We stayed, no expense spared, at The Park Lane Hotel … for £25/night, nice room, and bustling terrace restaurant with sliding roof and good food.
Mysore’s greatest attraction is the palace, which looks stunning in the day time … and even more stunning lit up at night (but only at the weekend, and check the times).
We climbed Chamundi Hill to the temple. According to legend, the demon Mahishasura was king of the area and was killed by the Goddess Chamundeswari after a fierce battle and there is a statue of him.
The temple might be very important religiously, but was singularly disappointing to view, but we were amazed at the huge numbers of people visiting, a bit like a rugby scrum.
On the way down was a Nandi bull statue, and we saw our first monkeys.
One afternoon we went to Brindavan Gardens which were laid out when the dam was built, backdrop apparently to many a Bolleywood movie, which were lovely to wander round, but we didn’t stay for the musical lightshow as the road back was full of potholes and we didn’t fancy it after dark.
Finally, we spent a lovely day nearby at Srirangapatum where the highlights were another of Tipu Sultan’s summer palaces, built of wood, with every inch covered in painted decoration, unfortunately no photos allowed, his tomb …
… and a Ranganathittu bird sanctuary, where we had a boat trip and saw crocs, bats, pelicans, storks, cormorants, spoonbills …
One evening, rather than eating at Park Lane, we went to the Tiger Trail at the Royal Orchid Hotel for dinner. The restaurant is set in an open courtyard with trees and twinkly lights and looks very pretty. Service was friendly but rather slow, but this was more than made up for by the food which was delicious.
Leaving Mysore to continue south.
My husband Chris and I decided to go away to celebrate our two big birthdays which meant we needed to be away six weeks to take them both in … and since funds aren’t unlimited, where better to go when it’s chilly in England than Southern India.
Off Travelling Together 