Back in Bangalore - Exploring more of the city

I was back in Bangalore for a couple of grueling weeks for work. This trip came up abruptly that is why I couldn't properly plan the site seeing part of this it and ended up staying in city most of the time.

In the end, I got to see more of BLR and got to know more about this vibrant city.

I've had the opportunity to travel to Bangalore for the first time in 2016 for work. It allowed me to travel to other places in India and to see Taj Mahal and Amber Fort to name a few.
That trip was amazing!

[read my Bangalore blog, September 2016]

 
For this year, I had another chance to go to Bangalore for work. The only catch was that the trip preparation was abrupt and that did not allow me to plan the trip well so that I could squeeze in a side trip. Because of that, I decided to stay in Bangalore the entire two weeks instead.

The great thing about going back to India is that I like going there. I also had an idea how long the air travel was going to be so I was able to psyche myself and that made the air plane ride less of a drag.

Thanks to the superb service at Singapore Airlines and for making the 20+ hours of air travel not only comfortable but also enjoyable.

[read my Singapore Airlines flight blog, December 2019]

I stayed at the Leela Palace hotel for the entire two weeks. The hotel is huge. My first impression of the hotel? Never ending hallways.  I remember walking through long hallways and turning left or right many times right after check in. I couldn't wait to get to my room. When the flight is that long, however comfortable the air travel maybe, the first thing on my mind is to get out of my clothes.


Thanks to the Leela Palace for this welcome snack! I was going to learn in my stay at this hotel that they do try to make your stay there feel like you are in a palace.  And I think they are successful with that. From the food, to the service and every bit of detail are carefully thought of with the guests in mind.


I arrived in Bangalore on a Friday night to give myself a couple of days to unwind and to allow for my body to get accustomed to the time change. The following morning, the only plan I had in mind was to get a proper breakfast. I headed right away to the buffet breakfast which was part of my stay at the Leela Palace. The breakfast is served at The Citrus restaurant.


The hotel's breakfast did not disappoint because it was such a feast and quite fitting in a palace hotel setting. There was a time in the beginning of this trip that it took me a while to figure out which Indian dish I was going to eat for breakfast.


They serve Western, Indian and some Asian breakfast dishes. I was going to find out later in the trip that the selections of dishes change everyday. I made a mental note that I would try to eat Indian food throughout this trip.


They were serving Gulab Jamun for dessert that day. I made a mental note that I had to make room for this.


They have a selection of Western pastries. During work week, I took a pastry to go as my snack at the office. I also took a banana and an apple with me to the office. I think we were not supposed to take food with us but oh well.


For my breakfast, I was helped by the hotel's staff in this selection. They might have over done it because they gave me three types of dosas to sample and I couldn't finish them all. Remember, I also had to make room for the gulab jamun for desserts.



Since I didn't have plans that morning, instead of going back to bed because of major jetlag, I decided to do a self tour of the beautiful hotel. I started with the hotel lobby and the hallways. I learned that the hotel was built in 2001 in the style of the Royal Palace of Mysore. It has over 300 luxurious rooms mostly with balconies. There is a mall inside the hotel complex called The Collonade which features cafes and stores selling Indian brands.


There was a beautifully laid out rangoli in an area of hotel's lobby to celebrate the harvest festival. Because the rangoli was made of millions of petals, the hotel lobby smelled of fresh flowers. It was heavenly!


Here's the rest of the hotel lobby pictures. It truly felt like I was staying in a palace. The hotel wifi is available in this area as well. Many hotel guests sat around here to work and check on their emails in their shorts and flipflops. I worked from this area a couple of times during this trip.




My next self tour was the exterior of the hotel. This was the first thing I saw when I got out of the taxi from the airport. This area is where hotel guests get picked up and dropped off.


There was one time while waiting for the company car to pick me up, I waited next to this basin with flowers. The attention to detail of the hotel managers is amazing!




One hotel service that I truly enjoyed was their yoga session every 6am Monday through Saturday. The practice lasts for an hour and ends around 7:15 to 7:20 -ish. This schedule was perfect because it is right before I prepare for work in the morning and before breakfast. Don't forget to apply mosquito repellent before yoga because the entire wall facing the pool opens up and there are mosquitoes in the Bangalore weather.




During my commute from the hotel to the office, I took pictures from inside the company car when the traffic is slow. It is always easy for me to romanticize watching the hustle and bustle of the locals and the day to day life in Bangalore is no exception.


Locals walking, riding the bus or tuktuk getting to their place of work or market or back to their homes. For this trip, I've taken a tuktuk ride to go to the nearest mall from the Leela Palace hotel.


Here's a sight that I saw many times during my two week stay in the city because this toy vendor was in the service car took to go to the office almost every day.




Since I cannot tell you what transpired in this trip regarding work, I can tell you about the delicious lunches I had at the office cafeteria. I stayed true to my goal that I would only eat Indian food during my stay in Bangalore. This chicken biryani was my favorite. It was also the first time I sampled a dessert called Mysore Pak. I was going to be sampling this Indian sweets again on my travels to Mysore in the middle of this trip.




