Bengaluru after ages

I had to make a trip to Bannerghatta to drop off my documents for the visa. It took me half a day to get there and come back home. In the process, I took all the forms of transportation Bengaluru had to offer - ridesharing taxi, auto rickshaw, the metro train, and bus. Started at 8 15 or so from Vidyaranyapura in an Ola cab, and reached Gopalan Mall in Bannerghatta at 9 37 am. Cost me 812 ruppees. The drop off itself was smooth. I was out by 10 15 am. Used an auto to get to the Jayanagar metro station around 10 20 am. The metro took me to Sandal Soap Factory station. The 401 RC bus took me to where I started, and I reached home at 11 57 am. 1.5 hours via public transport versus 1.2 hours via taxi. I would say that's a public transport win. Also at 140 rupees, cheaper. This is my first time on a bus in Bengaluru in over 10 years. The bus was as old as ever, with some updates to how one is ticketed. There seems to be an app now. The bus had a few QR codes plastered for validating a pass or ticket. I found it interesting to see many people having wireless ear pods, many the non-Apple kind. There's constant construction everywhere. I saw many, many tall apartment complexes - Prestige, Sattva, Brigade etc. Lone behemoths in a sea of small buildings. I had forgotten how green this place is. Lots of Copperpods and Gulmohars. Banyans. Parks. Still standing after all these years, unlike the Hyderabad I grew up in. The pollution is a constant. After a few hours on the road, my nose developed an irritation that lasted the whole day.