Karnataka - Mysore   

Mysore Palace ambience wows one and all

— Photo: M.A. Sriram

BOWLED OVER: Passengers of The Golden Chariot at the Mysore Palace on Tuesday.

MYSORE: “It is absolutely fabulous. It is beyond my expectation. I will come again to Mysore to see this awesome place.” This was how Nigel Triffitt, a tourist from Australia travelling on “The Golden Chariot,” State’s luxury train, reacted after seeing the royal city’s most prominent landmark, the Palace.

The Golden Chariot, which chugged off from Yeshwanthpur railway station in Bangalore on its first commercial run on Monday, reached Mysore at midnight.

After overnight stay in the intricately-designed luxurious cabins, inspired by the Mysore and Belur-Halebid schools of art and architecture, the booked passengers, guests and invitees set out to explore the heritage town of Srirangapatna and the royal splendour of Mysore. But the highlight of the day’s tour was indeed the Mysore Palace.

“I had only heard about the palace, but I had not imagined it to be so huge and majestic. The palace has stuck in my mind. The palace will surely draw me to the city once again,” says Triffitt, a theatre personality hailing from Melbourne.

Mr. Triffitt was keen on travelling on a luxury train in India. “Rajasthan’s Palace on Wheels was one of the options before me, but I chose to travel on the Golden Chariot since it was new and offered an exciting circuit in south India with a mixture of heritage, palaces, monuments and wildlife,” said Mr. Triffitt who has travelled across the world.

Journey on the luxury train was unexpected for the Austrian couple Michell and Dohit. The tour was booked in just seven days. It is their first visit to India and the first impression of the country has been impressive. “The palace was indeed amazing. It is very elegant,” says Dohit, a former Luftansa employee from Vienna.

“Tourists get to dine inside the palaces in Vienna. I hope the authorities should think of making the palace in Mysore lively for the tourists instead of allowing them to visit for a couple of hours,” she said. Mathias, a journalist from Germany who has been invited to write about his experience on board the train and to promote Karnataka tourism in Europe, was in a euphoric mood seeing every nook and corner of the palace. “It is a wonder. I will write about it,” he said.

Other foreign tourists on board are also in love with the beauty of the palace and spent over an hour clicking photographs from the palace forecourt.

The guests and the booked passengers were delighted to see Dariya Daulat and Gumbaz at Srirangapatna and the St. Philomena’s Church in Mysore.

Mr. Triffitt said: “In my view, Europe is the most potential market for the Golden Chariot. Foreign tourists come to experience tourism in luxurious comforts. I am not choosy about the places as I like to see whatever interests me. The luxury train concept can help develop tourism like in Australia. The tourists will share their experiences with their friends when they return.”

Some guests pointed out that the train’s on-board and off-board partners could improvise in areas such as food and information so that the initiative becomes a success like its counterpart — the Palace on Wheels.

Official sources told The Hindu that the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, walk on the Cauvery valley and Brindavan Gardens will be included in the tour itinerary in the coming trips.

“We are fine-tuning the itinerary. Since it is the first commercial run, we want to see whether it fits the time. We shall offer more places in the coming days once the system is fully streamlined. It’s a new experience for us and the first commercial run is a great lesson too.

The information brochures, coffee table book and compact disc with photographs and description of places on the tour will be ready before the next trip as we are awaiting the feedback of this run,” a KSTDC official said.

The Golden Chariot starts from Bangalore and covers Mysore, Kabini, Hassan, Belur, Shravanabelagola, Hampi, Aihole, Pattadakal, Badami and Goa, from where it will begin its return journey to Bangalore.

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