Sight for Mysore eyes

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On the move again on New Year’s Eve, this time by car to Mysore in Karnataka. A great trip down the mountain side, 36 hairpins in a row, with great views of the extent of the Negrili hills. We weren’t expecting to drive through forests and reserves, but there they were - elephants and monkeys, tigers too but a too shy to be observed this time. Within an hour the temperature zooms up to the low 30s leaving the cool and misty mountain behind.



It’s the last car journey we make, and just as well when you see the overtaking on bends- the hairpins were especially interesting, nothing stops Indian drivers from overtaking wherever they can, often on the wrong side of the road. Our driver was subject to prolonged verbal abuse from a bus carrying the military when he refused to overtake on a hairpin on the wrong side of the road. It sounds unbelievable but the road abuse is truly, truly staggering.



Mysore is a big city, with wide, wide spaces, thanks to its maharaja heritage. The central Mysore palace overwhelms the centre. Only a hundred years since the maharaja rebuilt it, but has the decor of an older time.



Most visitors are Indian, and for the first time we get curious attention from school kids, maybe they haven’t seen Europeans before, although it’s clearly a tourist centre. Mysore is really stunning and unlike any city to date. The place is full of pilgrims rather than visitors, and we’re struck again on this trip by the volume and scale of religious fervour- all ages, different religions. It makes for very colourful scenes.
New Year’s Eve is celebrated with meals out and decoration just as you expect in Europe. I can’t vouch for fireworks - midnight is too late to be conscious on this trip. The heat (thermal vest now discarded)
On Ocamundi hill just outside the city is another temple to visit this morning. Huge queues to get into the various parts of the hill top temples and as many cows as people it seems.

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Photos

Taking the family pet for a walk
Inside the palace grounds anything is possible.

Sitting it out
Colourful visitors take it easy.

Holy Cow
This man, who'se religiously downloaded the Archer's omnibus during the trip, meats the real thing.

Visitors on New Year's day
Schoolgirls make the scene so attractive.

In Kannada
In Karnataka the language is kannada, even more squiggly then hindi, tamil or malayalam.

Family day out
A restful scene, whay can't it be like this at home?