Bangalore, India – January 23 & 24

Bangalore is a major city in India with about six million inhabitants in the city and its outskirts.  The city has grown rapidly as a prominent area for information technology and call center industries.  Many large IT corporations have large campuses located in Bangalore.

Our hotel in Bangalore was the Lemon Tree Hotel.  When we got there, they up-graded our room to one with a spectacular view – probably because of our last name.  The room overlooked a rather large park and lake in the center of the city, where we walked and enjoyed the evening our first day there.

The next morning we had a guided tour of the city.  Bangalore has a surprising number of large parks.  One, Lalbagh Botanical Garden, was commissioned in 1760 by the father of Tipu Sultan and then later finished by Tipu Sultan.  It covers 240 acres and is truly beautiful with many old and stately trees and beautiful flowers.  There was a flower show going on when we visited, and a large green house was the center of the show with many whimsical flower creations.

Tipu Sultan was a major figure in Bangalore.  His summer palace was built in the Arabic style, and though relatively small, was beautifully adorned, built entirely of teakwood.  He was the last Sultan in Bangalore and was defeated by the British as they took over the sub-continent of India.

Our last evening there we walked down “Commercial Street” with many shops crammed into a street about three blocks long.  There was everything from McDonalds and Krispy Kreme to very high end silk clothing stores – everything an Indian with a pocket full of Rupees could want.

Bangalore was our last stop in India.  It has been a long a varied trip with many experiences and contrasts.  Many memories shared with you and many more we didn’t have the time or space to share.  Tomorrow, it’s off to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Our grateful thanks to our friend Smita Bhargava and her company Diverse Destination Pvt. Ltd. for arranging this wonderful tour of southern India, and to our driver Dhana Shekhar for taking such good care of us.