Returning to India to see the other Taj Mahal

[SeatBackForward]

Thanks for the trip report @NSun My own family's heritage goes back to Karnataka so enjoy seeing reports from South India

but couldn't find J reward seats in the DSC offer

Curious about the above, are you earning DSC on reward seats a PC member?

How are you paying for things like drivers tips?

 

[NSun]

I had a 5.50am train to catch at Aurangabad station that would take me to Mumbai. I tried to order an Uber but there was only one and it cancelled on me. So I had to hail a tuk-tuk and paid 200 rupees having seen it would've been 150 rupees to use Uber. At least I got there and the driver got out of his vehicle to get me change. The station was a lot busier than I thought it would have been.





Yes, there are trains in India that have people that ride along the side. But the train I was on was more like a bullet train. It wasn't quite as fast as the Shinkansen but did go 130km/h at the peak. And some food was included.



A front view of the train at Mumbai.







It was mostly greenery along the way, although it didn't stop raining.

 

[NSun]

Welcome to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus







My hotel was the Sofitel. This was on the other side of the hotel and the check in was not for another couple of hours anyway. So I went on a walk to the Gateway of India.

 

[NSun]

Made it to the Gateway of India. It is a 100-year old monument erected to commemorate George V's coronation.







The nearby hotel was architecturally stunning.



But as you can see, the weather was not.



I then walked to Black Drive and along the waterfront before ordering an Uber to the hotel.

 

[Traveler999]

Then I walked back to the entrance, for one last look at Cave 16.

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By the time I was done it was 11am, I'd spent 3 hours all up. In a word: AMAZING!

I was there 35yrs ago. It staggered me then and your photos remind me to take older me there soon for a second look. When I went there were guys outside shining mirrors inside so you could see murals inside. I was always interested the the British only "discovered" it in the 1870's? as it was highly overgrown

 

[NSun]

OK, let me show you the Sofitel at Mumbai. I managed to get a room for ~A$180 a night, a bargain in my book. It was in an upscale area with high-end apartments, the US embassy, a cricket oval and some office towers.













And the pool. I had it all to myself - except the lifeguard watching me. Unfortunately it was cold so didn't swim for too long.

 

[NSun]

I went for a walk around the neighbourhood and had dinner at a Vietnamese place. Going to Vietnam last year was one of my favourite trips and I am super keen to return and see the north of the country.





It is A$1=55 rupees roughly.





I ordered a chicken dish, I forget which one exactly.



And panna cotta - my favourite.



Then checked out the gym back at the hotel.

 

[NSun]

Fast forward to the next day. I ate breakfast at the buffet. When on the road I treat myself to a couple pastries for breakfast, but still have yogurt and bananas. They served yogurt in pots but ridiculously small ones. At least I had the hall to myself at 6.30am.





I decided to go on a walk a few kilometres to the Phoenix Mall and have lunch there. It was another overcast day with occasional bursts of heavy rain that vanished as fast as they started.







And made it an hours walk later. Then it too another quarter of an hour to be brave enough to try crossing the road.









I stumbled across a pub on the top floor. I ordered a Cosmopolitan and some more butter chicken - delicious.

 

[NSun]

The next day it was back to Bengaluru. I booked an 8.30am flight and went with Indigo again. The terminal was average, but at least food and drink was a lot more reasonably priced compared to Western Airports, even if you still paid a premium compared to what you would on the street. It seems at this terminal it is remote gates with buses all the way. Although I didn't get photos of it, the runway is parallel and there were a lot of airlines departing and taking off including Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and British Airways.



Another Indigo A321 for me - VT-ILO.





Bye Mumbai!







We landed at Terminal 1 which once had been an international terminal, and it showed with a longer walk to the exit. Then caught a bus to T2. Feels a bit like Changi Airport.

 

[NSun]

By now it was 11am and my flight was scheduled for 6.45pm. After the experience the previous Friday, I thought still too short to go into the city in the absence of a trainline (although I heard it is coming soon). It was too long to hang around thought so I tossed up between going to the Nandi Hills or the Devanahalli Fort, and decided on the latter. It cost about $10 in an Uber and took 15 minutes.

This fort was first built in 1501 by the Vijayanagara Empire. It was reconstructed in the late 18th century by the new empire that had taken possession of it. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has declared it to be a protected monument. There's no charge to have a look around - you walk up some steps and then there's a long wall with a handful of semi-circular bastions. There's also the birthplace of Tipu Sultan, the emperor of the Kingdom of Mysore, although I did not get to see it.

For reference, here's the broader Davanahalli area. I had this saved as a picture so I could find my way around without using roaming.

 

[NSun]

Then I walked for an hour or so around the broader area.

 

[NSun]

Time to close out the trip report. I got back to the airport about 2.30pm or so and checked in with no queue. For only the second time with Qantas, I got an escort to and through security to the lounge - the other time was also in India before QF70 from Delhi to Melbourne last year. No queue at security either but got caught out (i.e. secondary search) because I forgot to take my housekeys out of my bag. In India, all metal items need to be removed (i.e. chargers and keys) but had forgotten about my keys and didn't get picked up at any domestic security screenings.

BLR has an incredible terminal that only opened last year.

 

[NSun]

And now the lounge at Bengaluru - the 080 lounge. It was quiet as QF68 was the only flight between 3pm and 8pm or so. My only complaint is the wifi - you had to go to a kiosk to access it with a code and there was a limit that I used up within half an hour and was not warned in advance about.

 

[NSun]

Onto the gate. We had that annoying secondary liquid check that we hear (according to the billboards that are up) happens on all flights to Australia, although the US, UK and New Zealand are seemingly exempt from for some reason. Wouldn't want people sneaking clear bottles of water on board, eh?





VH-EBR tonight. Sat in 7K once more, a mini-cabin with 8 seats. I shared the back cabin with a couple who were coming back from the Olympics stopping over in BLR, and someone who was either just paxxing home or on staff travel (the crew knew this person quite well).









Slept like a baby for the bulk of 8 hours, although got up once to take this pic.





And home.



The end.

 

[VPS]

Interesting - thanks

 

[RooFlyer]

very interesting, TR thanks with some nice detail that I’ll be able to use hopefully for a later trip.

 

[drron]

Thanks for allowing us along for the ride. Hopefully will get to India at the end of next year.

 

[RooFlyer]

Hopefully will get to India at the end of next year.

That sounds promising, drron!

 

[drron]

Probably just a couple of days in Mumbai before getting on a cruise. But working on it.

 

[RB]

It was great to follow along. BLR looks impressive from your photos. Getting ready to go back to India at the end of the month so this was a good entree