Working in Bangalore and Singapore

I recently spent some time in Bangalore and Singapore on a work trip during the London winter. Its always good to travel to warmer countries during this time and Bangalore and Singapore were perfect for that.

Bangalore

I haven't been to Bangalore much even though I have heard a lot about the city for long, as a lot of my college friends went there on their first jobs. Since then, I've had a fascination for the city, always. Also, I hadn't visited India for some time, so on this trip both factors made me enjoy my time there a lot, even if it was short.

A view of Bangalore

The first thing I noticed about Bangalore was that it is so green. And when you drive around, you can imagine how beautiful it must have looked years ago. With the old stone buildings, small rock hills, all its green gardens and the lakes. But not much of it remains in the same form now. And what takes over is the negatives, the biggest of which is the traffic - with so many small roads and so many cars, its too much! There is dust everywhere and sound of horns in every direction. Going from anywhere to anywhere takes at least an hour, irrespective of the distance. Most of the buildings seem old and dusty. Also, from the top, it doesn't look that there are as many high rises in the city as you would think. There are small pockets which have high rises and the rest are quite normal.

The drive to the hotel made me very nostalgic. I passed by some iconic names and places which I remembered from my last trip to the city - especially DRDO offices. Also seeing all the billboards, names of schools, shops and so on, I just had that rushing feeling of being back in 'my' country. Its a feeling which never leaves you, irrespective of how long you have stayed outside your country.

View from the balcony

I was staying at the Ritz Carlton hotel and it was amazing. Being at a luxury place in your own country feels very different than being abroad. The service was top-notch, with the whole staff taking care of you as if you are royalty. And I must say, the suites in the hotel were outstanding (and quite reasonably priced too). The views from the hotel were beautiful, a panoramic view of the city till wherever the eyes could see. It looked so green from the top. Also, it had many different coloured flowering trees everywhere. Apparently, different coloured flowers bloom in the city at different times of the year - purple, yellow, orange and so on.

Art at the Ritz

The art in the hotel was also something worth talking about. Here are a few photos of some of the pieces. The hotel prides itself on the art collection and it was very clearly visible. And the Indian food, whether room service or on the terrace restaurant are worth dying for, especially the dal makhani, yum... A definite recommend from me.

Art at the Ritz

I spent a Saturday in the city and was amazed by the number of restaurants all around. And ta lot of them were open air terrace restaurants, so those were my preferred ones during my stay. On the weekend, I went to Brigade estate for dinner which seemed like a nice community, with malls, restaurants, offices, lakes and residential flats within the same complex. Living in India is so much more luxurious than London. On top of that, the weather was pleasant, the food was great and the service perfect. I really enjoyed the time I spent there on the weekend, especially the weather. And it was quite the opposite to my next weekend in Singapore.

I loved my short stay in Bangalore, especially the pleasant weather. It was so cool the entire time, its the perfect place to stay. Ola and Uber is everywhere, so its easy to get everywhere. And its quite a green city. People also seem chill, and there is an entrepreneurial feel all around. Most things about Bangalore are superlative, except of course the traffic which is the bane of the city. That's why most people prefer to stay near their place of work and places like Brigade estate are popular. But overall, loved my short time there and would like to go back there again soon.



Singapore

Ive been to Singapore a couple of times and this time I spent about three weeks there on work. To be honest, it feels almost the same as it was more than ten years ago that I had first visited the city. Its all about malls, shopping, restaurants, high rises and completely man-made living. There is very less vibrancy and liveliness underneath what you see and that hasn't changed yet.

View from the St Regis

I again stayed at the St Regis and the hotel surely is amazing. Great service and a magnificent view of a green Singapore which you never see from the street. It felt very refreshing every morning. Most of my time was spent between the hotel and office. And it was as usual efficient. I did spend one weekend there which was mostly about meeting friends and also exploring a little bit more than what I had done earlier.

Little India Diwali decorations

This time again, I went to Little India twice for meals at Kailash Parbat (which is awesome btw) and once for a movie. It had decorations for Diwali this time, as the last time - again nothing has changed since then. And then I went to Arab street which was a nice experience, sitting outside and eating spicy food. We also walked around there a bit and could sense the Arab influence everywhere. And of course I visited Dempsey Hill a couple of times for meals, always a good place to go.

Marina lighted at night

The Marina Sands hotel is a big part of the city. It has spas restaurants, hotels, shopping and just about anything else tourists would be looking for. In terms of restaurants, a good find this time was the Punjab Grill at the Sands which had very tasty food. And I saw a fountain show outside the Marina at night which was very impressive.

Bridge near Robertson Quay

The three new places I visited this time were the Pebbles Bay island where I visited a friend, Robertson Quay and the Botanical gardens. Pebbles Bay looks like a nice place to live, high rises with a view of the river and a long line of restaurants right across which are a nice place to sit and chill in the outside. And I liked Robertson Quay which was again located next to the river and had a few nice brunch places. I walked there during the day and enjoyed the calm and quiet there. The outside seating places in Singapore are definitely much better than the crowded mall type restaurants.

Botanical gardens

One of the evenings, I walked to the botanical gardens from the hotel as it was very close. Its a nice park in the middle of the city, with plants from all over the world and lot of landscaping done to make it look interesting. There is also an orchid garden which was closed that time but seemed promising for another time. I liked the gardens, its a nice place to walk and when you want to be away from the noise of the city. Have noted it down for the next time definitely.

The weather overall was too hot and humid, around 30 degrees max. It was always like that and there was no respite from the heat at all. We did have thunderstorms everyday though but don't think they did much to reduce the temperatures much. On the other hand it was extremely freezing inside, whether in the office or the malls. It was a bit of a downer as we would have liked to enjoy the warmer Singapore temperatures given we were trying to avoide the London winters.

Overall, the food was too expensive. The city has become a lot more expensive in the last few years. Its very very convenient though, especially the taxis and it is totally safe. There is also a lot of greenery in any of the free spaces. Even on bridges and under them, there is vegetation growing to increase the greenness around. But something is still lacking. And I noticed it even in the people - the locals don't smile much. I think the city really needs some life, something more real than what it has.