But it was the squatter settlements of Bangalore that pricked his conscience most.
"You go around the slums and stuff so you see what people are living on and they aren't complaining about anything.
"You sort of take things for granted over here [in New Zealand], as well as the game, so you can't really afford to do that," says the cricketer, who redefined not only his perspective on sport and leisure but in the game of life.
CD coach Heinrich Malan best sums up Bruce's prowess, saying the gifted right-hander has scored "something ridiculous" like half a dozen half centuries and a ton in his 11 innings.
Bruce burst into the domestic scene in the one-day Ford Trophy semifinal at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, in late January, to revive CD's innings against the Otago Volts with a robust 88 from 65 balls.
"It would have been nice to get a hundred on home soil as well but I was just stoked we won ... it was a dream start," says the middle-order batsman, echoing the mantra of team before individualism.
He's not sure what's working for him but suspects it's the ability to relax to play his "natural game" in an invigorating culture of the Ford Trophy champions.
So much so that the meteoric success has even caught the commerce and human resource management and marketing graduate on the hop, too.
The former Wanganui Collegiate boarder says the summer code was always at the forefront of his mind but investing in education was a priority.
"I'm back into the fulltime role here so I'll try my best to score runs for CD," says the young man who must have made an impression on New Zealand Cricket talent scout and ex-CD coach Alan Hunt.
His father, Steve Bruce, was a social cricketer but played representative rugby for King Country. The entire family gave the younger Bruce throw downs in cricket, as it were, when he was growing up.
"Playing sport is in the blood so I'm not sure what I'd be doing if I wasn't playing," says the lanky bloke, who represented Canterbury B rugby.
"I enjoyed rugby but I knew I was always better at cricket," he says, jetting off last winter to England to hone his skills at Harfordshire CC, in Shenley Village.
He relished playing all year round and not finding himself "stuck in the nets".
"You're always hitting balls and always out in the middle so that time at the crease is invaluable," he says, attributing that to his form this season.
Bruce fancies himself as a white-ball merchant but "weirdly" the runs have come more freely in the red-ball format.
"I don't have any preferences at this stage but I'd love to play all three formats."
With two players over 30 in the Kruger van Wyk-captained Stags squad, Bruce believes it's an "awesome" time to be part of a predominantly young outfit, with Doug Bracewell and Ben Wheeler showing the way.
Malan has made the last two rounds of the shield about developing players.
"We're looking forward to Wellington and we want to win obviously," says Bruce, mindful last-placed CD weren't playing badly but it's just that the results haven't gone their way.
Last week's loss to the Auckland Aces, he says, came down to an exceptional knock from Colin Munro.
"To finish the season on a high would be good," he says, hoping it'll be a nice way to finish before their prize-giving dinner on Saturday night at McLean Park.
The Wellingtonians will recall Bruce who scored a patient 80 runs from 133 balls at No6 against the Firebirds at Pukekura Park last month.
