Reflections on India - Some amazing sights!

I am just back from ten days in India. I managed to visit seven cities in that time! I was there working so didn't get much free time but managed to to take a few pics.

Mysore

 

The first cow I saw. It was weird to see them just walking along roads and drivers swerving to avoid them.

Mysore Palace - despite the rain, it was definitely worth visiting. Some lovely architecture and displays. It was built during the British era and there was a definite colonial / "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" vibe.

 

Some discoveries on the site we stayed at: a stepping stone bridge, tiny bananas and very bad cutting in!

Bangalore

 
My previous memories of Bangalore was that it was a combination of poverty and modernity. This visit reinforced that. I wasn't brave enough to eat any of the street food but it looked lovely and colourful. I wasn't homesick but the sight of a Marks & Spencer put a smile on my face.

 
 One noticeable aspect of the streets of India is the number of eye-catching temples. They are ornate and colourful (mostly, the older ones fade (obviously)).  We actually went inside this one. It was my first time inside a Hindu temple and i was not disappointed.

 
 We went out for dinner, at Barbeque Nation. They put a grill in the middle of the table and keep up a constant supply of kebabs (meat and veggie). When you are nearly full, you suddenly realise that the kebabs were just the starter! Totally recommend a visit.


Chennai

 
Chennai was hot. Very hot. I didn't take many photos but wanted to prove that i didn't have luxury three-course dinner every night...


Mangalore

 

Mangalore was very much a green and pleasant land. More of a tropical rain forest than a thriving metropolis. It was also very mountainous. My room was on the ground floor as we came in and yet was seven stories up on the other side with an amazing view.


Trivandrum

 
Trivandrum is a coastal city and whilst it was still sunny, i didn't notice the heat as much as Chennai or Mangalore. We stayed in a hotel. There was a glass wall in the bathroom (see pic above) and the toilet was angled to look through it, straight at the TV!


Hyderabad

 

Our final tourist time was in Hyderabad. We went to Golconda Fort, had a guided tour and then watched the Sound and Light Show. A fort was first built on the site over 1000 years ago and the subsequent replacements and additions have a lot of stories attached to them. The guide was very informed and stopped every so often for us to take pictures (right by huge drops - no safety barriers here!).


And finally...
I was in India with work so saw quite a lot of corporate India rather than tourist India. Even so, i have some great memories and would encourage anyone to go and see the country for themselves.