Karnataka

Our third Indian state…and very different again to Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Our introduction to Karnataka was Bangalore- so we didn’t expect it to be representative of the rest of the state. 15 million or so people in one little space surely can’t provide an overview of a land mass covering over 190 000 sq km?

Leaving Bangalore, it took us a good couple of hours to leave the manic traffic behind…but right up until our next town for the night, Tumaruku (or Tumkur…we’re never quite sure which versions are right!) the traffic remained relentless.

The highways here are something to be seen to be believed. There is construction on a vast scale, everywhere. Our recent days alternated between huge six lane, often raised highways, under construction sections more akin to a giant skate park and the old road, this being narrow and in disrepair and busy. We noticed many of the motor bikes taking the new unfinished highway sections, ignoring the diversion signs and slipping through the gaps in the barriers, so we followed suit… lovely smooth roads with no cars or trucks.

Even the food is different in Karnataka. As we head gradually north, there are noticeably more pure vegetarian eateries. We’re picking up the names of the main dishes and the dosas and biryanis have become the staple, with plenty of veg curries in the mix! My favourite so far is the Aloo Gobi Masala…google it.

No roadside omelets or samosas. Most of the roadside “Dhabas”- restaurants or truck stops, are so unappealing that we generally go hungry a bit longer rather than risk them… but we do come across reasonable places eventually.

Often they have only one option…so that makes the choice easy…
This one was a Chapati Meal (and there’s rice hiding under the chapati). For the grand price of $1.80 including a bottle of coke!

Most towns have at least one “Bakery” featuring a wide array of sweet treats and sometimes vadas, a deep fried savoury donut.

We’ve also noticed that unlike Kerala and Tamil Nadu a lot of people in Karnataka eat with cutlery (we don’t feel so out of place!!). Not sure whether it’s a wealth thing or what…and will be interesting to see whether the trend continues as we travel further.

Accommodation for the night has varied widely across the state… and has cost us between $12 and $50. The smaller towns offer plenty of lodging options but it can be tricky finding somewhere that doesn’t look too grim. Mostly the rooms end up being quite fine- we should stop letting ourselves be deceived by the ghastly exterior of some of the buildings! We have noticed a distinct lack of opening windows in much of the accommodation in India and it’s nice when we find one that has a bit of space…or a kettle to make a cuppa!

One of our cheaper ones was a quite nice, modern looking (and cheap!) room in Kadur, where the guy on the desk made a big point of telling us how wonderful the hot water was. Great! That’s a plus… looked forward to a steaming hot shower only to find that there wasn’t a shower at all, just a hot water tap (and holes in the wall where there may have once been a shower…). Went and queried the lack of shower but apparently NONE of the rooms had showers. Ah well. When in Rome. Or India…

Last stop in Karnataka before we aim for the coast was the “famous” Jog Falls- Massive and high waterfalls, very beatiful but also unfortunately very fogged in! But a lovely and quiet area to spend a night 🙂