On the way down, many of us witnessed the panoramic beauty of Ooty first-hand. The beautiful ridges, coupled with crystal clear streams, vegetation and mist made the place look splendid. It was double joy when we reached the Tiger Nature reserve where we observed the variety of animals in their natural habitat. It was a joy to see animals in their natural habitat within the villages. Many Singaporeans will only see animals in the zoo. Many jostled for a good angle and squealed in excitement when we spotted the deers and elephants.
Upon reaching the city, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant which had a barrel for an entrance. Yes, it was a barrel, literally! With tummies full and happy, we were pleasantly surprised when Mr Raven, our tour guide, managed to secure a street magician to entertain us. Our jaws dropped as we were enthralled by the sight of him making water come out of Hakim’s pants and made Jeremy lay an egg. He also managed to spit out around 30 nails and puffed out smoke. Obviously, he was talented and we wondered whether his takings for the day was enough to cover his daily expenses.
Next stop was the grand Maharaja Palace in Mysore. It was stunningly huge. This palace was built in 1897 when an unfortunate fire mishap during the Princess’s marriage caused the old wooden palace to be completely burnt to ashes. The palace continues to be the residence of the Mysore royal family.
We continued our journey to Bangalore, which took about 4 hours to get there. We were caught in endless traffic jams on the way there. It was very late and everyone was exhausted from the long journey. After what seemed like eons, we finally reached VT Paradise, which would be our home for the next few days. Mr. Raven described it as ‘small but cozy”, and he was very accurate about that statement. It was indeed smaller than the previous two hotels. After checking in, we had dinner and went to sleep.
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