Pam settles in to our pleasant suite at the St. Marks hotel.
We have a corner suite on the top floor of the St. Marks hotel. We have a good, if unremarkable, view up St. Marks street.
Looking east from our hotel room; some nice trees in the foreground.
We walked over to Cubbin Park, the largest park inside the city and maybe 10 blocks from our hotel. We saw only a part of this huge park; this section was pleasantly landscaped while other sections were scattered trees, overly long grass, and ad hoc paths worn by people walking through the park.
Some of the gardens within Cubbin Park.
We didn't get to see any interesting birds, though we heard a few.
Inside Cubbin Park was the "Children's Museum", which appeared to be a large outdoor facility with playgrounds, some fair-like rides, and this fun little train. Being Saturday, we saw lots of families out to enjoy the park.
The park was full of families and couples out for a stroll. We were the only westerners I saw in the whole park. I took some surreptitious photos, like this one.
There were lots of street vendors, even in the park. This vendor had a noisy engine chugging away squeezing the juice from sugar canes. Others offered what appeared to be puffed rice and peanuts.
Even for a Saturday the traffic is horrendous. Here the traffic waits for the stoplight on MG Road, one of the main drags. There are lots and lots of the "autorickshaws", tiny three-wheeled vehicles with yellow roofs that serve as cabs, and lots of small motorbikes. Everyone uses their horn constantly.
We passed an aquarium at the park, which may be interesting, but appeared closed.
We saw very few westerners -- perhaps only 4 or 5 -- during our three-hour walk around this touristy part of the city. The shopping district included plenty of good food :-)
So many street hawkers. We stick out as tourists, so they would follow us down the street. This fellow is about to pounce; he has a toy wooden snake and some neat travel-size chess sets made of wood.
An overview of one of the shopping streets.
Inside one of the malls along the shopping street. The contrast between the luxurious shops and the streets -- with crumbling sidewalks, beggars, and trash -- is striking.