Bangalore, Mysore ... India road tour

Hard to tell what makes India "incredible". Is it the spread of poverty and wealth? Ancient religious sites? Bustling cities around the clock? Colours and smells? All of that or nothing of it? I stopped counting my trips to India a long time ago. Still, I feel the fascination of getting there each and every time ... the first pic on a trip bears a bid of magic. This time it's an early morning pic in a side street not far away from my hotel in old town Bangalore. I couldn't help but had to click the woman on what must have been her early morning routine: Fighting the dirt in an hopeless battle that one can't win.

That's the timeless spirit of courage. Suddenly it all smells like ... victory?!? What a way to start a day.

Tourist life in Bangalore (officially Bengaluru) is "special" to start with. While big B is certainly a hub of the IT industries (check out Whitefield for this universe), Bangalore downtown really comes across a bit "common". Of course there are interesting buildings (shopping malls as well as colonial style historic sites). Real outstanding sites are rare however - at least I did not fall for the Bangalore Palace (a Windsor castle me-too-mockery) and Tipu Sultans's summer palace. Vidhana Soudha, where Karnataka's parliament resides, shows-off what Bangalore could be like, if only more properly managed.

Most of the times I end up in either Cubbon Park or Lal Bagh Garden - the latter one definitely my preferred hang-out for slow afternoons. And at least during my earlier stays a real good bird watching area!

Not far away from down-town Bangalore the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) justifies a day long vist. BBP consists of a zoo (with animal houses in a pretty miserable condition at least for Westerner eyes), a safari area with bus and jeep tours (including "caged" lions and tigers) and finally a butterfly park that includes a bid of an nature evolution display. All in all a pretty interessting tour. Throughout my years there it has improved a lot. Even the bus services to downtown Bangalore function. Still on your way from Bangalore to BBP a couple of temples justify car/cab usage. 

Mysore, officially Mysuru, served as the capital city of the Kingdom of Mysore for nearly six centuries from 1399 until 1956.

Most famous is the palace and some fine historic buildings in the downtown area. Touring this district provides access to beautiful rural villages and some outstanding temples.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, also known as Pakshi Kashi of Karnataka, is the largest bird sanctuary in the state, only 40 acres (16 ha) in area, and comprises six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river.

A must-see parc, very conveniently located close to the historic site of Srirangapatna (3km) and on your way to Mysore (19 km). Take the river cruise option as it will add wonderful bird watching perspectives. As well as close encouters with crocodiles and whatever lives in the mash lands of the river.