After spending a few days taking it easy in Hampi it was back to Hospet, and then an overnight sleeper bus to Bangalore. The trip was only something like 300 km, but took 10 hours because the roads are in such poor condition. Sleeping wasn’t much of an option; the bus bounced around so much that I had to hold the hand rail on the top bunk for dear life.

Upon arrival in Bangalore, we decided to splurge a little so we shelled out for one night in a swank serviced apartment (which in reality looked like any generic Shanghai hi-rise flat) that had hot water and wifi(!). After grabbing a few hours sleep, we walked to MG Road (every major city in India has an MG or Mahatma Gandhi Road) and explored the downtown area.

Bangalore is India’s IT capital and is much more prosperous and modern than any of the other places we’ve visited so far, and also much more expensive. Walking through the central area felt like being in a western city.

For dinner, we checked out a Japanese owned and managed restaurant, but it was overpriced and the food wasn’t that great. It did however have ice cold Asahi beer that made up for it. The further we travel in India, the harder it seems to find alcohol; restaurants that serve meat are also becoming few and far between. In Hampi, alcohol and meat were banned (although available to foreigners in some establishments, if consumed discreetly), so it was nice to have a cold one after a week of drought.