31st January 2011 - 9th February 2011
I was not sure what to expect during this trip because, to be honest, it was not a planned trip. It was actually a sudden trip so I kept my options open as to what I can expect. To be honest, my travel while going wasn't the most pleasant as I was suffering from this embarrassingly loud cough. I am lucky no one shouted at me on the aircraft to keep my cough to myself. I myself found it annoying so I can imagine what others would have felt.
We reached approximately 11.45pm in Bangalore airport. The air was cold and I instantly fell in love with the weather. The three of us (me, kavi & malar) checked out from the immigration and headed to the counter to book into a hotel to spend the night. Not being given much of a choice, we checked into Hotel Ramada which was approximately a good 45 minutes drive from the airport. But the drive was really nice with the car windows down and the cool breeze welcoming us to Bangalore, India. Below are photographs of us at Hotel Ramada in Bangalore.
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| Me, Kavi & Malar at Hotel Ramada's Coffee House | | | |
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| Me & Kavi at Ramada Hotel Lobby |
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We checked into Ramada Hotel for a whooping RM360. The hotel was comfortable, yes but not up to our standards of a 4 star hotel. All three of us knocked off due to tiredness. We woke up about 8am, had breakfast and stepped out of the hotel to enjoy the cool breeze. The first discovery - just opposite our hotel was an Amman temple. Since we were waiting for the driver to arrive to ferry us to Puttarparthi and we had about half hour to spend, we crossed the street and went to the temple. Apart from the stares from the locals which says "hey, you! you are not from around ere", the streets were also a big challenge as card and 'autos' just refuse to slow down or stop for us to cross, despite the fact we were at a zebra crossing. Carefully making our way across the street, we reached the temple. The first miracle - as we stepped foot in the temple, the bells rang out loud and the pooja began. It was like Amman herself was waiting to welcome us. We stepped in with jeans & t-shirt and got the welcoming stares from locals again, which to be honest, did not bother us much. After praying and taking the 'prasadham' from the priest, we left the temple back to the hotel. About 5 minutes later, our driver arrived to ferry us to Puttarparthy - a land where each blade of grass spell divinity.
