Bloomin' Design Studio

We went on a two day trip to Mysore from Bangalore. We rented a Toyato Innova(comparable to a Toyato Highlander) with a driver and drove from Bangalore to Mysore in 3 hours.

Our first stop was Chamundi Hills. At the top of the hill, you will find the temple of Chamundeshwari, a patron goddess of the Wodeyars who ruled the kingdom of Mysore. Nandi, Lord Shiva’s vehicle, a bull, a majestic 4.8 meter monolith sits half way up the Chamundi Hills.

Chamundi Hills Nandi

Our second stop was the St. Philomena’s church. A Gothic style church, simple in its architectural design but intense in its appeal.

St. Philomena Church

In the evening we visited the Brindavan Gardens and KSR Dam. The gardens spread over 150 acress and includes numerous fountains with lights and has a dancing fountain. These gardens are a backdrop for most of the Bollywood movies.

Brindavan Gardens at night

The next day we visited the Mysore Palace. The palace was built for the Wodeyar family who ruled the kingdom of Mysore. The architectural style of the palace blends Hindu, Muslim, Rajput and Gothic styles of architecture. We had to leave behind our camera and remove our shoes before entering the palace.The inside of the palace is beautiful with exquisite carvings and art work. Most of the ceilings were very ornate. For a small fee, we went on a camel and elephant ride. My daughter was thrilled with these rides.

Mysore Palace

We then visited the Mysore Zoo. The zoo is relatively small compared to the Hyderabad zoo. I was amazed to find a large variety of animals in such a small zoo. We can very comfortably walk around the whole zoo without missing any of the animals.

Mysore Zoo

We then drove back to Bangalore and on the way stopped at Channapatna to purchase some wooden toys. We had a very long drive back to Bangalore, around 5 hours due to heavy traffic.