Another favorite spot of the locals is Nandi Hills.
[pause: I am having deja vu while writing this as if I’ve written it before. I can picture/ hear some of how I describe this little trip. It’s either because I’ve already written about it and lost the draft or I am losing my mind. After writing my Happy in Hampi post, I went to my drafts and saw that I started that post a couple of months ago. I’m very behind.]
Nandi Hills is a couple hours north (still, Bengaluru) and the idea is that you go early early in the morning to catch the sunrise/ fog. It gets really busy on the weekends so the trick is to go during the week. But who can wake up at 3:30 am to drive two hours north for sunrise when they have to work a full day?! The week of July 4th was perfect for me. The office was closed for summer break but I opted to work so that I could use those 5 days for PTO when I needed it. So on Tuesday morning, Mallappa picked me up and we drove to Nandi Hills. I slept the entire way, sooooo tired having just gotten back from Hampi.
It was a Tuesday morning at 5 am and there were thousands of people driving up the hill, all going to do the same hike.
It was wet and foggy out. Super cozy, super fall, and a bit eery. The area is built out so there was a nice wide sidewalk, stairs, railings, and “tree houses” tucked back in the forest for views from above.
At the top, the side of the hill was just a huuuuuuuuge rock. We sat and stared into the white. After a couple of minutes, I’d seen all I needed to see.
[It’s really become clear to me that I am too uptight and anxious to enjoy life like life is enjoyed in India. Slow walkers need to get out of my way, meetings and events should start and end on time, eating lunch during the work week is a waste of good work time, and can somebody please provide an agenda – I need to know what’s next and when to be there. It’s a self-imposed, stress-inducing belief system. All that to say, I am not great at just… hanging out or sitting around.]
The fog was cool but I’ve seen fog before and I was eager to get back to the Grand Mercure to sleep a little before working. I desperately tried to keep my eyes open on the way back but my eyes were tooooo heavy.
I think this was my first (only???) “I really didn’t need to do that” experience. But no regrats. 😉
Emily in India 
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