prakash always sent somebody with them for translation and help. No one ever went alone. There are also ton’s of pharmacies on a main road where we would sometimes go shopping or to eat. You can get pretty much any medicine here!
  2. Our host always knew where to take us. They will even suggest what time to go and let you know which doctor to see. No need to worry about this. Our team was very sick throughout our time in India and they always knew where to take us. Morong will take care of this for you if need be.
  3. Our hosts at Rise India took us to a clinic not too far away, I forget the name, but if you are with Rise they will take care of everything for you! The clinic was very nice and the pharmacy for medication is right outside of the clinic as well.
  4. Columbia Asia hospital was where we went for care. The ER docs weren’t super knowledgable but the rest of the doctors were and it was a very clean hospital with mainly English speakers.

Communication

  • Getting SIM cards in India is very challenging.
  • YWAM ended up purchasing a SIM card for incoming teams as India won’t issue a SIM card to tourists.
  • Once it was activated, it’s good.
  • As far as internet. The internet at YWAM is not good at all. We usually went into Kamminahalli for internet. Coffee Day has really poor internet (don’t go there) but Breadworks and Quizno’s has great internet.

Communication in Bangalore, India
Did you have cell reception / Internet service? Where? Carrier / Provider, where did you get phones / SIM cards, cost? Country code?

People’s Opinions

  1. SIMs can be hard to get! Ask your ministry host if they will go with you to an Airtel.
  2. Communication was pretty rough at first! There is wifi in the house but Prakash chooses to not give out the password to anyone. Additionally the power goes out in the house pretty often. It is very hard to get a sim card in Bangalore due to controversy between phone companies. If you really need service you can ask Prakash and he can help you find an old sim card! Additionally wifi is super hard to get access to in restaurants. They don’t want to give passwords to Americans because they know we just buy one coffee and stay for hours using wifi. BUT if you make friends with restaurant workers sometimes you can convince them to give you the password. At The Drunken Monkey and Chocolate Heaven we were able to get wifi sometimes!
  3. There were terrorist attacks in India prior to us arriving in the area, and the Govt had put stronger restraints on foreigners obtaining sims. The sims had to be purchased by locals, so most of our phones were not able to be used over the month. Prakash helped where he could but only came up with 4 sims for 3 teams and 1 for the squad leaders. So, be mindful it might be really tough!
  4. Albert & Laly’s house has wifi which is great! HOWEVER, we were not told that they are charged by data used. Be very mindful of streaming videos, downloading etc. and have the team leader discuss BEFOREHAND to reimburse them for all the data used.
  5. Sims are really hard to get in India like mentioned before. I would suggest talking with your contact. Our contact was able to find within the YWAM staff a few extra sims that we used during our time there. Otherwise it can be very tricky.
  6. Prakash (Rise India Ministries) gave us his sim cards for the month because it is to big of a hassle to buy a sim for the month. I had reliance and the service was great with no issues. Airtel and Vodaphone are also popular carriers.
  7. Wifi at New Zealand Naturals in Jayanagara, Bangalore. 28th Main South End C Cross 9th block. It’s unlimited with the purchase of ice cream. I’ve also seen one internet cafe with wifi availability. They’re kind of hidden, so keep your eyes peeled.

Financial

Financial in Bangalore, India
Location of banks or ATMs, notes about transaction fees, best places to exchange money, and other money related advice.

People’s Opinions

  1. Plenty of ATM’s that Prakash will take you to whenever you need!
  2. There is an ATM about a 5 min walk from the house. If you travel over the bridge, there are two different ATMs to choose from. Ask Morong and Sendmi and they can direct you!
  3. There is an ATM 2 min walk away from Albert & Laly’s house.

Translators

Translators in Bangalore, India
List any local translators – name and contact information, languages spoken

People’s Opinions

  1. We always had at least one person from the Rise India team with us translating! Additionally, tons of people in Bangalore speak English which is always helpful!
  2. Prakash with Rise India can translate and works with many local pastors that can do well translating.
  3. Almost everybody we met spoke English.

Off Days / Fun Activities

Off Days / Fun Activities in Bangalore, India
What activities did your team experience? Recommendations? List locations/contact info. Any locations to be avoided? Any extra safety tips for off days?

People’s Opinions

  1. If you want to have free time or off-days you have to be SUPER up-front with Prakash from the very beginning, or else he will schedule you for some type of ministry every day. We really only had one true adventure day but it was awesome! If you tell Prakash you want to go on an adventure he will have Jagadish the driver coordinate it all. We went to Mysore Palace, and on the way stopped for river boating, and saw some amazing waterfalls. On other random times off we would just get rides to this main street where there was a super market, and a couple of restaurants, and coffee shops. If you ask Shilpa for a girls day she will make it so special! One day she took us to the city center where all the markets and street vendors are for shopping. Another day she took us to her sister in-law’s house and we got all dressed up in tons of Sari’s, and took fun photos.
  2. Unicorn Auto rents mopeds for 250 RS a day. If you’re a competent 2-wheeler then this is a very fun activity. Make sure you know how to get to the shop though because my took took driver got very confused trying to find it. Also just realize that you will get hopelessly lost, download an offline map to your iphone to help with this.
  3. During our week in the village we had the opportunity to visit the Chitradurga fort on our off day. It was a few hours in the morning and it was really fun. It’s basically a huge ancient fort with monkeys! It was pretty inexpensive and had great views of the city and mountains.
  4. I spent most of my off days at coffee/internet. Best coffee is Lavazza. Breadworks has great good and coffee and, I believe, is Christian run.Commercial street and MG road have all of the stores, westernized places like, Nike, Krispy Kreme and KFC, etc, etc.

