Roma's Space » travel

A Trip To Mysore

Roma — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:22:54 +0000

Palace by night

We took a 3 day trip to Mysore last weekend. Bangalore and Mysore are hardly away from each other. They are like twin cities, it takes about 2.5 hrs to cover the ‘journey’. Whats really interesting about the journey is that the stretch is so exploited by Ad banners and eating joints that you barely feel like you’ve the left the city. Small Towns fly past – Ramamnagaram, Chennapatna,Maddur, Mandya and finally Mysore. You have reached before you realized.

Rosy - the friendly parrot at the reception

We chose Windlfower resort for our stay. We were greeted at the reception by a friendly parrot called Rosy. She was really bold and would perch on just about anybody. The rooms were vibrant and the view of a shallow stretch of water from the ground-level balcony was breath taking. There were ducks waddling in the water quaking loudly. In fact thats what wakes you in the morning.

Our room at WindFlower

A Bathroom close to nature

View from our balcony

We quickly settled down in the room and took a tour of the facility. At night we enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant- The Olive. After dinner we left for a drive to enjoy the view of Mysore by night. I loved the wide roads and the quiet night life. The palace was lit under the right amount of yellow & blue lights. I think the darkness of the city improved the ambiance created by the subtle lighting. While we were returning back to the resort it started raining. That brought down the temperature by a few degrees. No wonder the a/c in the room had refrigerated us by morning.

Ducks in the resort

Next day I woke up cold but fresh. It was a beautiful morning, ducks were waddling in the water outside and water was flowing out of a big, heavy pot replicating the sound created by a brooke. After our complimentary buffet breakfast we left for the Rangantittu bird sanctuary. Luckily this was a good time and we got to see lots of birds that had migrated down from Nigeria, Siberia, Japan, Australia, North America, etc; These birds return to their home town in the month of June. Wish we could just tag along with them. It would be the most easy and inexpensive way to cross boundaries, that too without a passport! We also saw a lot of crocodiles. There were apparently about a hundred crocodiles in there!!

Rangantittu Bird Sanctuary

Crocodiles, 100 estimated to be present

I returned back to the resort and went to the SPA for a relaxing foot massage. I had been having a severe leg pain for nearly two days and the incredible massage gave me immediate relief. I think it was one of the best foot massages ever.

SPA at WindFlower

In the evening we went to the Brindavan Gardens in KRS Dam. Oh God! It seemed as if hundreds of people from Bangalore, Mysore and more had descended into the place. I couldnt imagine such a crowd on a Monday. I guesss it was due to the summer holidays. We watched the musical fountain – a short 15 min light and water show. The fountains were choreographed to latest hits and ended with a patriotic song.

Musical Fountain - Brindavan Garden

By the end of this I was dead tired. I just had a salad for dinner at Pizza corner and headed back to the hotel for a night of deep sleep. My legs were breaking & I had more than gotten over my relaxing foot massage. I needed one more…. I guess thats asking for too much, too soon

I slept like a log at night and woke up directly at 6.30 am the next day morning with no recollection of where I was. I was woken up by the sound of quaking ducks. I did some pranayaam and read Gita for a while. I then had a cup of tea and started to pack my bags. Once we were ready we went to Chamundi hills to visit the temple of Chamundi Devi. The temple was hardly a 20-min drive up the hill. After Darshan we returned back to the resort and checked out. This was the difficult part – convincing the baby that we can not stay in the bougainvilleas forever (sometimes I need a bit of counselling myself) Our drive back to Bangalore was smooth. Thanks to the Bangalore-Mysore highway for making the commute easy and enjoyable. We reached back home day before and got busy unpacking and catching up on our laundry. Holidays leave you with so many good memories and photographs. This trip goes to the good records for years to come…

Chennapatna Toy Factory

Roma — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:31:06 +0000

Chennapatna is a small village located 60 kms from Bangalore. It takes around 1.5 hours to get there, thanks to the well laid roads. On the way you find a small town called Ramanagaram – famous for two things : Silk and the Shooting location of the blockbuster movie Sholay.

Chennapatna is famous for its colorful, wodden toys which are vibrant yet child safe. This is what has set Chennapatna toys apart from the complex and expensive toys available in the market today. Its what has put a small village on the International Map! Yes, these toys fetch good revenue through exports. People all over have tried to replicate these toys but just can not achieve that final look and finish that Chennapatna artisans have mastered over generations.

