Bangalore weekend

Hi everyone. We made it home safe and sound, with the very pleasant surprise of Mark's folks picking us up at the airport. It's always great to see a friendly face when you walk through the arrival gates!

But, before that there were a couple of busy days in Bangalore, and our wonderful overnight bus ride from Hampi to get there. Unlike our other overnight bus from Palolem Beach to Hampi, this bus was not only on time, it was air con as promised, came with blankets, and delivered us to Bangalore safe and sound, and ahead of schedule - at 6:30:00 a.m. Nothing like trying to find a hotel at dawn! We picked one that came highly recommended by the trusty guidebook, and set out on foot to find it, which ended up taking us 2 hours, mostly because of our crappy map and the fact that it was a hell of a long way! Not to worry, I considered it Bangalore Boot Camp, and it was worth the search.

We stayed at Casa Piccolo Cottage, run by a friendly French/Indian couple. It was on a quiet side street, with a lovely garden and very pleasant rooms. At 4000 rupees a night it was a bit of a splurge, but a great place to end off our trip!

What to do on a Saturday in Bangalore? Shop with the masses, of course! We saved almost all of our souvenir shopping for this weekend, so had some serious work to do. Thankfully, we were successful in our great elephant hunt, and Lakshmi, the lovely carved wooden elephant, now graces our home. It was tough work, but Mark persisted in the search through many, many shops before he came across her. We also stopped in some clothing shops that were having pretty good end-of-season sales - Mark scored a great casual button up shirt and I went into the Levis store, just in case there might be some jeans that fit me in this world.

Something I'm not sure I mentioned was that the service in stores is amazing. People follow you around showing you things, carrying your purchases, and bringing you alternate sizes without you asking. For example, at the Levis store the saleswoman first measured me, and then picked up 3 or 4 pairs of jeans for me to try on. Twenty pairs later, including a pair that the on-site tailor took in at the waist just for me, I didn't find any that were right but it certainly wasn't because the staff wasn't helpful! If only the service at Indian restaurants was 1/2 as good!

Saturday night in Bangalore brought us to Guzzler's, a local pub that had been suggested by one of the young shop guys. It was kind of a cross between a sports bar and a beer parlour. Interesting... but not a place we wanted to linger. Next stop was "The 13th Floor". Appropriate name - it's on the top floor of a 13 storey building and has a good view of the city since most buildings are less than 6 stories. There I tried a cocktail made with beer, gin, and anise syrup. Sounds a bit off, I know, but it was pretty tasty. Had to have two in fact. Interestingly, the pricey cover charge ($12.50!) could be put towards your drink bill. I think that Vancouver clubs should institute this! In Bangalore, the pubs and clubs wrap it up at 11:00 pm, so it's perfect for me, since I'm not much of a night owl. When 13th Floor called last call, we were ready for some cheap eats.

We stopped at a busy outdoor joint on a nearby corner where we discovered that late night Indian fast food is pretty darn tasty! I wish I could so easily get fresh made dosas after a night of beverages in Vancouver.

Our departure for the airport was 5:00 a.m. Ugh! We had a 3 hour layover in London where we bought duty free and went to Plane Food - the Gordon Ramsay restaurant - for a leisurely lunch. It was delicious - chicken pate and rocket salad for me, and pork roast and rocket salad for Mark, and of course, some delicious white wine. The land of cheap food was long gone though. Our lunch bill was nearly $100.00! Ouch!

Landing in YVR we got some unwanted attention from customs, mostly attributable to Lakshmi, but I think it didn't help that Mark hadn't shaved in 36 hours - he must have looked suspicious. An hour later, we finally made it through the arrival gates where our fancy-black-Lexus-driving parents (in law) were waiting.

We had a great time on our trip, but it's good to be home. Thanks for reading. Here's to the next big adventure!