Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: New Year in India (2016/17)
Bengaluru city tour
We
got up shortly after 8am in order to be ready in plenty of time for
the planned 10:30 departure on a private city tour. Breakfast in the
Cubbon Pavilion was an altogether nicer affair than on New
Year's Day, the venue being so much quieter on this occasion. We got
the call at 10:15 to say that "Mr Francis has now arrived" - so we
were once again having the same driver as on our arrival in town on
Saturday. This time, he had brought an even nicer car, with
individual seats in the back.
It was less than a fifteen-minute drive to our first stop, the Bull Temple in Bugle Rock Park. This is dedicated to Nandi, a Hindu demi-god in the form of a bull, who is associated with Shiva, one of the Hindu trinity.
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A short drive then took us to our next stop at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, adjacent to the eponymous lake. We began our exploration at the Peninsular Gneiss Monument, named after the type of rocky outcrop on which it is built, then proceeded into the garden itself, notable for its spectacular glasshouse.
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The next stop was Russell Market and the busy area surrounding it, which gave a brief but intense impression of the colourful hustle and bustle of everyday urban life in this amazing country. Religious diversity was also much in evidence, with the imposing sight of St Mary's Basilica being surrounded by a clutch of smaller mosques and Hindu temples.
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From there the tour moved on to Bangalore Palace, on the north side of the city centre. Dating from the late 19th century, this was built by King Chamaraja Wodeyar of Mysore, and its fanciful Tudor architecture, complete with turrets, battlements and arches, is said to have been inspired by Windsor Castle in England. These days the building is a historical visitor attraction, while the extensive grounds are used for events such as rock concerts and exhibitions. I switched to using my iPhone at this venue due to the rip-off prices for camera permits, with DSLR cameras being significantly more expensive to use than cellphones.
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Finally we made a short photo stop at the place not far from our hotel where the High Court of Karnataka faces off to the Vidhana Soudha, seat of the legislative assembly for Karnataka. We arrived back at base at 3pm and had a drink and some light snacks at the Lotus Pavilion, which turned out to be another beautiful hotel venue.
Despite having had such an enjoyable time on the city tour and immediately
afterwards at the Lotus Pavilion, I wasn't at
my best for the rest of the day, detecting unmistakable signs that I
might be coming down with something. With Bruce still suffering the
after-effects of a recent heavy cold, we were a sorry-looking pair!
Nevertheless, we made a lounge visit in the original venue, followed
by a light but enjoyable meal in the hotel's Japanese restaurant
Edo. Feeling really tired and even a little shivery, I fell
asleep at 9:15pm.