bangalore – Laurens Traveling

It’s been too long.

I feel exactly the same, yet everything is different.
Here I am again, 10660 meters above ground, in an airplane fulfilling its purpose of taking us all to Bangalore.

The last time I was floating here, it was 2016.
And I can’t believe I’m typing these words in the year humans call 2023.
The most lovely love of a woman in the seat next to me.
7 years since I’ve seen my dear friend Danish, and 1 day to seeing him.

In the airport we already got a sneak peak of the Indian chaos.
The boarding line was long,
and moved from one side
to another,
and back to the first side,
and back to the second.

Yet here we are, floating, in a clear direction, and it truly feels like going home again.

So much has happened, yet I see the world through the same eyes.
Albeit with more experiences, more memories, more lessons learned and a different perspective on today and tomorrow.

I am so excited to bathe in lush Indian craziness again.
To be thrown in the beautiful, colorful chaos.
The richness of the vibe in the air,
the adventure movie superhero embodiment feeling,
the spirituality which is everywhere yet unnameable.

Although these are expectations, and they are based on the past.
On a distant memory of the land that left a permanent impression on me.

Time to let that go, and experience it all today.
Eyes open, brakes loose. Let’s go!

My face in a park in the midst of the city - look how green — My face in a park in the midst of the city – look how green

Hopping in a friends taxi to drop me off at the bus station that would drive me to the airport, was the ‘plan’.
The taxi didn’t know where the bus stop was, the tuk-tuk driver after that dropped me off somewhere quite randomly.
But I found an ‘airport taxi’ and got here 1.5 hours earlier than expected, for a very good taxi price of 400rs. He was hoping to pick up more passengers on the way but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

So here I am, 15:00 at the airport, and the flight that was supposed to leaveat 18:40 is delayed by 2 hours. So I have a nice 3 hours of time to kill before checkin =D

At least I’m well in time.

I had an awesome stay in Bangalore, very much unlike my previous big Indian city experiences.
The thing that stood out maybe the most was the amount of trees and green in Bangalore.

Botanical garden in the midst of a busy city

Today I also visited Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh (a botanical garden).
Those places were truly amazing, midst of the busy traffic and horning, some huge grass fields with massive trees and their boughs shadowing the pathways.
It was such a relaxing experience, to be amongst the green, the horns merely a vague whisper in the background.

Then my Ishanian friend took me to the greatest Masala Dosa place known to men kind.
Seriously, we all (the 4 of us by now) didn’t have breakfast or had a very small one, and were so hungry, we just kept the Dosa’s coming.
Another one, more tea, more dosa’s, more coffee. It was a huge feast.
The deliciousness of the dish seemed to only increase, and in the end the 4 of us were fully stuffed and our tongues were almost dissolved from the unbearable deliciousness of the tastes. We payed a grand total of 400 rupees… The equivalent of a 1 person bread + raw vegetables in Belgium, after which you’re potentially still kind of hungry.

Anyone in Bangalore, get to Malleshwaram, near 9th or 10th cross, and find the restaurant called Shri Sagar. Seriously.

Tag: bangalore

7 years later, in an airplane to Bangalore

@Bangalore Airport