Bangalore, India
April 2009 |
My trip to India was all unplanned. I was living in Dubai at that time and my friend got assigned to conduct some training in Bangalore. So I decided to visit him for a few days to see the place. Plus I got to stay in this sweet, luxurious hotel called Leela Palace. Sweet!
Leela Palace, Bangalore |
Bangalore is relatively cleaner and a greener city (as what I have been told by my Indian workmates). It reminded me of Manila in some of the roads and buildings. The Streets were very busy and traffic and you'll most likely hear a lot of car horns. And you'll see a lot of cows everywhere, especially on the roads. Cows are respected and worshipped in India and remain unharmed. It is believed to be holy.
My First stop on this trip was Lalbagh Park. Bangalore is called the Garden City. The park is pretty much ordinary like any other parks, they have various trees and plants everywhere. There was a beautiful lake as well. Monkeys and squirrels were running freely around the park. (And monkeys do steal your food, so watch out!) And you have to ride a golf cart to roam around. It was pretty huge and tiresome if you decide to walk it.
Next stop was the Jungle Safari. It was a very interesting experience as we had to ride this mini bus with bars on the window area so we can openly see the animals. But they were all from afar so didn't much get the chance to see them up close. It wasn't pretty much the kind of safari I would've expected as it just looked like an open zoo. There were bears, deers, tigers and elephants. This white tiger was just laying around the road.
Then we headed to the Bull Temple. Pretty strange to see a massive cow being prayed at. It was a short visit as there isn't much to see plus the locals were praying when we got there. You had to walk barefoot and had to have the "red dot" on your forehead before you enter.
Then off we go to see the Capitol, pretty much like their White House where the President other government officials live.
The last stop of this trip will be perhaps my favorite, the Bangalore Palace. Although we had a bad timing when we visit it because few parts of it were still under renovation. It was really very beautiful and huge. A lot of art works and paintings were displayed inside. I was really amazed by the architecture of it, somewhat English-inspired but at the same time still trying to keep the Indian vibe onto it.
Stools made from animal feet |
This was my short trip to India! I would've loved to gone to the other parts of it perhaps the beaches so maybe next time! And of course to visit Taj Mahal.
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