May 30, 2010

Holidays in Bangalore & Mysore

Holidays in Bangalore and Mysore


We were planning for a trip to Bangalore and Mysore for quite a while. This time it so happened that my son’s as well as husband’s holidays matched and we decided to go for it.

Since the trip was finalized at the last moment and also the road from Chennai to Bangalore is fantastic, we travelled by our Ford-Fiesta. Of the 1200 odd KM drove in total during the tour, I drove a third of it as the route (and also our car) was a pleasure to drive.

We started early morning at 5.30 am and reached Bangalore around 12:00 noon. Our stay was at Executive Development Center (EDC) of Institure of Hotel Management (IHM) near Vidhan Soudha at the core of Bangalore city.

EDC is a center with accommodation, conference hall and a restaurant. The center is not open to walk in guests – but works only thru referrals and corporate clients thru IHM. We got it thru one of our close relation.

We stayed for 4 days in Bangalore. It is a very friendly city and a welcome change from Chennai heat. Only difference was learning to get around “one way” roads. We could get around Bangalore on our own with out much difficulty.

In addition to all the historic places Vidhan Soudha, Parks, Bannerghatta National park, Bull temple, ISKON temple, Museum, we also went to all the malls, Commercial street, MG road and Brigade road.

Also in Bangalore, we enjoyed the different cuisine – like Jolada Roti Meals at Kamath Yatri Nivas and also other delicacies (photos and details soon).

After Bangalore, we drove to Mysore – starting early morning again. Visited the ruins at Srirangapatna. It is recommended to engage a guide, as the details and places are better described by them, but be aware of them pushing you to buy products from shops they patronize ( read – commission business).

The Palace was our next stop in Mysore. It is a magnificent structure full of art and craft. Here also I recommend engaging a guide, as many finer details will be missed if we go around the palace by ourselves.

After lunch in a hotel at Mysore and check-in at Ginger Hotel (where we stayed overnight), we then proceeded to Brindavan Gardens. Of all the places we saw, the Garden lost its prime from what we saw earlier. The musical fountain – which is one of the main attraction is also not out of ordinary.

We stayed overnight and visited a friend who lives there. We found Mysore a calm place, but relatively hotter than Bangalore.

On our way back, we again stayed for a night in EDC Bangalore. Started again next day. On our way back to Chennai, we tasted the famed Ambur Biryani as well.

Back again in Chennai. It was a refreshing tour. Back to blogging again.

1 comment:

Life is beautiful !!! said...

wondering where are you since I see atleast 3 updates a day!!! Nice to know that you enjoyed driving and had a wonderful trip :)