Plenty of Happy Accidents and A Couple of Not So Happy Ones: Part One

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It looks like I've let 20 days pass without an update to the old blog! So much has happened throughout those days, as you might be able to infer from the title. So, here is the Reader's Digest re-cap of a very action-packed month:

When Lauren and I arrived in Bangalore from Kolkata, it was like we were entering a different world. Bangalore is the land of the high tech industry, so there was clearly plenty of money and opulence in the area; a very "westernized" city. There weren't even any pot holes in the roads, we really weren't sure where we had ended up because it wasn't like the India we knew. It was simply a point of transit for us, but did provide some of the comforts of home after our days roughing it on the trek.

From Bangalore, we headed down to Mysore where we spent about three nights. It was one of my least favorite places in India, surprisingly enough, as I had heard nothing but glowing reviews about Mysore. It's main draw for Western tourists is yoga apparently (this is the place Madonna's yoga guru resides.) There is also a whole lot of history there, which as an art history major was great, but my dislike of the city came in the form of the constant hassling we received from the street vendors and business men.

Sample:
Vendor: "Madame! Madame! Want socks?? Very nice!" {Starts walking with us as we are headed down the street.]
Me: "No thank you."
Vendor: "But Madame, very nice socks; best socks, and good price for you."
Me: "No thank youuu."
Vendor: "No thank youuuu? BUT MADAME only 100 rupees!! Very nice!"
Me: "I do not need socks, I do not want socks."
Vendor: "Ok...75 rupees."
Me: "No thank you."
Vendor: "Ok 50 rupees!"
Me: "Sir, I do not want socks, even if they are free."
Vendor: "But Madame! [Insert latter conversation here, but with offers of lower prices.]

Multiply this conversation by 3 times every five minutes, but with different products and you get our experience walking down the streets in Mysore.

There are also intricate commission rings many tourists get roped into that span amongst hotels, rickshaw drivers, and shopkeepers who sell essential oils, silks, and other items Mysore is famous for. To keep the story brief, we were roped in, knowing full well what was going on the whole time. We didn't lose much money over the deal, but we did lose a lot of time. It was also the only place I got sick from food, had my crotch grabbed while walking down the street by a teenage boy, and got head-butted by a cow. Disgruntled and ready to get the heck out of that city, Lauren and I decided to kill the last four hours before our bus departure at the internet cafe. Of course, it started pouring down rain while we were walking to the cafe. We got to the cafe and it was closed. Two strikingly handsome Indian gentleman (Lauren immediately said "They have to be models") were walking ahead of us on our way to the cafe. The two of them and the two of us both decided to take cover under the same stoop outside of the internet until the rain let up.

After a couple shameless glances their way courtesy of my dear friend Lauren, they waved. We got to talking and they asked us how we liked Mysore. We explained that it hadn't been our favorite place. They would have none of it, (as Mysore is their hometown) and offered to take us around to the most essential Mysore sites that we had missed as a result of getting roped in to the commission ring. We accepted the offer and were very glad we did. [Note to Mom at this point: we were always in well-lit, highly-populated areas so please don't worry :)] They took us to see the Mysore palace at night (completely lit up, very fairytale; please see pictures). They took us to a live concert of classical Indian music that was taking place in one of the other landmark spots in the city. They took us to the largest cathedral in India (at least that's what they said it was I think). Then took us for tea and made sure we got on our bus to Kochi safe and sound. Those two handsome Mysore university students turned out to be true gentleman...and part-time models.

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