18th January
Those who can afford it hire a driver instead of using public transport (incredibly crowded) or driving their own car (complete madness on the roads)
Alistair and Amargits favourite and loyal driver is Babu and he picked us up this morning in his smart 7 seater Toyota. He knows where to buy everything and has the patience of a saint. Amargit is well prepared with a list of shops to attack. There’s a lot of buying to be done. First stop is an outdoor market where there were bargains in clothing and household goods. Fun with haggling. Next stop is the famous Commercial Street. Now if images of Oxford Street or Buchanan Street come to mind let me assure you this hectic shopping area is nothing like that. Bangalore has the worst pavements I’ve seen anywhere, so vigilance is a must to avoid accidents. Crossing roads is a risky business as all manner of vehicles jostle for space against zillions of others. Tiny shops up wooden steps are squeezed in between larger stores. Shopping bags usually have to be handed in to security too. After a few hours Amargit has a few bargains and I’m struggling to find the colour, or style I’d be happy to be seen in! Too many crazy patterns and weird colour combinations….I start to feel dizzy just looking at them. And my ideas of filling up a suitcase with quality cotton and unique T-shirts are fading as I see the strange styles and some prices much dearer than Primark! Lunch break is called for…a thali (mix of spicy curries, rice, soup (fiery hot), pickle, nan bread and chai in Woodies . Cost for two was 400 rupees (6 euros) but the toilet left a lot to be desired…..although it’s better than most!
Ready to get back on the road, our next stop in Brigade Road was to buy a new camera. Now I can start recording all this!
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