Mysore-Kabini Roadtrip (Part 1)

One last roadtrip - this time to Mysore on Friday and Kabini on Saturday and Sunday. We left at 11:00am Friday morning and it took four hours to reach Mysore via the Mysore Highway. Have to say the NH209, the rural highway to Mysore, was much more pleasant (see Aug. 9, 2010). This highway was busy and far too many speedbumps constantly slowing you down.

Got to Mysore at 3:00pm and grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant. This was our fourth time staying at the Regaalis Hotel in Mysore - 3 star, reasonable rates, friendly staff, and a good restaurant. The rooms are big enough for the four of us but do ask for one of the renovated rooms  as they are nicer.

We had seen the palace, the market and Chamundi hill on previous trips so this time we decided to venture out to Brindavan Gardens where in the evening the fountains are all lit up and apparently there is a light show. So off we went at 5:00pm. The receptionist said it would take 20 minutes but it took at least 45min. along a narrow road full of potholes. We couldn't believe the cars and tour buses in the parking lot - it was packed.

It was very pleasant walking through the gardens and fountains. There is always a sort of festive feel when lots of Indian couples and families are out enjoying some leisure time together. The gardener may have been on holidays though as we noticed a lot of lawn mowing and dead heading to be done. On one side of the gardens the Cauvery Dam looms overhead. There are steps leading up to it and we got a great view overlooking the gardens to the east and the Cauvery River and the sunset to the west.

Way in the distance, on the other side of the gardens we noticed an amphitheatre and figurered out that the fountain/light show would be way over there. We made our way down the steps as the lights came on and the fountains were lit up - very nice.

 But to get to the amphitheatre you had to cross a narrow causeway over the water or go by small boat. Neither were appealing and both were packed. Plus what would happen once the show was finished?Everyone had to come back via boat or causeway.

We decided to skip the light show and made our way to the parking lot. Found the van and headed off to the one exit and the narrow road. We couldn't help but notice the parking lot was like a big ferry lineup with rows and rows of vehicles - but the difference was every third or fifth car was facing the opposite direction. I couldn't imagine the chaos at the end of the night. And this happens every single night - I really think the Mysore government could put a little money into a new road with a few more lanes. It must have taken hours for those people to get out of there.

Next...Kabini...

The Weekend in Pictures

We went to Mysore via one of the more rural roads this weekend. Here's a look at the roadtrip in pictures:

Shivanasamudra Waterfalls

This cow traffic jam slowed us down a bit.

Talakad: A lively place on the river with lots of people playing, washing clothes and taking coracle rides. We took a ride in a coracle (boat), 10rp/pp, as did many Indian tourists. There are temples nearby to walk to.

Continuing on there are many beautiful sights along the way.

Goat traffic jam slowed us down a bit too.

A happy family with a lot of pots!

Last stop before Mysore: Somanathapur temple. Small but beautiful, intricate carvings.

Inside and outside Mysore market has lots of action and color.

The flowers are piled high.

Always important to stop and smell the roses.

A Week with the T's (Part Two)

The day after Dasara, Lynn and Taras toured the palace and the four of us went to the Deveraja Market in Mysore. This is probably the best market I've ever seen. Gorgeous displays of flowers, fruits, veggies, incense, colored paints piled high and so much more. It's almost like a big department store: an aisle for housewares; another for bananas or garlic; men sit and string flowers for garlands in another section. And the deliveries coming and going - guys with 100 lbs of bananas on their backs. The market is big and colorful and clean.

Alanna and I met up with Lynn and Taras and we were off to a Mysore silk shop to try on sarees. It was fun to see the colors and fabrics and have them draped on Lynn and I, while Alanna and Taras took photos and drank the "best tea ever." We both bought sarees for our big evening out later in the month.

Now I just have to practice draping the saree and wear it around to get used to it. I'd hate for it to unravel at an inopportune moment. For anyone wanting to learn or just have a good laugh here is a great video on "how to wear a saree.":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgXFCYSyiQI

A Week With the T's (Part One)

Our first guests arrived early in the morning Sept. 26th from Canada, and Michael was there to greet them - in Germany! It so happened he had business in Finland and came home via Frankfurt. So he arranged to surprise Lynn and Taras and got the same connecting flight they were getting. Even though Lynn saw him first (that blue MEC jacket gave him away) they were surprised.

I must say, these two are machines - not a sign of jeg lag. They are up early every morning and ready to go, go, go. Within the first two days they had toured the village near our house, Lynn bought herself a salwar kameez and had her first dose of Cipro (Bangalore Belly). They got to experience the festive atmosphere of Dasara as well as puja for all mechanical things. Everything from cars and tractors to rickshaws, buses and trains were decorated with flower garlands and palm/banana leaves and taken to temple to be blessed.

