This is our last day in Bangalore and it's been quite a change of pace from the hot, lazy beaches of Goa. The city is situated on the Mysore Plateau and is known as the 'Garden City of India' due to the pleasant climate, which is said to be getting hotter each year. Unfortunately, we have experienced only cloudy days, rainstorms and even flash flooding (September, October and August are the wettest months, in that order). We have found our way around the city pretty easily, with most people having a smattering, if not good command of English. The city has the 2nd highest literacy rate in India and is home to some of the finest colleges and research institutions in the country. Prestigious aerospace, software and telecommunications companies are also based here - this seems in contrast to the lack of communication from various institutions! (The Chamber of Commerce and several trade associations have been surprisingly uncommunicative and I have not managed to arrange meetings with any of them despite numerous e-mails and phone calls! This has not surprised various contacts here and seems to be quite normal!)

We have been advised to leave our hotel at 10am to catch our 2pm flight back to Goa. This seems surprisingly early, but major delays on the roads at this time of day are quite common. India's 'Silicon Valley' is constructing a rapid transport system, but this elevated and underground network will not be ready until 2011, so it's a taxi ride to the airport  instead. Bangalore is now served by many domestic airlines, such as DeccanAir, Kingfisher (they of the beer fame!) and Jet, which has caused further congestion problems. Security checks are becoming much more stringent and queues form at the entrance to the airport, as all hold luggage is scanned and secured with tape. We get through security surprisingly quickly - most Indian airports check tickets for departure times before even allowing travellers inside, thus controlling numbers, but creating long queues in the process! The airport itself is small, with the few shops selling silk ties and pearl necklaces. As usual, the airline staff are very friendly, especially considering a power cut has caused their computers to go down and check-in has to be done manually, with hand-written boarding cards! Hand-luggage is checked at Immigration Control and we leave on time for our 45 minute flight back to the sun!

We have found our trip to Bangalore interesting and highly productive and both companies that we have dealt with have been extremely courteous and helpful. I hope this blog has been of interest to like-minded travellers/designers on sourcing trips.

Fiona,

Fiona Thomson Design

Apsara Silks

www.apsarasilks.in

Chaitra Prints