Bangalore didn't pan out as we had expected - in the end we did not get to meet up with Kishore, though we're not too sure what happened on that front. We did, however, get to stay in a gorgeous hotel with a real mattress and pillows filled with something other than sawdust (yahoo!!) and it even had running water. Essentially we watched our fill of English movies and the History channel and I went to the hospital to get my odd ear problem dealt with. The remedy? Nose drops, of course. Ick ick ick. Of course now my chest has decided to object to the constant intake of toxins and smog into my otherwise pink and healthy lungs. Ah, isn't traveling wonderful?We took a quick and amazingly comfortable bus from Bangalore to Mysore where we are now. For once an a/c bus actually had a/c that worked and we got a free bottle of water - luxury!
The highlight of Mysore is definetly the Maharaja's palace (pictured below). We opted for the no-guide version which took only about 30 mins of walking
room to room to see amazingly colourful (and slightly gaudy) painted walls and inlaid everything. While I wouldn't want to live there personally, it was well worth seeing.We had a few things to post off yesterday so we grabbed an autorickshaw to the post office where I was told you could get your packages wrapped before sending them off. When we got there, I was expecting to be able to buy a box, but instead we got sent off with a gentleman down a backlane to his shop that sold faucets and toilet seats where he proceeded to wrap our goods up in cardboard and then sew them into a cotton sack. The whole operation took over an hour of us sitting in a dirty alley watching a guy hand-stitch our goods in a cloth covering and speak in broken English about his crazy neighbor who owns a cow and ties it up. Why do I mention this? Because it really hit home yesterday that this is the good part of traveling - the day to day chores that should take 15 mins but end up taking over an hour and two trips (the
post office was closed when our packages were ready) but where you get to meet a few people and everyone leaves happy.One of the other main attractions here is the fruit and veg market that we saw on the way back from the post office. I have to say neither Phil nor I were completely sold on seeing it, but it was lovely. The colours there were amazing - fruits and veg of all different shapes and sizes and the flower market was in full effect. It was gorgeous and I got told I look like Claudia Shiffer by some kids, so I'll chalk this one up as a good day.
This afternoon we are going to look at a few more temples and in the morning we are off to a wilderness retreat in the jungle for a few days (hopefully my lungs will be a bit more cooperative in the clean air). We might try to squeeze in a short 2 day trek while we're there.
As an update: Phil and I booked a flight and hotel for the Maldives that departs Dec 10 so we can do some dives and live in luxury for a week. From there, it was only another $10 AUD to stop over in Sri Lanka so we'll be there for close to a month before we head back to India and start out trip North. Fun!
