Huge park in the centre of the city, it has formal gardens, lawns, wooded areas, statues and even a library. Several roads run through the park, and food stalls cluster at the entrances.

Totally amazing. Bustling, colourful, exotic, friendly. The flower market especially, with stalls where you can see them being made into strings.

















Then for a complete change of pace, dinner at the hotel roof restaurant, with live music.

This is a heavy working trip. The guys are leaving for work at 8 in the morning and not getting back till 8 in the evening, so there's no time left for sightseeing. But they are getting to see 2 hours of traffic every day, and the traffic in Bangalore is a thing of wonder.



The first impression is of utter chaos, but gradually the patterns emerge.

Nominally, India drives on the left, but the primary rule seems to be 'If there's a space, drive into it'. Driving on the wrong side of the road, or the wrong way round a roundabout, is common.

Pictures really can't convey what its like. Even video fails. Try to imagine everything in continuous and seemingly random motion, and add a soundtrack of horns and squealing tyres.





Autotaxis (tuk-tuks) make up a large proportion of the traffic in town.

Tata buses and motorbikes/scooters are also common.





The law says that scooter/motorbike drivers have to wear a helmet, so they do. Nobody else on the bike does, however.



Pedestrians wishing to cross just walk into the traffic, slipping between the vehicles.





And the cows, of course, just wander where they will.



The really amazing thing is that it all seems to work. The whole infrastructure is so overloaded that following English road customs would result in total gridlock. With this system it keeps moving, albeit slowly. And because it's slow it's not as dangerous as it sounds. We didn't see an accident the whole time we were there.

I decided to start gently, and took the hotel taxi to a shopping centre. On the way we went along Dr Ambedkar Road, which has the Law Courts on one side . . .



. . . and Vidhana Soudha, the government building for the state of Karnatakaon, on the other.




The taxi driver was keen to take me to a few shops he recommended (ie they give the driver a commission), so I gave in gracefully. They did have some lovely stuff, but I wasn't buying while still jet lagged so we were soon at Guruda mall.

The basic building is the same as anywhere in the world, but that just highlights the differences. Most striking were the clothes, especially the beautiful, colourful saris. On the negative side, there's a security man on every escalator, and a metal detector on the entrances. I set it off every time, but nobody seemed concerned.

The prices evoke a double double take. First, "Wow, that's a lot", followed by "Oh no, it's rupees, divide by 60." Then "It can't possibly be that low, I must have got the sums wrong." Finding out later that Garuda Mall is the most expensive place in Bangalore just makes it weirder.

I had a superb buffet lunch there, and was introduced to gulab jamon and icecream. Mmmmmm.



That evening we went to a bar called 13th Floor, named after it's location. Amazing views across down town Bangalore.

This morning there were some even more interesting discussions, and we moved back to the other hotel. I have to admit that this one is posher, though the breakfast at the other was very good. Vegetable curry and sweet rice.



Then everyone else went to work. Apparently it's a lovely site, and the work environment is very calm, with plenty of breaks through the day.



I only managed a explore the hotel, but a rewarding experience in it's own right, especially the rooftop restaurant and it's views.



In the evening we went out to a Vietnamese restaurant. Site security ran mirrors under the taxi to check for bombs!



A fine meal, and a start on the cocktails, but nothing too serious yet as sleep is still an urgent priority.