Weekend Getaway to Mysore on my Black Beast


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dasavatharam

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Departure - Left Bangalore around 9 a.m on saturday morning. It was raining and that made it difficult to load our stuff to the Scorpio and get going. My wife has been talking about Hosa road and how it connects Sarjapur to Hosur road and that it is a short cut and all that. So finally took that road to get to Hosur road...not bad...but too many spead breakers on Hosa road. Given a choice, would not go that way again.

Once we hit Hosur road, we missed taking the service lane and had to take a U turn and then get on to Nice Road. Nice Road is what it is...very NICE road. There were some awkward turns here and there because of construction but overall it was pretty good. Toll of (Rs.45 and Rs.25 is a little high) for that small stretch. From Nice road, we got on to Mysore Highway and it was smooth sailing.

I crossed the first 1000kms on my Scorpio last week and so did not hesitate to press the pedal on this drive. It got sunny after the first 75 kms and drive was very very smooth. We had to slow down when we went through towns and encountered lot of speed breakers. Other than that, it was a smooth ride and I could really feel the power of my Scorpio. WE took a break at the Mcdonalds for breakfast for my son.

Our first sightseeing stop was Srirangapatna. We went to Sri Ranganathaswamy temple first. Not much crowd and got good darshan. After a quick tiffin at a local hotel (there are no decent hotels in this town), we visited Daria Daulat and Gumbaz. After this, we hit the road to Mysore.

Read in the newspaper this morning about the 6 hour jam on Bangalore -Mysore Hwy due to agitation by farmers on sunday. Thank god...we went on saturday and returned late night on sunday. That was very lucky...we would have got frustrated...this being our first road trip in India.

Reached mysore around 2.30 p.m and checked in to the hotel. We took a room at Park Lane Mysore on Harsha road very next to the Palace. It was a very good hotel and food was also good with decent prices. After a hours rest and a good coffee, we left for Brindavan gardens.

The roads leading to Brindavan gardens were pathetic to say the least. Why in the world would the government not spend some money and make the road to one of the best known tourist attractions in the country, much smoother and a great ride for tourists? It is a pity. It was around 5.30p.m when we got in and was getting dark. After a small walk along the water falls, we headed straight to the fountain show. Boy..oh boy...what a crowd...frankly..being out of the country for almost 15 years...I was not ready for this crowd. Also on the walkway from the main gardens to the place where the fountain show happens...did any of you notice all the trash and bottles on the water....it was an ugly sight. Why would people come to such a place and throw trash in the gardens.....we Indians have no respect for the environment. I apologize if this hurts anyone...but that is the truth. I was appalled at the number of bottles floating on the water....for heavens sake..this is Brindavan Gardens!!! Worst part is all the board near the entrace that read "NO PLASTIC ZONE"!!! What the hell are those boards for...I guess lot of people who visit cannot read English....[;)]
 
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pahujaamit

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Yeah I can understand the frustration when we spot the trash in tourist places but that's how it is and no one cares to do enough. The authorities keep their eyes shut and if someone is even caught throwing the garbage, it is not very seriously dealt with. So a "chalta-hai" attitude is killing the places like these. I also believe that this is to do more with the basic education and upbringing of a person. Some people lack the basic etiquette of not dirtying the place they themselves have come to visit. So its not only in India this happens but yes we have a larger lot to deal with. Believe me I've seen this in many places like NY, HK, London etc (I'll share pictures later) but its rare unlike in India including urban India. I even remember in London near Little Venice after Paddington, localites built a wall-art from the trash of bottles, soda cans to promote cleanliness at the place and its now a tourist attraction :)

But I'm sure once India improves on basic education, things will change. You can start practicing, set an example and other may follow.

Many a times if I see a person doing such things, I clap in front of them or give them a "thumbs-up" to acknowledge their shameful act.. but some people do not get it et-all :(( and even would be ready to fight with you since you jumped in...
 
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dasavatharam

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Pictures will be posted in a few days.

Part 2 of travelogue.

We spent about 20mts watching the dancing fountain at Brindavan. IT was just wonderful. problem is the song selection. Could be more universal...but whom am I to say [:)]. Got back to the hotel and after a quick dinner, all of us were tired and went to bed.

Day 2
Got up and after a good breakfast and coffee at this nice place called "Little Woods" on the Chamundi hills road, we reached the temple around 10.30a.m. They diverted us 3/4th of the way to a different parking lot and we had to climb around 100 steps and walk through a village. Was not fun with lot of cow dung all over the roads. But it was an experience. When we reached the temple, realized that there were long lines for both the free and the Rs.20 darshan. So took the Rs.100 darshan and had a quick darshan and came out of the temple in 20mts. From there we drove straight to the Railway Museum on the side of the Mysore railway station. This was a friends recommendation and the place was pretty good. WE took the ticket for the toy train, but since the train was charging and there was a 30mt wait time, we got the tickets refunded. My son enjoyed the place.

From there we went straight to the market place opposite to the palace with hopes of having lunch. But finding parking was a big ordeal..after circling for ten minutes, we decided to go back to our hotel for lunch. AFter we parked, we saw this place called Maurya Residency with a hotel in the ground floor. South Indian Thali was Rs.85 and the food was just awesome. [:D]

After lunch we went straight to the zoo. For a sunday, the Zoo was pretty crowded but let me tell you folks I have gone to many zoo's in the USA. but "Mysore Zoo" is probably the best that we have visited of the lot. Great selection of animals, very well laid out layout, huge ..huge zoo. I was tired halfway and sat on a bench with my son. My wife and cousin went all the around and it took almost 3 hours for us to finish the entire zoo. The Giraffe and the Tigers were amazing. we have got some great shots of them. Will upload them soon.
 
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