We set out to explore Bangalore on Friday morning. There is no perfect time to brave the traffic of Bangalore, but things were fairly reasonable in the tail end of morning commute. On the roadways there is so much going on around you that you would need eyes around your head to keep track of it all. On the highway into the city, large trucks full of produce or other goods lumber along on the left, while normal cars weave around them and motorcycles and scooters do as they please. Enter the city, and pedestrians join the mix. Horns have their own language, announcing that a car is passing a slower vehicle, annoyance at the car that cut too close, frustration that the traffic has stopped again. Entire families – big families – pile into cars or squish onto motorcycles. Workers and travelers ride in the back of trucks or on the top of loads.
These three wheeled taxis are one of the popular ways to get around the city:
Our first stop was Bangalore Palace, which I wrote about in my previous post.
Next, we stopped in at a shop for handmade goods representing India, such as scarves, jewelry, bronze ornaments, wood ornaments, and rugs. As we browsed, we were followed by a salesman with the zeal reserved for when your are the lone two patrons of the shop. We bought a couple of gifts, but will probably return after our trip to finish our shopping.
Heading for the center of the city, we dashed out of the car to take some pictures of the provincial government offices. We got off at one end of the building, walked along and took pictures in front of it, and our car crept along and picked us up again at the other end.
From there we went to Lal Bagh, the city Botannical Garden. They were preparing for a flower show on August 15. It is a large park with lots of room to walk, but many gardens were not open to the public. We peeked through the fence at the roses, hibiscus, and cacti. This was the cacti greenhouse:
The centerpiece of the garden is a large glass house, where they create the flower displays for the biannual flower shows. Since they were preparing for the show on August 15, we were not able to go in.
Some more pictures from near the glass house:
At the far end of the garden was a large, tree lined lake that was a nice break from the sun:
It was getting hot by then, so we went to the air conditioned comfort of a restaurant for lunch. We went to a famous vegetarian restaurant, where we each got a meal set like this:
This is called a “meal” and is available at most restaurants. It has a large bowl of rice, an array of different dishes around it, and some bread. You pour out your rice into the middle of the large plate, and then mix in the curries, yogurt, and pickles (the bottom right). Often the rice and the dishes is unlimited.
When we returned home that evening, Mervin two aunts and uncles from his mother’s side were there. The aunts cooked us fish curry for dinner, which was really tasty.
Mervin