I described the Dasara festival in the last blog but there were a few things I left out. Like the train ride. First of all it takes an hour to get to the train station and we arrived an hour early. Then there was a two hour delay (you do the math). We did a lot of people watching - good thing the people here are interesting!

The funny/crazy thing that happened while we were waiting on Platform 9 was when someone came over the loudspeaker and said something about our train, the Tippu Express. We didn't understand but all of a sudden everyone around us start jumping down onto the track and climbing over and up to another platform. Evidently the train was coming to another platform.

We were lucky an Indian lady told us to follow her to a safe place to cross. We could see a train coming so hurried to cross before it got there. But then another announcement and she confirmed the train was coming to Platform nine after all. All these poor elderly people and people with huge boxes and luggage going back and forth - chaos.

The train ride was pretty good, 1st class AC chair, basic seats but comfortable for 2 1/2 hrs. Only about $12 Can. Got to Mysore in the evening and walked to the hotel. Lynn and Taras got their first lesson in crossing the street. As Lynn took off I'd yell "look right" and then when she got to the middle of the street, "stop, look left!" There is a certain rhythm to crossing and they mastered it quickly.

The next day we all had a good time with the troupes (you have to read the previous blog). Taras and I got pulled over to one group to have our foreheads painted while the others were mesmerized by a group of drummers and dancers. There were some pretty wild costumes and the cats were the best with the amazing body paint.

Alanna still has not embraced India so the experience with the mob put her over the edge and she started crying which prompted us to come to our senses and get out of there. And as we were jumping off the truck Taras felt a tug at his pack that he had over his shoulder. He pulled it around to the front to find it had been slashed with a knife. Luckily he didn't get hurt and the MEC pack was thick enough they weren't able to slash through it or steal anything.

That night the four adults went to the palace and we were able to see the elephants, still painted from the days event. They were quite spectacular, but chained up. Always a sense of sadness when you see those great beasts unable to move about - much better to see them in the wild, on safari.

Mysore Dasara: Magic or Mayhem?

The Dasara festival is celebrated all over India but nowhere is the pomp and circumstance more revelled in than Mysore. The Maharaja, the decorated elephants, the grand procession - the six of us couldn’t wait to see it all.

My sister and brother-in-law flew in from Canada Friday at midnight and Sunday afternoon we were on the Tippu Express to Mysore. Sunday evening we joined throngs of people in front of Mysore Palace to watch traditional Indian dancing. The palace, lit with thousands of lights, made a wonderful backdrop.

Monday morning we were on our way to source out a spot to watch the grand procession. Along the way we happened upon many of the groups in the procession gathered in a courtyard. It was like being backstage at the biggest festival of the year - in fact I guess we were. It was a riot of sights, sounds and colors.

Drummers and dancers worked themselves into a frenzy perfecting their acts. Others added last minute touches to their makeup and costumes. Stilt walkers leaned against trucks and those dressed as Indian Gods and Goddesses got into character.

We wandered from group to group always greeted with big smiles. We were wowed with the costumes and creativity. Full body paint was used to turn one group into an amazing array of tigers and wild cats.

Some men in bright yellow turbans painted each other’s foreheads with three horizontal white lines– the sign of Shiva. Before we knew it they pulled us over and painted the same on us. We felt lucky to have experienced the magic of all these participants up close before the procession started.

As with all things in India there seems to be a balance. If the morning was magic, the afternoon could only be mayhem. The procession started in the early afternoon. We tried to get through the crowd but it soon turned into a mob, pushing in all directions. We held hands and retreated to a safe spot.

Oddly enough a small truck pulled up next to us with a few potato sacks in the back. The driver let us climb onto the open back and we could see the procession route. But a bunch of guys started to pile onto the truck. The weight was too much and it actually tipped backwards. The guys jumped off and the truck righted itself, but we all jumped down and back to our safe spot.

At that point we felt defeated. Three of us caught a rickshaw to the hotel and went straight to the restaurant for a good stiff drink. Well, Alanna had a coke, Lynn and I had the stiff drink. The others stayed and the only one who ended up seeing anything was Craig who got to sit on his Dad’s shoulders. But after a few floats and some of the almighty elephants they exited, worried about getting caught up in the mob at the end.

Magic or mayhem? Well, that’s obvious I guess. Not seeing the procession was a disappointment – it was mayhem. Next time I would see about buying tickets to view the procession in the stands on the palace grounds. But I would also want to talk to someone to make sure it is worth it and there is a good view.

Meeting the groups in the morning was a great experience. Everyone was so friendly and we couldn’t have been closer or got better pictures had we been in the front row of the procession. Luckily we had the magic of the morning to balance out the mayhem of the afternoon.

