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