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Published: August 17th 2018
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Top of the list of things to see in Mysore has to be its palace. Built in 1912 by British architect Henry Irvin to replace the previous palace which had burnt down. It’s on the sight of a fort which was first constructed in the 14th century. It’s relatively cheap at 50 ruppees to enter.
The outer grounds open from 10am and the residential part from 11am. The crowds definitely got heavier later on so I’d recommend getting there early. We started by wondering around the grounds, going into the Hindu temples flanking either side of the palace, along the walls, and into the palace elephant stables (where you can say hello to them for free). We decided that if we weren’t told off then it was probably ok to go to, in this way we also came across the horse and camel stables and unfortunately the palace horse is clearly not as well cared for as it’s elephants.
We then entered the palace itself. There is a new free guide on an app called pinakin but you’ll need to download it before you get there if you’re interested as there isn’t any WiFi in the palace.
I
Mysore Palace - palace elephants
They are in the palace and free to see, although the keepers will ask for a ‘tip’ if you sit on one (we didn’t want to as they were quite happy eating their breakfast) particularly enjoyed the marriage pavilion and all the paintings surrounding it. The whole palace is magnificent and well worth a visit.
After seeing the main palace we decided to see the residential palace. This only costs 50 rupees for locals but a ridulous 285 for foreigners. This does have the benefit of coming with an audio guide (whether or not you want one) but many of the numbers were in the wrong place! I found this section interesting - the building is in need of repair but you get to see old photos of the royal family, the children’s toys and items from the armoury.
Afterwards we went for lunch at a local place called Cafe Murali - somewhere recommended to Stephen by a guy who started talking to him on the street the day before. There were no menus and nothing was in English. The manager came over & suggested 2 Thalis - a rice dish with lots of different curries around it to eat. He even provided us with spoons! It cost just 166 rupees (about £1.70) including tea and was delicious!
In the afternoon we had hoped to see Jaganmohan palace (built in 1861
Mysore Palace
Lions down to the main gate as a royal auditorium & now an art gallery) but turned up to discover it shut for refurbishment for the next 3-12 months! We started walking over to the railway museum instead but a torrential downpour put us off the outdoor museum. Next we got a tuk tuk to the silk factory - only to find it shuts at 4pm! Admitting defeat we came back to our hostel for a rest before going to see the palace sound & light show. Fortunately our tuk tuk driver on the way home was ace and we soon arranged for him to pick us up tomorrow morning and take us to Chamundi Hill and temple.
The evening we headed over to the palace sound & light show only to find it cancelled because of rain! I was quite annoyed, especially since we had missed the lighting of the palace on Sunday as we had been in Alleppey for the, now cancelled, snake boat race instead. As luck would have it the lights are being turned on tomorrow anyway because it is India Independence day - brilliant!
We ended up back in Muralis cafe for our dinner - Mysore Masal Dosa. Happy
Mysore Palace
Horses outside the palace - they weren’t in the best state but at least their owners tried to look after them, covering them up as soon as the rain came days.
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Keep Smiling
Mike Fossey
More rain. Oh dear!
It seems that you left Kerala just in time - I've just heard on the BBC News that the floods there are the worst in a century, 320 reported dead so far, 230,000 people evacuated to 1,500 emergency camps, and more rain to come. So sad. However, it's good that you enjoyed your time on the houseboat and that you made it to Mysore, despite a disappointing train change in gloomy Bangalore (I've been there twice in better weather and actually found it friendly and interesting). The palace in Mysore looks great - I'll add it to my list for a future visit. Looking forward to news of your next destination.