Mysore, A Weekend Trip $1Can=40Rp

We went to Mysore for the weekend which is a three hour drive/two hour train ride from Bangalore. We paid our driver, Rajesh, 1000Rp extra for the weekend trip. I would have liked to have taken the train but this way we could stop along the way and see some sights.

Our first stop after 1 1/2 hours was the Big Banyan Tree. It is a 400 year old tree, sprawling over four acres. We walked around the area and enjoyed the huge tree and monkeys jumping, playing and swinging from branch to branch. Craig thought it would make a great tree house or climbing tree.

We drove another 1 1/2hours to Sangama. At first it didn't look like much, with a bunch of stalls and hawkers selling souvenirs. But once we got past them we found some stone steps leading to a small temple on a riverbank. It was serene and pretty as long as you overlooked the garbage in and along the sides of the river. Much to our delight there were small round boats called coracles made out of buffalo hide, that you could go for a paddle in. Craig, Michael and I went on one, for about ten minutes.

Indian people gathered at the river for different reasons. One old lady was washing clothes. Three men were holding an urn, going out in a coracle boat to throw their loved ones ashes in the river. Others were piled into one boat - 12 people - having fun spinning round and round. Still others stepped down into the river and immersed themselves.

We carried on and arrived in Mysore at 1:30pm (left Bangalore at 8:15) and found out that all the shops and sights, Mysore Palace - everything was closed due to some riots that had been happening over the last three days - five people stabbed. Disappointed. Nice room though at Hotel Regaalis.

Late in the afternoon, one of the sites - Chumundi Hill - opened up so we decided to drive to the top. There is a sacred Hindu temple on top, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Chumundi (Durgha). There were nice views on the way up but by the time we got to the temple we were in the clouds and it was raining. There were a few people but not as many as usual due to the riots. The temple was quite ornate with lots of carvings and statues. People gave offerings of money and flower garlands. Lots of monkeys were stealing fruit and vegetables from the stalls.

On the way down the hill we stopped at a huge statue of the black Nandi Bull. From here we realized there are stairs to the temple. It would be a nice walk up on a clear day with a view of the farmland and town below - next time.

On Sunday we were happy to find out that shops and the Mysore Palace would open up. We walked to the palace and then realized we were at the north gate instead of the south gate so we got a tuk tuk around for 30Rp.

We paid 200Rp to enter the Palace (locals pay 20Rp) but at least headsets were included for foreigners and we had an excellent tour. Even kept the children interested (bonus). There are many rooms to look at with elaborately carved and painted halls, gates, a wedding chamber, and statues all in excellent condition. There are gardens outside to walk around and the kids were excited when we saw elephants in the distance and camels in the courtyard. We splurged (20Rp) and they went on a short camel ride.

We spent 2 1/2 hrs touring the Palace, then back to the hotel via tuk tuk, had a swim and lunch. By 2:00pm we called Rajesh and decided to go back to the river with the temple and the little boats. There is much more to see and do in and around Mysore. We will definitely go back another time to see more sights and walk around the town.

It was raining so we didn't stop at the river for long and continued on our drive back to Bangalore. The road is never boring. There are so many things to look at:

• working cows with long horns pull carts full of anything imaginable.
• motorbikes with families of four or five weave amongst cars and buses.
• a big open truck drove by with an elephant in the back.
• a tuk tuk full of dead chickens.
• we even saw people riding camels along a street in Bangalore. Just as we came alongside of them they darted in front of us and crossed the street.

Our eyes were wide with wonder. There is always something to look at, you really hate to close your eyes, as you will surely miss something exciting.

On the way back we asked our driver where he stayed for the night in Mysore. I understood that hotels have an area where drivers eat and sleep. We were surprised to hear that he caught the train back to Bangalore for the night. In the morning he caught the early train back again. He said he would have been too bored to stay there alone - none of his friends were there.

The only thing that we were not happy about was that Rajesh (the driver) asked for more money when we got back. We were upset that he would do that after we had agreed on a price. We said we would think about it overnight. Today he was late picking up Michael for work and then he asked if we had "thought about it." Michael said that we were not going to pay him any extra. Then Rajesh mentioned that he had worked 1/2 hr overtime last week and wanted 200Rp for that.

It's true he did work an extra 1/2 hr so Michael agreed even though 200Rp is way too much. Michael also told him that we planned to give him a nice tip at the end of his three weeks. But since we are not happy with him asking for more money not to expect a tip. I thought things were going well with Rajesh so I am disappointed , it made us feel uncomfortable having to say no to him. One more week and then I think we will get a permanent driver.