Saturday 4 August 2018

Back in Bangalore. We landed late, around 5.30am. But luckily this early in the morning, there is not much traffic. So I was at the hotel and back in bed at 7am!

After a brief sleep, time to visit some places in the city that I haven’t been to yet.

First stop, the bull temple. Which wasn’t that far away. But due to awful traffic took an hour to get to. And reminded me why I don’t stay in Bangalore for weekends. Or attempt to go anywhere.

The temple was built by Kempegowda (the man the airport is named after) in the 16th-century. And contains a large granite Nandi (shiva’s bull). This is apparently one of Bangalore’s most atmospheric temples. But really, it was not that exciting. It takes about 30 seconds to walk around the bull, and that’s about it.

On the same road is the Swee Dodda Ganapathi Temple. With a big Ganesh statue.

Independence Day is coming up (15 August) and each year there is a flower festival at the botanical gardens – Lalbagh. I’ve been meaning to come here each time I’ve been in Bangalore, but never quite made it.

Lalbagh gardens were laid out in 1760. And now one of the largest green spaces in the city.

The theme for the flower show this time around was the military. Not too exciting. I was a little underwhelmed. Given India’s expansive use of flowers, I was expecting something extravagant. But it wasn’t as amazing as I had expected.

The rest of my few weeks in Bangalore were spent working. Eating. And travelling as much as possible.