Occasional update March 2021

Travel again?

A recent article about ‘global travel trends’ …. emphasised that people were looking forward to travel again….. we can understand why.

Guess where was top of the list? Yes, India.

They emphasised different ways to travel, all of which we have experience of here. For example:

Travelling sustainably, of course, more people are conscious of how they travel and getting to know a place better, going for depth and less of breadth. In a previous life I advised business on sustainability.

More people are looking to work while travelling, say hello to the digital nomad, Tom and Amy are our very own examples of young people with a new approach and zest for life. We’ve lost count of the times they’ve been to stay.

Want to work and travel? check out India, come and stay.

Safety in terms of one’s health and not being in risky personal situations, when we do reopen we’ll be up to the minute, in terms of best practice. In addition, we have experience of many single women travellers calling in here, some starting their travels in Mysore so we can help you find your feet, put you in touch with others and give helpful advice.

Travel is always an adventure and we often have people, including the Sari Sisters from Vancouver Island, Stephen Fleming the intrepid bee hunter cyclist from England venturing out on their own cycle tours, for example from here into the Nilgiris, Kodagu, or to Cochin or Goa. We’ve put cyclists in touch with other’s who have cycled the same routes to get insightful advice and great suggestions.

So when making plans do search around this site where you’ll find all sorts of advice for travel in India, in the South and especially in and around Mysore.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, just ask, we might know or our community of friends: previous guests and local contacts will know.

Things to do Locally

We do also of course have our ‘world famous’ MYCycle tours

I was out cycling with our neighbour Verendra and just today we Invited in and given a guided tour of the Pinjrapole society where cows are given a home, yes, imagine an old cows home, with 4000 residents. check it out.

We look forward to meeting you again or for the first time!

Stephen and Lucie, Manjula still with us.

Tours@mycycle.co

25/03/2021 0

It’s been different

Here’s our entry on Trip Advisor and we’re pleased that we are a Traveller’s Choice 2020 and are still number one in Mysore out of 171.

Life is different as I’ve had nine years of wonderfulness with the Madam, sharing our home and making new friends.

Mysore bum hurts from bouncing on a roller coaster, pot-holed ride since she slipped through my clumsy fingers but now we’ve all had to deal with exceptional pandemic times. I hope you’ve fared well and can begin to feel positively motivated.

We can announce that ……..

We plan to open again in December and promise a friendly dog, the inimitable Lucie, the noisy Yindian and the penetrating presence of the beauty who will always be with us.

Our trademark cleanliness, appropriate distancing and limited rooms will help us all take care of each other.

We look forward to hosting old and new friends,

peas and love,

Stephen, Lucie and

the Manjula

xxx

Yindian: Yorkshire by birth, Indian by marriage.

29/08/2020 2

Sharing Stories

Our stories true, about our life here and fictional can be found on our other site

A popular ‘factly fiction’ story written by Stephen is is about Mysore and cycling, provides another view

Our cycle tours are another opportunity to share stories

01/07/2020 0

our friends

You know what they say?

It’s the people that makes a place, as reflected in many of the guest comments in our books and online reviews.

I don’t think it’s possible to over emphasise. In my view, people connecting well, becoming friends, enjoying life, is what it’s all about.

Yes we’ve set it up and it is our home and you’ll feel us, throughout the place and while she’s not with us anymore and by now has hopefully found another place or is waiting for me, Manjula’s presence, her essence is most definitely here and with me and always will be.

It’s a happy, open, welcoming home.

It’s the many varied, rich mix of guests (see photos below) that add the icing on the cake. That make it all worthwhile. Even over her last few months when she became more ill she wouldn’t close the place, meeting and interacting with guests until the very last, was what she wanted. Manjula recognised that you had become our family and the incredible support both she and I have received when she was ill and for me over the more recent difficult times have been incredible.

I want to introduce you to a few of the members of this constantly evolving extended family.

