601, 600, 599, 598, 597

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From www.pexels.com
Returned from Bangalore and it was a really good trip.

1. Got a superb haircut. Went to Mirror and You at UB City on a whim. A lady called Neelima cut my hair. She worked in Kit and Sam in Bombay earlier and is very very good and very very swift. Was in an out of the parlor in under 30 minutes...and this includes hair wash.

2. Took the metro. It's so great and convenient and cheap - considering the autofares and cab fares in Bangalore.

3. Ate seriously good food.

4. Had lots to drink. Toit on Indranagar brews its own beer and I tried something called the Tintin which was excellent and a variety brewed from Basmati rice - which was awesome. (I just heard that they're opening in Pune and Bombay, which is something I will very closely watch out for.) The Long Island Iced Tea at Lemon Tree topped up with Jasmine tea instead of Cola is lovely!

5. Church Street, Brigade Road, and MG Road - in that order - feel like Christmas. You walk down one of those small lanes and all the coffee shops are blaring music. They are cheery places, all in all.

6. Blossoms from where I got an armful of Barbara Cartland for a friend. She's also written a cookbook!

7. Very smart black skirt - it has pockets and a brown braided belt. And a cream top with a beaded pattern and slouchy shoulders. I got these from Chemistry opposite UB City.

8. Wisdom. I was really sad for a few days when I reached Bangalore and my pal's leaves got canceled. I was supposed to hang out with her but in any case, I generally roamed about and it just seemed very acute to me that I was by myself. With no way out. It just felt that I was invisible and irrelevant. What did I matter and what did my opinion or my feelings or anything matter? It was making me all weepy and stuff. So I used to look forward to traveling for long distances by bus - where I'd be tending to a really tender wounded heart in the comfortable anonymity that a big city allows. But I did get some time with my pals - some real quality time. Either before they got to work or during an evening when we were waiting for our dishes to arrive. It helped me. A lot.

9. Thalasserie, a Kerala joint, makes superb pepper fry. I wish I'd had more food there.

10. Lalbaugh - magical and mysterious and just very inspiring.

11. Have come back with a plan to return.





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