Even though my departure today to Bangalore today isn’t till 1520, I left the hotel at 1000. With the monorail/bus, it does take about 1h45 to get to the airport. I’d get there more than 3h prior to the flight which gives me time for free lunch in the lounge 🙂
Check-in should have been speedy with only one family in front of me. But then they had so much luggage which they hadn’t prepaid for adequately. The excess payable was around RM1200 and they only had a Union Pay credit card rather than Visa/Master. Fortunately a new counter opened up; I didn’t get to witness the saga and find out whether there was a sequel.
The 4 hour flight went reasonably quickly. I never thought one would ever see beef served on a flight to/from India but with AirAsia’s preorder system I chose the Ramadhan special of beef rendang with rainbow-coloured rice which was absolutely delicious.
As we descended into Bangalore, the scenery was red earth with chequered green. It looked dry but fertile to my untrained eye.
Arrival formalities were swift at the new Bangalore (or officially Bengaluru) International Airport. Visa-on-arrival is being introduced soon, judging from the signage and a nearly-ready counter.
The taxi to the central city took 1h10. First impressions of the drive in was very unlike the rest of India, with manicured gardens and litter-free streets. This is, I think, my fifth visit to India and I must say it is the first time without the jolt to one’s senses.
Heavy rain started soon after and the edges of the roads were flooded. The traffic built up with construction work for a new flyover. It was less manicured once we got further from the airport but even then, it is less chaotic and a lot tidier than most (or all?) of India.
I grabbed dinner at the Infantry Hotel. With the rain and the 2h30 minute time difference from KL, I didn’t venture out to explore my new environs.