In Bangalore, either you should ‘drink’ or you should ’swim’. Otherwise, spending time is tough. (OK – somebody says that you could bowl or just visit malls!)
When we had my wife’s nephews with us, we did not know what to do. Since we do not ‘drink’ (and do not believe in making the young boys drink), taking them to a swimming pool was the next choice. How about Country Club, Yelahanka? Good choice.
But there was a hitch.
The father of one of the boys had a whiff of our plan and called us to say that the boy should not be allowed to swim – since he had been having problems in the past immediately after swimming.
My wife came to the rescue. She had a paper clip from the past which talked of the Lumbini Gardens, near the Hebbal flyover (in Bangalore). A quick look at the internet (http://www.lumbinigardens.com) fixed the plan. The nearness gave me the confidence to drive the car myself -rather than asking my driver to come on a Sunday.
The gardens are located conveniently within the City Limits and have several activities near and on the Nagavara lake. (Of course, the very interesting activities – judged by the name – like a bull ride, skiing etc. were out of order). We had a fantastic time. Apart from the boat and pedal-boat facilities there are ‘bungi’ jumps, wall climbing, cricket and rides. Of course, swimming pool with periodic waves too. The rates are reasonable (apart from one time entry fee of Rs 30 per head, each event is priced from Rs 10 through Rs 30. Swimming would cost Rs 70). The eating places and ice creams also offer reasonable prices. (Of course, you cannot bring your eatables inside. The logic beats me. May be, the organizers are scared that the visitors may just spread a sheet and start eating! But, fortunately, water is exempted, though the drinking water is available free inside. It is a different unfortunate story that I spent Rs 90 on water without knowing about this!)
So, what is the dark lining in the silver clouds? Parking. It is free – but the crowd is so much. When we went around 1PM, parking was not a big deal. But when we returned around 5, oh…oh…the place was full of wheels. They were parked on both sides and the cars were allowed to go in between both ways too. With a lot sweating, I managed to get the car to the main road and headed home.
Strong recommendation from me.
Tags: boating, entertainment, visit
