Innovative Film City is an amusement park located in Bidali on Bangalore-Mysore highway. The innovative film city is an adventure that you’ll remember all your life. It is one of its kind Indian theme park that is replete with a myriad of fun activities for every age-group.

Whether you want to go-kart with your buddies, spend quality time with your family or have a classy corporate get-together, Innovative Film city is the one-stop destination for all and more. IFC is packed with exciting rides and activities for kids that will make them jump in joy.

The Cartoon park in Innovative Film City will make your tiny balls of sunshine come alive with excitement. If you think IFC is just for kids and young adults, you would want to check out the Tribal Museum, the Big Boss tour, the sand beach and the Aqua Kingdom of IFC that will give you a spine-tingling experience.

The Innovative theme park is not just for entertainment and fun. You can also book a destination wedding and tie the knots in a mesmerizingly beautiful setting of IFC. You can also organise corporate events, meetings or small business rendezvous.

Innovative Film City also offers studios for pre-wedding photoshoot, family video, ads or short documentary films. IFC has a 3D photo gallery, 4D shows and a selfie gallery. Every second you spend in this marvellous place is a second lived fully. Do not miss this amazing place the next time you visit Silicon Valley.

The Neo-Dravidian-style Vidhana Soudha is the seat of the state legislature while the red Attara Kacheri houses the High Court. In 2005, an annex called the Vikas Soudha was inaugurated, designed as an exact replica of the Vidhana Soudha. Though these buildings cannot be visited, they can be viewed from the outside.

The area
Neighbourhood: Cubbon Park

In the heart of the city’s business hub is Bangalore’s most favourite garden. Cubbon Park is a beautifully maintained 120-hectare garden where all the local residents of the city take a break. A landmark ‘lung’ area of Bengaluru, the gardens are dotted with a lot of colonial heritage and charm, which are today a part of the state capital’s political centre. Home to the red-painted Gothic style State Central Library, the magnificent Vidhan Souda built in Mysore Neo-Dravidian architectural style, the neoclassical Attara Kacheri built in 1864 and housing the High Court, oldest museums and GPO in its vicinity, a trip to Cubbon Park is a great heritage walk. Sundays at the park are quite a treat with a plethora of activities to choose from – concerts, fun runs, yoga, tiny farmers market, the list is endless.

Sankey Tank is one of the ideal places to spend a relaxed day in Bangalore. The tank is situated in a convenient location in the western part of the city. It is in the middle of the suburbs of Malleshwaram, Vyalikaval and Sadashiva Nagar. The lake is spread across an area of 37.1 acres. At its widest the tank has a width of 800 m or 2624.7 ft. The large water body is a source of attraction for the locals as well as the tourists coming to Bangalore.

History of the Sankey Tank
This manmade tank was constructed in the year 1882 under the supervision of Colonel Richard Hieram Sankey of the Madras Sappers Regiment. The tank was built to meet the water supply demands of the Bangalore city at that time. It was linked to the Miller’s tank and Dharmambudhi tank. The tank was also known as Gandhadhakotikere at that time as the Government Sandalwood Depot was located near the lake.

Initially the water of the tank was very putrid. But after a lot of sincere efforts the tank today has pure water.

The area
Neighbourhood: J.P. Nagar
South Bangalore’s friendly neighbourhood, J.P. Nagar is home to not only cute bungalows of prominent singers, actors and artists but also to multiple rooftop bars, microbreweries and pubs. While the well-known theatre for arts Ranga Shankara is a great hub for all seeking an artistic indulgence, Puducherry’s Aurobindo Ashram has a serene branch in the heart of this busy locality for those looking to relax and enjoy some quality time. Laden with parks, J.P. Nagar is inhabited by the affluent local families of Bangalore and at the same time known for the amazing array of street food including the bajjis available at Basavaraj’s Bajji Bandi. Among the many good parks in the neighbourhood, the Mini Forest is a great place for peaceful morning walks.

Today I took the entire day off and decided not to take the cab to sight seeing places in this city . I decided to go for a stroll instead but looking at the weather it would only be possible late in the evening when the town gets a little cooler .

The morning I spend having a long shower and then dived into a breakfast of idli and poori aloo , it was fun as I felt more relaxed having given up the idea of not venturing out too fare into the city . I also discovered the home made strawberry ice cream served at the hotel called The Cocoon , the ice cream as a delight and also very light I had more then four scoops of the damn thing and now I am hooked . 

The day went by chatting to my driver who was trying to get my other m mobile number working I have not been able to use my phone banking for weeks and that is irritating . As luck would have it my number is Vodaphone  and their are no service stations of the brand here , Medikeri  is where I am told I can get my telephone chip activated again . 

