Even though postponed for over a month, when the time came to start the tour on Thursday, May 28th, the onset of monsoon literally cast a dark cloud on it. However, the previous day was unexpectedly sunny and the morning broke with a clear sky. The tour started at 6.45 am from Aluva on a Toyota Innova. Apart from some inevitable breaks of no particular concern, we reached Vadagara by 1.15 pm and had a sumptuous lunch. The taste of Malabar biryani was superb and the rates were reasonable. We continued our onward journey to Madikeri via Thalassery, Mattannur and Virajpet and was pleasantly surprised to see Mahe which is a distinct world, set apart from the rest of Kerala even though the string of a common culture threads unbroken through the heart of both Mahe and nearby Thalassery.
It was at Iritty near Kerala border that we had the great shock of learning that the road to Virajpet was blocked due to extremely bad condition of the roads. Cutting off an interstate highway by not attending to repair work in time was something which we couldn’t digest so easily, coming on the wake of the crushing blow to our schedules! The locals suggested an alternate route through Mananthavady, Kutta and Gonikoppal which required an additional run of about 140 km, some of which was through dense forests with the grim possibility of finding wild animals in the middle of the road at night. A thanking note must be made here to the unknown local man at Iritty who took the trouble to cross a busy road to point to us that our backside left tyre is very low on air! The time was nearly 4 pm and we had the unenviable prospect of traveling a long way after coming tantalizingly close to Virajpet which was only 30 km by the now blocked road. A rough estimate showed that we would reach Madikeri by only 9 pm.
We weighed all the pros and cons including an alteration of the destination, but came to a conclusion to stick to the original targets and hence started the journey through Peravoor, Kottiyur and Palchuram. The famous Kottiyur temple beckoned us midway, but there was no time to get off there. By the time we ascended Paalchuram, the sun had begun to set over the vast expanse of green carpet which is Kerala. Catching a last glimpse of the sun’s fleeting rays on the top of the hill we arrived at Mananthavady and had a brief tea there. We left at 6.30 pm, brazing for the coming ordeal through a dense forest with anxious women and children in the car.
We approached the Kerala RTO check post at Kattikulam for taking permit to enter Karnataka which is mandatory for taxi vehicles. We had our second shock of the day there to find that the fitness certificate of our vehicle had expired 3 weeks back and there is nothing they could do. The officials refused to budge an inch even with tempting offers of monetary benefits and here I give a respectful salute to those officers. After spending an hour appealing and offering, they told us that they’d turn a blind eye to our car and we can proceed at our own risk with a warning that if caught by the Karnataka authorities, a hefty fine might be imposed. We took the risk and proceeded to Kutta, which is a wild life sanctuary. On the way, we had the first pleasant surprise of the trip, to find that our driver had a spare set of number plates of the car which will turn the vehicle into a privately owned one which doesn’t require any permit or fitness certificate. Just by changing the background colour of the license plate from yellow to white, we bought freedom.
It was in this condition that we reached Kutta, a wild life reserve on the Kerala-Karnataka border. The road condition was very bad and we inched forward. We had the second surprise of the day to find a single tusked lone elephant (ottayan) very near to the road. He was having his supper and didn’t take heed of us. Within one km, we caught site of a herd of wild deer, with their eyes shining like little spheres of fire in the car’s head lights. In a very short time we reached the border and crossed over to Karnataka. There was a police check post and the constable on duty openly asked for ‘some cash’ to let us pass through. We were only happy to oblige, otherwise had he checked the papers, the real truth of the number plate would have come out. We paid him Rs. 50 which he accepted happily, with a surprised face. We suspect that the amount was way too high for his normal collection and all those reading this review may please keep in mind to pay a smaller amount of Rs. 10 or 20 to such rascals. The onward journey to Madikeri was eventless, with most of the people knowing Malayalam and giving proper directions which enabled us to reach the capital of Kodagu district at 11.45 pm. We took rooms at Hotel Rajdarshan at Raja’s Seat and retired for the day.
Second Day (May 29, 2009)
We walked to Raja’s Seat in the morning. There is a small park there, overlooking the Coorg landscape. The view is very good though not exactly breath taking! From the travel guides we had formed a very high estimate of the place’s beauty, but we were disillusioned somewhat. There was a slight drizzle which accentuated the gloomy climate.
