On Friday we had a lie-in. I watched a DVD - 'From the Earth to the Moon' - an excellent Christmas present, and then in the afternoon Adam, Simon, Doug, Ben and myself went into town to the local amusement arcade. We played on the machines (I won a frog and a digital radio!), and also went bowling (see score).
My score after the second game - respectable I feel
My bowling technique - no copying!
An interesting facet of life in India is that even normal activities have an Indian twist to them! Take bowling for instance, the game is stopped intermittently by power cuts every 15mins or so, leading to the machines being reset, and on one occasion an attendent scrabbling down into the machinery at the far end to loosen some stuck pins! All highly amusing.
We then proceeded to have a relaxed meal at a local restaurant before heading back to our houses.
On Saturday we left at lunchtime to explore a couple of local sites. Both of which were very pleasant. The local Botanical Gardens were an interesting experience, much more of a community atmosphere than at Kew or other gardens I've visited. Lots of local people shopping, relaxing etc. Also they were dirtier and slightly more bedraggled than some I've seen, but that's to be expected really. We took a couple of gold carts to tour the gardens, with amusing commentary from the drivers (the cacti house has 100 colours of cacti in it, the rose garden has 100 coloured roses in it(conveniently similar numbers!), and depending on who you listend to the glass house was between 300-116 years old!). However, my favourite peace of eccentricity was the statue of the ancient King of Mysore - surrounded inexplicably by a floral clock, Snow White and her Seven Dwarves!
Botanic Gardens Glasshouse
Flowers
Simon and Doug take it easy
Ben, Mike and Adam posing
Topiary Indian style
Garden View
After that we visited Tipu Sultans Palace, a building built in 1791 but now largely decrepit, with some nice gardens.
View from the Palace
Inside the Palace
Both sites were interesting, and it was very pleasant to get out of the house, and see some of Bangalore - however I would not have gone to Bangalore to specifically see them! It's nice to see some local sites, and I have plans for the next few weekends to sample some of the local attractions!
1 comment:
Dear Thomas
What a super set of photos and commentary - very exotic by comparison with the Rockies! It's really good to share what you are doing.
Love from Daddy and Marianne
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