A Bad Decision

If I had to list down all the bad decisions I’ve made in my 20s, this would be one of them.

I moved into an area call Indiranagar this past weekend because it’s very close to work and yoga, and pretty much anywhere else I frequent. My now new home is called the Hibiscus.

When I picked this apartment, I made the mistake of not observing what’s around the building (and not testing out the bed). Diagonally from where the building stands is a very dilapidated Hindu temple, and behind the temple is the start of a slum. Surrounding the Hindu temple are hills of garbage that looks like they needed to be removed a few decades ago. To get to the Hibiscus by foot at any direction, you will pass oh, about half a kilometer of shabby stores that caters to people who live in the slums. Right outside this 0.5 km radius is where the most luxurious bungalow houses and commercial stores locate (I’m talking about stores ranging from United Colors of Benetton to boutique restaurants). Embassy Golf Links, which is where my company is situated, is a 5 minutes drive and my yoga Guru lives 14 short blocks away – both distances I would walk for sure if I was in NYC.

Granted this apartment is 3 times bigger than the space I had (my old apartment was called The Bride) but cost exactly the same. It’s not uncommon to pay >USD100/night in Bangalore for a service apartment and only get one room with shared common areas. Common areas include kitchen, dining area and living room. I negotiated 2 weeks for my Hibiscus space; a 2 bedroom apartment with dining area, living room and a non-working kitchen with breakfast and dinner and a driver to take me to and fro work/yoga and the Hibiscus. Negotiating for everything and anything is also not uncommon.

The Bride: Here’s my old comfortable King size bed, door leading out to the terrace where I used to read or work.

The Hibiscus: Here’s one of my new rooms, where the bed and pillows feel like they are made out of cardboard. Tonight as I lay awake on this bed, with my earplugs on, I could still hear auto-rickshaws honking and neighboring stray dogs howling sadly. I'm going apartment hunting after work tomorrow.

More Corporate Service Apartment pictures