Last month I had an opportunity of visiting this village along with my brother-in-law, mom and husband. My Brother-in-law had some contacts in the place. A toy manufacturer was waiting for us near the entrance of the village. He took us home and allowed us into his small factory that was attached to his home. I found him really hospitable. After a demo of the toy-making procedure he invited us home and displayed samples of toys he had produced so far. An opening in the ceiling of his house provided the most beautiful, natural spot light on a table. I immediately took advantage of it and started shooting pictures of his wooden wonders.

How are these toys made?

Factory workers typically use a motor-driven lathe machine. I was amazed at the speed with which the artisan was converting logs of wood into smooth, shiny spheres that would later serve as spare parts for toys.

The blocks of wood used here are nothing but trees that are felled in the nearby areas. Their wood is soft and easy to carve into desired shapes.

The toy makers use lac – a jelly like substance that is melted and solidified into a stick. The solidified Lac is then rubbed on the toys as they are being processed on the lathe machine. The heat produced by the friction on the lathe makes lac leaves its natural mustard color on the toys. For the other colors that they need they just mix a vegetable dye while melting the lac. These toys are safe for babies to sink their teeth into.

Soon after that we went to the main market area of Chennapatna where we saw heavily stocked shops selling a range of wooden toys and utility items. The sheer vibrance of the shop left our eyes wide open.

The shop owners were patient and displayed the working and usage of every single product we choose. Finally, we bought a bag full of toys, bracelets, necklaces, etc; and left for the factory where toys are made.

Locations where toys are manufactured

Besides the home-run factories Chennapatna has a main campus where Government factories are located. We found the Maya Organic factory a little different from the others around it:

Maya Organic had a board mentioning targets per day for each employee and his wages.
Employees were in uniforms and are mostly young (as against the other factories)
The quality of toys produced, Work conditions , machines, etc; seemed better

I couldnt get an inside view of Maya Organic as photography was prohibited in there.

We bought some key chains from them and headed back to Bangalore. The sun was getting me and I wanted to reach home soon.

Lunch Time

We stopped at Kamat Lokruchi, the hot eating joint on Bangalore-Mysore Highway. Anyone who has ever been on that road will know of it. It serves traditional North Karnataka food. We ate a South-Indian Lunch meal there and continued our trip home.

Tips to have a great trip

My happy trip ended with a migraine. Yes, I hadnt been drinking enough water and ate a delicious spread for lunch, something didnt add up. I suffered with a heat-triggered migraine that lasted for nearly four hours. Went away after throwing up about 2-3 times. Here is how you can avoid this situation :

Start early in the morning and try to wind up your trip by afternoon.
Drink plenty of water and eat less food
Wear a pair of good sunglasses, preferably with a polarized filter
Place a cold water pack on your next and shoulders to improve circulation.

Things to carry along

Polarized sunglasses reduce the partially-polarised light reflected from surfaces hence soothing the eyes.

Polarized sunglasses make a difference

You can find some more toys at my Brother-in-law’s site so Far.

The Bandipur Safari Ride

Roma — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:36:06 +0000

Bandipur National Park is located on the foothills of the Niligiri mountains in the Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka. A few weeks ago we visited Bandipur for 3 days. Here is a review of our trip :

How to get there?

Its approx 220 kms from Bangalore on the Mysore-Ooty highway. A fine road, totally worth a car ride. It took us 5 hrs, although you can reach in 4 hrs if you dont stop anywhere for break fast or photography. The cities seemed to fly past and the journey got over before we knew. We weren’t feeling tired either, I think we owe it all to the good roads.

Accomodation

We chose the Jungle Lodges for our stay. Its close to the National park and the package provides us with a trip to a hill-top temple and a safari ride in the afternoons. It seemed like a safe bet. Since we have been to Jungle Lodges at Bheemeshwari earlier it was familiar too.

The cottage at Bandipur reminds me of the typical Government Guest Houses with lemon yellow walls and spacious rooms. Its equipped with basic necessities like a cupboard, coffee table, beds and lamp shades. The room isnt very fancy. Please dont expect a hot water kettle, TV or phone. If you need anything you will need to walk down to the front office. In a way its nice. You will experience a rare kind of silence without your laptop, newspaper, TV or phone.

Tariff for the cottage is Rs 2750/- per day, per head. To be honest it feels a bit expensive so you can check out your options before finalizing on anything. The package includes food (breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks), accommodation, early morning nature walk, a trip to the hill-top temple and of course the Safari Ride. The resort doesnt have a swimming pool so please dont carry your swim wear along.

