Day 12 - Mysore
Wake up call at 7.30 this morning, packing, and breakfast of fruit, and omelette, pancake with coconut chutney and sweet lime juice. Took some final photos of the gardens and then onto the coach for 9am.
Yesterday Carol and I, and possibly some of the others, had been telling our local guide Sandihya how much we enjoyed interacting with the local people and taking photos of everyday life. Perhaps because of this, the coach journey to Mysore was much more interesting than our previous drives because she kept stopping the bus to show us things.
The first, seemingly impromptu, stop was at a village market that was spotted from the road. The locals looked at us as if we were Martians as we descended from the coach and wandered about taking photos. There were piles of fruit and vegetables, live chickens, a butcher cutting up a single animal surrounded by a bevy of keen customers... we only had twenty minutes so I didn't even get to see the fabrics section! One of the stallholders insisted on giving me a blessing and marking my forehead with vermillion.
As we continued on our journey Sandihya stopped the coach for us to photograph a brickworks (people making bricks by hand), ladies working in the paddy fields, a bullock cart, and oxen being worked in the fields. Carol and I also spent a lot of time swaying around on the back seat trying to take photos of the colourful Tata trucks out of the back window of the coach. Somewhere along the way we spotted the first in a series of what became known as 'Camp Jesuses' - there are a lot of churches in this area and one particular one we passed had a statue of Jesus on top with particularly limp wrists, which caused some hilarity. Shortly thereafter Carol decided she wanted to take a photo of me in the back of the bus - only when she showed me the result did I realise that I'd smudged my bindi and was sporting a large red cross on my forehead! Of course we nearly wet ourselves laughing, much to the non-amusement of Michael. Oops.
At some point we made a comfort stop at the familiar Cafe Coffee Day where I ordered a lychee iced tea, forgetting that I never have ice on holiday. But I figured the ice there would be ok, and it seems it was.
We arrived at the Fortune JP Palace hotel (another faceless business hotel) in Mysore at around 1.30pm - time for a wash and brush up and a snack for those who wanted one before reboarding the coach at 3pm to visit Mysore Palace. The palace was completed in 1912 and is lavishly decorated inside with tiles, paintings and stained glass. It reminded me of the Brighton Pavilion in its opulence. Sadly no photos are allowed inside so I bought a guide book at the exit. All visitors have to leave their shoes and their cameras at the entrance - on our way out we retrieved our shoes but poor Maurice got the wrong shoes back! Luckily all cameras were successfully returned. Back at the coach the Shopping Channel was open: most days Ed would take some goods from the local hawkers to show us on the coach so that we could purchase in comfort - this so-called Shopping Channel became one of the memorable features of the tour. On this occasion I bought a wooden box inlaid with brass elephants.
The next stop was at the ubiquitous craft emporium. I was after a carving of a tiger but, depite the tiger being the national animal of India, there were none to be found so I settled for an elephant. I also bought a tiny opening devotional object in the shape of praying hands with images of Ganesh and Lakshmi inside, all carved of sandalwood.
In the late afternoon we visited Mysore market - full of flowers, spices, paints and perfumes. One of the stallholders gave me a rose. I bought red bananas and a huge papaya, but mostly just took photos and drank in the atmosphere.
As darkness fell we returned to the palace. On one day a week it is lit up in the evening, and that day happens to be Sunday. The palace was covered in hundreds of lights and reminded me very much of Harrods in London! The atmosphere was wonderful. So many people with their families. People sitting on the grass with children running around. A military band playing British-style. Sweetcorn grilling over hot charcoal.
At 8.15pm we finally returned to the hotel, tired but happy, for dinner. I ate grilled chicken and stir-fried noodles, washed down with a Pina Colada which I forgot to pay for! Michael was kind enough to pick up my bill so I owe him one.
Yesterday Carol and I, and possibly some of the others, had been telling our local guide Sandihya how much we enjoyed interacting with the local people and taking photos of everyday life. Perhaps because of this, the coach journey to Mysore was much more interesting than our previous drives because she kept stopping the bus to show us things.
The first, seemingly impromptu, stop was at a village market that was spotted from the road. The locals looked at us as if we were Martians as we descended from the coach and wandered about taking photos. There were piles of fruit and vegetables, live chickens, a butcher cutting up a single animal surrounded by a bevy of keen customers... we only had twenty minutes so I didn't even get to see the fabrics section! One of the stallholders insisted on giving me a blessing and marking my forehead with vermillion.
As we continued on our journey Sandihya stopped the coach for us to photograph a brickworks (people making bricks by hand), ladies working in the paddy fields, a bullock cart, and oxen being worked in the fields. Carol and I also spent a lot of time swaying around on the back seat trying to take photos of the colourful Tata trucks out of the back window of the coach. Somewhere along the way we spotted the first in a series of what became known as 'Camp Jesuses' - there are a lot of churches in this area and one particular one we passed had a statue of Jesus on top with particularly limp wrists, which caused some hilarity. Shortly thereafter Carol decided she wanted to take a photo of me in the back of the bus - only when she showed me the result did I realise that I'd smudged my bindi and was sporting a large red cross on my forehead! Of course we nearly wet ourselves laughing, much to the non-amusement of Michael. Oops.
At some point we made a comfort stop at the familiar Cafe Coffee Day where I ordered a lychee iced tea, forgetting that I never have ice on holiday. But I figured the ice there would be ok, and it seems it was.
We arrived at the Fortune JP Palace hotel (another faceless business hotel) in Mysore at around 1.30pm - time for a wash and brush up and a snack for those who wanted one before reboarding the coach at 3pm to visit Mysore Palace. The palace was completed in 1912 and is lavishly decorated inside with tiles, paintings and stained glass. It reminded me of the Brighton Pavilion in its opulence. Sadly no photos are allowed inside so I bought a guide book at the exit. All visitors have to leave their shoes and their cameras at the entrance - on our way out we retrieved our shoes but poor Maurice got the wrong shoes back! Luckily all cameras were successfully returned. Back at the coach the Shopping Channel was open: most days Ed would take some goods from the local hawkers to show us on the coach so that we could purchase in comfort - this so-called Shopping Channel became one of the memorable features of the tour. On this occasion I bought a wooden box inlaid with brass elephants.
The next stop was at the ubiquitous craft emporium. I was after a carving of a tiger but, depite the tiger being the national animal of India, there were none to be found so I settled for an elephant. I also bought a tiny opening devotional object in the shape of praying hands with images of Ganesh and Lakshmi inside, all carved of sandalwood.
In the late afternoon we visited Mysore market - full of flowers, spices, paints and perfumes. One of the stallholders gave me a rose. I bought red bananas and a huge papaya, but mostly just took photos and drank in the atmosphere.
As darkness fell we returned to the palace. On one day a week it is lit up in the evening, and that day happens to be Sunday. The palace was covered in hundreds of lights and reminded me very much of Harrods in London! The atmosphere was wonderful. So many people with their families. People sitting on the grass with children running around. A military band playing British-style. Sweetcorn grilling over hot charcoal.
At 8.15pm we finally returned to the hotel, tired but happy, for dinner. I ate grilled chicken and stir-fried noodles, washed down with a Pina Colada which I forgot to pay for! Michael was kind enough to pick up my bill so I owe him one.