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There are many things that you and the thousands
of visitors like you, can do in Bangalore. The
obvious things are Shopping, Pubbing and Eating
Out. Our shops are tourist-friendly (check the
silks - most of the country’s silk comes from
this city), our pubs are the best in the country
(so is our beer) and we offer a variety of options
for gastronomic pursuit. Check out our extensive
sections on Food and Drink, Travel and tourism,
fashion and beauty, and home.
Yes, Bangalore can make you both fat and
fashionable, but between these delightful
preoccupations, you might simply want to hang out.
What can you do? Here are a few things:
STROLLING
Central Bangalore, (the M G Road, Brigade Road and
Commercial Street area), is a great place in which
to wander, for window-shopping or people watching.
Roadside vendors sell roasted nuts and corn. In
local parlance, this activity is called "time
pass".
MARKETS
There are a few market area, wholesale districts
that make more interesting wandering.
Russel Market: Shivajinagar, 0700-2100 Open daily.
A colonial vegetable and meat market also features
shops around it which sell antiques and bric a
brac.
City Market: The Chickpet area is an old wholesale
bazaar which offers all sorts of shops including
the country’s biggest silk wholesale / retail
district.
BOOK BROWSING
Central Bangalore is home to some of the best
bookshops in the country. (Look under
‘Shopping’ for a list).
STING IN CAFES
This is an old Bangalorean pursuit. Bangalore is
home to the nation’s coffee. The coffeehouses,
like Koshy’s and India CoffeeHouse are still
hang-outs for old Bangaloreans and people like
academics, journalists, writers and poets. You
just might find yourself engaged in a left-of-centre
battle on world politics.
ART GALLERIES
With the boom of the mid-90s, art buying became
fashionable in the city. Several art galleries
showcase the nation’s talent. (See Contents for
list of galleries)
NET SURFING
Apart from silks, beer and coffee (and aerospace
research), Bangalore is the nation’s software
capital. In tribute, are the hundreds of places
that allow you to surf the Net with prices
starting as little as Rs.30/- (0.70˘) for 30
minutes. The Cyber Cafe on Brigade Road is the
swishest of them. (They also serve varieties of
coffee and feature art shows on their walls).
There are smaller places dotted around the area -
some are crummy but serve the purpose. (See
Contents for partial list)
WALKING IN PARKS
Cubbon Park and Lalbagh are delightful lung
spaces. Over the years, the administrators of the
city, notably Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan (19th
century) and more recently, Richard Sankey and
Narasimha Raja Wadiyar, were responsible for
bringing a wide variety of trees to the city.
Their legacy lives in these parks. The parks are
safe, but don't interact with strangers beyond
normal courtesies.
AMUSEMENT ARCADES
Bangalore has a list of video arcades, pool
parlours and bowling alleys. Keep away from
betting in these places. Betting here is illegal
and if you play for wager (against our advice),
watch out for sharks. Newman and Cruise could
learn something from them.
Bangalore By Night
PUBBING
For over a decade, pubs have been Bangalore’s
biggest draw. The draught beer is excellent. (Look
under ‘Drinking’). Some pubs offer pub
lunches.
DISCOS
Hanging out includes discos. The police have been
harsh on discos recently but some manage to
survive. The crowd is young and hep and the music
is new and loud.
ALTERNATE ENTERTAINMENT
There is no "red-light" district in the
city. Prostitution exists but under the surface.
We have no idea where you might find Bangalore’s
many male and female ‘escorts’ but apparently
there are people who will provide this information
if you asked around. There are a few places in
Central Bangalore that feature bands. The
performers are beautiful young ladies who sing
Hindi film tunes.
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