Food Review

The food is decent but not great. Invariably I end up with a bad stomach when I eat at any of the Jungle Lodges. Fortunately for me I carry along pills of Pudin Hara, so that helps. To get an early morning cup of coffee/tea served at your door step you need to inform the manager a night in advance. The breakfast was delicious but a bit surprising as for the 3 days that I was there they didnt serve dosas/ idles for breakfast. Hmm…. thats new. Anyway, the dishes they made were tasty so that made up. Lunch typically has an egg-curry which I found delicious. Every meal is started with soup (not that great) and ended with a kheer (fairly ok).

After the Safari ride they served pakodas with tea which people usually ate near the camp fire. In a cold weather, its really relaxing to drink a hot cup of tea near the warmth of a fire. The pakodas were perfect! Dinner always seemed better than lunch. The cafe management was accommodating enough to let me take some food back to the cottage for my baby. Yeah, she doesnt believe in buffets. She would rather eat alone.

Sri Krishna Temple

Its located on a hill top close to Bandipur and takes about 30 mins to drive up. The commute is provided by the Jungle Lodges as a part of the package.

This temple is located in the most scenic surroundings possible. The breeze was blowing hard and the clouds were touching the ground. I was feeling cold but could not stop taking snaps.

Please dont forget your jacket on this visit, you will need it especially if you are sitting in the hood less section of the jeep. Ladies inside the temple were making colorful garlands for the idol. I can not forget how rich and colorful that scene was, wish photography was allowed inside the temple. Guess some images are just meant for the mind.

Safari

Now for the most awaited event, what we all visit Bandipur for – the Safari ride. You can board the jeep at 4 pm near the front office of Jungle Lodges. The duration of the Safari ride is 2.5 hours. We went on both days actually. Do carry your binoculars, camera, cap, jacket and water along.

I think there are ways to enter the national park even if you dont go through Jungle Lodges. You will probably need to buy a ticket somewhere near the entrance to the reserve. However, its great to go through Jungle Lodges as you have a Naturalist for company who will guide you through the tour. The forest department has maintained the National Park without hindering the eco-system. The carnivores feed on herbivores for survival and nature is allowed to play by its own rules. The forest department tries to prevent poaching, felling of trees, etc; to preserve the wild life.

You can find lakes surrounded by thick bamboo jungles and leafless trees with artistically carved trunks. We spotted a herd of elephants from very close. There were about 7 of them and a 15-day old baby ele which was running around like a doggie. Its recommended that you maintain pindrop silence so you dont scare the animals away. Its another thing if you have a baby like mine who wails louder when asked to keep quite.

On both the days we saw almost the same set of animals – tusker, deer, antelope, peacock, Gaur, Sambar and langur. We could not spot a tiger although people who went on the third day saw a tiger with 4 cubs. Guess the tiger population is on a rise. Thats good news for wild life photographers. With the light dimming every hour and the jeep zipping through the forest you might find it difficult to click good snaps. For wild life photography a telephoto lens would really help.

Back from Dehra Dun

Roma — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:58:21 +0000

Dehra Dun is the place I visit every summer since childhood days. My maternal Grandparents have been there for decades now. DD is situated on the foot hills of Himalayas. Its amongst the most laid back and scenic cities I have seen. Mussorie is uphill and only 30 kms away from DD, they are almost like twin cities.

As you drive out of the house you are surrounded by huge mountains that envelope DD. The air is pure due to the high density of trees. If you drive slightly out of the town you can find deer walking by the side of the road, just like that! Breathing the fresh air for a week can make you addicted to the land.

Almost everyone in DD has a big beautiful garden outside their home. This makes the environment colorful and aromatic. If you set out on the road you will find mostly bungalows and villas artistically laced with blooms. Something about the soil and air of DD, flowers grow extremely well even if left uncared for.

Here are some snaps I brought back with me. The break at Dehra Dun was so rejuvenating. Not to mention how light my pockets feel after all the shopping.

Company Garden, Mussorie

My baby turns Kashmiri

View from Maal Road, Mussorie

Sky scraping bougainvillea outside our house

Swing in our backyard

Flowers From Grandma's Garden

Dehra Dun is the capital of Uttaranchal

Travel Mode : You first to need to get to Delhi after which you can -

1) Take a taxi to DD, travel time 7 hrs

2) Catch a train, Jan Shatabdi takes 6hrs