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

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.

04/02/2021 1

Quirky

14/10/2017 0

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

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

20/09/2017 1

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.’

SF/17Sept2017

17/09/2017 0

guest photos now online

well what a wonderful time we’ve had….. same but different…. Now most of those who visit are returners, or those who hear about us via word-of-mouth, you are all our friends.

So its been the usual mix of fab guests from all around the world, with a significant increase in travellers from Canada. We’re now getting to the end of our busiest period and we’re feeling the heat a teeny bit. The photos taken of our guests on cycle (or other tours) and at our lovely home can now be found on flickr here.

Please just search for the album that corresponds to the date you were here (sometimes albums might overlap!) and feel free to download any photos you like. Any problems, can’t find or download please contact Stephen at tours@mycycle.co

01/03/2017 0

Tibet in a day!

One of the popular places to visit for a day, from Mysore, is the Tibetan Settlement of Bylakuppe near Kushalanagar. A great friend of Manjula and Stephen’s is Ani Samten, originally from the States she is a Buddhist nun (that’s what Ani means) who’s lives at a Monastery in the settlement.

Some of our guests have been really lucky to be able to meet up with Ani and get a personal tour!

Let’s hear from Ani Samten herself about that very tour.

“One of my fave jobs at the monastery is giving tours to visiting foreigners.
We have our original, traditionally built/decorated temple, a new temple under construction, an incense-making factory and a statue maker.
I’ll take you on a virtual tour, in the same order I take visitors, starting with the old temple.

Welcome to Drikung Kagyudpa Monastic Institute, known as Kagyu Gonpa in the settlement.

Everyone enters through the main gate. The original temple is up the steps, in the background

The double entry door to the temple.

Notice the rich, vivid colours and how every surface is painted…often in a different colour.

In Tibet, where the landscape can be so stark/barren, it is amazing to see richly painted temples such as this emerge over the crest of a hill.

Inside the shrine room.

As in most temples in Tibet, every inch of wall space is painted/covered with thangkas, wall hangings of deities/lamas painted on canvas and framed in brocade.

Left rear is a throne for HH Dalai Lama. Rear of the room is a huge, red Buddha Amitabha statue, encased in glass. To the left of the statue is a photo of our lineage head.

Two of the three drums used in our ceremonies are in the photo, as are both types of cymbals. Three types of horns are used in our ceremonies, but none are in this photos.

A huge thangka of Buddha Amitahba in his Pure Land.

Buddha Amitabha is the Buddha of Infinite Light, and very important to the Phowa practice. Phowa is the transference of consciousness at the time of death. Our lama, H E Choeje Ayang Rinpoche, is a Phowa master.

The two black items are two of the very long horns used in our ceremonies. They telescope out to be very long when used

On the table in front of the horns is tsog (blessed food) offering, which will be distributed to the monks and lay people after the tsokpa (prayer service).”

Do check Ani’s facebook page to contact her and for more details of her life here in India

If you’re fortunate there may the opportunity to meet up with Ani if you choose to visit the Tibetan Settlement. For details of how to contact Ani and to arrange a day trip to the Settlement where you’ll also find: the Golden Temple, other monasteries, Thangka, carpet and prayer flag workshops. shops in Camp One and restaurants for Tibetan meals.

Farrell Factoid

It isn’t admissible to stay after dark in the settlement without a Goverment pass (takes ages) but its prefectly possible to visit for a day trip either from Mysore or Coorg (its just on the edge of Coorg). We can arrange a taxi and if you wish to stay overnight (nearby) we can suggest places.

Do check the map of the settlement drawn by one of our previous guests to help you find your way around.

Ani doesn’t charge for her tours but I’m sure a donation to her work at the Monastery would be appreciated.

Do be sure to check out the workshop where they make the statues, it’s one of my personal favourites.

06/12/2016 0

Art inside the book!

Our guest book is a lovely read. It helps remind us of the startling range of lovely people who have crossed our threshold and brought Wonderful connections into our Mysore life. Well it’s also a hidden source of even more art! Thank you.