Carousing in Karnataka: Journey from Bombay to Bangalore

Carousing in Karnataka: Journey from Bombay to Bangalore

Wed, Jan 8, 2025:

Bombay-Bangalore

The trip to India of Chriselle and AJ gave us a god opportunity to explore a part of the country with which we were not too familiar. As they were also keen to meet Blossom and Menaka, I hit upon the idea of spending a few days in Karnataka (as Menaka is based in Bangalore).

Hence, the very day after they arrived in Bombay, we left for our flight to Bangalore. We took an Uber to Bombay airport and hopped on to an Indigo flight that left at 6.00 pm. We had signed up for a light supper on board and were presented with a Chicken “Junglee” Sandwich which was a very tasty mayonnaise sandwich with a beverage of our choice. We had a spectacular sunset as we left Bombay. It stained the sky deeply in shades of vivid orange, crimson and yellow streaked with Indigo. It was a very comfortable (and short) flight—about 1 hour, 45 minutes, after which, with darkness having fallen, we touched down in Bangalore at 7.45 pm.

We were all very impressed with spiffy Bangalore airport. It was very easy to follow signs to the Uber port from where we picked up an Uber. The ride was also comfortable and introduced us to the burgeoning city that is Bangalore. Within an hour, we were at Drishti Dwelling, Menaka’s building. We received a lovely, warm and enthusiastic welcome from Blossom and Menaka (who had themselves only landed in the morning from Calcutta as they had spent the week in West Bengal).

Although we were neither hungry nor tired, Menaka offered us drinks and ordered a pizza which we enjoyed as we re-connected with one another and introduced AJ to our relatives. There was much laughter followed by the exchange of gifts as we had gifts for them and they had gifts for us—such a lovely homecoming! None of us realized where the time was flying as we gabbed non-stop.

Eventually, at past midnight, it was time for us to think about crashing for the night as we had a 6.00 am taxi pick-up. Menaka showed us our bedroom options and with our beds all ready, we brushed our teeth and settled down for the night. We did not realize it would be a really terrible night—with barely any sleep at all for any of us—as her neighborhood is menaced by stray dogs who struck up a cacophony through much of the night, keeping us wide awake. Eventually, when dawn struck, we were all up and ready for what would be a day of hectic sightseeing.