2026-08 - Bangalore, India

Bangalore is my second home. My best friends live here. This is my 5th or 6th trip here. I have a local bank account and cellphone here. I’m planning on moving here.

Here, I’m super social and laugh harder than I have in a long time. My friends introduce me to their friends. It’s really sweet and emotionally nourishing.

This time I also came for a surgery, and a friend sat with me at the hospital for 7½ hours. I was at Manipal hospital for many days of checkups, tests, MRIs, repeat consultations, and neurosurgery, where I was unconscious for 3½ hours.

The hospital system here is so fascinating. High demand and high capacity. I was originally going to a different hospital, but the morning I arrived for my appoinments, scheduled weeks in advance, they said, “Our systems are down today. Try again tomorrow.” So I booked all my appointments for Manipal hospital instead, just 16 hours in advance, and it was great.

I did a full day of “Executive Health Screening”, taking every test for every part of my body. Heart tests, eye tests, urine tests, ultrasounds, hearing tests, blood tests, etc. Total price for 40+ tests and consultations with ~10 specialists? ~$100.

No matter what specialist you need to see - (neurosurgeon, oncologist, orthopedic surgeon, dermatologist, whatever) - there’s always one available within 30 minutes or so, all under one roof, so you just walk down the hall, take a number, and see the specialist. Walk downstairs, get an MRI, and the next morning a specialist is looking at the results. The typical appointment costs ₹1000 - about $10 USD. Post-surgery I had a big list of pills to take. Total pharmacy bill: ₹800 - about $8.

This time, more than ever, I walked and walked around Bangalore. August weather here is better here than December. I’m using Namma Metro and UPI like a pro. I just need to learn some Kannada.

And while here, I met up with six guys I’d been emailing with but hadn’t had the chance to talk one-on-one with before.

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