Category: things to do in Mysore

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

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Celebrating Mysore Art

Mysore storyteller’s Network were in the sensitive hands of R G Singh who guided us through the history of his wonderful private collection of Mysore Art.

One of the hidden gems of Mysore. He’s from a family who arrived over two hundred years ago who celebrate and perpetuate the mysore style art. The museum has special exhibitions and occasionally provides guided tours to the exhibits that cover exactly those 200 hundred years of Mysore Art.

I discovered that one of my paintings is similar to one of R G Singh’s in his collection. It’s the cosmic egg.

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Get under the skin…

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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.

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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.

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

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Our friends are our global family

This season has provided another fair share of wonderful opportunities to meet and get to know the rich mix of people from around the world. Whether they’re visitors to our home …Mysore Bed and Breakfast or on our cycle tours it brings a a depth of experience we treasure and cherish.

Check the link here for the ‘trip of a lifetime’ to Mysore and Bangalore, including of course, a MYCycle tour of Srirangaptnam, of a group of young people from New Zealand visiting as part of the work of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

 

more of our photos are here

and the ‘lovely couple’ Tom and Amy who are becoming a fixture at our place have just posted details of a day trip they undertook from our home to Melkote and shravanabelagola details here

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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…

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

 

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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

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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.

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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

a house with wonderful art from around the country

MYCycle tours, scrumptious meals and cookery lessons

oh, and we’ve been no 1 in Mysore on Trip Advisor for five years

according to India today these are the ten top reasons to choose a Homestay here

 

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Minor’s Mysore

things to do for children and the ‘young at heart’

this is just a quick list as its occurred to me, I’ll add links and images, in due course,

Parrot rescue centre and Bonsai gardens. Ask for details

Karanji Lake: birds, butterflies, walk, play area, boats (not up to standard), 20 mins walk from the MysoreBnB

Sand Museum, sculptures of sand, located on the road to Chamundi Hill, where there’s a few other attractions for the tourists. 15-20 minutes walk

Lalith Mahal Hotel: check out the entrance hall, the restaurant decor (what style?) is also amazing, after 7.00 there’s a Raj bar and restaurant. It’s 20- 30 minutes walk from MysoreBnB. The swimming pool might not be accessible as it’s been renovated for ever. It’s possible to visit the bar and get street food on the way home.

Zoo, its a zoo after all but reputedly one of the best in India. Ten minutes away in Auto Rickshaw

Ransoms (its a shop opposite the zoo) where they often have exhibitions in the basement of dolls and board games (of course they are also for sale)

Parks, immediately outside the Mysore BnB is the first of a series of twelve small parks, each with a slightly different focus, that offer places to sit and relax, play on climbing frames, even roller blading ….. is that what it’s called?

Natural History Museum, need to go check that one out myself as when I first went years ago I was not impressed.

Wax Museum: bit basic but some have liked it. There’s even a blog entry from previous guests ten minutes walk

Festivals, depends, on the time of year but there’s Dasara around october time, Ganesh september/october, Diwali (mainly in people’s homes) and many many more throughout the year.

and of course there’s all the regular stuff which are also great for we younger ones: Mysore Palace (looks splendid in the photos), Devaraj Market, so atmospheric with its smells and colours of fruit, veg and flowers; Chamundi Hill for Nandi the giant bull and wonderful views of the city, museums and art galleries; Silk Mill, fab food, artisan’s workshops (stone and wood) or just wandering around the streets to stumble across the hidden gems, like the yak man….. it’s a drama!

and of course… shopping!

and of course tara tara. our Mycycle tours of Srirangaptnam are all geared up for children with small cycles, tag-a-long and child seat for ‘toddlers.’

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BHS

Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola (BHS) …..

Belur and Halebid are small towns where you will find Hindu Temples constructed in the Hoysala period. Belur is that bit larger but maybe Halebid beats it for the intricacies of its carving.

The towns themselves are quite ordinary

Shravanabelagola is a Temple town with the original ‘Prince’ represented in a giant monolithic statue at the top of the hill, there are other temples dotted around the town. It is one of the most important Jain Temples in the world so this is a religious town. There are places to stay and eat frequented by the pilgrims.

Melkote is a Hindu Temple town with atmospheric street, two main Temples, Tank (Temple pond), ruins and Khad cotton, hand spinning and weaving project. Again this is a small religious town.

If you have a taxi it is feasible to do this trip en-route to Coorg or Chigmaglur and in that case it might be possible to take in Bylakuppe.

As always, number one tip: don’t try to do too much!

Most tourists don’t visit these gems because of the limits on their time.

One day or longer? using taxis

Those that do will usually complete the three places in a day trip in a taxi from Mysore. It’s called BHS takes 10-12 hours in total so it’s a long day and costs in the vicinity of 3000 Rs and that’s with a driver who is not a guide. It’s a round trip of about 400 kms. I’ve done it a couple of times. It’s a full day but perfectly manageable.

Occasionally people will extend their trip and stay overnight in one of the places. This can also be done in a taxi, likely cost for two days is 4700Rs or for three days is 5700 Rs Prices will vary depending upon the final route, the type of car and are likely change. These are only intended as a guide, they were good in August 2017.

Other transport

There is a train, reservations are not necessary (or possible.?) and I’m told it’s not too busy or hectic but we don’t really know.

Buses there are both direct and indirect, it takes over three hours to Hasan and maybe another hour or more to Belur. We’ve never done it so not absolutely sure. They do exist and can be sorted once you’re in Mysore.

There is a bus between Belur and Halebid. We’re talking local buses that could be a real adventure with great insights.

Accommodation

Check the suggestions for accommodation at the BHS update here

Places to stay are limited. If you do use a taxi and take more than one day it is also possible to include the Temple Town of Melkote. These towns do not have much in the way of facilities for foreign tourists. There are now AirBnB places and government ‘resorts.’ Most pilgrims in places such as Shravanabelagola and Melkote will stay in lodging or guest houses. Some might not be able to take foreign tourists.

Please recognise our knowledge is limited. In any case, in India, expect the unexpected. 😉

Other more local options

For those who don’t have the time or the inclination to do the full thing it’s also possible to:

– combine Shravanabelagola with Melkote as a day trip. Our good friend Tanuja provides a tour of Melkote that includes the Gandhian Khadi cotton project.

– fit in a Hoysala Temple as there is a smaller but perfectly good beautiful alternative, Somnathpur, an hour or so from Mysore Bed and Breakfast which can be part of an auto rickshaw tour, passing through lovely countryside. Most guests at Mysore Bed and Breakfast manage to fit this in if they stay more than two nights and are not overcome by Temples.

For those who don’t do a MYCycle cycle tour of Srirangapatnam (shame) it is possible to combine Somnathpur and Srirangapatnam as a day trip in auto rickshaw.

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