Notes from Bengalulu

Nobuko, the travel writer, posting from Bangalore/Bengalulu.

3 August 2012 from Bengalulu

The last bit of my trip was spent in a place which ended up being my favorite: Bangalore/Bengalulu.

From Pune I took a flight to Bengalulu. This was not my original plan, but I had met a very nice person from there (my travel companion on the leg from Udaipur to Jaipur), and I decided to visit him. The city is large enough without being too big. They even have a metro / subway line which, unlike the DC metro, announces which station they are arriving next. I did not get any stares or harassment which I was getting so accustomed to.

And there are bars – including one place called straight out “BAR”. Knowing that once I got to Mumbai, I could not indulge myself in any decadent pleasure of drinking, I made sure that I enjoyed it.

My friend Mansoor took me out on Wednesday night since it was ladies’ night, when we heavenly women can drink for FREE (until 10pm).  It was great fun, seeing women enjoying themselves dancing and dressed in sexy outfits. I felt so out of place dressed in a kurti and a baggy outfit which was well suitable for other places in India. Women were even smoking!!  This is a phenomenon that is not seen in the north.

The only disappointment was that bars close at 11:30pm, after which you are thrown out onto the streets, left to your own device to find food places that are still open to keep extending the night.

The next day was spent doing just fun things, although we did not have any solid plan. It was actually pretty fun meandering around the streets aimlessly and coming up with ideas to go to the planetarium – a brilliant place! But I fell asleep during the super relaxing Moon Show. The botanical garden was also very nice to be away from the traffic noise which can be relentless… but the highlight, I must say, was the Musical Fountain, a water show accompanied by lights and music. It was so entertaining and cost only 10rupees! We felt privileged to be part of the four human beings in the audience,  along with three sleepy dogs who just rested there beside us throughout  the fantastic show.

And of course, we had to go out again that night. Mansoor’s friend, who has an impeccable timing of doing and saying things that end up being very funny without trying, came along and added a zest to the night. We spent the night in the fabulous roof top bar on the 16th floor, with an unobstructed view of the city and a very futuristic decor with a lit up floor that changed the color in a moody way. Again, the place closed at 11:30pm, but we carried on at the house of the funny guy.

I really wanted to have a few more days there, but I had to go to Mumbai. I had arrived there about one week earlier and joined the health camp at the Yoga Institute. I hated the first three days, because I could not transition from doing whatever I want, whenever I want to.

I cannot leave the campus and I have to abide by a strict schedule. But now I feel OK. Today is my birthday and I got sick with the flu, but my classmates / camp mates sang me a happy birthday song and this made me cry.

I am learning a lot of songs with such poetic and touching lyrics. I will try to get a translation of one of my favorites and send it to you soon.

All is well.  Now you won’t be hearing from me so much since I stay put here until the end of October. Thanks for reading.  Next time I hope to be writing from Turkey in November (funny, saying this made me think of Thanksgiving) if things go as planned.

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