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...

Updates and Winding Down

First the Updates:

• The Bangalore Restaurant Guide and Book Reccommendations have been updated.
• Remember little Anand, the 2 year old who Smile Train operated on in October to repair his hair lip (see Jan. 11, 2011 "This Will Make You Smile")? A very sad update to report that little Anand died recently in hospital from pneumonia. Our OWC charity member who arranged the operation saw Anand ten days before and he was fine, he had put on weight and was walking. Such a sad ending but we know he was well loved and well taken care in his short life at one of the OWC charities.

Things are Winding Down:

With just under two months left in India things are winding down. We've booked our flights out of here on the same day our visas expire and the moving process has begun; we've had two companies come through to estimate how much stuff we have to send back to Canada. We are going back with little more than what we came with but both companies estimated five times the amount.  That's a huge difference and means the difference between shipping by air (2-3 weeks) and sea (2-3 months). Something fishy going on there.

My charity work is almost done and I've handed off my four charities to other committee members. It was another productive year with a big increase in funds raised over the year which meant that we had a lot more to distribute to our 25 charities. After many meetings and emails we have distributed the funds to many, many worthy projects.

I have written my last article for the Rangoli also. I think I managed to write an article in almost all but three issues since I joined. Really enjoyed writing for the magazine.

Yoga - I've cut back to just taking the Iyengar class 2-3 times/week. I still love it and the other days I'm doing yoga at home. I definitely want to focus on Iyengar when I get back to Canada and looking forward to finding a good studio or teacher. Definitely one of the best things I have learned in India!

Back to Goa (Part 2)

This time in Goa we went south and the beach was beautiful - nice soft sand, clean, long, warm water, great waves and not crowded at all. The days were spent lounging on the beach, playing in the waves and eating at our favorite little beach shack: Cafe Zumbrai, just next door to the hotel.

We stayed at the Taj Exotica which I would not recommend. Overall the service was poor - we heard the word "No" far too much - and the food was overpriced and unappetizing. There were some good points such as housekeeping, the Goan restaurant and staff, and the breakfasts. Generally at these "expensive" hotels you are paying extra for service and facitllities - this time, unfortunately, it didn't pay off.

I was really surprised because I had such a good experience last month at the Taj Holiday Village where customer service was outstanding, food was excellent and reasonably priced. Ahh, how I longed for "Towel Ganesha..."

So we just had our breakfast at the hotel and then off to the beach for the day. Lunch and dinner we gladly walked the hundred meters down the beach to Cafe Zumbrai where we ate fresh fish, all the Goan specialties, pasta, cheap beer and cocktails too!

All in all (despite the hotel), we had a great family vacation with lots of sun, sand, surf and good food.

Back to Goa

We went to Goa for springbreak. Whereas my last trip to Goa was all about cooking, this one was all about the beach, the waves, and a day walking about Margao. The kids weren't too thrilled to give up half a day at the beach to walk around this busy little town. But what the heck, a little Goan architecture and street life never hurt anyone.

I just loved this stretch of the road with that fabulous old building in the background.

Wow, look at the dried chilies!

"Dream World The Ultimate Shop" -  I wonder if she went there...

India Wins World Cup!

Wickets, overs, bowlers, strikers, outs. Sachin, Dhoni, Gambhir, Singh.

Hey, a month ago none of this meant anything to me but living in India how can one not get swept up in cricket-mania! And at 8 hrs a game it's not hard to figure it all out after a couple games - well, not everything but I can pretty much figure it out.

India should be proud, and they are I tell you. Last nights game started well for Sri Lanka who ended up with 274 runs after batting first. India got two outs within the first 30 balls and Indian fans looked a little depressed. But they came back slowly and surely and in the end when they only needed one run to win - they got a sixer - a beautiful ball hit into the crowd to win it all.

Congrats India - glad to be here to watch it and great to be on the winning side!