[motomaverick]

So its going to be New Years eve and we got to go somewhere, well that was the general atmosphere in the house. The situation got a shot in the arm when we learnt that my sis-inlaw may not be able to come to Bangalore due to some training tests in Infosys. So the plan was finalized then, that we would pick her up from her campus and go to Bandipur or Nagarhole for a stay.

Yes, we started hotel search very very late so it was obvious that we didn't find any accommodation for 31st. So another change of plan and it was decided to stay in Mysore, have a grand dinner on new years eve and come back on 1st Jan. Booking was done at Shree Guru Residency. Had stayed in the hotel long back and the service was good but this time the service benchmark has gone down.

A couple of shots of the Hotel




Price for a double room on 31st: 2000 bucks

So here goes a Photolog of Ranganathittu, Mysore, i always wanted to do a photolog so i was carrying our old PnS camera as well.

Early morning (by my standards ) NICE road, slight drizzle was there but nothing too much to worry


Breakfast stop at Shivalli Restaurant, few kms before Maddur town.


For early morning burger lovers you will also find a KFC in the same complex


Beautiful SH-17, this is the only 4 laned SH i have ever traveled but i hate it a lot as its too much traffic. But early morning its relatively easy sail.


For folks in favor of Kamat or the big M can choose to stop a few kms ahead of Shivalli. In our last trip to Ooty, we had stopped to have hot hot idlis in Kamat, pretty good i must say.


Cross Maddur and you will find Adigas restaurant on the right, this one is good for lunch, have not tried the breakfast but i guess it would be similar to Kamat's or Shivalli's. Its interesting to see so many eateries in this short stretch of 120 kms. I think we also have some 3 CCDs and 1 Barista in Maddur, wow! travelers are really spoiled for choice.


After cross Srirangapatna, you need to keep on the right as there will be a sign board for the same. Cross a railway line and you will arrive at the gates of the bird sanctuary. You need to buy the tickets and pay for the car & camera at the gate itself.


Since we had come pretty early, i think it was 9'ish so there were very few crowds.
As soon as we park our car, my spotter (my wife ) sees a KF and i just barely manage to capture it in the disturbing background. I was still learning the trick of using this len's so it was taking time.


We started to walk towards the boating place and saw these lovely National Flower of India


Got a boat with an additional family, but thankfully they were pretty decent and no small children to cry and disturb the birds on the ride


Our first sighting of the migratory birds was this Spoon Billed Stork. PS: If i mention a birds name wrongly please do correct me, i am still learning



On a distant rock was perched a hail & hearty Common Indian KF


Next we saw an Open Billed Stork


In the distance you can see a few more of the spooney storks


This one was so beautifully camouflaged it was very hard to spot it, Great Stone-curlew


There were very few Croc's around, maybe because the sun was still not completely out and it was cloudy.


Then saw a Pond Heron sitting on a branch, it was pretty close


Next saw this Night Heron, this one was sitting very very close to the path that the boat took, thats why could get a good image.


An Open Billed Stork i guess thinking, Here comes the first lot of idiots to see me!


The Indian Cormant were in great numbers


The Open Billed near its nest


A sleeping Indian Mugger or croc


The Snowy Egret


We were finally done with the boating and were walking upto the parking lot as we needed to go and check in to our hotel as there were lengthy plans for the day. Near the parking lot i was finally able to capture a bird shot that i am proud of myself.

Sorry dont know the name but still trying to find out

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the public forum. Thanks for sharing!

[motomaverick]

Once we wound up with the birdies, we went straight to the Hotel and freshened up for the next leg of the day's tour. We were to go and meet my Sis-inlaw in her Infosys campus.

Well to get in to the campus a prior appointment needs to be approved by the HR it seems, this was taken care off, now a days they do allow u to take your vehicle inside the campus and not park just inside the gate. But i must say its a huge huge campus, we actually could not finish it and i dont think one can.

THe first building that you see when you enter the campus from Gate 1 is this Global Education Center, this one reminded me of Rashtrapati Bhavan.



Its surely a massive building and someone who loves Architectural photography would be delighted. Next two pics are from the outside of the building





We went inside and witnessed a squeaky clean floor



The attrium is transparent glass to have sunlight filter in



It seems to be some 4 floors high



Really cool designs on the floor



By the time we finished this building it was time for lunch, post lunch we drove towards the Multiplex and shopping area. This area also has a swimming pool on the first floor



The color of the water further highlighted by the blue tiles underneath



In the background you can see the spherical multiplex cinema hall, it seems that its 150 bucks monthly charge for seeing a movie at anytime in a month and they do have the latest prints running. We saw a huge line for one show of Ghost Protocol.



If one desires we can also stay in the guest house that the campus has but you will have to get it booked some 2 months in advance so if you have someone in training in this campus do see if you can stay, its 750 bucks for a room per night.




So we finally wound up the campus visit by 4 and our next destination for the day was the Zoo, the first time me & wifey visited the Zoo we were really happy to see so many healthy animals, so next up is the Mysore Zoo.

[Fordmanchau]

Motomaverick,
Wonderful log and pics. Infact, seeing the pics of the Infosys training centre at Mysore for the first time. Had heard so much about it and it's truly marvellous. Have more of it ?
Thanks for the pic. Lovely clicks!!!

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Motomaverick,
Wonderful log and pics. Infact, seeing the pics of the Infosys training centre at Mysore for the first time. Had heard so much about it and it's truly marvellous. Have more of it ?
Thanks for the pic. Lovely clicks!!!