The lovely couple, Amy and Tom…

…first came to visit us maybe five or more years ago. After that first holiday trip they got married, resigned from their jobs and became nomads, travelling and working around the world. We sort of adopted them (and they us) and see them regularly here or elsewhere. Amy was our celebrant at our wedding, Check here and here and here Tom took the photographs! They knew of Manjula’s illness and so were with us on two occasions early this year and once they’d learned that she’d moved on to another life (our previous postings and Manjula’s story can be found here) they came again, especially flew in to support me for two weeks. I hadn’t realised how much I needed it but I really did.

Ina, moved to Australia from Scotland as a young child, so I wonder how does she still have such a strong Scottish accent after a few years!? Ina visits every year and became a great friend to Manjula. Her first visit was to meet up with a Tibetan monk, living a couple of hours away in Bylakuppe. It was the first time she’d met after over ten years of providing financial support.

Meet more of our team and guests, our family here and recent guests Jean-Yves and Nathalie and their great blog entries of their visit.

Manjula and I have visited previous guests in the UK, I’ve visited guests in Canada and the US, two guests have sent paintings of Manjula and Lucie, we’ve celebrated birthdays and Christmas, I’ve met guests at the music festival featured in a fictional story on our site here, a guest has planted trees in New Zealand in memory of Manjula, I can go on and on (as you will realise)….

We are so lucky.

As a guest of Mysore Bed and Breakfast you’re not expected to do all these things,(although you’re welcome to) just come stay and have a great visit.

We look forward to welcoming you,

Peas and love

Stephen

check the photos, there are many more in our flickr albums here

01/07/2020 0

Get under the skin…

Manjula’s Mysore is here to help you get the best out of your visit to this wonderful city.

We’ll get you to the bits of Mysore you might not otherwise see and provide fascinating insights into life in India.

We offer you our home. A clean, friendly and comfortable place that’s lively energetic and when you need it a quiet relaxing respite from the constancy of India.

To make your visit extra special, we also offer our MYCycle tours, only the second guided cycle tours of its type set up in the whole of India. Combine them with our useful information, advice and hassle fee transport.

This photo from August 2019 shows the high level of the Kaveri River at our favourite place Srirangaptnam just outside Mysore

18/08/2019 0

STOP PRESS

The super city of Mysore and its many fantastic attributes are featured in the Guardian.

Yes, and we do get a couple of mentions, too…

Please check their article here….. for much more info on Mysore

12/01/2018 0

Can you Ride Tandem?

you can in Mysore…….

Tandem Tours to be launched by MYCycle.

Yes, we’ve bought a Tandem and will launch our tours in the new year.

thanks to our lovely models Andrea and Alya

contact Stephen (in advance) for more details: tours@mycycle.co

09/12/2017 0

Why come to Mysore Bed and Breakfast

What makes the difference?

At lunch yesterday, after the cycle tour with a mix of cyclists some from our BnB and some from a different Airbnb in Mysore the difference between ours and this other BnB became apparent from their conversation. It was super to get that feedback and how different peoples experience can be….

Both were comfortable clean places. But the difference?

You’re sharing our home.

We start welcoming you with an introductory email about us, the house and how we can help you have a great stay in Mysore. These are packed full of information about things to do to help plan the stay including our own useful web site at http://www.manjulasmysore.in and getting to know us through our blog http://www.meandmycycle.com

Our guests really appreciated our help but equally important was beginning to feel welcomed and making a connection right from the outset.

We provide detailed information about how to find us and if it’s required, a pick up from the airport or helpful details for dealing with autorickshaws.

Once you arrive, and Lucie has said hello, we welcome you with a guided tour, (most guests get confused between the different floors), a welcoming drink, visiting the roof terrace, understanding the necessity of filter water and the availability to top up your own bottles a refreshing tea or coffee and especially important a simple map showing where we are with highlights of places to eat and visit tailored to your interests.

We’re here to help with information and advice, arrange easy going transport from drivers we know and trust.

So, we want you to have a great experience and want to return for more!

Above all it’s “the people that make it” sharing our home with a rich mix of wonderful people from around the world.

