Sringapatam and on to Mysore

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We drive south through the rice paddies from Hassan. We ask Mr Ali to take us via Sharavanabelagola where there is a massive statue of a Jain saint on a hilltop. We arrive, gaze up at the 660 steps which you must ascend barefoot, and decide to give it a miss. The guide book suggests it’s a 2 hour round trip, barefoot up the rock which heats up. We return to the car, surrounded by aggressive hawkers and beggars clawing at us. We leave this unpleasant place.

Sringapatnam. There are many ways to spell this town, but it was the site of the famous battle in 1799 when Tipu Sultan (he who owned the famous mechanical tiger now in the V&A Museum in London) was killed by the forces of the East India Company. The story was told in one of Bernard Cornwell's “Sharpe” books and David was keen to try and identify the key sights from the book. Sadly, the British demolished most of the fort subsequent to the battle before handing the rule of Mysore state to their puppet maharajah. All that is left are some sad ruins gates and pieces of wall, overgrown and often covered with rubbish. David did though discover the Water Gate where Sharpe supposedly killed Tipu. Mr Ali was completely puzzled by our behaviour, clearly not too many of his guests behave in this strange way. We also found the dungeon where Colonel Baillie and other British prisoners were held, some for up to fifteen years between 1784 and 1799.

There are also the remains of Tipu's summer palace, beautifully decorated inside but in need of some serious renovation, and the mausoleum that Tipu built for his father Haider Ali, where he is now buried alongside him.

Now it is time to move on the last few miles to our hotel in Mysore. After reading generally poor Tripadvisor reviews on the hotel we were booked into in Mysore, we swapped to a 4 star place in town that costs a mere £30/night. So far it is looking like a good choice – a clean room, internet in the room and a good restaurant. We’ve been away 25 days and had one European meal in the whole of that time. Today felt like the day to extend that to two, and we thoroughly enjoyed our late lunch of a club sandwich with chips.



David has spent the last half hour trying to find an online fed of the Everton v Arsenal match, only for Sara to scroll through the multitude of channels on the satellite box and locate a channel showing the match live. His nerves are jangling, Sara is happily enjoying the chance to check the internet.

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