Sightseeing Part 3

Sorry, it's been a while. I managed to come down with a cold on Tuesday and am just now getting to feel human again. It's been quite hot in India lately. I am sure we all know what a joy getting a cold in hot weather is so I won't elaborate on the fun I have had for the last few days.

Where was I? Oh we had just just completed the shoeless portion of the tour and we moved on to Tipu's Summer Cottage... sorry Palace. Seriously though even the guidebook I have called it small and dilapidated. It's a small building on a very neatly manicured grounds. It's a columned building. I guess it is no where near the grandeur of Tipu's Palace in Mysore.

After that we went to the Karnataka Silk Emporium where we were given a 1/2 an hour to shop. This is a thing to be seen. It's a small building and the men who work there all stand on this platform in front of the shelves and shelves of silks. You sit down on these chairs and they start pulling out the most beautiful fabrics. Silks with brocades and embroideries, etc.

I decided to have a silk Kurti made. First I had to pick a silk, then he showed me a book of photos of different designs and then we talked about how it could be embroidered. The whole process took more than the 1/2 I was allotted on the tour so the tour moved on without me. After I completed my purchase and the man promised to have it ready by Wednesday(I got it on Saturday only4 days late!) the tour operator came back to pick me up and take me to Lalbagh Gardens.

Since I was late arriving at Lalbagh I got the "speed" tour of the gardens. Keep in mind that it is about noon on a hot India day and I have been in a non A/C tour bus for 5 hours. Now this tour guide is taking me on a tour of the gardens at a jog. I am trotting behind him and snapping photos as I walk. The gardens are quite large and by the time we completed the circuit of them I was dripping in sweat and out of breath. Just when I think we are going to stop so I can catch my breath he points to this giant rock. "Kempe Gowda Tower" he says "Go climb and you will see 20% of Bangalore". I am thinking to myself "if I climb the giant rock I will pass out from heat exhaustion" but my zealous guide will not take "imminent medical emergency" for an answer. I am obliged to climb the rock.

From the top of the rock you do get a nice view of the area. Of all the sights I saw, the Lalbagh Gardens is the one I would most like to spend more time at. They really were quite pretty and looked to be a place where people would spend an afternoon hanging out. Also there were monkeys in the park. Not caged monkeys but real wild monkeys. (there are more photos of the tour in my photobuck account to double click on the "India Photos" to the right.

After my sprint thru the Gardens we went to our next destination the Science Museum. It's the Indian equivalent of the Science Museums we have in the US. Intended primarily for kids it had lots of replicas of machines and an animatronic Dinosaur. After that we put into a restaurant for lunch. To be continued...