Since we had lost much time yesterday, and had to move to Mysore in the afternoon, a trip to Talacauvery was out of the question as we had to travel a to and fro distance of 100 km. So we went straight to
Abbey Falls, which is about 7 km from Madikeri. The short trip was a refreshing one except the small section through the crowded and narrow town streets. After leaving the town, the road meanders through undulating plains which rightfully earned the sobriquet, “The Scotland of South India” to Coorg. The falls itself is a small one and visitors are not allowed to go near the bottom of the falls as it was very slippery. A hanging bridge spans the two banks and provides good photo opportunities. Freshly plucked oranges were available there and it was very tasty.
A brief visit to Omkareshwara temple was the last item in our Coorg itinerary. Since it was noon, the temple was closed and it was quite a common one at first sight from the outside. The sanctum in the middle of the pond is peculiar. We left for Mysore at 2 pm. Even though the check in time was 12 noon, the officials at Hotel Rajdarshan very graciously didn’t charge anything extra. Thanks to them, and we highly recommend this hotel.Kaveri Nisargadhama is about 28 km from Madikeri on the Mysore route. It is a natural island in the middle of Kaveri and is developed into a picnic spot. Facilities for boating and elephant ride is available here, along with a featureless park. Some monkeys which roam free among the trees added some spice to the time we spent there. We found our first ride on an elephant to be a nice one, even though the distance traveled was hardly 100 metres. Our next stop was the Namdroling monastery and Golden temple at Bylakuppe, which is at a short detour of 7 km from the highway through the restricted Tibetan settlement. Foreign nationals are not permitted in the area unless they hold a protected area permit (PAP). This Buddhist monument is open to all and the Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara is a treat for eyes with huge, gilted statues of Buddha, Tara and bodhisattva adorn the walls. One would stand dumbfounded in the majestic presence of these huge deities accompanied by all divine paraphernalia. With the Tibetan touch pervading all objects from the deities, furniture, musical instruments, buildings and even people, we’d feel like being in Tibet itself.
After a 2 hour journey from Bylakuppe, we reached Mysore at 8 pm and took lodging at Hotel Amogha in Irwin Road as many of the good ones in Sriharsha Road was full.
Third day (May 30, 2009)
Any trip to Mysore won’t be complete without a visit to Chamundi Hills, whatever may be your religion. The bird’s eye view of the sprawling Mysore city is breath taking, keeping oneself wondering at the expanse of this old capital city, even though it won’t be apparent once you are on level ground. Tall buildings and sky scrapers are conspicuous by absence and it seemed that the city is expanding horizontally rather than vertically! Our morning visit to Chamundi went well with the usual photo sessions in front of the statue of Mahishasura and Nandi. Quickening the pace of travel, we reached Zoo next.
The Zoo, officially called Shri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, was established in 1892 and situated at an expanse of 250 acres in the heart of the city. It is one of the oldest zoos in the world and certainly one of the largest in India. The walk through the path totals 3.1 km excluding the lateral attractions and without covering many other points of interest. A Gorilla in the zoo is claimed to be the only one of its kind in South Asia. The infrastructure inside the Zoo was very convenient to the visitors and the concept of running battery operated vehicles helped reduce air pollution inside the campus. Having a quick lunch at a nearby Kerala hotel, we moved to the next place in our list.
Srirangapatna was the ancient capital fort-town of Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali. Situated at a distance of 19 km from Mysore on the Bangalore road, it is actually an island on the Kaveri river. The Gumbaz is the mausoleum of the Tipu family, with the tombs of Hyder, Tipu and his mother Fatima Begum. Corruption runs rampant in the place. There is a hefty fee of Rs. 2 per pair for keeping footwear (in the palace, it is Rs. 0.50), but the keeper will give you receipt for Rs. 2 only, even though he will rightfully take the full amount. Also, when we entered the mausoleum, one person was explaining the historical significance and the architecture of the place etc. Riddled with blunders and historical errors, he continued for 2-3 minutes and surprisingly declared that he was a recognized guide and demanded Rs. 50 for his services! He literally forced us to pay, with several other staff on duty inside the mausoleum watching the episode with glee. When we went outside, we had to pay a parking fee of Rs. 30, even though absolutely no facilities are provided. Similar was the experience at Sangam, a nearby place which is the confluence of rivers Kaveri and Arkavati. Small basket canoes ply at the place where tourists can go for a short sail circling the merging point of the rivers.
