Henna Haggling in Bangalore

I have had a few experiences in Bangalore. The best was a bath at the Hotel Leela. A more proper traveller's experience was having my hand henna'd. There was a 'discussion' between myself and a couple of local ladies who I can only describe as 'paveys'; At the end of the job, they charged me 300Rs when the quote started off at 50Rs. I had asked for a small tatoo and as they worked their way up to the top of my arm, it became clear I had been had. Its the darnest thing, I felt cheated out of £3 but back home, it wouldn't mean didly squat to me. Here all of a sudden, I felt exhausted. There is such a lot of blatant poverty right beside tremendous wealth, it's hard to handle. I was told that the stuff that these ladies use doesn't always work anyway which ended up being fortunate as I smudged it during the negotiations. I can just about see it 24 hours later. Saying that, with my freckles, I could have just told them to join the dots. I was a lesson or 2 for me. This photo was taken as my hand was drying and the paste was flaking off. It takes over an hour but I used a hair dryer to speed things up. Another experience that I am sure will entertain dad is that I pretty much had to pay to get out of a shop. The friendly auto-rickshaw driver insisted that I go into an emporium even though I protested. They showed me all manner of jewels which I made clear I wasn't interested in so they took me to the cheaper counter. Some dear darling friend will be getting a sandalwood necklace with a little elephant on it. They just wear you down. I can't explain it. I thought I was wise to that sort of pressure selling. A foetus would have handled them better. The driver did faciliate me taking a couple of photos of rather imposing parliament buildings.