Manchanabele Dam

Backwaters and hills just an hour out, with mist on the water if you're early enough. Carry your own breakfast; there's nothing much on the dam itself. The road in is good for a relaxed ride.

Kolli Hills, 70 hairpin bends

Seventy numbered hairpins, one after another, and every one has a view. You lose count somewhere around 40. Fuel up in Namakkal before the climb. Go slow on the descent; the bends are tight.

Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021)

Two childhood friends rule Mangalore's underworld, until they don't. Raw and violent, and the background score is unforgettable. Turn on subtitles even if you know Kannada; the Mangalore dialect is thick.

The Rameshwaram Cafe

Ghee podi idli and a dosa the colour of honey, eaten at a standing table with half of Bangalore. The queue moves fast; don't let it scare you off. Order the ghee podi idli first.

Coonoor

Everything I wanted from Ooty, without the crowds. Tea estates, a misty viewpoint, and the toy train chugging past. Take the Nilgiri Mountain Railway one way. Stay in a tea-estate bungalow, not in town.

Horsley Hills

A perfect day ride: wide roads out of the city, then a twisty climb to a breezy hilltop. Leave at dawn and you're back by dinner. Good roads, so it's a nice first long ride.

Wayanad

Treehouse stays, the Edakkal caves, and Kerala meals on banana leaves. Bangalore feels a lot further than five hours. Hike Chembra Peak early to see the heart-shaped lake. Book a homestay with home-cooked meals.

MTR, Lalbagh Road

A hundred years of rava idli. Silver tumblers, ghee on everything, and a dining room that hasn't changed in decades. Do a loop of Lalbagh first, then come in hungry. Order the rava idli and the badam halwa.

Bisle Ghat

Dense rainforest on both sides and a viewpoint that shows three mountain ranges at once. Feels wild for a road this close to Sakleshpur. Ride it right after the monsoon, when everything is green. Check road conditions first; stretches get rough.

Samskara by U. R. Ananthamurthy

A Kannada classic about a village that can't decide who should cremate an outcast. Short but hits hard. The A. K. Ramanujan translation is the one to get. The afterword is worth reading too.

Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto

A Bombay family living with a mother's mental illness, told with so much love and humour. Keep tissues nearby. It's funny right up until it isn't.

Blue Ginger, Taj West End

Vietnamese food in a pavilion over a lily pond, under trees that are older than the city's flyovers. Go for dinner when the lamps are lit. Book a table by the water.

Malgudi Days by R. K. Narayan

Small-town South India in short, gentle stories. Some of them are funny and some of them break your heart. Read one story a night before bed. It's comfort reading at its best.

Mosque Road, Frazer Town

During Ramzan, the whole road turns into a night market: smoky kebabs, haleem, and malpuas the size of plates. Go after iftar and eat as you walk. Park far away and take an auto in.

BR Hills

A quiet forest on the Karnataka–Tamil Nadu border with a hilltop temple and morning safaris. Stay at the Jungle Lodges camp, and do the morning safari. It's only four hours from Bangalore.

Lucia (2013)

A crowdfunded Kannada film about an usher who buys pills to live his dreams. Mind-bending and very Bangalore. Pay attention to the colour and the black and white. It all matters by the end.

Araku Coffee, Indiranagar

Single-estate coffee from the Araku valley, served like it matters. The pour-over made me rethink what coffee tastes like. Sit at the bar and ask what's brewing that day. The baristas will walk you through the flavours.

Koshy's, St. Mark's Road

Ceiling fans, old waiters, and a whole table arguing about politics over cold coffee. It's been like this since the 1940s. Order the fish and chips or the appam with stew. Don't rush; nobody else is.

Alba, JW Marriott

Handmade pasta and a wine list that takes ten minutes to read. Quietly one of the best Italian rooms in town. Ask the server which pasta was made that morning, and order that.

Valparai via Aliyar, 40 hairpins

Forty hairpins from Aliyar dam into endless tea estates, with lion-tailed macaques watching from the trees. Do it over two days and stay in Valparai. Don't ride the ghat after dark; there's wildlife on the road.

Gokarna

The beach trek from Kudle to Om to Half Moon to Paradise, with a swim and a fish thali at every stop. Take the overnight bus or train. Skip the monsoon; the beaches are rough and the shacks are shut.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

A science teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory. The friendship in the second half got me. Go in knowing nothing. Don't read the blurb, don't watch any trailers.

Nandi Hills sunrise

Riding up the hairpins in the dark, then the sun comes up over a sea of clouds. Everyone goes quiet for a minute. The gate opens at 6. Leave the city by 4:30 to beat the queue, and carry a jacket.

Kudremukh

Rolling shola grasslands as far as you can see, the road weaving through the national park. Feels like a different country. Ride via Kalasa and stay overnight; the forest roads close in the evening.