Press Familiarization Trip to Abu Dhabi and India
Sponsored and hosted by

Etihad Airways, and India Tourism Toronto
Nov 17 – Dec 01, 2006
 

Again to the airport and our Indian Airlines flight to Bangalore – we were picked up and taken to our hotel The Leela Palace Kempinski. Same ownership as the Emirates Palace so you knew there would be great things here. The garland was jasmine and rosebuds, which smelled heavenly. The gardens surrounding the hotel were beautiful so I took a quick hop over to see what they looked like before going into the hotel. That orchid looking flower is the Golden Bauhinia which I first saw in Hong Kong. They planted 65,000 of these trees so it was nice to see them here as well. Bangalore just a couple of weeks prior to us being here became the latest Indian city to change its name – it is now known as Bengaluru. Bangalore is first mentioned in 890 AD and in 1120 became Bangalore. It is known now as the city of technology and medical transcription. We didn’t even see our rooms as we turned right around after having a delicious lunch and headed back out for a tour of the city. A beautiful picture of the State Parliament Building on our way to the oldest part of the city and then to the Bull Temple. Right next to the Bull Temple there was a park and hanging in the trees were hundreds of bats. This park also had a tower that used to be a lookout post, built in 1537. Then it was on to Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, which was a very serene and cool place to walk and just enjoy the fresh air and quiet. As you can see, some of these trees were awesome in size, and some had bark that you would not want to rub against. Then there were the monkeys…they called them bonnet monkey. The glasshouse was a big open area where they could hold meetings or concerts. There was a wonderful little garden center here as well that I could have wandered about, but time was running out so could only take a few photos…I did see some great looking poinsettias though. Back to the hotel and now I got to see my room. We were on the Club floor – very posh. When you set a wake up call they bring you coffee so you don’t have to make anything. The extras really do make a hotel special and this one was one of the best! We had a bit of a tour before having dinner then it was off to bed…aah to sleep! The next morning after breakfast we were on our way again – this time out to Mysore by road to see the Palace, some temples and ride an elephant! On the way out we stopped at a place that makes a special kind of sugar used in making coffee. My coffee was always very hot and sweet and even though I don’t take sugar in it, I got used to it here. It’s called jaggery. We got to see it made from beginning to end and it was quite the treat to watch them watching us as we walked around. Riding an elephant was quite the experience..a gentle and slow going creature. The monkeys at the temple were having a taste of western food. I could not help myself, I had to take a picture. Out in the country it is beautiful…clean and green. Fields of sugar cane and rice. As you can see we were beat by the time the day was over and used the time back to Bangalore on the bus to sleep.