We catch the early morning A/C bus from Mysore to Bengaluru. After a short trip, we arrive in our second big Indian city since the start of trip (first being Chennai). Bengaluru is the most western style place we’ve visited so far (malls, bars, upmarket restaurants etc).
First things first - visit malls and eat western food! I’ve been looking forward to trying out the Indian McDonalds. During the stay I made two lunchtime trips, having a McChicken Marharasha burger both times. It’s like a Big Mac with a slightly curryfied chicken patty instead of beef. I’m loving it.
Sorting out transport for the next leg of the journey to Hampi took priority before sightseeing. We wanted to get on the overnight sleeper train but unfortunately all the tickets had sold out. This means our first change of itinerary, knocking off Hampi altogether as there’s no other way to get there. Instead, we booked a flight from Bengaluru to Hyderabad (12th) and another from Hyderabad to Kolkata (15th).
As for the sightseeing, first stop was the Botanical gardens – every Indian city seems to have one! The guide we hired wasn’t up to much, filling silences by pointing out groups of pigeons. The wild topiarist of Ooty has struck in Bengaluru also by the looks of it.
First things first - visit malls and eat western food! I’ve been looking forward to trying out the Indian McDonalds. During the stay I made two lunchtime trips, having a McChicken Marharasha burger both times. It’s like a Big Mac with a slightly curryfied chicken patty instead of beef. I’m loving it.
Sorting out transport for the next leg of the journey to Hampi took priority before sightseeing. We wanted to get on the overnight sleeper train but unfortunately all the tickets had sold out. This means our first change of itinerary, knocking off Hampi altogether as there’s no other way to get there. Instead, we booked a flight from Bengaluru to Hyderabad (12th) and another from Hyderabad to Kolkata (15th).
As for the sightseeing, first stop was the Botanical gardens – every Indian city seems to have one! The guide we hired wasn’t up to much, filling silences by pointing out groups of pigeons. The wild topiarist of Ooty has struck in Bengaluru also by the looks of it.
Some Indian chaps (and haggy old ladies) like to chew betel leaf. The chewing produces copious amounts of red saliva in the mouth which is then spat (or dribbled out) from the mouth. There’s a whole load of spitting going on round these parts! Everywhere you look there are red stains. Shejal noticed that folks at the botanical gardens had provided ‘spit bins’ so that the park didn’t fill with red gob – constructive.
Next stop was the Bengaluru Palace. This is a posh residency of Mysore Maharajas. The current Maharaja is obviously a keen admirer of the female form as there are lots of nuddy paintings. If Shejal wears a sleeveless top here, she gets disapproving stares, but it’s ok for the Maharaja to fill up his home with boobs and then invite peeps in to see. Anyway, it was an interesting place with a good audio tour.
Next day (as a geeky treat for me) we visit the HAL aerospace museum (Hindustani Aeronautics). Lots of aircraft on display including an old Mig-21 .
Next day (as a geeky treat for me) we visit the HAL aerospace museum (Hindustani Aeronautics). Lots of aircraft on display including an old Mig-21 .
Shejal made a new friend.
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