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We returned to India from the Maldives, landing in Bangalore, the heart of India's IT industry. The town is certainly better developed than Chennai and somewhat cleaner. For example there are many more restaurants, bars and pubs, that approach a western standard of cleanliness. However, traffic was nearly as chaotic and surprisingly, for an IT capital, there were many power cuts!

India and Bangladesh

Odv
2006-04-15 18:42:43

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We returned to India from the Maldives, landing in Bangalore, the heart of India's IT industry. The town is certainly better developed than Chennai and somewhat cleaner. For example there are many more restaurants, bars and pubs, that approach a western standard of cleanliness. However, traffic was nearly as chaotic and surprisingly, for an IT capital, there were many power cuts!

In the last update I did not write about some of the first impressions we had of India when we arrived in Chennai. Here is one, Indians bob their head from side to side when they mean yes or "I understand". Initially we took it to mean "no", making an ass of ourselves explaining the same thing three times to the cab driver that took us from the airport, before Federico, another traveler who was sharing the cab with us told us what it actually meant. We had a good laugh.

Indians often ask what your "good" name is. For example when calling ahead to a hotel, in an attempt to make a reservation, they will ask you what your "good" name is. Not that it helps because invariably when getting there, nobody will remember your "good" name, or have any clue about a reservation. Maybe they would remember it better if you gave your "bad" name?

Bangalore left no big impression, there is not that much to see, except for the giant Nandi. This bull statue is one of the largest in India, it was also 468 years old (in 2005) according to the monk in charge, so it must have been built in 1537. However, he waved off popular belief that the statue had grown in size after completion as pure fiction. He told us that there are only 4 bull statues of comparable size in India.

In nearby Mysore there are a few more interesting things to visit. Namely the City Palace (Amber Vilas) and Chamundi hill. The city palace is a nicely maintained and well worth a visit. Unfortunately cameras are not allowed inside.

Chamundi Hill has nice views over Mysore. The hilltop ...