Broadband and Bullock Carts it must be Bangalore

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Bangalore is a city of amazing contrasts. Side by side with multinational suit wearing office workers eating Mc Donalds for Breakfast are sack laden bullock carts, steered by lunghi wearing barefoot men.

We picked up our driver from the train station. He was carrying a sign that said:
" Wel. Come. Mr Willsee. Monn". That made me like him straight away.
Our journey to Mysore took three and a half hours so in all we had been travelling from 9am Wednesday and got to our hotel at 1.30pm Friday!

The hotel is called the Green Hotel " and the clue is in the title. We have Dee Kerins in Dublin to thank for reccomending it.

Its profits are distributed amongst local charities and all tips are shared equally. This is important to us as we decided that this would be our way of "giving something back", to the local community and is so much better than lining the pockets of evil beggar masters.

We lazed around for the afternoon under the shade of a few trees and tried to shake the feeling of the journey, which had brought us to this little piece of Heaven. Tea was served on a silver server on the lawn in little Lloyd loom chairs. Gorgeous.

We spent a few hours the next day at the amazing and vast market in Mysore. It is a photographers dream. I have never before seen such an array of fruit, veg and people.
We watched someone making incense and looked on as thousands of petals and flower heads were strung together for devotional strings. The scent of many thousands of blooms was heavy on the air.

We met up with a couple from Dublin who are staying next door - so had a good night with them.
This morning we went to see an ENORMOUS bull carved from a single block of black grainte. It is a statue of Nandi who provided transport to Shiva and her family!

So now you know!

Off to see the Palace lighting up ceremony this eve. Not sure what to expect.

But then, that is what India is all about.

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