Late evening was a brisk walk across the many streets and roads of the city , I even managed to have a snack of dosa and coffee in the local caffe called The Sri Manjunatha Dosa Point . Took some pictures these are the kind of places local visit and dine in . The restaurant had a photo my ma Saraswati and it was very basic just fro the common folks of the town in seventy bucks I had a masala dosa and a large glass of coffee with hot water .

It does look like a hill station with lots of greenery around the town has many shops and stairs selling food and vegetables , there  are auto shops and shops selling steel and other construction material . But I see a little less foreign tourists here then I saw in Hampi .

Its reddish clay mud green coffee plantations tall palm and coconut tress the city of Coorg has its own vibe and texture that is unique to the city itself .

Although it is hot in the afternoon and the sun is out in full flow the air is dray and not humid so the heat does not feel so heavy specially while site seeing in the midst of the afternoon . I however mashed to walk across the road leading from my hotel . People are very laid back here and most shop keepers seemed to be dozing off .

The food has been good I have had the mutton curry and fortunately its as not very spicy or full of stinging masala curry . This couples with strawberry home made ice cream , that is all that I have needed in this city .

Got up late as usual today , I don’t know why that during my travels around the cities of Karnataka I have felt so lazy and lethargic at times . I just mated to stay in bed all day eat strawberry ice cream and enjoy mutton fish and rice . I didn’t want to go out again , not in the hot afternoon , not on the day of holi , today and tomorrow will rage the celebrations of holi in India and I will have to see it for the first time in Coorg .

Although the city has very tall and large mosques and churches it is still a Hindu  city steeped in the texture of Hinduism and its many rituals . The city is full of temples big and small , I am sure people will celebrate holi with lots of enthusiasm here .

As for me I spend hours catching up the latest news on YouTube.com , I also want to start reading a new book , let’s see if we can get to that .

Coorg has been a laid back experience for me I have not pushed myself much into exploring major placeless here , I do go for walks in the evenings and that gives me a fairly good idea of this city .

The transportation used by the locals is either an auto or a local bus service . It has many departmental stores , saree shops , gas station , I also enjoy the strawberry ice cream served in the city .

I spent the entire afternoon rubbing sandalwood oil all over my body I had got it in Mysuru and had kept some in my bag , this was the best time to try it on and I did rub a lot of it on my legs and thighs . A nice shower would be perfect after the oil massage.  I feel blessed at this point , got a lot of happy holi messages on my mobile and on Facebook it seems people are celebrating holi all over India although that doesn’t seem to be the case from my bedroom window I can see no holi celebration juts the normal slow traffic passing by , no banners or colours or crowds it was as if business was usual .

I am grateful for the holiday and the change I am just trying my best not to rush too much and not to push things let things just evolve organically . I think an open mindset and no expectations are vital tools of a good traveller . The ability to mingle in the crowd and then to stand back for a while away from all the hum drum of it all .

The dense forest area along with the lush green coffee plantations are the pride of Coorg . The tall palm and coconut trees gives the city its own unique picture postcard look .Its like a city straight out of Malgudi Day’s the famous R.K Narayan novel . It is laid back as if frozen in time , one can see the occasional mobile phone shop or an electronic showroom along with a garage but nothing more .

Coorg known as the coffee and spice capital of India is a hill town 260 km from Bangalore and was merged into Mysuru District .  By the late afternoon I could not take it an more my room was now a boring den I wanted to get away from and I duly did , I took my taxi out into the by lanes and coffee plantations of Coorg . The city has mosques , temples and churches their is a sizeable muslim presence here as one can see women in burkha all the time , I did spot a few nuns as well . But half an hours into my journey I still could not see any holi celebrations inside or in the country side of the city .

The drive through the lush plan tress , water ponds and coffee plants was itself very relaxing . Coorg is hilly with winding slopes it gone up and down covered my green tress on either side palm tress , coconut trees all lined up in dense forests . By the early evening we managed to get to the Dubare Elephant camp . This was a water body and I could see bathing elephants from afar . I did venture in and managed to click an elephant bathing , there where people on boats some trying to get a dip into tiger watering hole itself .

My last stop was a spice store selling chocolate and spices , I got some coffee and sandalwood oil as well as I feel it is great for the muscles of the body especially the. limbs .  The way back took a while as we drove past coffee plantations being watered by jets of spray and water , that is the way they water coffee in this part of the world . I managed to stop over again and again and managed to get glimpses of country side life in Coorg and how people get by day to day in this exotic hill station often called the Scotland of India .