Well thanks for the comments, yes even i saw the campus for the first time and it was pretty good, except for the hassle of getting a pass to go inside rest is pretty organized. The security guards in fact blow their whistle if you go over the speed limit . I could click only these photographs, you see we didn't go around that much, its pretty tiring.

[Fauji]

Motomaverick,

Thanks for sharing excellent pictures of birds in Ranganathittu. Yes, Infy campus is one of the largest and best anywhere in the world. Can you believe that they can accomadate 15000 trainess at a time. Mindblowing indeed.

[Durango Dude]

Excellent pics Motomaverick. I advise people who want to go to Mysore to forget the Mysore Palace, the true palaces in Mysore have relocated to the Infy campus, where I stayed for 2 days way back in 2005 summer. It was opulent. I remember there was a glass pyramid outside the ILI (Indian Leadership Institute) in Infosys campus and the high roofed food courts. Thanks for helping me relive my memories of that trip.

[Jignesh]

Yes. Infosys Center in Mysore is biggest Corporate Traing Center in the World.

I belong to IT Industry & have friends who are trained in that campus. The facilities (other than state of art Training facilities) there include:

1. Multiplex
2. Super Markets (couple of them)
3. Salons
4. Hospital
5. Swimming pools
6. Sports Complex
7. Dominos
8. Cafe Coffee Day
9. Floating Restaurant
10. Canteens serve dishes from all over India

I know of people who gained 5 - 6 kilos in six months of stay there.

Thanks,

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by Jignesh

1. Multiplex
3. Salons
5. Swimming pools
6. Sports Complex

I know of people who gained 5 - 6 kilos in six months of stay there.

Thanks,

Gee, spoilt brats! Do folks feel like coming homing at all after work ( or is that part of the trick )

[motomaverick]

So after we left the Infy campus, we headed straight to the Zoo before it closed for the day, we always wanted to visit it after our encounter with the Giraffe couple of years back when they had come very close to the fencing. Chamundi temple was also on the cards but it was decided to go there early next morning.

Some pics might be shakey as the light was really low and the max apertur in the lens was 4 f-stops

Welcome to the Mysore Zoo

Mysore Zoo (officially the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens) is a 245-acre (99 ha) zoo located near the palace in Mysore, India. It is one of the oldest and most popular zoos in Southern India, and is home to a wide range of species. Mysore Zoo is one of the city’s most popular attractions. It was established under royal patronage in 1892, making it one of the oldest zoos in the world.

While mainly depending on entry fees for its financing, an adoption scheme introduced in the early 2000s at Mysore Zoo has been a success, with celebrities, institutions, and animal lovers contributing directly to the welfare of the zoo inmates.

The first exhibit is the Giraffe, which actually is also the last thing you see after your 3km walk around the entire Zoo





Next you walk into a zone where all the birds and small mammals are kept. Its also sad to see these birds caged inside. Thats the Indian Hornbill



The Malabar Squirrel



The Flamingo Its amazing how this bird can manage its weight on one leg when its sleeping


This one was a variety of fowl


A variety of Parakeet



This is the Macaw The same species as the one seen in Rio movie but that was the very rare Blue Macaw






This is the Toco toucan Again made famous as the character Rafael in Rio movie



These are really pretty Livingstones Turaco




Next up after the birds starts the mammals and its the Tigers, i know a lot of people in this forum may have visited MP to catch a glimpse of the majestic animal in its natural habitats but for a few who have not been able to go especially in south India, should visit the Mysore zoo as they are the healthiest here.






The mean looking Bison



The Chimpanzee was pretty bored and was never looking at the crowds



The Lion-tailed macaque was trying to see if theres something up the trees.



The most sadest of the primates was this Gorilla All alone and sad, it was reminding us that today its the last day of the year and its all alone :(



Sleeping peacefully was this African Rhino



Next are the beautiful deer specifies, not sure of the names but one is the sambhar deer.

Albinism (from Latin albus, "white"; see extended etymology, also called achromia, achromasia, or achromatosis) is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin

The African Elephants characterized by their large ears and trunks were already in their shed by the time we reached this exhibit.


The last photograph i took was this Lion by that time i was really tired and did not click any pics of the snakes


By the way the folks at the zoo are preparing for two new exhibits, one a Cheetah & a Anaconda. This marks the end of a night’s stay for the New Year’s Eve in Mysore; I guess you do require 2 full days in order to see this historical place. Yes I need to come back on a Sunday to Mysore to click the lighted up Palace

Thanks for seeing the photographs folks.

[gd1418]

Nice photologue of Mysore. Waiting to see the Nandi, Mahisasura, Chamundeshwari Temple, Lalitha Mahal & the Mysore palace...

What photographic gear were you using?

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Some pics might be shakey as the light was really low and the max apertur in the lens was 4 f-stops

The first one is the Black-buck or the Chinkara of Salaman Khan fame and the second one is the Sambhar.

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Next are the beautiful deer specifies, not sure of the names but one is the sambhar deer.

Black-buck

Attachment 880712

Sambhar

Attachment 880713

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Nice photologue of Mysore. Waiting to see the Nandi, Mahisasura, Chamundeshwari Temple, Lalitha Mahal & the Mysore palace...

What photographic gear were you using?



The first one is the Black-buck or the Chinkara of Salaman Khan fame and the second one is the Sambhar.

Ahh! yeah the first one was the Black buck of the Khan fame My gear is quite simple, one Canon 1000D with 17-50, 55-250 & 300mm (this one was on rent spefically for Ranganthittu) and a PnS Sony W30.

[aravind84]

Nice pics of Mysore and especially the zoo. Really like the Giraffee pic and the white tiger standing.

Mysore zoo on any given day ranks no 1 in my list of to see places. Thanks for making us relive it by sharing them here.