Big Banyan Tree (Ramohalli), Kanva reservoir, and Mysore

 

Jul 29, 2007

Big Banyan Tree, and Kanva reservoir

Aug 12, 2007

Mysore

Ramohalli/Kanva: Parents were visiting us, so almost all weekends were excursions. All went to the Big Banyan Tree at Ramohalli. Since there was a lot of time, we decided to goto Kanva (aka Kanwa) dam/reservoir also. It was a lovely weather and no crowd. Had a great time at Kanva where we put the picnic sheet near water and sat down for an hour or so. The best part I like about Kanva is that you can take your car right upto the water itself! On the way back, stopped at Kamat Yatri Nivas, next to Janapada Loka for evening snacks. By the time we left, it had started raining. Oh, monsoons!

Mysore: Two weekends later (Aug 12), we set out to generally see things in the city. At around 1030 hrs, somewhere near Townhall, idea came from backseat as to why dont we travel to Mysore! And I said, why not! So, thats what we did. I love Mysore for its beautiful roads, and lack of crowd. Reached Mysore by 1300 hrs or so. Headed straight to Chamundi Hills. The drive is lovely. Had mirch pakoda near the temple. It was too good! Went to Nandi temple, and then headed back to Mysore. After so many years, wanted to see the Sandalwood Oil factory. Not on the usual tourist itinerary, I had earlier discovered this quaint, caught-in-time, one-of-its-kind sandalwood oil factory. This factory is a division of Karnataka Soaps & Detergents Limited (KSDL). After all these years, I somehow remembered that it was in Ashoknagar/Ashokpuram locality. So, we reached the factory. Unfortunately, it was closed (Sunday). Earlier when I had been there, I had taken a full guided tour and it was amazing. Went for the must-do trip to Palace after that. After Palace, it was time to do hit another unusual place: Railway Museum. Again, like sandalwood oil factory, Rail Museum of Mysore is not prominent on toursits' itinerary. In fact, I don't think its covered in any standard Mysore tourist lists. And probably that made it even more special. As soon as you enter, the railways environment takes you by its charm. The ticket counter itself is made out of the last (guard's) coach! All the displayed engines/coaches/cars have board alongside narrating the life-story of that item in first person! Its kinda cute. There's a small toy train which looked like it wasn't working. But then, it was started just for us. While going in this train, you can see the real Mysore railway station which is adjacent to this museum. The toy trains station is real cute and you can spend some time there, esp if the weather is nice (which it was that day). Another lovely attraction is Mysore Maharani's Saloon which is showcased inside a shed. One can go inside the saloon and see the amenities that Maharni of Mysore was used to. The board alongside declares the cost of the salon at the time it was made to be Rs 29,508/- ! Also, it tells you that Maharaja's Saloon is housed at the National Rail Museum in Delhi. You feel kinda sad for this separation of the two saloons! A very interesting sight is Austin Rail Motor Car which, while originally was the regular Austin car, was later used as railway track inspection car. As it was getting late and we also wanted to goto Jain Temple, left from the museum. On the way to temple, stopped at the St Philomena's Church for a while. Went to the Jain temple where my parents used to stay when they used to come to Mysore much earlier. There's a nice market outside Jain temple where we had some snacks. Decided to head back to Bangalore, but suddenly realized that it was already 1900 hrs and as it was a Sunday, Mysore palace would be lit with bright lights. So, we went to the Palace again, this time to see the night splendor. Its quite a sight. Apart from visiting inside the palace during daytime, one should not miss this view of Palace on Sunday nights. Soon after, left for Banaglore and reached by 2230 hrs or so.

Back to home page

Created: Jul 07, 2008 

Last updated: Jul 07, 2008