Buses and Bollywood in Mysore.

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Namaste!!

Hope all is well in the land of hope and glory. We are writing this approx 2 weeks behind at the moment… hopefully we’ll catch up soon.

So.. we left Bang Bang Bangalore for a city called Mysore. It was a three hour bus ride (FYI- this cost 1 quid each. We seem to remember it’s 1.80 into town in Sheffield!!). Checked out a few rooms on arrival, one resembled the cells from Bad Girls only with less romance. We didn’t choose this one and realize it may not be possible to enjoy a 3 quid a night room. Plumped for a room for 4 quid a night with… HOT WATER!!!! No shower mind, just our old friend Mr Bucket. Gail actually cried tears of joy when she bathed. Anyway…

Mysore is a prosperous bustling city with an amazing amount of shops selling absolutely everything. Ever. Also we really didn’t get a lot of hassle here from rickshaw men and locals so we instantly liked it! We only spent three nights here so a quick run down will suffice.

On the first day we really struggled to find somewhere to eat (a recurring theme) so accidently stumbled into another 4 star hotel. This time we stayed. Grub was alright but coffee and cake down the road at Coffee Day (the Indian Starbucks) was better.

We headed to the Maharajah’s Palace on day two to see how the other half used to live. This Palace is huge and dominates as the backdrop of the city. It was originally burnt down by fire in 1897 and then restored in 1912. As foreigners we had to pay 250rs compared to the 5rs entrance fee for Indians… we did get a free audio guide, although according to the guides who want to give you a tour (for more money) everything on the audio guides was lies lies lies!! It wasn’t.

In contrast to the grandeur, we spent the afternoon on the bus chugging up to a place called Chamundi Hill. This is a right big hill (1060meters up) with lovely views. The bus was full so we had to stand just behind the main doors in the centre. Nikki (unbeknown to Gail) had her arms resting on/over the barrier to the door which then sprung open and, before she knew it, her arm was crushed between the door and the barrier! Not wanting to cause a scene, she politely tapped Gail on the shoulder and asked her- through gritted teeth- to tell the conductor to fix it. Unfortunately, he made a massive fuss and shouted down the bus in Indian, flapping his arms, shouting ‘close the door!!’. At which point the whole bus was staring at us (even more than usual). Oops. At the top of the hill was a market, a rather large temple that had 1000’s of people queuing to get in it and… a pretty view.

Mysore doesn’t have many tourist sights so we spent the next day wondering around the markets. The place is famed for its Sandlewood and oils. Whilst looking lost, a lovely old gentleman who told us he was also on his holiday, said he would escort us to the market where they make the oil, incense sticks and Beedies (note - never look lost in India. You are literally pounced upon in seconds. Even quicker when you have a map out. Look like you know what you are doing at all times). He seemed really genuine and told us how these products were made… and then led us into a ‘factory’, not a market! A couple of women were there rolling incense sticks and just as the old guy ‘disappeared’ the salesman had us cornered. Needless to say we left with a full year’s supply of Waterlilly oil. Hmmm... lesson learnt! (N. B Waterlilly oil apparently keeps mozzies at bay. This is bull. At the time of writing, Nikki’s bites are at a record level of around 40).

The finale of our time in Mysore was a visit to Brindavan Gardens (a lot of Bollywood movies are shot here). Again the bus was hammered as it appeared everybody was on their way here. We finally got in (15rs!!) and were literally swept away with the crowd down the gardens… these are stunning at night as they are all illuminated with lots of pretty water features. There was a real urgency amongst the crowd to get to the very end. It turns out there was a rather large water feature with tiered seating all around and about 2000 Indian people packed in waiting for… the musical water fountain! Indian classics were pumped out of speakers as water shot up in the air in time to the beat. The real highlight was when, strangely, the Venga Boys number one smash of 1990’s ‘Venga Bus’ came belting out as the finale!! Strange India. Gail also enjoyed this far too much.

Overall, we had a super time in Mysore. It’s a calm and cleaner alternative to Bangalore! And it had hot water. Next stop: Ooty.


xxxxxxx

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Photos

more palace
'its this big'

finally found food!!
veg Thali. lunch? done.

Chamundi hill
queue for the temple

market stuff
carving

Comments

[Janny B]

My word!
Sorry-but I did laugh at the bus incident and at the photo of Gail flinging her arms out in that dramatic gesture-her arms appear to be glowing or is that just the light? Glad you are having such a great adventure! Janny B

[Gill Perkins]

Hi Gail and Nikki Glad to read and see that you're both well and enjoying your big adventure. You both make me feel really boring when I have to try hard to think of something interesting that's happened in my life that I can tell you. I went to london for the weekend to see Todd Rundgren concert (well before your time!) Had great time until the moment when we realised that we had thrown away our return train tickets - don't ask how! Had to pay $36 ( this computer hasn't got a pound sign) to get home on the coach - train fare would have been $118. The Crucible opens tonight - Robert set off tonight in his new uniform, looking really smart. I am on a diet - hopefully, i won't have faded to nothing before you return. Went to see the Strictly Come Dancing show at the Sheffield Arena. Was ok but very expensive. Just like watching an episode of the show but a worse view than from the settee on a Saturday. It was also very "scripted" - after ali and brian's dance ( giving up on capitals now - even though it pains me!) ali says " if brian and i get 3 tens we're going to get engaged. audience go wild. scores come up . 10! Cheering. 10! more cheering . 9! loud boos. You get the idea. saw chris and ola but voted for austin healy - such a great dancer - and i didn't like him on the show last year. Must go now. Still calling T10 Gail's room! Gill x Well, must go - hope you can keep

[mark]

sounds great, but what's the coloured things that are on sale? looks like sand but not entirely sure x