Virgo Dan

Mysore was our next destination from Ooty. Mysore or Mysuru is the second largest city in Karnataka. We reached Mysore and headed straight to Mysore Palace. We only had a mere 15 minutes to tour Mysore Palace as visiting hours was only up to 5.30pm. As we were not staying the night at Mysore, we did a rush to the gate and were lucky to get the entrace tickets. 200 rupees for foreigners and 20 rupees for locals (indian citizens). We got out tickets and went in. The moment I got in, I was fascinated. I was all "wow'sssss". It was truly breathtaking. From its beautiful gardens outside to the inside of the palace. A priceless national treasure of India and the pride of a kingdom. A must see for tourists visiting Mysore ! The palace was exquisitely carved and the works of art..oh boy ! and the intricately carved doors, the majestic durbar hall and its ornate celing...oh my ! what a beauty. There was an art gallery inside the palace which displayed famous paintings, sculptures and musical instruments. The whole palace was so beautiful and I did not want to leave. I hurriedly took as many pictures that I could. Tour guides inside the palace were not available since it was already closing for the day so we just read what was written on display at each area. It was really spectacular and its beauty was awesomely awesome ! Until today I am amazed. Seeing is believing. Time passed by so fast; it was really a waste that we had to leave that night but....I made up my mind then that I will go back to India just one more time to view this place - the Ever So Beautiful Mysore Palace ! And, you know what ? I also missed the chance of seeing Mysore Palace in the night.. :-( Apparently the palace when illuminated with 97,000 electric bulbs, it would provide an enduring and spectacular view as it would shimmer against an inky black night...I really missed it ! Nevertheless, look at the pictures below and see the beauty for yourself...the beautiful Mysore Palace - a masterpiece meticulously planned and designed and which was once the residence of the former royal family of Mysore, the famour Wodeyars rulers. So, if you happen to visit India, dont ever forget to visit Mysore and specifically Mysore Palace - where a number of local movies were shot at this location too......never ever miss it; and stay the night to see its beauty ! :-)

We reached Mettuppalaiyam (the base of Ooty) just after 7pm and unfortunately we were not able to go uphill as the gates were closed - for safety reasons. The road uphill is really steep, curvy and a 36 hairpin bends await us tomorrow :-) So, we checked in at Asoka Inn at the base.

13th November 2011 ~ We started our journey uphill to Ooty as early as 7am. Ooty a.k.a Udagamandalam is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. It's natural beauty attract tourists and film-makers. Ooty is also known as the blue mountain. It's typically chilly so I missed out on the tour to the lakes, tea gardens etc. but made it to Doddabetta Park - highest peak in the Nilgiris. This is here where I caught a bad cold, fever and began to cough. And, as of writing this entry, I am yet to recover :-( .... my voice....I sound like a man...haha... In Ooty, the best place to eat is in Planters Paradise. They have many varieties. I was really not in the mood to eat so had tutti fruti for my bad throat hoping it will do wonders, but nope ! Other than that, Ooty being so chilly, all I wanted to do was get into bed and snuggle under the covers to keep warm...lol ! Such a bore I was !...anyways, here are pictures taken at the base as well as uphill Ooty .....my next entry will be all about the palace in Mysore ! coming soon....:-)

At the base of Ooty - checked in at Asoka Inn

This is our 12 seater Tempo Traveller

Asoka Inn entrance

Ad for Asoka Inn just outside the hotel

Cool Thuder ! Haha..the juice outlet outside Asoka Inn

Me at the reception of Asoka Inn

Me again...

Yay ! its India's huggle day :-) I've hugged all
except India....so here's a hug to a pillar in India!! LOL

Did you see what I captured? Look closely, its
a man pee-ing ! Hmm...

A family restaurant in Asoka Inn

Dheeran is 6 months old today (13/11/2011)
So, he is getting his first feed of idly...guess what?
the name of the idly is Kushboo (named after a South Indian actress)...LOL !