I have drawn the map of the place and the sights we will be visiting (the map is courtesy of Google Map). Here are the main sights of interests:
1) Our Hotel (Hotel President)
2) King Asoka Pillar
3) Lalbagh Garden
4) Bull Temple
5) Tippu Sultan's Palace
6) Vidhana Soudha
7) Bangalore Palace
The path in red are completed by walking, while those in blue is by one of their local 3-wheels transport. Let's begin with the images below.
We left our hotel and started walking northwards.
One of the popular mode of public transport to the locals are the 3-wheels autorickshaw as shown below. When passengers board the vehicle, there will be a metre reading which it will follow by. But I have heard a fair bit of horror stories for foreign visitors where the driver will bring them in circles just to have the metre running.
There are plenty of cows going around. On the road it's man, machine and cows.
There are many hindu temples around and below is one of them.
We arrived at a roundabout where there is a King Asoka pillar in the middle. This pillar looks fairly new and I don't think it is 2,000 years old.
While walking along the perimeter of Lalbagh Garden, we came upon a vendor selling hammocks. Initially I thought anyone can just lie on it for an afternoon nap.
We arrived at the south gate of Lalbagh Garden. It cost 10 rupee to get in. The entrance to the north is the more official and larger one.
Here is me with a 'Use Me' tree stump.
There is this mini-hill with a structure (Kempegowda tower) on top.
At the center of the garden is the Glass House which is said to be modeled after London's Crystal Palace. The one in London has been destroyed by fire but this one still stands.
It is quite impressive as we take a close-up look.
Here is from another perspective.
There are many fountains in the garden...
Here is the Lalbagh lake. It is actually raised up on a hill, so we have to climb up a flight of stairs from the garden.
The garden also have many pavilions...
We are approaching the north entrance of the garden.
Here is the statue of the Maharaja (Great King).
While at the north entrance, we decided to grab some drinks from the nearby stall. A guy approached us asking whether are we interested to visit some sights around. He offered 250 rupees for the next few sights. We think why not, but let's go for lunch first. So here I am with the driver and his auto-rickshaw.
We requested him to bring us to MacDonalds for lunch. After many days of local cuisine, we miss fastfood and chinese food greatly.
The menu looks pretty much the same except for the 'Chicken Maharaja'
So I ordered it and here is how it looks like. It has a curry flavour to it.
The driver came back to fetch us and here we go to the Bull's Temple. It is said this temple is one of the oldest in the area and is a few hundred years old.
The temple.
Here is the bull with the priest next to it (collecting donations from tourist).
After I have donated, he placed his finger with some red powder on my forehead. Before I can stop him, he's done. Ok, so here i am with the red powder.
Next stop is Tippu's summer palace.
Tippu is one of the king of this region and is notable for his resistance against the British. He is a muslim and is also known as the Tiger of Mysore.
I guess here is where he spend his summer days. It's pretty cooling in here.
Tippu is known for his religious tolerance which explains the hindu temple nearby.
Here is our group photo, from left is Quah, me and our driver.
Next we travel pass the City Market. It is really a chaotic scene here with vehicles, people, cows coming in from all direction. There are also lots of construction debris and rubbish in this small area. It is an amazing sight.
The cows relaxing outside a shop.
The streets are extremely narrow. To drive in Bangalore, you will need very good spatial sense to survive. The vehicles pass by another another with barely an inch allowance.
We arrived at the parliament area. The below building is the Vikasa Soudha.
The next majestic building is the Vidhana Soudha. King Asoka's 4 lions in the 4 directions are is really breath-taking. May the Lion's roar (Buddha Dharma, the truth) goes in all directions.
The final stop of the day is Bangalore palace. Cameras are not allowed here unless we pay 500 rupee for a camera license. The entrance in is 350 rupee per person. We paid for it. It is said the Bangalore palace is mirrored after the Windsor palace.
Here is an upclose view of the palace.
There is an audio guide which comes along. We walked up a flight of stairs.
Here is the main hall where parties are hosted.
The many rooms in the internal quadrangle.
Paintings of gods and goddesses.
Walking through the corridor and reminiscing on how life is like a century before.
The architecture is quite unique which combines Indian elements with western design.
Thereafter we proceeded back to our hotel for the airport.
