Our flight to Bangalore landed about midnight and we quickly found a cab but as we approached the city, we became less and less sure that the driver knew where he was going ….. However, with the aid of phone calls and locals pointing we finally found our "hotel" …… Little wonder the driver didn't recognise the address, it was down an alley, off a back street linked to a small side street - The alley was so narrow that we needed to align the car door with the property gate, in order to open it. …. it was 1:30 am and we just needed to sleep.

One day only to spend in Bangalore, so we hired a Tuk-Tuk for the day and hit all the highlights - Temples, Botanical Gardens, Markets - The flower market was actually truly amazing, we had never seen so much colour, so many flowers and in such variety in our lives, many of them being "woven" into ceremonial dressings. We also found that the weather was more temperate than our experience in Northern India ……. Warm, maybe high twenty's but not humid and actually quite nice.

The first sign that Bangalore was more westernised was the absence of cows in the streets and roads ….. Aside from that, the traffic was like any other Indian city operating like a finely choreographed dance. Always a cacophony, but with a surreal serenity, a weaving in and out, a giving way, perhaps a gentle nudge but no road rage……. and definitely no health and safety.

We had not drunk alcohol for 5 days, while we were in the holy city of Varanasi but Bangalore has a "drinking street" - Would you believe Church Street and we set about correcting the fluid balance in our bodies ……Starting at the "Hard Rock" café (Heather's research had revealed they operated Happy Hour at £1 a pint) and working our way along the street until sated……. Walking back home, in the monsoon rain, navigating the side streets and alleys proved to be interesting.

One other unusual feature about Bangalore was the high number of Christian churches, schools, social organisations etc. that exist here, virtually every hundred yards ……. In the rest of India it was always Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Buddhist …..Very little Christian?