Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Bangalore and Beyond - Karnataka, India - March 20, 2012

Today marks 16 days left in India for me.  I am beyond sad.  How has time
passed so quickly?  I haven't seen nearly all I wanted and every minute has
been so special. Recently, I spent a wonderful week with a blogging friend
and his family in Bangalore and was also able to visit some of the beautiful
parts south.

Bangalore, also called Bengaluru is the capital of the state of Karnataka.  It
is India's information technology center and  is the third most populous city in
India.  It is also known as the garden city for its beautiful flowers and
landscaping.

One day, my friend and I drove south, to the Mysore area to see
a local temple, no longer in use for religious purposes but operated by India
as a museum.  It was a lovely and interesting drive, quite different from
northern India.

We set out at 5AM to avoid the morning rush hour.  There was still quite a
bit of early mist in the distant fields.  As we stopped for breakfast at a nice
little spot, we sat at outdoor tables, watching the sun make its debut.


Green and leafy Bangalore ( Bengaluru ) on our the
day before our trip south




Early morning mist and coconut palms on the drive south


Sunrise as we stop for breakfast


 
Masala dosa for breakfast 


A visit to the local cow after eating


Early morning rice farmers hard at work




Rice paddies


The early morning mist, coconut palms and rice fields on our way south.


Bicycle with sugar cane, women about their work


Dredging rice fields





Planting rice


Even weeds can look lovely




Cleaning millet on the road


A truckload of something but I'm not sure what!

Every mile of the way, there is something interesting to see.  I was really 
amazed at the ox carts...the beasts with long pointed horns that would have
been pretty awful to sit on if something plopped from the sky on top.  
I took dozens of pictures of those carts but none of them seemed to have
turned out.  Trying to upload pictures at slow speed with my Tata Photon is
a lesson in futility.  At any rate, I'm going to post these so you can get an
idea of how lovely this drive down to Mysore was.





































10 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:19 AM

    masala dosas are one of my favourite things to eat. love them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kamana - it's been wonderful trying so many new foods. I was, of course, familiar with all the northern Indian cuisine but dosas and much of the Southern Indian cooking was new to me. I've especially enjoyed some of the breakfast foods such as upma and poha.

      Delete
  2. I have missed coming by your blog for quite some time now. Glad you are having a good time in India. Would love to invite you to my place but with 10 hour power cuts here, you are better off at Bangalore.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You certainly seem to be having a fabulous time and its lovely to see your photos and to get a taste of your adventure.
    Maggie X

    Nuts in May

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous3:54 PM

    your pictures breath the adventure of a life time. thank you very much for sharing such air. please have a good wednesday.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like you have seen a lot of the natural India. You must be very good at fitting in.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a different world, Carmen, and you're happy, which is so important!

    ReplyDelete
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