DAY 10 - In Bangalore

Friends,

Mathew Philip has been a family friend since my days with the Railways in Palghat in the late 80’s. He volunteered to be one of the ‘back office’ guys working out of Cochin to support my journey. He provided some critical inputs while planning the journey and has promised to travel the Dehra Dun to Amritsar leg in December. Mathew had dispatched a BSNL data card and a few other stuff I need for the journey by train through the Area Manager, Ernakulam. When I went to collect the package from the AC Coach attendant what surprised me was not that the package was delivered intact, but that the train arrived bang on time at the City railway station.

Hare Krishna is a small restaurant near the Bangalore City railway station. Once you get over the challenge of getting there one will relish the food. The place is crowded most of the time, but the service is quick and the turn around of customers is impressive. The idlis served there are a delectable fare (I suspect they are the best in the world) and the strong coffee is excellent - a must if you visit the railway station.

I had gone with a couple of friends on a business related visit to a suburb of Bangalore. On the return we dropped in at the Sudarshan restaurant for a quick bite and a cup of coffee. After the rava idli coffee was ordered. One of my friends did not want sugar in his coffee. So when the order was taken it was 2 by 3 (portion) and ‘one less, two plus’! I am used to tea and coffee being served ‘without’, but this was the first time it was served as ‘less’ (without) and ‘plus’ (with).

In the evening the skies opened up and nearly flooded the city in a short time. Anita, my cousin, and Ajay came to the Rest House as we had planned to dine out. I chose to have a steak and ‘Millers 46’ was the destination, as Anita mentioned that it is the best Steak House in Bangalore. The choice was fantastic as the food was excellent and the ambience quite different. A monstrous portion of beef steak was ‘washed down’ with an equally enormous portion of Apple Pie!

The Station Manager of Bangalore City provided the testimony of my visit to Bangalore. My stay in the Officers’ Rest House (Maples) was comfortable. I will leave early morning tomorrow for Hyderabad, a distance of nearly 600 kms – it will be one of the longest drives planned for a single day during my journey.