Our trip to Bangalore

The weekend before last, we made a trip to Bangalore and Mysore in the neighbouring State with V's brother and family who had come down from Dubai. It was my first trip to the historic Mysore city with its magnificent palace and salubrious climate. Bangalore, of course, has a cool climate that people in Chennai who have been to the Garden City talk wistfully about. 

We left on a Saturday morning by car, taking the Chittoor route, but reaching only by late evening. Anyway, one cant be very time-conscious travelling with four small children, the oldest among them being 7 and the youngest 1. We had booked in advance at a serviced apartment in Koramangla. The kids found it so comfy that they were disappointed when we had to stay at a business hotel in Mysore a day later. 

We made no shopping expedition in Bangalore though most shops had a Discount Sale (the new trick to attract even those who are not shopaholics) on. Instead we discovered a restaurant called Kukkare near Koramangala, which served excellent food (the dum chicken is worth trying) that was not very oily or spicy. We patronised it again when we returned to Bangalore after 2 days in Mysore.

En route to Mysore on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, we took a detour to Kokkarebellur which has a small bird sanctuary. This young boy, Abhishek, we spotted on the roadside enthusiastically ran ahead of our car to show us the way. He made us park at a spot that a combo fragrance of cow dung, hay and I guess bird droppings. Apparently the Painted Stork's droppings are used as manure by the villagers who are partners in the bird conservation project. He told us that we would have to walk a kilometre to the sanctuary through the village but that the migratory birds would arrive only by the end of the year. We spotted a pair of huge birds atop a tree - which I assume were the Storks in question. The other major winged visitor here are Pelicans. We were too tired and sleepy to make the trek (but I think there was indeed a proper tarred road to the sanctuary), and went on our way after tipping our earnest guide.

Our first destination at Mysore was the St Philomina's Cathedral. We participated in the Holy Mass for some 5 minutes, the fervent Christians that we are! I dont know if many inside, including some Muslim ladies who went towards the altar to find a seat, were tourists like us ( A notice outside says that tourists are allowed in only till 5 pm).
And by the time we reached the precints of the Mysore Palace, it was illuminated to reflect all its splendour. We did not go in (reserving the tour of the palace for the next day) and drank in the beauty of the majestic edifice from the road like many others. We were lucky to have been there on a Sunday evening, since the palace is illuminated only on Sundays, holidays and festival days. And as we later stood atop the Chamundi Hills for a glimpse of an aerial view of Mysore, we witnessed the lights go off at 8 pm sharp.
The Brindavan Gardens with its singing fountains and Tipu Sultan's Srirangapatna (the fort had closed for the day when we reached) did not figure in our itinerary after the palace tour the next day. Instead we stopped at the serene Ranganathittu bird sanctuary on our way back to Bangalore. I had my heart in my mouth as we went on a boating in the crocodile-infested waters of the Kaveri river to view ibises, egrets, storks and cormorants at close quarters. A crocodile, immobile as a statue, was having its afternoon siesta on a rock with its mouth open - ready to grab anything that came its way. Painted storks presented a pretty picture on the other side of the rock, almost painted white with bird droppings.
Here is Nikhil, the youngest tourist among us, at the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - trying to get hold of the oar from the ranger boatman.

We dropped plans of a picnic to Nandi Hills the next day afternoon, and sped home to Chennai on the scenic Bangalore-Chennai Highway.