BANGALORE

Known as India’s Silicon Valley, Bangalore is the center of India’s software and call- center industries (if you call a 1800 number and are connected to someone with an Indian accent, that individual is most likely sitting in Bangalore).  It is also a “progressive” city, in that you’ll see trendy bars and clubs, glitzy malls, and couples holding hands in public.  At 2500 feet elevation, Bangalore also has no mosquitoes and a bearable temperature, making it a refreshing change from Cochin.

Bangalore unfortunately doesn't offer too many “sights,” but here (left and right) are some photos of the “Bull Temple,” built in the 16th Century.

Keith found time to challenge five near-toddlers to a game of hoops (Billy Madison style), and I opted for an Ayurveda massage (extremely popular here).  If you enjoy lying naked on a hard, cold, oily mat and having your entire body—with a special emphasis on your hair and face— drenched with more cold, foul- smelling oil, then Ayurvedic massage is for you.

When we arrived for our overnight “sleeper” bus to Goa, we were horrified to find that the size of each individual “sleeper” was half of what we anticipated.  Keith and I faced sharing a compartment roughly half the width of a single mattress—for thirteen hours.  I’m not sure if it was even physically possible.   Fortunately, I spotted the staff compartment which, although filthy and only slightly larger than a coffin, was available after I bribed the staff $6.