My Travel Blog

K and I have been in Bangalore since September 16th (morning). We are still in Bangalore.

Here are my observations about Bangalore so far:

1. The People

Coming from Delhi, I'm finding the people here to be very polite, helpful and space-giving. For example, when I call the staff members of the hotel, they respond very humbly. They talk like they want to serve and help out. Their voice is generally soft. This has instantly put me at ease in my interactions with them.

In general, I am feeling much more comfortable asking any stranger for directions in Bangalore than I've felt in Delhi. For example, I was asking a bus conductor (the bus had stopped at a traffic signal point) where my hotel was. Another man on a scooter nearby volunteered and both the conductor and this scooter guy helped me. After they helped, they backed off.

In Delhi, help is generally accompanied by sentences like, "So, where are you going? Why are you going there?" In Bangalore, I have met policemen, passers-by, shop-owners etc. who all seem eager to help and just as eager to back off after helping - I like this personal space that they provide.

2. Transport

The transportation system is not that good. In fact, it's closer to 'bad'.

In Delhi, we've been used to the metro and some excellent flyovers. Here, there aren't as many flyovers and the metro covers a very small stretch as of now. This means:

1) There are one-way roads everywhere - which means you need to travel long distances before you reach a nearby place.

2) The traffic is quite heavy most of the time.

3) The buses are crowded most of the time.

You need to take a cab if you want to travel comfortably to any place. You can also hail an auto-rickshaw but just like in Delhi, the auto drivers don't generally go by the meter. They quote a higher price than the meter would have indicated. If they go by meter, there is a good chance that they'll take you around unnecessarily (with the one-way roads making things even more complicated.)

People everywhere have been nice, friendly and humbler in Bangalore - except for the auto-drivers - who have been as survival-oriented as their Delhi counterparts.

By the way, the city buses do connect a lot of places - only, they can be very, very crowded. Men and women sit separately - the women in the front and the men at the back. The conductors I met were helpful and more polite than their Delhi counterparts.

There is a bus connecting the airport to the rest of the city. We took bus #5 to come to Cubbon Park from the airport. The ride cost us Rs 234 per person (September, 2016).

3. Houses

We have mostly been moving around in central Bangalore. This means we have been visiting Bangalore's older areas like Avenue Road, Malleswaram, Majestic, Cubbon Park etc.

The houses in these places have been old-fashioned with a South Indian look and feel. The only residential apartments we have seen so far were in Malleswaram (these too are just being constructed).

We plan to visit Marathahalli today, so we may encounter more apartments and high-rises.

Overall, my impression is that central Bangalore has olden style, traditional housing - and as you go farther away from the center, there are more modern apartments and high-rises. I noticed this while entering the city from the airport as well.

4. Marketplaces

Bangalore definitely has many old-school, bargaining-based, traditional marketplaces. We've visited Avenue Road and Malleswaram so far. I've also heard about Commercial Street, Chickpet etc These are similar to the street-markets found in Mumbai or Delhi.

However, the variety at these marketplaces appeared to be slightly less than those in Delhi as well as Mumbai.

We have also visited two malls so far - UB City and Mantri Square Mall. UB City reminded me of DLF Emporia in Delhi. It is definitely a high end mall and offers an excellent variety of cuisines. The ambience of the mall is pretty royal. Mantri Square Mall is like a regular mall. I would equate it to larger version of West Gate Mall in Rajouri Garden in New Delhi.

5. Food

South Indian food - is available literally everywhere. There are loads of eateries wherever you go - and all of them definitely serve these things:

1) Plain Dosa
2) Masala Dosa
3) Kara Bath (This means Upma)
4) Kesari Bath (This means Halwa or Sheera)
5) Chow Chow Bath (This means a mix of the above two 'baths')
6) Idli
7) Tomato Bath (Tomato rice with some other veggies.)
8) Vada
9) Chapathi (This is served with a curry that's mild and reminds me of bottle-guard gravy. It's not bad but it's definitely different from typical North Indian spicy curries).
10) Parota (This is different from the North Indian 'parantha'. It is made of refined wheat flour (and not atta). It is also served with a mild curry.

I enjoyed all of these things a lot for the first few days but later, I got a bit bored. However, delicious versions of all these things are ubiquitous in Bangalore at ridiculous prices.

Most roadside and mid-level eateries in Bangalore have two sections - one section where you have to stand and eat at a table and another section where you can sit comfortably at a table and eat. The 'sitting' section is colloquially called 'service hall.' The prices in the 'service hall' are higher.

A typical masala dosa in the 'standing section' should cost around Rs 30-40 while the same dosa will cost around Rs 40-50 in the 'sitting' section. Compared to Delhi's prices for South Indian food, these prices are ridiculous.

For instance, in Delhi, the least expensive masala dosa at a place where you can sit and eat it - will cost at least Rs 80. If it's a decent place, it will cost Rs 100 or 120. Compare this with the cost of a masala dosa at Mantri Square Mall - Rs 50.

North Indian food is not as widely available here costs slightly less than what it does in Delhi. Chinese food (the Indian version) is more expensive than it is in Delhi and it is much less delicious than in Delhi.

7. Tourist Attractions Visited

So far, we have visited Cubbon Park, Malleswaram, Visvesvaraya Science Museum (or Industrial and Technological Museum), UB City Mall, Mantri Square Mall, Avenue Road, plenty of restaurants...

Cubbon Park is simply a beautiful (not that well maintained) green area in the middle of a city. It is not a well-kept, gated place. It just begins and ends suddenly - there's no entry point. It has canopies of trees and plenty of benches. It also has some carved mini-monuments. It's a pleasant place for a walk.

Malleswaram reminds me of Mumbai's Dadar. The place has lots of street-shopping areas as well showrooms. However, the variety is lesser than similar areas in Delhi and Mumbai. Malleswaram's 8th cross is a mini-street shopping hub with shoes, garments, flowers, vegetables and fruits being sold.

The Visvesvaraya Science Museum is the best tourist attraction of Bangalore in my opinion. It not only has an amazing variety of scientific demonstrations related to aeronautics, mechanics, electro-magnetism, electronics etc., but it even has a lot of interactive activities which make it really easy and fun to understand complicated science concepts. It's an amazing place to go for a date - because you'll learn a lot, have a lot of things to do and have a lot of fun together too. K and I had a great time there.

Avenue Road has a lot of second hand book stalls, lots of street-side stationary and garment shops and eateries.

8. The Weather

The weather is amazing. It's just too pleasant. The temperature has kept hovering around 22-26 degrees - this is ideal.

Maybe this is so because we've visited in September but it does look like the weather here is always pleasant.

9. Unique Observations

The people here are mild, helpful, humble and space-giving. One exception, as I mentioned - is the auto drivers - who are not exactly trying to help you in any way.

The policemen may be humble and helpful but they don't exactly give you space. I saw a policeman scare away a couple in a garden. This couple was in an intimate position. Not just that, the policeman then felt a surge of energy and then he scared away two more couples from Cubbon Park. These two couples weren't in any sort of intimate position. So, yes, that's some 'personal space' issue here.

Well, that's all that comes to mind for now.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2016

My Experience of Bangalore So Far

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