Pondicherry to Mysore

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We left the flatlands of the interior behind and went on to Pondicherry, the former French colony. We walked along the beachfront and had lunch at a French cafe. Most of the architechture had a very Franco feel to it, even the police wore french style uniforms.

From there we had a short bus ride to Mamallapuram and it's unique single stone temples and carvings. These ones really blew us away. It must have taken forever to carve these out of solid granite. They were mostly finished in the 8th century and look as fresh today as they did last month.

We took the overnight train from Chennai to Mysore, the journey took about 12 hours and we slept 8 to a compartment. That may sound cramped but it was really quite comfy. The 3 bottles of wine on the journey might have helped though.

Mysore is a sort of small town, only 850 thousand people but it seems like every one of them is out on the street at all times. Boy is it busy. The Palace of the Maharaja is positively spectacular. I only wish that I'd been allowed to take photos inside.

We spend 2 night here and then we're off to the hills again, to the Mudumali wildlife sanctuary for some tiger shooting.

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Photos

The face of Karnataka
Always well dressed, the market sellers were hard working and facinating to watch.

Spicey mama.
Shopping for spices in the bazaar.

Cop in Pondicherry
This fine Gendarme asked us to take his photo, and mail him a copy.

Single rock carving.
This whole temple was carved out of one piece of rock.

Shore temples.
These were also carved our of single pieces of rock in the 8th century AD.

Overnight train to Mysore.
Everyone was unsure about what to expect from the overnight train, until the second bottle of wine. After that it was fantastic.

Our hotel in Mysore....
just kidding. this is the Maharaja's palace. One of the most spectacular sites that we've seen so far. And the inside was 10 times more elegant.

The Fruit Bazaar in Mysore.
Wonderful colours and smells at the Spice and Fruit Bazaar.

Comments

[Rita Hendy]

Mum and Zed
Hi,nice pics, keep them comming,here for a change, it is snowing. Take care.Love Mum.

[Karen SS]

Travels of India
the pics are fab, love the blogs....envious of the weather...I am in London and it is absolutely freezing - snow/sleet - not good!!! Good news - 31 March tickets go on sale for Everton v Chelsea....can't wait to see the 2 of you to hear your travelling tales!!

[Janyce]

awesome!
hey LL..... the pictures are great. this is my first time on your blog. thanks for mentioning it on fb. love the spices. how's the food? looks like you are having so much fun! enjoy!