A Different City Guide – Bangalore or Bengaluru

Since the 3 of us live in 3 three different cities, we thought if would be fun write about what our favorite things about it are. I’ll start it off with mine – Bangalore. I moved here from Calcutta about 15 years ago to go to engineering college, and by now it pretty much feels become home. Its known for many things, and one of the most identifiable would definitely be the IT industry. It is India’s version of Silicon Valley and home to some of the countries brightest minds. Its also called the beer capital of the\n country, the garden city and I believe used to be known as the most preferred state for people to retire in. So chances of you meeting retired techies chugging beer while sitting in their gardens are probably very high in Bangalore.

Now I’d love to talk about about all the culture and old world charm of the city, and the city is filled to the brim with it. But to be honest the fact that every time you turn a corner here there’s an exciting new startup filled with people chugging coffee and ready to take on the world is one of the reasons I never want to leave. It the technology hub of the country and its exciting!

Ok so now on to some questions about the city:

What is my favorite part of the city?

I know how else to describe it other that saying that it is just the whole vibe of the city. It’s just so chilled out. I’ve been to most states in India, and no other place really is like this. Its overflowing with IT companies but its manages to remain so very chill and laid back. If Bangalore had a spirit animal it’d probably be drinking beer in Pico’s right now.

My favorite building

Its not technically a building, its a park. It does have a gorgeous red building in though. Its Cubbon Park. Its this huge sprawling park in the centre of the city. Its filled with really old interesting trees, and is a favorite for picnics, impromptu street performances and even open air yoga classes. There a reason why most of my OOTD posts are shot in or around Cubbon Park 😀

Favorite cafe/restaurant/coffee shop

Well this changes all the time, but right now my favorite cafe/coffee shop is the Third Wave Coffee Roasters. Their cold brew coffee called Cold Fashioned (how awesome is that name!) and the Shakshuka are my go to. There are really cool new restaurants opening literally everyday and we inevitably always end up trying a new place, but for old time’s sake I would say Ebony – the food is great and the view of the city from the 13th floor is a treat.

Also special mention : You can’t come to Bangalore and not got to a pub or a brewery! Our regulars are Socials (Koramangla) and Toit – for beer.

What is a typical outfit for the city

Well its a good mix really, you can pretty much dress any way you want. But overall people are very laid back and dress very comfortably. A lot of cotton, kurtas, comfortable fits and shoes, nothing flashy usually. Its what I call FabIndia dressing 😀

Recommend a day out in the city for a tourist

Well this is a little difficult because I’m asked this question constantly and have yet to come up with a good answer. So I will just say what I would do. I’d start the day with a proper South Indian breakfast, at any Sagar Idly/Dosa joint. Then head to Cubbon Park, sit, read walk around and then walk to MG Road. This is somewhere every visitor is always recommended to go, it has a lot of shops, restaurants, great for walking around, window shopping etc. I would recommend you go during the day if going at all. While there head to Samarkand for lunch and then ice cream at Corner House! This is not to be missed. Everything on their menu is amazing really. Then I’d go to Commercial Street from there to shop and once done head to a pub, or better still do a round of good old pub hopping!

Now I totally get this is not a great ‘tourist guide’ and if you follow this you haven’t really seen anything that touristy, but you would’ve had good food and a lot of fun! 😀

-Sat