What I hate about Bangalore
I have surprisingly few things to pick with Bangalore. Overall the city has been a pleasant experience more often than not.
The new airport – There are no lounges. For a new swanky airport, this is quite a surprise that they did not think about it. You are given a token with which you are supposed to hunt for food. The food counters are always crowded, and people are sitting around like beasts around a watering hole, pretentiously sipping beer from plastic cups. There are hardly any power connections for people to work on their machines. There is a common area, but it is usually super busy.
15-min Wifi in the airport – This ‘international’ airport boasts of a unique service to the customers. It provides you with a free Wifi connection for as long as a full length of – hold your breath – complete 15 minutes! I have no idea what the purpose of this is. It takes 5 mins just to load the settings page.
Language – If you think only Chennai has language issues, you have not been to Bangalore enough. Especially with the auto rickshaws, there is always an anxious moment before I hail one. Only when I am sure that the person knows either Hindi or English, can I be safe. The cab drivers are usually nice though.
The traffic – Bangalore traffic has become legendary, beating even Mumbai at some times. Firstly the city was never meant to host so many people and their vehicles. To top it, there is no discipline. And then Bangalore is also the two-wheeler capital of the country, which adds to the hotchpotch and creates a complete mess. And now that the airport is a good 40km away from city center, you are better off starting at least two and a half hours early.
Flyovers – There are flyovers and then there are flyovers. The one on the old airport road, near the earlier TGIF, is a monstrosity. You do not know where it starts and were it finishes. There is something sinister about this flyover. I have been almost run over every time I have tried to walk around this area. And to top it all, the building next to the flyover caught fire recently, and so went TGIF in that area.
Timing – Most hotels in Bangalore believe that the world ends at 11:00pm. There is an urgent desire to close everything by 10:30pm and you should be very lucky to get something to eat or drink in case you feel pickish after that. Of course, now there are some coffee joints that have taken the bold step and tried to venture beyond the 11:00am end-of-the-world line. I think some have survived.
Private Guest houses – I have stayed in all types of accommodations in Bangalore. Some are really nice, e.g. hotels like Royal Orchid, Zuri or Ramada. But sometimes I have had to stay in the little apartments run as private guest houses, and that is one experience I would like to forget. Along with non-availability of food post 10pm, these little ‘havens’ boast of add-ons like unwashed linen, complete lack of security, chargeable Wifi and staff that does not speak English or Hindi. The chargeable Wifi, which is a phenomenon also with some hotels like Ramanashree Brunton on Brunton Road – is a particularly painful and sensitive area, since now I have got quite used to complimentary Wifi in hotels.
Food – This is not so much of a challenge in Bangalore as it is in Chennai, although the typical ‘tiffin’ houses make you stand and eat your dosa. However there is a good variety for different palettes, and the food is slightly cheaper than Mumbai or Delhi too.
Best,
Shreekant
14th July 2010
First published on 24th August 2010
The new airport – There are no lounges. For a new swanky airport, this is quite a surprise that they did not think about it. You are given a token with which you are supposed to hunt for food. The food counters are always crowded, and people are sitting around like beasts around a watering hole, pretentiously sipping beer from plastic cups. There are hardly any power connections for people to work on their machines. There is a common area, but it is usually super busy.
15-min Wifi in the airport – This ‘international’ airport boasts of a unique service to the customers. It provides you with a free Wifi connection for as long as a full length of – hold your breath – complete 15 minutes! I have no idea what the purpose of this is. It takes 5 mins just to load the settings page.
Language – If you think only Chennai has language issues, you have not been to Bangalore enough. Especially with the auto rickshaws, there is always an anxious moment before I hail one. Only when I am sure that the person knows either Hindi or English, can I be safe. The cab drivers are usually nice though.
The traffic – Bangalore traffic has become legendary, beating even Mumbai at some times. Firstly the city was never meant to host so many people and their vehicles. To top it, there is no discipline. And then Bangalore is also the two-wheeler capital of the country, which adds to the hotchpotch and creates a complete mess. And now that the airport is a good 40km away from city center, you are better off starting at least two and a half hours early.
Flyovers – There are flyovers and then there are flyovers. The one on the old airport road, near the earlier TGIF, is a monstrosity. You do not know where it starts and were it finishes. There is something sinister about this flyover. I have been almost run over every time I have tried to walk around this area. And to top it all, the building next to the flyover caught fire recently, and so went TGIF in that area.
Timing – Most hotels in Bangalore believe that the world ends at 11:00pm. There is an urgent desire to close everything by 10:30pm and you should be very lucky to get something to eat or drink in case you feel pickish after that. Of course, now there are some coffee joints that have taken the bold step and tried to venture beyond the 11:00am end-of-the-world line. I think some have survived.
Private Guest houses – I have stayed in all types of accommodations in Bangalore. Some are really nice, e.g. hotels like Royal Orchid, Zuri or Ramada. But sometimes I have had to stay in the little apartments run as private guest houses, and that is one experience I would like to forget. Along with non-availability of food post 10pm, these little ‘havens’ boast of add-ons like unwashed linen, complete lack of security, chargeable Wifi and staff that does not speak English or Hindi. The chargeable Wifi, which is a phenomenon also with some hotels like Ramanashree Brunton on Brunton Road – is a particularly painful and sensitive area, since now I have got quite used to complimentary Wifi in hotels.
Food – This is not so much of a challenge in Bangalore as it is in Chennai, although the typical ‘tiffin’ houses make you stand and eat your dosa. However there is a good variety for different palettes, and the food is slightly cheaper than Mumbai or Delhi too.
Best,
Shreekant
14th July 2010
First published on 24th August 2010
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