Road trip to Mysore

Applied for a whole week off in December as I had 25+ days off to take for the year 2008 - this gave us 9 days off with two weekends. I preferred a week before Christmas to avoid traffic and tourists. The initial plan was to leave Bangalore on Sunday for Mysore and move from there depending on Aarush’s comfort. Stepping out of the home with him means a disrupted routine and adapting to a new environment for all of us. Somehow, I was super lazy on Sunday and postponed the travel for the next day. Even during dinner on Sunday, we were discussing whether to stay in Bangalore for the whole next week or not. Then I concluded the discussion by saying - “we will start tomorrow (Monday) very early morning.”

Next morning we could not start early either because of apathy; we started with our normal daily practice, and by the time we left home, it was 11:20 on the clock. Aarush dozed off as we crossed Bangalore city limits, and the car picked up some speed. He woke up when we reached the outskirts of Mysore. I was driving comfortably as it was the third time on the same expressway in a short period. We followed signs for the Mysore palace and reached the south gate entrance.

We had our packed lunch in the car before entering the palace compound. Bargained and hired a guide to show us the nooks and corners of the palace. Cameras are strictly forbidden inside the palace, and we also had to leave our shoes outside as we entered the palace. Without going into details, the palace is awesome; well-maintained by Indian standards but not up to the mark like those of the “Châteaux de Loire”. The work and craftsmanship inside are top-notch, highlighting how rich Maharajas of Mysore were. They had natural resources at their disposal like the Kolar gold mine, Ivory, and varieties of expensive woods to fulfill their hearts’ wishes. The campus also has 27 temples, almost at every corner of the compound.

It was dark when we left the palace car parking and headed for a hotel. Our initial choice was Ginger (a new no-frills hotel from Tata) as I did not stop on the way to note the phone number; we opted for Hotel Paradise. We were lost in the dark while finding the hotel, though we were certain we were in the same neighborhood, and then a lady Samaritan guided us to the same on her scooter. The room was nice and clean; it cost us about 2000 (without air conditioning) rupees. An old-fashioned beautiful hotel with a nice view of the whole city. The structure is old but elegant. We discovered the well-kept and manicured hotel garden the next morning.

After a whole day of activity, Aarush went to sleep very early, skipping his normal dinner. Around 4 AM, he woke up with full energy and started banging the phone and other objects on which he could lay his hands. After one and a half hours of playing, he dozed off as the east sky was bright.

We woke up late; I called a friend at work who had been to Coorg the week before for details. After getting the contact, I called the same home-stay, letting them know we are coming today itself. This caught the owner off guard as he was not prepared for any visitors during the week, but he said he would go to the market, and dinner would be ready for us tonight.

After breakfast, we picked up some necessary things before hitting the road for Brindavan garden; it was already 11 AM. Brindavan garden is only 15 KM from Mysore, but the condition of the road started to deteriorate as we reached closer to the dam. It is just horrible with big potholes; big trucks carrying river stones are the culprit for the road condition.

Being Tuesday, there were hardly any tourists in the garden. This garden is the brainchild of Sir Mirza Ismail, influenced by Mughal design. The dam was built in 1927-32 by Wodeyar rulers of Mysore on the river Cauvery. In recent times, there has been renovation work going on to beautify the garden and its surroundings. The old guest house has been converted to the Royal Orchid Hotel; kept wondering who goes there to stay on business or leisure. The only thing I could think of was to have a corporate off-site meeting there.

After Brindavan garden, we headed towards Coorg via SH88.

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