Bangalore - Not for IT alone. Review on Bangalore

THE SOUTHERN SOJOURN

If you are just married and planning your honeymoon or taking a break from your work and planning a trip to the south of the Vindhyas, Bangalore is one of the stops you should have on your itinerary. Some members of the Mouthshut.com in the past have decried Bangalore as a holiday destination. Loathed for its traffic jams, cost of living, over hyped reputation, lack of infrastructure, Bangalore still is a place every one loves visiting. It is true that it has very little to offer as places of interest or of historic value. It is place where you can wake up when you want to and sleep if you want to. People who come here with an errand may hate its laid back attitude but it is heaven for those who come to just have stroll under the trees. You need to pack that little extra time to enjoy the place. First thing you will notice when you land in Bangalore is that despite being a tourist, you are not bothered as one. For, more than half the population was not born here and the locals are resigned to fact of becoming a minority. Does that rob you of the charm of being in a stranger in a strange land? Not one bit. You have arrived at a place where a whole city resembles a holiday resort. Read on if the preamble has not already rushed you into booking your tickets.

Treat Bangalore as the hub from where you will visit a number of other exciting locations. Here is a travel plan I have worked out for you. And don’t you dare change it!

First on the list is Oooooty (Udagamandalam if you prefer)!

Ooty is a beautiful hill station tucked away in the lavish Neelgiri range of mountains; you have to pass by Srirangapattana, Mysore and Bandipur before you reach it. Relax in Bangalore on day one. If you have some energy left out after reaching your hotel, have a good cup of coffee with masala dosa and explore the surroundings. Bangalore is a safe city and even ladies can go out for a walk by themselves right up to 10 pm.

On day two, hire a Qualis for 4 days and hit the road early in the morning. You will find good restaurants serving Idli and Dosa for breakfast on the way after about 90 minutes of journey on the now improved Mysore road. Take a deviation at Srirangapattana near Mysore and stop to enjoy the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. Visit Tippu’s Palace at Srirangapattana and proceed to Mysore. Take a hotel and relax for a while; go to the zoo if you have not seen caged animals already in your life. Have your lunch in the city and go to the Lalitha Mahal Palace, Chamundi Hills, and the Mysore Palace. Go to the Brindavan Gardens in the evening. It is lit on Sundays and public holidays. Return to your hotel, eat dinner go to bed. Bangalore to Mysore is about 130 Kms and should not take you over 6 hours to reach including sight seeing on the way.

Day Three: Have your breakfast and start for Ooty. It is about 140 Kms and the drive is beautiful. You will be passing through the Bandipur Forest (remember Veerappan – the brigand with handle bar moustache?) and if you are the adventurous type, you can break the journey and stay at the forest resorts for the night. Don’t venture out into the forest on your own. Bandipur is a reserve forest and there are real wild animals here. However, you may, if at all, sight some tamed elephants, dears and naughty monkeys on the way. From here on, the climb to the hills starts and the drive becomes more enjoyable. The old route to Ooty, which is a deviation from the main road, is more thrilling. You will reach Ooty by 2 pm. Have your lunch and relax. Try to stay at one of the several holiday resorts that dot the hills instead of the boring lodges in the city. They may cost you a little more but it is worth every rupee. Visit the Dodda Betta (tallest peak in the Neelgiris) and you may also go boating in the lake in the evening. Have your dinner and enjoy the holiday activities at the resort and go to bed.

Day Four: Visit the Dolphins Nose (a view point) in Connoor in the morning, visit one of the tea gardens, a tea factory, have lunch, spend your afternoon at the Botanical Gardens, go for a trek, stroll through the city streets in the evening, buy some home made chocolates, pick up some masala tea, buy some Nilgiri Oil, have your dinner and go to bed.

Day Five: Start at leisure, have your breakfast, pack up some snacks, and drive back to Bangalore. You may stop at Mysore once again if you have missed out on some thing. Take a good nap in the afternoon at Bangalore, stroll through Cubbon Park, see the famous Vidhana Soudha, walk up and down the MG Road and Brigade road. Go for dinner at any of the numerous eating places on Church Street. There are any number of pubs and bars in Bangalore if you want a go at it. Hit the pillow.

Day Six: Have your breakfast, pack up some lunch, also some beer if you want, and drive to Nandi Hills. It is small hillock about 40 Kms from Bangalore. Walk around a lot on the Hills. You will now feel hungry, finish your lunch on the hilltop and drive back. Ha Ha. See if you can catch up with Tippu’s Summer Palace, or The Bangalore Palace, or The Iskon Temple, or the Ulsoor Lake, or The Bull Temple, or The Lalbagh. All or any of these can be done on day seven too. If you are left with enough energy, go out to one of the Dhaba type restaurants on the outskirts of the city for a peaceful dinner.

Day Seven: Wake up late, have breakfast at the hotel itself, and go visit the places that you could not do yesterday. Finish it by afternoon. Go shopping at Commercial Street in the afternoon. Come back to hotel, pack up all that you brought with you and all that you added in the last six days, have a light dinner and settle down on your journey to Goa or Mahabalipuram or Kanya Kumari or the backwaters of Kerala or the western ghats of Mangalore or the virgin beaches of Karwar or the Jog Falls or the historic ruins of Hampi or the largest monolith at Shravanabelagola or the acoustic wonder Gol Gumbuz of Bijabur or the temple town of Madurai or once again to Madhumalai forest and Kodai or do you have time for more destinations?

And you thought Bangalore has nothing to offer to the tourist.