Bengaluru Urban

And so it happened at last! We arrived in Bangalore/Bengaluru airport at around 6am and spent a great deal of time being allowed to enter the country. There was something wrong with my fingerprints, but finally they let me in…

Met the other members of our group and our guide , Gopan, who is wonderful. Got taken on our a/c coach to our hotel, where we had to wait an eternity before the rooms were ready for us, Gopan provided us with commentary all the way, about the IT hub that the city has become; about the aviation industry ( there’s an international air show going on right now), and about the ‘garden city’ aspects, as well as the pleasant elevation, 700 m above sea level. Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka, which is a wealthy state, with natural resources as well as IT and aeronautics.

The traffic is supposed to be heavier than in Mumbai. It didn’t feel that way. Motorcyclists even wear crash helmets ! Where is their sense of fun?

After we got to our rooms I more or less crashed because I was running on empty-sleep scores, and Elspeth went for a walk, or at least she tried to, but was thwarted by not being able to find a park, only diplomatic buildings set in private grounds.

Dinner at the hotel was good, and E took the pool side photo just to show that even I can enjoy luxury some times! The hotels on this tour will be corporate rather than characterful. I’m a little bit but sad about this, but then again, I quite like having hot water !

I did not manage to take an auto rickshaw to St Patrick’s church to see the spot where my maternal grandparents were married exactly 90 years earlier. I feel sad about that, but I did have a major sleep deficit to reckon with.

I’m enjoying the warm weather and sunshine, and looking forward to the next adventure, though it’s an early start at 8.30 am.