19th April
On leaving Bengalaru, we stayed at a hotel near the airport because of the distance and traffic from downtown Bengaluru to the airport.
We chose a resort-type hotel, with swimming pool and were upgraded to a suite. The hotel was designed with big events and conferences in mind, so we rattled around in it, with the bar closed, the spa having limited treatments, etc. But the Indian à la carte food was excellent. However breakfast was pure Indian; we didn’t even get black tea – we should have made our own in our suite!
The journey to the airport was so quick, we arrived before the check-in staff! Whilst we had read about how congested the airport is, it looked like the new second terminal was open. Queues moved quickly and once we sat at Starbucks with a coffee and croissant for breakfast, we could be forgiven for forgetting we were still in India. Everything was clean, new and functioning.
Some of Lynne’s reflections on India
It’s easy to compare my previous experiences in India with this trip, but comparisons are not necessarily valid, as I’ve not been to this part of India before and we’re not cocooned this time by having a guided personal itinerary organised for us.
I’ve seen a lot more infrastructure and concrete blocks of flats and less corrugated tin roof shacks, many more middle class Indians both visiting the tourist attractions and staying in the same hotels.
We’ve seen more arable farming; but still men in dhotis tilling the soil with a bullock and harrow and women tending their goats or washing their laundry in the river.
I’ve been impressed by all the flowers, on bushes and trees: lantana, delonix regia, mimosa, albizia, bougainvillea, bottle brush, viburnum, oleander, Portuguese laurel, plumbago and pittosporum. Flowering bushes have been planted in the central reservation of new dual carriageways.
Tuk-tuks still proliferate and the pavements are almost non-existent. The food we ate was delicious, and we saw lots of fresh fruit and vegetables for sale along the roadside.
What is depressing is the rubbish – plastic bags and bottles, wrappings etc. discarded casually everywhere, with people just walking through the rubbish. It was gratifying to find that road signs on the Chamundi Hills overlooking Mysore warned that no plastic bottles were allowed, but they were still being sold in the stalls around the temple.
Driving through the Mollem National Park, not only were there signs against fly-tipping, police checked our car to ensure we weren’t concealing rubbish to discard.
Still, every time you step outside, there are people hustling you to take a ride, buy something etc; making it difficult to distinguish between those trying to be helpful or friendly. Matters are complicated by the incessant demands from people to take our photos with them.
Probably the best summary is that it is hard work. India has lost some of its enchantment for me, maybe some of this is the political backdrop, but then I’m sure another visit to the Taj Mahal would rekindle that wonder.
