We
had few relatives coming down to Bangalore from Kolkata and they wanted to
visit some tourist locations around Bangalore. As usual my in-laws looked upon
me for some ideas. Frankly speaking I always try and avoid family trips because
in a family trip you don't carry 3 bottles of Beer, 2 underwear’s & 2
packets of cigarettes in your bag, all these heavenly things are replaced by
some good clothes, soft drinks and chips packets ;).All the ingredients that
make a purrfect holiday need to be parted with in a family trip... Hey that
just rhymed ;)
Anyway
there was no escape and I was given the task of planning and executing this
trip by my In-laws.
The plan:
location
Since
our relatives were visiting us for the first time what better/clichéd place to
visit than Mysore.
Though
Mysore is a very beautiful city, I have been bored to death by visiting Mysore
and all its attractions like the Mysore palace, Zoo etc. time and again hence I
wanted to skip Mysore this time because I already had to sacrifice on the
heavenly things mentioned above ;) and did not want to visit the same old
places which would add to the boredom.
However
for all people visiting south India for the first time Mysore is a must visit
place and hence it couldn't be dropped from the itinerary. So keeping all these
things in mind I suggested Bandipur so that we can spend maximum time in
Bandipur and visit attractions in Mysore on the way back from Bandipur so it was
a win-win situation for all.
Route, Accomodation & Transport
We
were totally 6 people and I and my In-laws have hatchbacks so driving by
ourselves was totally ruled out because it meant taking two cars for a
comfortable journey..... So we hired a Qualis to drive to Bandipur...
The route was Bangalore-->
Mysore--> Bandipur Via the Mysore Ooty Highway....
With
the route and transport planned it was time to plan for the accommodation. I
was shocked to find out that few resorts in Bandipur which charge around 6k per
person per night were running full. The high income and the spending capacity
of people in Bangalore these days has had a major effect on the surrounding
tourist places. As we Bangaloreans try and explore new places over the weekend
and since we don't mind spending on quality things, the cost of most of the
accomodations in the Tourist places around Bangalore have sky rocketed. However
I was lucky to find an economical resort (Bangalore standards ;) ) called MC
Resort which was situated close to the Bandipur Forrest.
We
booked the resort for 6 people and were all set for the trip.
The Journey Begins
The
worst part about a family trip is that you are not allowed to drive in the
night as elders give consider safety as the prime importance over anything else
which means you have to wake up early in the morning for the journey. I had to
wake up by 5 and the shift my arse from the bed to the Cab which was waiting for
us downstairs. I didn't even bother to take a shower, I just woke up had a cup
of coffee and sat in the car parked downstairs and dozed off.As I did not have
to drive this time i had the luxury to doze off in the journey :) .
We
left Bangalore at 6 in the morning. As a ritual people heading towards Mysore
always pit stop at the Kamat hotel located midway between Ramnagara &
Chanpattana. So did we!! Because how could you start out on a journey without
the amazing idlis and Dosas dished out by this Kamat joint without which this
journey would have been incomplete.
After
a sumptuous breakfast we headed off to Bandipur. MC Resort was not difficult to
find, it was on the highway itself some 200 mts after Jungle lodges Bandipur. I
did not have high expectations from the resort since they were charging us way
below what the other resorts were charging in its vicinity.
However
when I reached there I was pleasently surprised. The rooms were very clean and
well maintained. They had a nice sit-out and had facilities like Carrom,
Swimming pool, TT tables etc. We had actually found a gem of a place.
I
just threw the luggage in the room and jumped off into the swimming pool....
After spending close to an hour swimming playing TT etc. we went to the dining
hall and had lunch. The lunch was very delicious, the flavours had a bit of
village touch to it.
As
the saying goes you don't visit a jungle and not go to a safari. So We booked
for a private Jeep safari which was scheduled in the evening. It was one of a
kind experience for our relatives since they had never visited a jungle and
never been in an open Jeep safari. The safari started at 3PM. We spotted
elephants, Bisons, Peacocks & some birds. However we weren't lucky enough
to spot a tiger or any wild cat. The Jeep us took us around for almost 3 hours
and the disappointment of not spotting a tiger was clearly visible on the
driver's face too as he was optimistic in spotting a Tiger since the people who
went for the morning safari had apparently spotted the Royal Bengal Tiger 3
times.
However
all the search went in vain and we had to comfort ourselves spotting some wild
elephants and jungle fowl ;) .
We
were back at the resort by 7 and had tea and some delicious snacks. The resort
arranged a camp fire which again was a unique experience for our relatives.
After a round of snacks at the camp fire spot we had our dinner. This completed
Day1 of the trip. All in All MC resort was a wonderful place to stay and the
delicous food being the highlight of the resort.
Day 2: Gopalaswami Betta & Mysore
As
Mysore was an important leg in our itinerary we had to check out of the resort
early. We checked out around 9 in the morning. When you are around Bandipur in
the months of October & November you should make it a point to visit
Gopalaswamy Betta. This is a picturesque hill located in the core area of
Bandipur and offers some breath taking views of the Bandipur forrest from
above. This place was once a paradise for trekkers but due to all the
restrictions in place people are no longer allowed to trek in Gopalaswamy
betta. The Gopalaswamy betta opens at 8:30 in the morning for visitors and
closes at 5PM. Even with the restrictions in place Gopalaswamy Betta is a must
visit place when you are around Bandipur. We checked out around 9 in the
morning and reached the hilltop by 10 after spending an hour or so we started
descending towards Mysore. We saw some famous attractions like the Mysore
Palace on the way back and as a ritual again we stopped at the Fish Land
restaurant in Srirangapattana. We had some delicious fish preparations like the
Anjal Rawa fry, Mangalore style Pompret curry etc. for lunch after which we departed to
Bangalore. This completed our Mysore/Bandipur trip.
All
in All it was a short & and a Sweet trip which our relatives are still
raving about to other relatives which in-turn may result in more number of
relatives visiting us and we doing a Bandipur/Mysore 2.0 :)
