We own a large second home with three floors in Bangalore, India. It sits on a few acres of land that used to be an orchard. The property is ringed in coconut palms. There are bananas, papaya, mangoes, jackfruit, vanilla beans, jasmine, bouganvillea, and many other plants. We have a vineyard about 5 km down the road.

The house is built with all local and traditional materials: granite from one local quarry, Indian teak floors, bevelled glass, Mangalore tiles. Three large bedrooms with 5 large, granite bathrooms. There is a large room downstairs with extra beds also. There is a gym, a sauna, and a steam room. You will find a large wrap-around deck - good for watching the sunset and the many birds playing in the trees - occasionally green parrots. We organically grow many of our vegetables, including a large vanilla crop.

We can send you many more pictures by email.

Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India with many high tech companies. It is also known as the garden city with many beautiful blooming trees. Our house is just outside the city on a main road leading into the country where there are several resorts and vineyards.

We are members of a beautiful resort 10 minutes down the road. The resort has wonderful Thai massage by people from Thailand. We love the massage - a stretching type of massage done in a beautiful open-air setting. They offer other treatments such as facials, scrubs, etc. They also have a pool, tennis courts, squash courts, yoga, and a gym.

You can run or walk to interesting small villages from our house. Great pictures of rural Indian life! The city of Bangalore is a mix of the old and the new. Very interesting. The markets are great. Bangalore is 35 minutes by air from Chennai (Madras) and approx. 1 hour from Mumbai (Bombay) . Mysore, a very interesting city with the Maharaja's palace, is a 3 hour drive. Mysore silk is also a must to see and buy. You should stay in the Maharaja's Summer Palace. The weather is very moderate in Bangalore because it is a plateau at 1,000 meters.

We have many friends to help show you around. India is a wonderful adventure, but it helps to have someone guide you. The people are very friendly and caring.

Our housekeepers will take care of the house and garden. You will need to rent a car and driver while you are there. The driver will stay with the car all day. The price is very reasonable.

Exchange does not have to be simultaneous.

Anytime

Open to any dates

Anywhere with a comparable, luxurious home to offer, but if we had to choose:
Italy, Provence, France, Greece

We are Ram and Denise. Ram is originally from Chennai (Madras), India, but he has lived in California since graduate school. We live in Palo Alto, California, just outside San Francisco. Ram spends about half of the year in Bangalore, where he has a biotech company.

Ram is a pharmaceutical/biotech executive and entrepreneur. He started his own biotech company about six years ago. He previously was president of a pharmaceutical company. Before then he was a professor at UCSF Medical School. I, Denise, am a lawyer. I am the corporate counsel of a software company.

We both love to cook and drink good wine, but Ram is the real gourmet. We love sports and outdoor activities. We do yoga daily. I used to be a tournament tennis player about 20 years ago; I played tournaments all over the world. We love theater, music, good books. We love to travel. We have exchanged houses five times and had a wonderful time each time. House Exchange seems like a good way to meet more people in the area. We like the idea of a hospitality exchange - you can learn more about the country that way. We have many close friends here that would be happy to show you around or help you out in any way.

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