30/11/2017 0

Top Tip 4

Is about tipping

Its quite amazing how many people forget to tip or think its not done to tip (really?!)

Tip, Obviously if you’re happy with the service you’ve received provide a thank you in the form of a tip. Round it up, minimum 10 Rs maybe five to ten percent of the cost. There is no golden rule. but do tip. Try to remember the people behind the scenes: the one who clears the table, the cleaner wherever you stay, they get paid the least and may not see anything of the usual tips. The minimum wage is 200 rs per day and with the growth of the middle classes and effects on tourism prices are seriously going up. It just might not seem it to you.

If you’re not happy then it’s an important statement not too.

I was a bit mad when I first visited india twelve or so years ago. Someone just had to look in my direction to get ten rupees. At one hotel, with a lift, every time I went up or down I gave him a tip. Now that was too much. I was his best mate. 😉

It’s really easy to forget, especially if you’ve had an itinerary arranged by a company so you’re not paying for things as you travel around.

So its important to tip but also to keep in mind what’s an appropriate amount. If we go the other way and tip too much then it feeds foreigner inflation. Maybe we’ll do another top tip covering how to work out the correct price to pay.

I was amazed to hear that some travellers had read advice that you shouldn’t tip in India, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Please do tip.

At our house we have a tin for tips that go directly to the cleaners and the gardener. Manjula only takes for the money she’s given to pay for any meals she makes.

If I ever get any tips from delivering a cycle tour (it does happen once in a blue moon), they go to charity.

So what to tip?

we’ve found a great intro to how much to tip on this site

Created by our wonderful friends at Indiasomeday, (check their main site, they put itineraries together for people) whose guests when visiting Mysore come stay with us at Mysore Bed and Breakfast.

Here’s our inconsisten take on what to tip. (On reading it again, it definitely seems like I’m a bit tight.)

Just today we were at one of our favourite lunch time ‘hotels’ (meaning restaurant) the cost of the meal was 600 Rs, we left a 20 Rs tip (its shared amongst all the staff) tip and another 10 rs to the car park attendants (its maybe not shared!). I’m from Yorkshire and we’re known to be a bit tight but we DO tip.

In Hampi, during our last visit (check the blog for more info) Manjula and I were discussing the young guy working at the Guest house. I can’t believe it but Manjula gave him 200, now she’s acting the Maharani. He said that foreigners never gave tips, just the Indians gave. Astonishing!

Oh and another thing: Drivers. they are of course a mixed bag but we do tend to get a little bit fed up of them trying it on all the time. (We have found a selection of great drivers who promise no hassle!) So I’m really careful how I tip a driver. I want to tip to reinforce good behaviour (the ineffective stick and carrot) so if they use the meter, are helpful, do their job well, I’ll definitely tip. I see it as an encouragement to be nice guys. In particulate our drivers will not be tricksy ( I hope) and if they’ll been hanging around at the airport for your flight, they’ve been helpful with the baggage and generally driven well, please do get them a tip.

On the other hand if you get an auto driver that will not use the meter, don’t use him (if you can be bothered) and if in anyway he’s tricksy make a point of demanding the exact fare. and wo wo wo if he wants you to visit a shop to help him get a voucher for petrol then he’s just lost his tip and any future work!

That’s my approach anyway. It might be pushing a rock up the hill to try change the approach of the drivers but I’m trying and our drivers are pretty good!

05/10/2017 1

So why choose a homestay?

and why choose ours?

Its sharing our home……

which is clean, comfortable, with a great atmosphere, home cooking, continental or Indian breakfasts, an outdoor sit out and roof sun terrace with lots of plants, two lounges, small library, fast WIFI, in a quiet residential area with super amenities next door and which is just ten minutes from the action in the city, such as the Palace and Market.

we provide insights into India with information and advice on what to see and do, from the perspective of Manjula (from Mysore) and Stephen (from the UK) to help you make the best of your time here.

we have a lovely dog, Lucie

a series of over ten parks starting opposite our house