Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Hey everyone! We have been flying all around the country and having a blast. When we were in Bengaluru we met with a bunch of my dad's side of the family. Because so we had a limited amount of time but wanted to see everyone, my mom and Divya set up a huge luncheon. There were over thirty people who came, ate and caught up over the course of the afternoon. It was really wonderful to see so many cousins/aunts/uncles after many years as well as meet some relatives for the first time!

While in Bengaluru we made a trip to the hospital to visit my great aunt. She was looking well and was discharged the following day. She is almost ninety years old and couldn't be more hilarious and quick witted. She was quite taken up with Ryan and whispered something to him that he still won't tell us!

The next day we went to the UB Mall, located within UB City. "UB" stands for "United Breweries", created by Vijay Mallya. He is the chairman for Kingfisher beer as well as creator of Kingfisher airlines. The mall was done in a style very similar to Ceasar's in Vegas and was chock full of high end stores like Versace and Jimmy Choo.

Needless to say that window shopping was all we could afford. We did, however, have lunch on the terrace area of the mall. The restaurant was called "Rajdhani" and served food in typical Rajistani fashion. It was an all-you-can eat meal; the waiters walked around filling up any cup/dish/open space on our plates until we were bursting at the seams!

Afterwards Divya, Ryan, my mom and myself all had a quick drink in another nearby restaurant, "Shiro". As soon as we entered we were greeted by high ceilings lined with bamboo and a strikingly serene statue. We were told that we were't allowed to take pictures so here is an undercover shot Ryan got (you can also find professional pictures online "Shiro UB Mall"):

To cap off our outing, Divya took us to her favorite hangout, a charming tea joint called "Infinitea". We each were given a little pot of our tea of choice and and an hourglass/sandtimer to make sure our tea was perfectly brewed. While waiting we shared some potstickers.

Though we were moving non-stop, I've only shared a few highlights of our time in Bengaluru - we still have to save a few stories to tell you all in person! :-) We were very lucky to be able to spend time and share meals with so many warm, hospitable people. More stories and pictures to come!