BENGALURU: Many Bengalureans are reeling under holiday blues after returning from a long weekend. Beach camping, stargazing, boating, shell-collecting or simply lazing around... that’s what Govind Lal’s weekend has been about in Gokarna. The 21-year-old, who has taken a year off to travel, says, “The sea, the wind, everything is just calm and aesthetic. You can feel your body going into relaxation mode.” Many of us are not the sandy-sams or beach-beauties but are more like history-harries.
For Bengalureans, Mysuru and Chikkamagaluru have always been the frequent weekend destinations which include the Mysuru Palace, Chamundi Hills, Amrutesvara Temple, and the Kemmangundi Peak. “My friends told me to stop spamming my Instagram stories with the pictures from the Mysuru Palace, but it’s so beautiful,” says Anantha Narayanan, a recent graduate, who took this weekend opportunity to travel with his family.
“I’m going to Ooty next, I want to take a break from the city, and forget about college and the worries of study for a while,” he says. Ooty, Kodagu, and Kodaikanal may sound too mainstream for a holiday but sometimes when you need a quick breath of fresh air, if it isn’t to their forested hills, evergreen valleys, tranquil lakes and the cascading waterfalls, where else do you go? “In spite of the rain and rather capricious weather conditions, people continue to flock the place.
It just shows how desperate people are for a getaway,” says Aditi Appaiah, who is currently job-hunting. To cut down on travel time, many visited places closer home, including Nandi Hills to watch the sunset, and the Lalbagh Botanical Garden which is hosting the flower show after a hiatus of two years, featuring an assortment of flowers from New Zealand, Kenya, and Argentina.
“We went quite early,” says a visitor, to avoid the crowd of approximately 10 lakh. “It was a bit underwhelming to be honest. The entire show was in the glass house. The flowers were beautiful but the crowds were too much. This time they have decided to pay tribute to Dr Rajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar, which was lovely,” he says.