On the way back to the hostel last night, I bought some decent muesli and soya milk. I had this for breakfast and got talking to a Swiss woman who’d been travelling for over a year. She was eating dragon fruit and let me taste some. I was expecting it to be tangy, but it was quite bland with what looked like chia seeds added.
We had a wide-ranging conversation. There were some places we’d both been to: Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka. She told me about her travels in SE Asia and India. She recommended going to Auroville when I went to Puducherry. She was now looking forward to returning home to Geneva.
After breakfast, I went to Lalbagh Botanical Garden. It was a very hot day. I’d planned on getting there early. However, the breakfast chat meant that I got there about 12. This was still early by recent standards.
Lalbagh Botanical Garden is one of the world’s largest, spanning 240 acres and enclosed by a 4.5 km wall. Established in 1760 by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan as a 40-acre royal garden, it was later expanded by the British (1856) and further enlarged under Dr MH Marigowda. The Garden houses rare plant species from around the world, including the massive silk cotton tree. Key attractions include the iconic Glass House and historic landmarks. Lalbagh is next to a 16th-century watchtower built by Kempegowda, the founder of Bangalore.
The park had many interesting trees, including a white cotton tree and what looked like a Banyan tree. There was a lake with a waterfall. The waterfall, alas, was missing in action.
The white cotton tree was stunning. These deciduous trees grow to 25-30m. The buttressed trunk was impressive. White silk cotton sticks obtained from the fruits of the tree are used for making pillows and beds. The soft wood is very light. It’s used for making match splints and packing cases. This tree is about 200 years old.
I met a Bangalore resident. He told me how it had become progressively warmer over the past ten years. Fans at home, when he was growing up, were not widely installed. It never got warm enough. Now fans and, for the wealthy, air-conditioning were common. He recommended some places to visit in India.
There were various signs around the park, including these:
- We also have life, do not touch and hurt
- Beware of snakes in bushes, grown up lawns and holes
- Don’t gather
Although I’d taken plenty of breaks, I was fairly ground down by the heat after a few hours. I took the metro to Starbucks again and wrote my blog and read.
On the way back, I used the Zomato app to order an evening meal from Simplifry.