Other Important Contacts

Other Important Contacts in Bangalore, India
Additional ministry opportunities, local pastors, etc. Relationship & follow up suggestions

People’s Opinions

  1. Robert’s Chicken Shop Chicken shop just outside the CSI Colony. Owner is an evangelist with many connections who you definitely want to encourage. Pray and go on home visits with him! Robert will set you on fire! Email him at: robertclive82@gmail.com
  • 2. Maruthi Iyyangar Bakery & Sweets is the best and cheapest (they gave us free stuff) bakery owned by 3 Hindu brothers, Lokesh, Tamanna, and Mahesh. We talked with them for hours every day and were invited into their house for dinner twice. We panted many seeds in their hearts. Water and harvesters needed!Address – Dodda Gubbi Cross, Bengaluru – 560 077

Tips

People’s Opinions

  1. Here are a couple of helpful tips if you are staying with Prakash at Rise India: -EMBRACE disfunction. You have to go with the flow, there is never a schedule and things will be sprung on you last minute quite often. -Get to know Prakash’s story and heart behind the ministry on DAY ONE. It is so beautiful and inspiring and helps to get a better picture of who he is. He can be cryptic with communication so you have to kind of pull things out of him! -Keep toilet paper on stock, the market place down the street would run out sometimes. -There is a small market a block away where you can get snacks and laundry detergent. -Generally speaking take time to get to know the whole family, they are so amazing and care so much about the teams that stay with them! -Have a good attitude about all the cleaning and cooking you will probably be doing! The nice accommodations come with responsibility!
  2. If you stay with Albert & Laly, you don’t have to wear traditional clothes at all. Even women at his church wear sleeveless shirts.
  3. – The Canara Bank ATMs seem to all be reliable and have the least amount of additional charges.– Girls attire must go to at least mid calf or lower, must have sleeves, and should be loose fitting. Most of the time you will want to wear a kurta and scarf to do ministry or go out on days off. (If not wearing a kurta, wear loose pants or a long skirt and a loose fitting shirt… and always wear a scarf out). If staying with Prakash L (Rise India Ministries), he will probably bring you to Reliance Trends on your first or second day to buy appropriate clothes. All of the girls on my team bought 2-3 kurtas and just rotated through those for the whole month.– Commercial street is a great place to buy souvenirs! There are street vendors in front of the actual stores and down alleys off of the main street that sell scarves, jewelry, shoes, purses and more! There are also a couple of stands that sell scarves in Kammana Halli (down the road from Reliance Trends). Ask Prakash how to get there and you can get solid scarves for 100 rupees (less than $2) and patterned scarves for 150-200 rupees.– Henna! If you want to get an awesome henna done on your hands or feet, there is a man that does henna on the street (one or two blocks away from Reliance Trends in Kammana Halli… on the same street as Reliance but on the other side of the street) for anywhere from 100-300 rupees! You can also buy a tube of henna to do your own for 10 rupees (about 15 cents.. haha!)– If you stay at Prakash’s house in Bangalore there is a shop about a 2 minute walk away that sells snacks (oreos, chips, candy, etc) and drinks (pepsi, sprite, mt dew, etc). They also sell laundry detergent. When we were in India they did not sell toilet paper so be sure to stop by somewhere while out doing ministry to get that.– There is a gym down the street from Prakash’s house (Complete Fitness Gym). Several members of our team joined for one week for 300 rupees total. You could also get a month long membership for 750 rupees. The gym has treadmills, elipticals, bikes, free weights (dumbells and barbells) and other workout machines (bench, leg press, etc). Its pretty small but worth it because culturally, girls do not work out (ie run) outside. If a girl, be sure to wear a long baggy shirt that covers your bottom and long pants).

  4. Make sure that you have water, toilet paper, and a snack every time you leave the house. You never know when you will return. Also – leave room in your tummy for lots of chai tea. But beware because it’s really hot.

  5. For those staying with Prakash:– Ask him to have you meet his American friend that lives in India. His name is David Shepard. He will give you a good idea of what to expect culturally.– For the women: When praying, always cover your head with a scarf.– Don’t expect to have a schedule. Embrace the unexpected and just go with it.

Additional Info

Additional Info in Bangalore, India
Anything we’ve left out? Any additional suggestions to make travel easier for others?

People’s Opinions

  1. Comment