Off to Mysore

So, we have been charging about the country and I have not had one minute or any opportunity to write anything but all is well. So much has happened but we are outside of the Golden Temple in Little Tibet (it has a real name which I will eventually add) and we are eager to get inside while the getting is good (worship?) So back to last week. We left Bangalore and headed off to Mysore. I have to be honest here, we did some stuff on the way, I am trying to take notes because it is beyond overwhelming and I just can't keep track, but I can't really remember what we did on the trip. Ok, checked my notes, we drove lots. We did stop for lunch at this very funky restaurant - part of the Kamat chain but much better than the hotel. Again Veg - did I mention I have not had any meat since I left the plane!! Anyway, the lunch was like the meal I described earlier with the chapati (thinner naan) in the middle with the little pots but at this place, they have an organic farm and their own cows for buttermilk & curd (yogurt - a meal staple). Here they skipped the little pots and just put everything on a banana leaf. If any pile of food started to get low, they rushed over and refilled the leaf. I had to finally fold my leaf in half to stop them putting more food in front of me. The meals are so delicious that it is hard not to eat and eat and eat. Veg does not mean diet.

Potless Thali

Suresh enjoying his lunch

Buckets of food - it just kept arriving!

After lunch we took a quick walk around the restaurant. There was monkeys, now blase but at the time still new. However these were particularly excellent monkeys. One of them had stolen someone's jacket so the whole troop but especially the babies were having a high old time playing with the jacket. Hiding under it, tug of war, peek a boo. Very hilarious. I took a short video but of course, it will not do justice.



I have the Coooaatt!! Come and get me.

Let's just check the pockets. If we find cash we don't have to steal our Thalis.

Hmmm? What's under here?

On our way out, I bought some candy, I wanted three pieces of two kinds but I ended up with a pound! Oh well. Candy counter

More driving, a temple or two. One extra note, we stopped at a Bull temple and had our first sugar cane juice. Ok, sounds sweet but actually very tasty. They crush the sugar cane right there and mix in ginger and fresh lime. Yum. Is this starting to be the food blog of India.

Entrance to the Bull Temple (actually this might be a different Bull Temple)

Too much Thali.

Decorating the Bull with flowers and other ritually stuff.

Suresh and Judy making sure the Bull shows up in their photos.

Crushing the sugar cane with added ginger and lime.

Our cane juice ready to drink.

Eventually we got to Mysore where we stayed in the previously mentioned swank hotel. However, as nice as the room was and the people very friendly, the food was disappointing. Side note here - elevators. Our first hotel Kamat in Bangalore had this creaky old elevator with gate doors where you could see the floors go by. But the best part was when you hit the button, there was this loud siren that sounded. Especially nice when we arrived at 2 am and the door man held the door open for 5 minutes with the siren screeching for the full time. I can only imagine what the other guests thought. Then in Mysore the elevator was very nice, it jutted out of the building and had an outside window overlooking the park. But the floor buttons had no relation to which floor the elevator would stop at. push 4, end up on the roof, push 5, get 6. We were on the 5th floor and not once did we actually end up on 5. It got to be a game, where would we land?? Again, the order of events is fuzzy. On our first day, Suresh took us to a mountain temple - chamundeskwari ? - with a beautiful view of the city. The temple was a temple. I skipped entering this one as the line was horrendously long. I just wandered around outside while Judy and Suresh went in.

The Temple Tower

Temple Detail

The pretty version of the line.

The real, very long and ugly version of the line to get in.

There were cows everywhere, again a novelty at the time but now 'whatever'. There was a festival before I arrived that involved cows in some way so many cows in the city are painted yellow, some green, with their horns in gold or red. Pretty but disconcerting to see a yellow jersey cow in the street. Here's a Montage of cows so maybe I won't keep putting more and more picutes of cows.

Yellow Cows

Mom and baby cow

I often used a nearby cow as an excuse to take pictures of people (as if they didn't know they were in the picture!)

This was a huge freakin' cow and it came staight at me but veered off just in time to not trample me. Can one cow, if it is big enough, be a stampede?

Just hangin' out on the temple steps.

After many pictures, did I mention that young men will ask to have their picture taken with you on your camera! People also love for you to take pictures of their babies. But they all pose so the pictures aren't that good. it is fun though and a good excuse to start a conversation. the people are sooooo friendly.

Some more random photos from my time on the mountain.

Young men, just standing around, enjoying each others company.

Ladies

More Ladies

Men

a view of Mysore behind the garbage piles behind the Temple.

A group of boys. After I took this pictures, I got to be in photos with each and every one of them on each one's cellphone camera.

A spontaneous parade.

Selling bracelets for worshippers. Suresh bought one for each of us. Mine dyed my clothes the first time it got wet.

After the temple we hit the sultan's summer palace. Again, with the shoes off. And it was huge and full of marble so my feet were very unhappy with me by the end of that. Not much to say about the palace. Big, lots of wall paintings, intricate carving, no pictures allowed. You've all been there in one country or another.

Most of these pictures of from the grounds as there was no photos allowed inside.

Entrance gate to palace

View of the palace through the entrance gate

Gardener on Palace grounds

View of the Garden from the Palace

a sneak photo of a wall inside the palace. It's not very good but I broke laws to get it so you have to look at it

This is terrible, but I think this is a differnt Palace and for the life of me I don't remember much about it. But I have pictures so here goes.

The 'Other' Palace.

A lion statue outside this mystery palace

Ladies in red and yellow saris

Oops. Another cow photo snuck in.


The best part of this visit was that Judy bought a Sari in the gift shop. The sari will have to be it's very own post because it became quite an epic event. Stay tuned. After the palace, I think we ate because by now I was dying. But alas no rest for the weary, not with Suresh at the wheel. I keep mentioning 'down time' but I think he thinks he will not be earning his keep if we aren't moving. Anyway, off to a park with a lake (name?) where they offer boat rides. We passed a nesting island where the binoculars were pushed to the limit. After we disembarked (haha) we wandered around the park/trees and did some more birding. I have a convert in Suresh, he is keener than me when there is a bird aflutter. I think we skipped dinner that night.

Egret - Cattle I think, I can't see it's feet.

Fish, all those birds have to eat something.

Night Heron (in the day)

An Eagle of some sort or other.

Painted Stork

Judy makes some friends

Row boats

Indian row boats

Off to our lovely room for a much needed sleep. Seriously, we keep falling asleep at 8 o'clock because our days are so full. The next morning we got to sleep in for a bit because our plan for the morning was to got to the Ministry of Forests to get a permit for a National Park. That story will have to be for next times as it is 'temple time' (say that like Hammer-time). Other stories to anticipate, Worst Hotel EVER, a day (or two) in the park, the temple stampede, a visit to the fall, and today - Little Tibet. Did I mention that I need some downtime!! We have been in the boonies so I am hoping that I will have more access to the internet after this. By the way, Judy and I are getting on like a house on fire, we laugh so much at the ridiculousness of so many things that Suresh is starting to worry we are actually insane asylum escapees. And I am getting better at the bathrooms but I still can't keep my scarf from touching the floor! Ick.

Some Indian Wildlife
These little squirels are everywhere. They run with their little tails staight up but it is hard to get a picture because they are so fast.

A very cute baby goat