Living like rajas in Mysore

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Once we were finally able to get out of Bangalore, we headed to the station to catch a bus to Mysore. We were surprised to find out that Mysore is a popular Christmas week holiday spot, and that the buses were pretty full. We didn't think that Christmas would be as busy as it is back home, but it turns out that the kids get a school break that week, so it's a good time to take a vacation! After a pretty comfortable bus ride (despite the Bollywood movie soundtrack - we took a DVD video bus which has a small screen at the front and overhead speakers throughout) on good roads, we arrived at the Mysore station. Since our calls to hotels the day before didn't turn up any vacancies, we walked from place to place asking for a room with no luck. Eventually we found a hotel a little further away from the main road, and we agreed to a Rs 4500 room at Sandesh the Prince hotel. They were slightly shady about giving up the room - the first time we asked, they said they only had a Rs7500 room available, then as we were leaving they called us back saying that they just had a cancellation on a Rs 3200 room, and then they switched to the Rs 4500 after we gave them our information. They also played this cagey 'the room may not be available tomorrow' game just to keep us guessing. Despite all that, the room felt luxurious after the budget accomodation we had gotten used to - it even had a hairdryer! After we had settled in, a steady stream of hotel employees came through the room - 1 to replace a light bulb, 1 to deliver a complimentary fruit basket, and 1 to deliver complimentary mineral water. It was strange to have so much attention lavished on us!
Luckily for us it was Sunday night, which is the night that they light up the maharaja's palace. We strolled down to centre, stopping here and there to ask about hotel availability and to admire the statues and town hall. We made it back to the palace for 6:45, and there was a festive atmosphere around the grounds, with vacationing families waiting and taking pictures. At 7:00, a band started to play and the palace was lit - every window, ledge and column was outlined in white lights and it was dazzling! It wasn't just the palace either - the gates and the temples to each side were lit as well, so it was an incredible spectacle. Afterwards, we went to dinner at a busy restaurant nearby with good, cheap food and live Indian music. They also had the quirky feature of red light bulbs that you could switch on for prompt service. When we returned to our hotel, we were greeted by Santa and 4 boys singing Christmas carols. 'I'm dreaming of a White Christmas' didn't feel quite right in Southern India though!
The next day we returned to see the palace in daylight. Again there were tons of people, so we bobbed along in the sea of tourists looking at the extravagant teal and yellow interior, and the paintings of past processions on the walls. The palace was one of the largest we'd seen so far, and although it was a bit over the top in some rooms, I wouldn't call it gaudy like our guidebook did.
Afterwards we went to the art gallery housing objects that the maharaja used to own. It included paintings, furniture, and other household items like instruments and board games. It was larger than we expected, and we spent more time there than we did at the palace!
Later on I tried shopping for some of the famous Mysore silk with the usual results. The fabrics are beautiful and if I had more time (and if I knew how to wrap a sari!) I would have bought some to mail home - but it was time to move on to Ooty - the british hill station in the Nilgiri hills!

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