India, a country well known for its culture and heritage.  A few months back, I went on my quest to explore the second most populous country in the world. My 11-day expedition includes traveling by air, train and car across the cities of Bangalore, Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Delhi.

Bangalore, the first stop of my adventure is known as the Garden City there. Let’s skip the part where they got the name because I myself don’t have any idea about it. There were 6 of us in total for our India exploration but only Me, Lin & Jackpot decided to visit Bangalore city, while Syahid & Shakir went straight to Hyderabad and Farah who arrived earlier from us went to Hampi. All of us planned to meet in Mumbai on the 3^rd day upon our arrival.

road to the city

Our Air Asia flight touchdown at Bangalore International Airport at around 3.30pm local time, a bit delayed from the scheduled time. We manage to get through the immigration & customs 30 minutes after that and the driver arranged by Dr. Rajkumar (the hotel we were staying), was already there. Since it was still winter season at that time where the night is longer than day, it already started getting dark while we were halfway to the city. Being the first time in India, we were amused by the heavy amount of traffic and cars honking every now and then. Somehow it almost seems like it’s common here to honk whenever you feel like honking.  The journey to the  hotel took about an hour ride from the airport.

Our room

Upon arrival at the hotel, we were greeted pleasantly by the receptionist. The hotel seems to be situated a few kilometers away from the city center in the area called Gandhinagar. The room and toilet were clean and nicely decorated. The only setback was we were asked to pay Rs1200 instead of Rs1000 because our flight was delayed for 30 minutes and the driver had to wait.

We just wonder around the hotel area during the night. There are a few market area around there. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant. The ‘Dosa Masalla’ (Masalla Tosai in Malay) was mouth-watering. It was quite awkward for me because the word ‘Dosa’ in Malay means ‘Sin’ and now I’m eating the ‘Sin’ mix together with masalla.

street view and a child begging for money

The next day, we had breakfast at the hotel and the food was nice too. They served Indian food as well as the normal western breakfast. We had already booked the ‘Tuk-tuk’ to take us around Bangalore. The driver, Manju, which was recommended by someone from TripAdvisor’s forum, picked us up at the hotel. Our first stop was the train station where we intend to buy our future ticket for the trip from Jaipur to Agra but we were denied as they don’t sell the tickets there.

The Bangalore Palace

We proceed to our next stop which is the Bangalore Palace. The palace looks like the smaller replica of England’s Windsor Castle. It is said that a lot of international artist’s concert were held in the palace surrounding. You can see more pictures and read more on the palace in my post The Bangalore Palace.

Next stop was the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum. Along the way there, we did stopped by the Karnataka Government Building. It was under renovation so we only stop by the road to take pictures.

The engineering section

Dino at the museum

We arrived at the museum 10 minutes later. Entrance fee was only Rs20 which was (about RM1.40 or USD0.50). The museum showcases items from various scientific disciplines.

I'm on tv

There were  lots of exhibits of varies from dinosours, train engines and space crafts there. There was also a 4D theatre there but we didn’t try it because it was full of school kids at that time.

enjoying our lunch

Manju brought us to have lunch at a western restaurant called The Only Place. The fish & chips and grilled fish was totally scrumptious!.

Trees in Lal Bagh

The monument in Lal Bagh

With a full stomach, we proceeded to Lal Bagh, which was said to be one of India’s beautiful gardens. The garden size was said to be almost 1 square kilometer which comprises of lake, garden, glass house, tower and others. The entry fees was only Rs10 (RM0.70 or USD0.25). The glass house was closed for renovation at the time we were there.

After spending about an hour at Lal Bagh, we proceed to Mantri Square, Bangalore’s largest shopping center. I noticed there were many branded item stores there. The security was tight as we need to go through a scanner and our bags were checked before we enter the complex. I just went for window shopping as I don’t allocate much budget on shopping.

Mantri Square

Manju brought us to M.G Road, the heart of city center after that. This road is the famous shopping area in Bangalore, similar to Bukit Bintang road in Kuala Lumpur. We only had the time to visit the Garuda Mall where we manage to find halal food at the food court for our dinner. We had the Indian Chicken Briyani for the day. Although not the best briyani I’ve tried, it simply has its own taste.

A halal shop at the foodcourt area of Garuda Mall

After that, Manju dropped us back at the Dr. Rajkumar’s hotel. We were happy with Manju’s service for the 10 hour tour around Bangalore which we covered most of the attraction in the city. The cost for Manju’s service was Rs700 but we paid him Rs1000 due to his great service. For those who are visiting Bangalore and needs an auto-rickshaw/tuk-tuk to bring you around the city, do contact Manju at +91 99004 94438. I would recommend his service.

Lin & Jackpot with Manju & his tuk tuk

We had a comfort sleep that night and we proceed to take a flight to Mumbai (Bombay) early in the morning. We left the hotel at 6.00am as our flight was at 8.15am. On the way to the airport, the car that we ride broke down in the middle of nowhere. The cooling fan was not working and the engine tempreture rose high. We had to stop for about 30 minutes to let the engine cool down. At that time, I was already thinking of the worst scenario that could happen where we would missed the flight. Although I had a travel insurance with me which would allow me to claim the replacement flight ticket, it would still be a big hassle and we will have to reschedule our trip across India. Luckily the driver decided to keep on driving slowly to avoid us missing our flight.

We reached the airport at 7.15am, just in time before the gate closes. If not we would be stuck in Bangalore for another day and need to find a replacement flight.

We then depart Bangalore safely for Mumbai using Indian Airlines.

*Next episode : Mumbai