Day off - Exploring Bangalore City

Local sign !
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Well......my first day off in a week !!! Not used to this non-loafing lark !! Anyway......decided to get up early anyway & head off into the city for some adventures. Caught the bus into the main bus station, which, as you can imagine, wasn't the prettiest of places. Stuck out like a sore thumb being taller that most here & obviously a whiter shade of pale, so instantly had a group of kids begging for anything they could get. It was really hard and pulled on my heart strings, especially as some of them were so small & they were tugging on my hand and t-shirt. Throughout the day I was constantly singled out by beggars & was stared at.....something that I had been used to in El Salvador but had forgotten what it felt like. Anyway.....having managed to disengage myself from several pairs of grubby hands, I headed off in what I thought was the right direction. It soon became obvious that a) the roads had either changed name or b) my map was wrong or c) my map reading skills were not as they used to be !! It turned out to be the latter (Yeah ok....I can hear you laughing Liss !!) as I ended up walking into a not so selubrious area of downtown Bangalore ! I hastely retreated & found myself in the throngs of the masses all going to church ! Mmmmm.....didn't want to be converted that day (have managed to avoid it so far living with the nuns!) so found out where I was & wandered up to look at the Paliament building Vidhana Soudha. Was an impressive place (built in the '50s) but was closed to the public. So, decided to go & check out Cubbon Park, via a visit to the National Library as it had a toilet !

Taxi !
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The park itself was nice......but as I sat & tried to chill out a bit, I started to attract a crowd. I had forgotten how difficult (& tiring) it is, travelling as a lone female. For some reason, men think you are a target & the first question is always "are you married"! Mmmmm.... imaginary husbands & boyfriends were found & a few lies were told but the nuns told me this was fine !! One guy even asked me if he could have his photo taken with me....& was there with his girlfriend !! Oh how different our cultures are !

Taxis with A/C !
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The Aquarium was the next stop.....within the park boundary in a funny round building & all I can say is that I'm glad the entrance fee was not more than the 5 Rps charged ! Nice man on the gate & nice goldfish though !!

Having heard so much about the MG (Mahatma Ghandi) Road and Brigade Street I wandered their lengths and was amazed at all the shops there. There were book shops, gift shops, clothes shops and all very trendy and modern. NOT quite what I expected in India !! Had a funny experience with some guy approaching me & asking me to enter into a competition with him ! Bit random, but we chatted (he had studied in Glasgow for 2 years) & he told me more about this competition which involved a man sitting on the shoulders of a woman and them having to lift buckets of water !! Mmmm ! Exactly what I thought !!! The prize was 50,000 Rps but all the rupees in india wouldn't have enticed me to enter! I  thanked the guy (Amvikshah) for the offer but "NO THANKS" although I did end up having a coffee with him.

Brigade Street...total contrast !
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Later on, I wandered back towards the east of the city from where I could catch a bus 'home' and came across a HUGE shopping mall (Garuda Mall). It was obscene really & even had an M&S there !!!!!! Couldn't believe it ! At least I know where to go if I need new underwear !!! Bought some ridiculously expensive (but delicious) cookies for the nuns & then hopped on a bus back to my humble abode.

Had a great, albeit exhausting, day but still couldn't get over the contrast between the modern & expensive shops and the really poor areas that I saw today.

The Garuda mall
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