13thDecember 2004 – Pondicherry to Bangalore 8 ½ hours

Arriving in Bangalore at 5.30am we had to go through the ritual of arguing with a rickshaw driver about his cost and hotels, the first of many no doubt, we finally got a hotel. Not the best but it did have satellite TV. Wow we!
Bangalore is one of India’s most modern cities with a cosmopolitan atmosphere with a lot of the girls in extremely trendy western style clothes. Like a lot of India’s main cities the gridlock traffic and pollution is still a problem.
As it was my birthday Paul treated me to a meal in Ebony’s which is a restaurant on the 13th floor with terraces overlooking the city. You could have been in New York or London, well sort of.
Bangalore is known as the ‘garden city’ due to its green areas around the city. Having a break from the city noise we had a relaxing stroll around its botanical gardens.
After a couple of enjoyable days in Bangalore it was time to start heading to Goa to spend Christmas and New Year with Mark.