16th – 18th April
We had a lazy last morning in Mysore, with a crowded breakfast room full of Indian families, before rushing to catch our train, as we literally lost track of time.
We arrived 40 minutes before our train was due to depart, to find it already on Platform 1, being cleaned, inside and out. We were taking a modern, high speed train to Bengaluru. It didn’t disappoint, departing and arriving on time, with toilets that included hot water, soap and hand dryers.
We sat in airline seats, and could have chosen airline style food as well. The train was travelling all the way to Chennai, with only three intermediate stops. The train achieved a max speed of 100kph, so truly an Express service, unlike others we had taken that were so-called.
We were reminded of the spanking new trains in Turkey, but this time the propaganda videos on a constant loop, showing the smiling Prime Minister Modi. He was looking so saintly, showing off the new train, chatting and smiling with the railway workers and even waving the signalman’s green flag!
It was challenging finding the right exit from Bangalore station, and finding an auto-rickshaw. We had to pay 2 rupees (about 2 pence) to book the rickshaw and the man behind us in the queue paid it for us as we didn’t have any money that small. Vendors, no matter who, like to conserve small notes and change, so we have never been given any change; they always round up.
The rickshaw driver had difficulty in finding our hotel, despite having the address; on the third time of asking for directions, we discovered that we were actually at the hotel!
Bengaluru, formerly know as Bangalore, is a huge metropolis of 13.5 million people. The traffic is legendary, but there are many trees and green spaces, which provide some respite from the heat.
We went out in search of a restaurant for dinner, which wouldn’t have the ubiquitous IPL cricket on every night. We visited the Treetops bar at the top of our hotel, but that was definitely too noisy, with 2 screens. Peter found an Italian restaurant which proved delicious and a delightful change for us, to celebrate Lynne’s birthday.
The following morning we took the Namma, the metro, to Lal Bagh station. Lynne found all the information we needed on its official website. This was most useful, especially as, if you Google ‘metro map’, you’ll find several aspirational maps showing lines under construction, or just planned, rather than the two lines which currently operate. The metro is a joint venture between the National and State governments.
The Lal Bagh botanical gardens are a fantastic haven of tranquility, with a large lake and a glass house modelled on Crystal Palace, apparently. We spent a happy couple of hours exploring the gardens, although some things weren’t open or seemed out of use. We enjoyed much shade too. We could hear political demonstrations but they were outside the park.
We walked to Tipu Sultan’s Palace which was delightful, when we managed to get in. First, a 20 minute walk to get there, along very busy roads, on practically non-existent pavements, through rubbish, some of which smelt disgusting, trying to dodge the onslaught of vehicles, racing to cross the junctions.
At the gates we discovered that tickets were only on sale on-line. Whilst a QR code was available to purchase tickets at the gate, we required the kind assistance of one of the security guards, to allow us to link to his phone to make the purchase!
The palace became the permanent home of the administration after the fire burnt down the Palace at Mysore. It is made of wood, and the external walls were of mud. Inside were a couple of hand-held rocket launchers, the first of their kind, which are proudly exhibited in the Military Museum in Greenwich.
We stopped off in a coffee shop and wine bar, O’ver Coffee, next to our hotel, on our way back, where we enjoyed the best coffee since we’d left home. We decided to have dinner there, in order to avoid the crowds at the cricket match against the Chennai Super Kings, which was taking place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium a few minutes up the road. We had a pre-prandial in the Treetops bar, before a fantastic meal.
The coffee/wine bar cum restaurant had friendly staff and excellent food, but what a disaster… They weren’t geared up to take foreign credit or debit cards. Even they didn’t realise this, as they had just started up. This played havoc with our cash reserves, which we were keeping to pay for our cab the following morning.
The following morning we went for a lovely walk in the glorious shade of Cubbold Park, and visited the grand Government buildings of Vidhan Soudha.
The hotel gave us the cash against our credit card, to allow us to pay for their ridiculously over-priced cab, but then booked us an Uber at a third of the price, so we had cash left over!
The Uber was a bit of a white-knuckle ride for Lynne on a fast, busy 6-lane road, without a functioning seat-belt, but we reached our hotel under the flight path in about 40 mins, when one is advised to allow 4 hours. To cap it all, the airport hotel wants to charge us a huge amount for its “airport shuttle”, so we might need that cash after all!
We liked what we saw of Bengaluru, which admittedly was only central, with its young vibe, foreign restaurants, coffee shops etc. It makes a real effort to keep the parks litter-free. Crossing the road is scary, but lots of people walk the streets / pavements, so we felt quite safe.
It will be nice to come back when the metro is finished and there are better transport options to get to the airport!
Happy birthday Lynne. Really enjoying reading about all your adventures. Trip sounds amazing so far!
It is beating our wildest dreams; says Lynne sipping a cold white wine in Penang!