So my mom was in town to visit me this April and owing to a hectic week, I wasn't able to spend any quality time with her.
On consulting my friends, I was suggested to take my mom to Mysore as it is a fairly driveable distance (approx. 250 kms) and there are multiple avenues for sighseeing - enough for a 2 day trip.
Given that we were 3 ladies( my cousin Poonam decided to accompany us), I decided to hire a Zoom Car for 2 days as this would allow us to take turns to drive and hence enjoy the scenic locales enroute. We hired a Suzuki Swift costing us INR 4917 with a distance capacity of approx. 390 kms. The hotel was booked via MakemyTrip - Fortune JP Palace which is owned by the ITC group. This costed us about INR 5000 for 3 people (Deluxe Room) after applying a promo code. This hotel is well connected to all the touristy spots in Mysore as it is situated in the heart of the city.
Day 1: Having booked the car for a 6:00 am pick up, on reaching the venue, to our horror, we discovered that the pollution certificate, Insurance certificates of the car had expired. Following which the next few minutes were spent contacting several executives on the same customer care number in order to get our car replaced. Regardless to say, nothing was done to pacify us and our booking was cancelled with an assurance that our booking amount would be refunded. But that's not the point. We had started our trip on a sour note and to top it, were hours behind our schedule of leaving early in order to avoid the city traffic. We were lucky, my cousin was a savior as we decided to use her car instead for the journey.
Having started from her place at Hebbal at 10 am, we did not encounter any major traffic hurdles. The drive was smooth after having connected to the Mysore Road. We traversed through Channapatna - the Land of toys which is known for its delicately crafted wooden toys. We picked up a wooden aeroplane for my nephew at one of the factory outlets here at a throwaway price of INR 100.
We landed at our resort at 2 pm dot in time for the check-in. The rooms were a visual treat - the swimming pool not so much. We opted for the lunch buffet at one of their oriental restaurants and for a hotel that claims to be a 5-star, the food was not upto mark - disappointing infact.
We then left for the Mysore Palace after ignoring one of the spot boy's suggestion that it can be viewed from the roof-top of the hotel itself.
Quick facts: Only a part of the palace is open to public and honestly, i was not elated with the experience. It appeared more like a tour of one of the rooms while traversing through some random artifacts and portraits of the prestigious Vodeyar family. A guided audio tour would have helped is what i reckon.
Overall, a pretty disappointing experience for a person like me who was looking to soak in some history.
Following this,we decided to retire for the day. While i decided to hit the gym, my folks ventured into the pool for a quick dip. The perks of staying at a luxury hotel - you always have a fall back option in case the itinerary is disappointing.
Day 2: After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the Mysore zoo. It was approximately 2 kms from our hotel and easily commutable to. Unlike other zoos, the animals here are adopted and hence in a visibly healthier state. The zoo trajectory started with birds, followed by mammals and finally ends with snakes and reptiles. It is a walk of about 5 kms and honestly, after sometime you just want to get out.Probably we had this attitude as we had lost interest in the rhinoes, bears and baboons in the scorching afternoon heat. Although, i reckon bangalore was much more hotter. But yes, I would maintain that this is by far one of the best zoos that I have visited in India. It was a sheer joy to see the animals in a natural man-made habitat.
With this, we headed to our hotel, packed our bags and bid adieu to the city.En route, we visited Poojari's Place - a restaurant that's acclaimed for their fish dishes albeit their staff, not so much. arrogant if I may say so. We were made to wait for close to 20 minutes just for our bill. Ironically, their service was much faster.
After a brief argument and some chocolate paan to cool our neurons, we finally left for our beloved Bangalore to face yet another day of work in a mundane IT company.
The things that we missed out on were the iconic Infosys Mysore campus and everybody's hangout place - The Rasta Cafe.Well, there's always another time for that.
For now, that's all folks!
On consulting my friends, I was suggested to take my mom to Mysore as it is a fairly driveable distance (approx. 250 kms) and there are multiple avenues for sighseeing - enough for a 2 day trip.
Given that we were 3 ladies( my cousin Poonam decided to accompany us), I decided to hire a Zoom Car for 2 days as this would allow us to take turns to drive and hence enjoy the scenic locales enroute. We hired a Suzuki Swift costing us INR 4917 with a distance capacity of approx. 390 kms. The hotel was booked via MakemyTrip - Fortune JP Palace which is owned by the ITC group. This costed us about INR 5000 for 3 people (Deluxe Room) after applying a promo code. This hotel is well connected to all the touristy spots in Mysore as it is situated in the heart of the city.
Day 1: Having booked the car for a 6:00 am pick up, on reaching the venue, to our horror, we discovered that the pollution certificate, Insurance certificates of the car had expired. Following which the next few minutes were spent contacting several executives on the same customer care number in order to get our car replaced. Regardless to say, nothing was done to pacify us and our booking was cancelled with an assurance that our booking amount would be refunded. But that's not the point. We had started our trip on a sour note and to top it, were hours behind our schedule of leaving early in order to avoid the city traffic. We were lucky, my cousin was a savior as we decided to use her car instead for the journey.
Having started from her place at Hebbal at 10 am, we did not encounter any major traffic hurdles. The drive was smooth after having connected to the Mysore Road. We traversed through Channapatna - the Land of toys which is known for its delicately crafted wooden toys. We picked up a wooden aeroplane for my nephew at one of the factory outlets here at a throwaway price of INR 100.
We landed at our resort at 2 pm dot in time for the check-in. The rooms were a visual treat - the swimming pool not so much. We opted for the lunch buffet at one of their oriental restaurants and for a hotel that claims to be a 5-star, the food was not upto mark - disappointing infact.
We then left for the Mysore Palace after ignoring one of the spot boy's suggestion that it can be viewed from the roof-top of the hotel itself.
Quick facts: Only a part of the palace is open to public and honestly, i was not elated with the experience. It appeared more like a tour of one of the rooms while traversing through some random artifacts and portraits of the prestigious Vodeyar family. A guided audio tour would have helped is what i reckon.
Overall, a pretty disappointing experience for a person like me who was looking to soak in some history.
Following this,we decided to retire for the day. While i decided to hit the gym, my folks ventured into the pool for a quick dip. The perks of staying at a luxury hotel - you always have a fall back option in case the itinerary is disappointing.
Day 2: After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the Mysore zoo. It was approximately 2 kms from our hotel and easily commutable to. Unlike other zoos, the animals here are adopted and hence in a visibly healthier state. The zoo trajectory started with birds, followed by mammals and finally ends with snakes and reptiles. It is a walk of about 5 kms and honestly, after sometime you just want to get out.Probably we had this attitude as we had lost interest in the rhinoes, bears and baboons in the scorching afternoon heat. Although, i reckon bangalore was much more hotter. But yes, I would maintain that this is by far one of the best zoos that I have visited in India. It was a sheer joy to see the animals in a natural man-made habitat.
With this, we headed to our hotel, packed our bags and bid adieu to the city.En route, we visited Poojari's Place - a restaurant that's acclaimed for their fish dishes albeit their staff, not so much. arrogant if I may say so. We were made to wait for close to 20 minutes just for our bill. Ironically, their service was much faster.
After a brief argument and some chocolate paan to cool our neurons, we finally left for our beloved Bangalore to face yet another day of work in a mundane IT company.
The things that we missed out on were the iconic Infosys Mysore campus and everybody's hangout place - The Rasta Cafe.Well, there's always another time for that.
For now, that's all folks!
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