KRS (Krishna Raja Sagara Dam) was the next destination. We followed the short cut through Palahalli which saved us a trip back to Mysore. The roads were very bad at some places, but we managed to reach the new parking lot of KRS without much delay. The new entry point is having a huge car parking area. It was raining heavily by the time we reached there and there was an electrical problem in the park causing an indefinite postponement of illumination. The musical fountain came on line at the scheduled time and was good. We left soon after and returned to the hotel.
Fourth day (May 31, 2009)
This was the last day of the tour and we had only one place to go in Mysore, which was the palace itself. From a web site, we had the impression that it allows visitors from 7.30 to 9 am and so we reached very early at the place, only to find that the timing is from 10 am to 5 pm. We just killed time fighting off street vendors and touts who abound everywhere in Mysore. At 10 am, we were one of the first visitors to the palace. The place appeared to be a drab one with complacency and carelessness written everywhere. Even the dusting of artifacts was done a long time ago. Cameras will not be allowed inside proving the authorities’ hostility to tourists. Seeing the mediocrity of the t
hings displayed inside, we would burst into a laugh to see the articles which the authorities are trying to hide from camera’s eyes! The exhibited items stand as mute spectators to the tasteless extravaganza of a king who had lost all touch with his people and who kept his throne by being a stooge of the British masters. We completed the rounds through the innards of the palace in a mere half an hour and it was pure waste of time. The place is worth only a single visit, just to know what is inside. With that, we completed the last item on our list.A note must be added here about Mysore and its people. They are in stark contrast to Madikeri which we left two days before. Almost all of them in Mysore seem to be brokers of some sort or the other! If you ask them for directions to a hotel, they will immediately say that the hotel is full and will offer to take you to another one for a fee. Of course, they will take commission from the hotel also. They won’t simply leave you alone if you ask them for help. One such person whom we asked for directions to a hotel followed us for 3 km in his bike offering to show us the way to another hotel for Rs.100. Asking for money to give directions to a tourist!! Just think of that! It had become such a nuisance that we didn’t know what to do with him! Even the ordinary folk we asked for directions didn’t have the enthusiasm to show us the way. It always seemed that we are causing trouble to them. On two occasions, we were shown the wrong way and I doubt even to this day that it was deliberate. A really fine line separates Mysore’s obsession of Kannada with xenophobia. Who would believe that this city, claiming to be a tourist hub, doesn’t have a single road name displayed in English? For an average tourist, it is better to avoid this city.
Visiting times of places of interest in Kodagu and Mysore as on May 31, 2009
No Place of interest Visiting times
1 Raja’s Seat, Madikeri 5.30 am – 8.00 pm
Musical fountain: 7.00 pm (Mon – Fri)
6.45 – 7.20 pm (Sat, Sun)
2 Omkareshwara Temple, Madikeri Pooja: 6.30 am – 12 pm, 5 – 8 pm
Mahalingarati: 12 pm and 8 pm
3 Kaveri Nisargadhama 9.00 am – 5.30 pm
4 Namdroling Monastery and Golden Temple, Bylakkuppa 7 am – 8 pm
5 Mysore Zoo 8.30 am – 5.30 pm, Tuesday holiday
6 Darya Daulat Ganj, Srirangapatna 9 am – 5 pm
7 Krishna Raja Sagar Dam, Mysore Illumination: 7.00 – 7.55 pm (Mon – Fri)
7.00 – 8.55 pm (Sat – Sun)
8 Mysore Palace 10.00 am – 5.30 pm
Illumination: 7 – 8 pm on Sundays and general holidays
9 Chamuneshwari Temple, Mysore Darshan: 7.30 am – 2 pm (Except Fridays)
On Fridays: 6 am – 2 pm, 3.30 – 6 pm, 7.15 – 9 pm
Abhisheka: 6.00 – 7.30 am, 6.00 pm – 7.15 pm
