Trip to Mysore from Bangalore !

26-Jun-2010

Hi again,

        Got myself a much needed break after a long span. A one day trip to Mysore. Being in Bangalore, shouldn't be this my first travelogue? I had been to mysore number of times already, but that was during my school/college days where it's always impossible to give attention to just the tourist places !!

        Confronting peers for company, is always a pain and often ended in vain. So, this time I made it up to take this trip all alone. Had my tickets booked the very previous night. Took the KSRTC volvo bus plying between Bangalore and Ooty. Booked a train ticket for the return journey. It was all in a few clicks I got  both the tickets in hand, thanks to the online ticket booking facility provided by both KSRTC and IRCTC. You can check out the route details on the web. The bus started at 6:30 AM and reached Mysore at 9:30 AM, a sharp 3 hour journey.

A view of the Kempegowda Bus Station, Bangalore.

       

        Prior to the journey, I glanced few blogs on Mysore, which insisted me to have a munch at "Indra Cafe", a popular eating joint. It also warned me of over-charging rickshaw drivers on Mysore road. Every where I went, I made good use of the google map mobile version, that gave approximate distance between my current location and the target. And to my amusement, the current location kept on changing as I walk, a feature that is claimed to be present in GPS systems alone. Also, the popular Mysore Palace, Indra Cafe, Philomena Church all lie in a 2 KM radius, making travel a lot easier.

The indra cafe restaurant as pointed by the local residents, some one from mysore can acknowledge this ??!!

        Had my breakfast with the localites' favourite Bennae Masal Dosa (Butter Masala Dosa). Food was good, but not up to my expectation, probably the blogs should have exaggerated. The Mysore Palace (also called Amba Vilas Palace) is just a walking distance from this hotel. So decided to have a walk on the streets of Mysore.

Sayyaji Rao road..

The KR Circle..

I reached the back gate of the Palace. A tonga (horse cart) rider, offered me a deal for Rs 20, to take me to the front gate. He also offered a free visit to the Mysore crafts emporium, which I gladly accepted.

  

The jolly ride...

  

        Mysore is famous for carved sandalwood, pure silk sarees and incense. The best place to shop is the Cauvery Arts & Crafts Emporium on Sayyaji Rao Road, which is the Main shopping area. There are also many other craft shops on Dhanavanthri Road.  - excerpt.

The emporium..

The tonga..

        Mysore roads looked relatively neat when compared to Bangalore roads.

Be sure to checkout the Mysore silk sarees and sandal wood carvings displayed at the emporium. But watch out, a miniature sandal elephant might cost you more than a real elephant (kidding) !!

Will pause this for now and will continue with the rest in the next blog.
Meet you at the palace on the next blog !!

More interesting travelogues to come !!

Watch out !!

Ram Kishore K

FIFA 2010 Standings

FIFA 2010 current standings...
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/standings/index.html?cid=google_onebox


Ram Kishore K

Weekend getaways around Bangalore.

Hi,
    Got this excel sheet on the web. Contains all the popular tourist spots, hangout places, hotesl around Bangalore. Worth a look.

Bangalore Hangouts

More interesting travelogues to come,

Watch Out!!

Ram Kishore K

World Environment Day !

Hi,
   Today is World Environment day !!!

Spare a thought for our planet Earth. A little initiative can make a huge difference.

Click on the link below and post your tips.

http://www.unep.org/wed/2010/english/suggestedtips.asp

Ram Kishore K

Which Laptop to Buy ?

HI,
      If you are reading this blog anywhere after Jul-2010, then this may not be the correct suggestion. Of late, I had been hunting for a laptop in the market that would fit my requirement as well as my wallet. The moment I thought about Laptop, DELL hit my mind. Thanks to the overwhelming ads, in all leading daily newspapers/journal almost on all days.
    Choosing a laptop should be purely from your inner conscience rather involving your friends, or relatives'. Hmm ! Then why am I writing this blog ? :) This is just my experience and this would help you to make a better decision. (Phew!, I'm safe). Let's plunge in the topic. Choosing a laptop may not necessarily be just looking for the price tag. But you may also have to give a look at the below points.

1. Usability.
             What are you gonna do with your laptop ? List down your priorities. How much importance will you give for multimedia? What you feel would be the most resource/memory consuming program that you'll be using often ?

2 Processor.
          This is the time for 64 bit computing. Choose a processor that suites this. Thumb rule states, that any new processor is gonna burn a hole in your pocket. So before going behind new processors, better wait for a while, read the reviews and feedbacks, then go for it. To me, I chose Intel Core i3 latest in the market, fits my budget and had pretty decent performance reviews.

3. GPU.
         If you are a avid games or if you are using display centric applications, then graphics card should be the second most important thing next to the processor. Though the choice of the GPU is left to you, be sure to look for the graphics memory and the pixel shader that the graphics card supports. Normally 1gb graphics card should work great for most of the new games. My choise was the bundled ATI Radeon HD with 512 MB graphics.

4. RAM.
          This is essential for swift OS responses. RAMs are getting cheaper day by day and you should not think twice to opt for at least 4gb of RAM.

5. Hard Disk
          This again depends on you budget. However be specific over the RPM(rotation per minute). The more the RPM, the faster it is. 7200 rpm should be common by now. If you store movies, music and photos your hard disk should be at least 500gb. I don't store videos and hence I chose 320 GB and it got filled up to 25%  the very first week  :-(    !!!

6. LCD Display
           The display is directly proportionate to the laptop weight and the battery consumption. The larger the display, the battery drains faster and heavier the laptop is. 15" should be a decent size for watching movies/games and great to carry along with you everywhere. Look out for High Definition display (hot in town !!). Don't forget to choose your back panel color too !! (Atlast it's the only difference that ladies visualize !!! )

7. Battery.
           By default most of the laptops come with a 6 cell battery. This should give you close to 2 hours of battery backup with moderate multimedia use. If you are a frequent traveler and tend to use laptops in disconnected mode, the it's wise to invest in 9 cell or 12 cell batteries. But beware, the batteries perform good for a maximum of 18 months and you'll have to replace it after that (no matter what brand it is !!)

8. Software/ Operating System
         Windows 7 is the latest OS from Microsoft as of today. Which choosing a preconfigured laptop, watch out for the version of windows they offer. Windows 7 has got 4 versions basic, premium, professional and ultimate. Compare these versions and choose the one that suits you best. Note that it's lot cheaper to go for OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) versions rather getting it separately. This applies to add-on softwares like MS-Office and other third party antiviruse too.

Finally, it's wise to choose an insurance coverage plan, that covers your laptop from accidental damage. Say, drop your laptop from 100 feet or spill coffee in it, get it replaced at no cost !!! Cool isn't it ??

I zeroed in on Dell Inspiron 15 N5010. With few tweaks and customization it cost me around 39K INR.I had to wait for 10 days to get delivery as it was in good demand then.

Feel free to write a comment or post your suggestions.

This is not a Travelogue, but

More interesting Travelogues to come,

Watch Out !!

Ram Kishore K