We had about 8 hours in Bangalore arriving on the morning train which got us in at 6am. We were tired, dirty and a bit bored of travelling. We had to back on a train in a matter of hours and neither of us had been well in the previous 24. Leaving our bags at the station we asked the taxi driver to take us to the most famous road in Bangalore; Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road. This is a street lined with western businesses from banks to software companies, call centres and electronic manufactures. This is where we'd find what we needed. One of the best hotels in Bangalore and their buffet breakfast.
After spending more on breakfast each than we had together on a nights accommodation in Hampi we guiltily headed back out on the streets. Rush hour was in full swing and the madness of Bangalore had come to life. It was great. Nosy, chaotic, big - everything that a city should be. We walked from MG Road through the wealthy westernised district with ever smarter looking office blocks, compounds and schools until we reached the botanical gardens.
A few hours lazing under the Elephant Apple Tree (and posing for a few pictures) we were refreshed and headed for the station for the next leg of the journey.
After the dizzying affluence of Bangalore it could be easy to forget the other darker side of a big city like this. Back at the station as we sat on the steps waiting for our train two men came and picked up a person lying under a blanket behind us. We watched as they carried the bodies dead weight down the steps putting it on to a stretcher and pulling the blanket back over their head. The body had thin legs and their flip flops had been left behind on the station floor. They seemed to have no other possessions. Neither of us quite knew what to say.
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