Mysore

Mysore! Mysore! Mysore! The bus conductor kept shouting as she tried to recruit people to hop aboard the bus to Mysore which was approximately 3 hours away from Bangalore. This was to be Auntie P’s first solo trip in India! I have to admit I was pretty stressed since I considered the language barrier to be a pretty significant struggle and didn’t want to get lost or end up in an adverse situation. I was reassured by Anjali however that I would arrive at the bus stop and then immediately be picked up by an Ola cab that would be mine for 6 hours and would take me place to place. As the bus started moving the conductor kept shouting Mysore! Mysore! Mysore! and a few last stragglers boarded. I will never forget though, as we departed, a car pulled up on the drivers side and asked if the bus was going to Mysore. The bus driver nodded and the passenger jumped out of the car and onto the bus. True Indian experience!

The first place on my Mysore list was the Mysore Palace. I arrived right at 10am when it opened and proceeded to the entrance. As I was walking though, it turns out I was not walking to the right place as someone came up to me in Hindi and started pointing to my ticket and the palace entrance on the other side. I guess I had gotten too caught up with wanting to get a good view of the exterior and had missed the entrance! Call me a lost tourist but at least there were people to help me out.

The Mysore Palace was mainly open air. I first walked through a corridor of many intricately decorated arches that were beautifully painted. That led to a courtyard in the middle that you could look out at. Then there was a huge grand dome that had several Greek inspired pillars and arches. More corridors led to perhaps the most iconic room in the palace - the Public Durbar Hall. This is the room the Maharajas used to address the public. The entire room was filled with arches painted gold and teal blue. It was so pretty and picturesque! The room overlooked the entrance of the palace and you could see the gates through the arched windows. While searching for people to take my photo I made a new friend from Czech Republic! He seemed older, perhaps retired and was on his own. His English was rough and I seriously wondered how he was able to get around but I guess he does have the advantage of being a man. It was nice to have someone to talk to though. The school children all stared intensely at us when they heard our accents. Once we were through the hall, it seemed we had completed the entire palace. Apparently there was a weaponry but it has been closed since Covid so we just walked around the front of the palace and he took some photos of me.

The next place on my list was Jaganmohan Palace Art Gallery. My Ola cab driver did not speak English so I just showed him the Google map location and he took me there. The outside of Jaganmohan was very ornate with its little domes. The inside was more like an old and creaky mansion. It was also very empty and I was the only one there. No photos were allowed inside. There were some nice portraits inside both of the Maharajas and of the British colonizers but most were alright. It was a pretty small gallery but I took my time to read everything.

My next stop was Kishkindha Moolika Bonsai Garden. I was very excited to have time to see the garden as I love bonsai trees even though I may have killed mine. When I arrived at the entrance however, the guards ushered me to the door across and I ended up at Shuka Vana which was a bird rehabilitation center. At first I was confused and thought maybe Shuka Vana led to the bonsai garden but it did not. Inside Shuka Vana were hundreds if not thousands of colorful birds. Most of the birds were in cages sadly but they were so beautiful. It was a nice ambience of the birds chattering amongst themselves. At one point there was a photo op where I got to hold a Macaw and they snapped a photo. Those birds were huge but also so brightly colored. There were several other photo ops where you could feed the birds a tray of food and have them come land on your head, shoulders, etc but that seemed a little too chaotic for me. I enjoyed walking through the garden of Shuka Vana and saying hello to all the little birds there.

After Shuka Vana, I headed to Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel for lunch. What is funny is that the guards would only let us in for lunch so I said I was only planning on eating lunch. He then told me it was a flat rate of 1000 rupees to which my Ola cab driver suggested we go somewhere else since that was essentially what he was getting paid. However, I was hungry and that was the only safe place I had been recommended. The interior of Lalitha Palace was very ornate. Everyone there seemed to be a part of a group so I sat by myself which was a little sad but also whatever. I ate bhindi masala, pulao, kofta curry, and rice. Then for dessert I had Mysore Pak which was a gram sweet and ice cream. After my buffet lunch I headed back to the bus which took me back to Bangalore.