I had some local chocolate on my way back in the taxi I had done some shopping at the spice store . I managed to get a real feel for the place today indeed Coorg has been a lazy discovery .

My Karnataka Travels have started slowly but now it seems to be picking up some pace , I am headed fro Mysore and just got a call from Sonu a friend of Ravi’s my taxi for Hubli will be ready tomorrow by twelve noon and my hotel in Mysore is all Booked .I did enjoy filming the underground Shiva temple it had a water pond a stone Nandi statue  at the entrance itself .Their was an introduction video I shot with Ravi as we strolled around the place the boys busy with their banter .

It did take me some time to get into the travelling scene after all this was my first serious travel destination for over three years , due to Corona I had halted my travels completely . But now after a few lazy days I am getting back to my groove . It is important to pay attention to detail and things when you are site seeing . I think the more I focused on what was in-front of it the more involved I felt and the more enthused I felt .

A ruined city of multicolored stone and rock it did transport my mind to an era gone by , this place was a living civilization once now its just a ghost time washed away by time and age .For the locals this bustling tourist spot is great for business . Hampi also makes a lot of money through its bustling agriculture , it has the best water in the state and their are fields that get ample irrigation and water all through out the year , farmers can grow double crops and reap rich harvest on their cash crops which are much in demand . Hampi has good quality water and flowing streams .

“ The hotel business coupled with an eatery and guest house will do very well here , I am planning to buy a restaurant here I think there is good business there are so many tourists who come to this city , after all Hampi is a UNESCO protected site .” Ravi further informed me .

One has to take an entrance ticket to go into some of the sites but the rates are nominal it is not a very expensive city and a perfect place for a low budget back packer .

The Tungabhadra river around which this civilization once flourished and Hampi was built around this river which flows through this ancient land .  I did send sometime gazing at the river its current strong and bold it was a sight to behold .

With a heavy hair I bid farewell to this great city which bears testimony to a great civilization and Dynasty of the past . Seemed in the flavors of South the city and its people very glee fully welcome travelers from all over the world .

I was very keen to see the Chamundi Hills in Mysuru I had heard a lot about the place and the scared temple their Chamundeshwari Temple . The legend goes that the fearsome goddess Durga had slain the demon Mahishasura in these hills and the temple is dedicated to the goddess Shakti . Chamundeshwari is the protector of the city of Mysuru and is the mother goddess of the royal family .It I situated at an height of 3300 feet above sea level and is situated on top of the Chamundi Hills . One has to climb up the hill to get to the temple . I did just that with the help of my taxi driver who was also my guide , we took an entry ticket of Rs 100 , in which we also got a ticket through which we would get laddoo as Prasadam . I had to leave my shoes before entering , what was good that they had great clean toilet facility and shops selling pooja samagri as well . I took some flowers coconut and bananas as my Prasadam for the dirty . The doors of the idol would not open before three thirty in the afternoon and I had to wait patiently in the queue . I did manage to get some great shots of the temple with its entrance and capture the golden done of the temples filled with intricate carvings .

The sun was out and the sky was sharp blue the pictures came out well . A monkey tried to grab my bag in which i was carrying banana’s he was hungry and made a dash for it , luckily I managed to chase him off the bugger just got a piece of the polythene instead . A blind man came and stood in-front of me , he had a walking stick and seemed to be a regular at the temple . Soon the doors opened and I moved inside towards the central sanctum of then temple . I managed to crack the the coconut before I made a dash to see the idol . By now they’re where more people moving in and a crowd had swollen up . I took some pictures of the dicey dressed in pure yellow gold , as I was doing that I got a clip on my head by a police officer who instructed me to put my camera down , photography it seems was not allowed inside the temple . I duly obliged and then started to pray . I gave the flowers to the pujari who then gave me red tikka and red roses . Then as I walked passed the idol I also took the Agni . There was some one giving Ganga Cal as well to all the devotes .

As I came out I sat down for a while , it was then that another monkey spotted me and my bag which had some bananas the bugger made dash for it and this time he was successful . The monkey took the banana’s and started eating them right there . So as luck would have it my Prasadam was eaten by the monkeys of the temple .

The Chamundeshwari Temple is a Shakti Peethas and is part of the main eighteen Shakti Peethas

The main shrine was built in the 12th century by the Hoysala Dynasty . Ii took me around two hours to see the entire temple and other areas . I was happy and felt lightheaded for a while the prayers to the goddess had a great effect on my mood the whole day . I felt energetic and upbeat with an elevated mood all day . The visit to the temple was no doubt uplifting for me