I have always loved Bangalore, since 1998, when I first visited and spent about seven months in this lovely city. A lot has changed since; the most notable, being the traffic and the new plush buildings that have sprouted all over the city. A whole lot hasn't changed - among the most notable are the roads; still as narrow and as potholed, for most parts. The stand-up eateries still dole out delectable food. A few flyovers have appeared here and there, which should have eased the traffic, but it seems the number of vehicles have increased proportionately too. Can't comment much on the weather though, have only been here a few days. I am told, though, that the city now get's much warmer than ever.
It's very nice to notice, that for most parts, Brigade Road remains unchanged and is probably the only part of the city that's still recognizable. So much has changed in the last 10 years. The area around Ulsoor lake, which used to be mostly vacant and smelly, is now bustling with traffic and buildings. The smell, though, seems to have been taken care of.
What I sorely miss, are those darling, red double decker buses, that used to ply all over town. It was some experience riding those buses; especially if you caught one of those front seats atop. I remember passing the regular ones, waiting just a little longer, in the hope of catching one of the red ones. I'm told they're now used for sight seeing tours around the city. I must catch one of those tours before I leave town.
Tomorrow, I need to go to the office, it's somewhere near Dairy Circle. I hope my N95 can show me the way. I have been warned that Bangalore Traffic Police keeps changing the flow of traffic across roads. So a road that may have been two-way this morning, might become one-way when you're returning from work. There's nothing much a GPS system can do under those circumstances. I will have to stop and ask for directions; something I truly hate. Anyway, I hope my not knowing Kannada does not become a handicap.
Oh, another thing I'm missing, I don't smell Jasmine's in the locality I'm camping at. Back in the good old days, when I was put up in Ulsoor, an old part of the city, the whole locality smelt of Jasmine, especially in the mornings. Sweet.
Photograph courtesy Ram Samudrala from his own Blog.
It's very nice to notice, that for most parts, Brigade Road remains unchanged and is probably the only part of the city that's still recognizable. So much has changed in the last 10 years. The area around Ulsoor lake, which used to be mostly vacant and smelly, is now bustling with traffic and buildings. The smell, though, seems to have been taken care of.
What I sorely miss, are those darling, red double decker buses, that used to ply all over town. It was some experience riding those buses; especially if you caught one of those front seats atop. I remember passing the regular ones, waiting just a little longer, in the hope of catching one of the red ones. I'm told they're now used for sight seeing tours around the city. I must catch one of those tours before I leave town.Tomorrow, I need to go to the office, it's somewhere near Dairy Circle. I hope my N95 can show me the way. I have been warned that Bangalore Traffic Police keeps changing the flow of traffic across roads. So a road that may have been two-way this morning, might become one-way when you're returning from work. There's nothing much a GPS system can do under those circumstances. I will have to stop and ask for directions; something I truly hate. Anyway, I hope my not knowing Kannada does not become a handicap.
Oh, another thing I'm missing, I don't smell Jasmine's in the locality I'm camping at. Back in the good old days, when I was put up in Ulsoor, an old part of the city, the whole locality smelt of Jasmine, especially in the mornings. Sweet.
Photograph courtesy Ram Samudrala from his own Blog.
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