"Oh, there's nothing to do..."

I frequently hear my colleagues trying to make plans for their coming weekends, and the most often heard refrain is "Oh, there's nothing to do in Bangalore". Now, perhaps, because I'm fairly new here still and everything seems fresh, I think if you really want to, there are tons of things to do on the weekend. It's just about taking the initiative. Let me name a few :

Innovative Film City : This is a huge theme park/activity center brimming with things to do, about 20 kms out of Bangalore, in Bidadi. If I were to go into detail it would take up too many pages so some of the main things are below.

The amusements include go karting, a water park, mini golf, and a mirror maze.

The attractions include a haunted mansion, dinosaur city, and cartoon city.

Some of the 'cool' museums (not two words generally found used together) include Madame Tussaud's Wax museum An a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum.

They have a huge amphitheatre and keep hosting different events like karaoke, and theme parties. There's shopping and some good restaurants so your day will be over even before you know it! You can easily do this on any saturday or sunday without feeling too much of a strain! And please don't think this is just for kids-i guarantee anyway will enjoy it!!

Ranga Shankara :

This is a very active theater in south Bangalore that keeps putting up plays, ranging from amateur festivals to productions by some of the most prominent names in theater. A small but well known space near RV Dental College, the tickets are very reasonably priced (~100) and oftentimes sold out well in advance. Most of the crowd are truly interested in the plays and this respect is made obvious by the fact that the doors close strictly 5 minutes before the start time and you will not be allowed in if you are late.

They update their site : http://www.rangashankara.org/ very frequently so keep checking in case you're in the mood to spend your evening experiencing something different!

Suchitra Film Society is a very active club with respect to theater and art films. This is again located in south Bangalore in Banashankari. They are always associating with others for film festivals and you can get regular updates by calling and checking at 26711785

If you want to try something active you can go Bowling at Amoeba on Church Street or in Leela Palace. Prices are the same at both places and in Leela they also serve beer. There's also Megabowl near the old airport but the lanes are very small and take quite a lot of the thrill out of it. Go-karting is another option on Mysore road at Gripps, at Patel's Inn, or at Star City in palace grounds. Paintball is slowing becoming popular and is an amazing way to bond with new friends as you need to ensure a big group and book the place in advance. You can get more details on this at http://www.yuyutsa.com/ and http://www.thepaintballco.com/ and http://www.xtremezoneindia.com/

I realise I have only just got started and there are millions of things I could list, plus all the many day/weekend trips one can plan out of Bangalore so I think this will have to be Part 1, shortly to be continued!