AliceNorton
Bangalore is the first place so far where we have decided to extend our stay. What was supposed to be two days of quick fire city energy turned into nearly five, and we just loved it. A few people we had met on our trip had talked about the wonders of Bangalore - the quantity of microbreweries, the great cafe culture, the buzz of a tech hub and the famed traffic jams. Bangalore is known as Indiaโs โSilicon Valleyโ and has topped the global list of fastest growing cities by 2033, in terms of urbanization, economic growth and innovation. The GDP of the area is around US $300 billion, and is responsible for 40% of Indiaโs tech exports! For context, NZ sits at around $220 billion, and California at $4.132 trillion. With a population of 14 billion, Bangalore is Indiaโs fourth biggest city (after Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata). In 2014 the city was officially renamed Bengaluru to reflect its original Kannada name and to shed the anglicized form used during British colonial rule, but we have used Bangalore as this is what is most commonly used in day-to-day conversation.
Here, once again, we are reminded of the dizzying and dazzling diversity of India. The reminders are subtle in some ways and glaringly obvious in others. I can happily romp around in shorts and a singlet, where there are other places we have been where I always have my knees, shoulders and chest covered to feel comfortable. I started writing this in a cafe that would not be out of place in Melbourne or Auckland, and the pizza we had for lunch could have easily cost $30 USD in a San Francisco neighbourhood. Most people here speak English, and it seems that at least every second person we talk to works in tech. The metro is so easy to navigate, and all our auto/moto rides are booked on an app, along with our washing, our hostel check in and most ordering in restaurants. We needed a new adapter and toothpaste, and it arrived at our hostel in 15 minutes after ordering on an app. We based ourselves in an upscale neighborhood called Indiranager, and this did mean our time here leant towards lattes and larger, the city of course has its fair share of temples, markets and slums.
Getting recommendations for places to visit in Bangalore was easy, we had met a few native Bangalorians on our travels who sent us on our way with lists of sites, breweries, bookstores and neighbourhoods. We ticked off most of these, with the exception of the โsitesโ. Thatโs right, we didnโt visit any temples, palaces, churches or similar while in Bangalore. Instead we whiled-away the days wandering the neighbourhoods, browsing galleries and shops, eating lots of yummy food, and almost โpretendingโ to live in this wonderful city. We felt like the people we met here were some of the friendliest so far and we had lots of great conversations over shared tables at breakfast or a bar. While writing this I looked back through my camera roll to remind me of what exactly we did and what to talk about, and although we didnโt visit any palaces or temples, there were plenty of noteworthy highlights.
It wonโt come as a surprise to anyone that we ate our way through Bangalore, and not just of the Indian variety! We were treated to some really quality global cuisine from the Middle East, Italy and Myanmar. It was nice to step away from the day to day dosa and even though it blew out our budget a bit it was still cheaper than eating out at home. For example, we went to the upscale, very well reviewed Burma Burma and shared a soup as a starter, and then had three mid sized share plates for mains. It came to 2,368 rupee, or $50 NZD, where at home I would guess that meal would have cost at least $100 NZD. Bangalore also has amazing beer, and Josh especially definitely tested this out!! Toit was a local brewery that we loved, and was also where we parked up to watch the IPL game (more on that later). Sadly no Hazy IPAโs, but lots of great IPAโs, dark beers and lagers. It was really cool to see these buzzing locations full of young people out socializing after work, showing us a different side of India. Bangalore also has amazing Indian food in abundance, and we were particularly taken with Rameshwaram Cafe and Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR). I think we visited Rameshwaram three or four times. It was kind of like a food court in style, where you placed your order at a counter or booth, and then got tickets that you would take to the relevant stations. Although more expensive than your typical mom and pop type corner place, the dosa, idli, gulab jamun and coffee that we had here was absolutely top notch. It also made it easy to try new things, and meet people, as you ate your food standing around communal high tables. Rameshwaram is a bit of an institution in Bangalore, and we are very pleased we tried it!! We also loved MTR, which has been around since 1924. This super popular eatery serves legendary south indian comfort food, and we especially loved their specialties of Rava Idli (steamed semolina cakes made with a mic of yoghurt, coriander, cashew nuts, curry leaves and mustard seeds) and Chandrahara (their trademark dessert of deep fried maida flour pastry topped with a custard like liquid made of khoa).
We have unintentionally timed our trip to India with the Indian Premier League (IPL), the professional Twenty20 cricket league here in India. Featuring 10 city or state based teams it is the most popular and richest cricket league in the world! Lots of our New Zealand Black Caps come over to play for Indian IPL teams during the season. I think we have mentioned how cricket is a constant conversation starter for us here once people find out we are from New Zealand, so following the IPL was a natural next step! Weโve pledged our allegiance to the Bangalore team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and have spent a few nights now watching the cricket and really enjoying it. Watching RCB crush Chennai at a bar in Bangalore was such a fun experience, very similar to watching rugby at home!! Stay tuned to find out if we are brave enough to still support the RCB as we head Northโฆ
Other highlights included a sundowner beer from a 13th floor bar where we could see Bangalore spread into the distance, the many bookstores around Church Street absolutely stacked from literal floor to ceiling with books, a BJJ class for Josh, and trying chicken burgers from the locally famed Empire. Slotting into this city and experiencing a small slice of life here was such a joy.
One morning at Rameshwaram we met a lovely couple, Tushaar and Ishani, about the same age as us that we got talking to and exchanged details. Tushaarโs family is from Punjab and Ishani is from Rajasthan, and they have been married for three years now. They both work in the city, Tushaar as a Product Owner and Ishani as a lawyer. As we were planning our Saturday night we thought they might like to meet up for a drink, as Ishani had mentioned that the neighbourhood we wanted to visit was one of her favourites. They sorted us a reservation and we met at The Bier Club - a three story craft beer bar in the heart of Koramangala. We spent hours chatting, enjoying sharing stories about our respective lives and reflecting on the differences and similarities. It was so special to meet a couple similar age to us, living and working in Bangalore, and Iโm sure we will keep in touch and maybe meet again somewhere.
We also finally visited a doctor for my chronic sore throat and got onto antibiotics which worked a treat after about two days. The medical system was super easy to navigate, I had my appointment at 4:30 PM, and by 8:30 PM I had the results of my blood test back and antibiotics onboard. Super efficient and really cheap too compared to New Zealand healthcare (although this should be covered by our travel insurance).
Finally, Bangalore is known for its traffic. The infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the growing population, even with efforts like their rapid Metro construction. We didnโt find it too bad, mainly choosing to travel outside of peak hours. Never did we notice this more than our manic rush to the train station on our final night. I had come straight from the pharmacy and Josh had headed back to get our bags, and we both bribed our respective drivers with extra cash to weave through the traffic and run some marginal lights to get us there on time! After a literal sprint upstairs past platforms one to seven, we jumped on the train as it started moving, with racing hearts and lost breath. We vowed to never leave it that tight again, and found our beds for the ride to Hampi thanking the traffic gods that we had somehow made it on the train.