There was one time the entire team took a mid-morning break and walked to a nearby Chai Point to enjoy a cup of chai tea. Everyone had the same idea because it was crowded when we got there. I can't help but notice how young and vibrant the Bangalore workforce are. It is actually a reflection of our team in Bangalore.


The entire team also went out on a Friday night to a brew pub nearby the office called the Prost Brew Pub. It is inside a midrise building but on the higher floor so we had to take an elevator to get there. On the ground level, there is a selection of restaurants called Kitchens @ Mahadevapura but I was told it is for take out orders only. 


After we got off the elevator, the brew pub's host walked us to our table. We passed by this full bar our way to the roof top.


The place is huge. They have an indoor and outdoor area. The outdoor part is on the roof top.


Here's the view from the rooftop. Bangalore is huge and sprawling.


The team pre selected this so I could taste the beer offerings in the brew pub. I am not a beer drinker but I appreciate tasty drinks like these. Thanks to my Bangalore-savvy colleagues for picking this brew pub because I had a pretty great time. Thanks team!

I stayed in Bangalore for the weekend so I made plans to explore the city and see the places that were not part of the tour the first time I went to Bangalore a few years back.  The first in my list of places to see was the Indian Music Experience.


The Indian Music Experience is a museum and a learning space about Indian music. It is a well curated collection of artifacts that showcases Indian music and its origins and many influences, its development and many more. I learned lots of information in this visit.


The first stop is the theatre showing a short documentary about the origins of music and then focuses the subject into Indian music. It is very well written, entertaining as well as educational. The length of the film is just right.


The next section is the Contemporary Music section. This is the part where I connect with Indian music so I am glad that they made this section one of the first ones in the order. Lots of hands on and user experience in this section. Lots of areas to listen to all types of contemporary Indian music - Rock, World, Indie, Electronic, Pop, etc. There are tuktuks that serve as private listening booths.


There are theories that Indian classical music originated from many sources such as folk melodies and ritual chants from temples. These origins are explored in this section - Origins of Music. Like in the previous section, there are playable sample ritual music and dances such as Bhajan-Kirtan, Kathakali, Kootiyattam, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Sattriya, and many more.


It further investigates the conventions of Indian classical music. There are two main types of classical music and they believe these music evolved separately. Karnatik music is the main classical tradition of south of the country and Hindustani the rest of country. These music differ from each other on the presentation, composition, instruments and many others.


Speaking of instruments, here are the different instruments used in Indian classical music. It shows how rich and diverse India's tradition is when it comes to music. These instruments are also the product of India's assimilation of styles from West and Central Asia.


This section showcases the big name stars, composers and singers in India's music and film industry through the years.


These legends have created something lasting for the next generations to see or to listen.


There are a lot more sections and details that I couldn't include in this blog. I'd visit that place again if I get another chance to go to Bangalore in the future.


Here's my little short story to share during my visit to IME - I love IME.


I forgot to mention earlier that from the hotel it took me almost an hour to get to IME because both the hotel and the museum are on the opposite ends of the city. From IME, it took me another 40 minutes to get to my next destination - the National Gallery of Modern Art. Unfortunately, taking photos is not allowed inside the museum so I have nothing to show you except these photos of the museum's facade.


For lunch, I went to yet another end of the city. I've always wanted to see the Phoenix Marketplace Mall and I thought that that early afternoon was a good time. I walked around the mall at first and then I found this small tea shop where I bought a pack of loose leaf tea.
 
  
And then I found this fast food place in the middle of mall called Cha by Tata Tea. I ordered a lunch set called Kheema Palav which is ground chicken with potatoes and green beans. It was delicious and very spicy. It came with a glass of ice tea and three pieces of bread rolls.


I strolled some more and got to the mall next door called VR Bengaluru mall. It is smaller than the Phoenix Marketplace mall, however, it looked more upscale.
 
  
This was also where I found the I Heart BLR sign.


The mall also has an IMAX theatre, though, I was not keen to see a movie that day.



For coffee and desserts, I went to Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters which is next door to a Starbucks. I thought I'd go for something local.



The following day was a Sunday and I've pre-arranged a tour of Mysore, a guided tour of the Royal Palace and the city's 100 year old market. I'll write this one as a separate blog one of these days.


The following week went so fast because it was all about work which I cannot share here.  For lunches at the office, I especially liked this paneer biryani lunch sets.





The week was winding down and I was also getting ready for the trip back to the States. First thing in my list was to get Kaju Katli for co-workers, friends and family. I asked around our office in Bangalore and they agreed that Anand Bakery makes great sweets. So to Anand Bakery I went. Luckily, there is one near and within walking distance from the Leela Palace.


 I think I overdid this one because I had to rearrange my luggage to make room for these goodies.


I was bummed when I couldn't plan a trip to more famous destinations like Jaipur, Mumbai or Kerala for this business trip. But thanks to that, I was able to stay in Bangalore the entire two weeks and have gotten to know the city even more. The more I got to know the city, the more it grows on me. It is truly a vibrant city.

I hope I'll get another chance to travel to India and explore more of its wonderful cities that I haven't been to.

Thank you BLR, I heart you.

~rl