Grand Voyages, Great Lies

On our last night in Mysore (we were lucky enough to be there on a saturday) we visited the palace, saturdays are speacial as the palace and grounds are lit with thousands of golden glowing bulbs, making it look like something from a fairytale or an overly expensive palace using alot of electricty. I would not like to be the person looking for the faulty bulbs. I would however…love to take a sling shot or pellet gun there for some target pra ctice….I wont though. The guards have bigger guns for one.

Afterwards we went to Hotel Pooja’s ‘Infinte’ a roof top bar and resturant with gorgeous views excellent service and good food (indian,chinese,international) and drinks…wonderful fruity cocktails…we felt strange being in a place so posh after our budget traveling but the prices were very fair and the atmosphere relaxed.

It was just what we needed after a busy day running round after banks and travel agents. The latter was fine, it just took a while to come across one, but when we did we had this brilliant man, with a very direct and intense attitude (in a friendly/helpful and funny way) We are booked on a bus to somewhere near Gokarna tonite, then we have to get a local bus to Om beach, where we are stayin atop a hill with a view of the ocean. A place called Namaste cafe. I cant wait.

We stayed in Hotel Dasharath last night. I experience my first lot of hot water in over a month this morning!…..a tartan quilt is luxury after government buses and sheets with bugs in at the Dasaprakash! Also when your on the road the little things make you very happy…tartan for one… marmite for two ( i have sighted chicken flavoured bovril but no marmite as yet)

I has a angsty stress as i discovered that my visa card had stopped working…not good…when i eventually got through to the bank I discovered it had been blocked for a security measure…tuh! But nice to know im safe……the card was unblocked and let me pay for cocktails last night (Infinate had chip and pin!) so lets hope i can unblock it today so i can buy some reading material for our trip to a lake :>

You’ll here from me next if I find time to drag my self off the beach to check email…

We have only slept here two nights and I surprised myself by saying to Kate that I feel at home!

-actually just as i am writing this in an internet cafe a guy we met at sadhana forest just walked in and shocked us…he’s staying in the hotle opposite this place)

 So to continue,  arriving in mysore was easy enough- we have met several very friendly rickshaw drivers who seem more then delighted to give us tours- and for small prices…while we embraced that for a trip up to Chamundi Hill…we were adiment to keep explore the rest of Mysore for ourselves.

Chamundi Hill stands around 3700ft above Mysore, so on the way up ( in what must of been the slowest rickshaw in the world) we had some lovely views- places of interest pointed out by our lovely guide, with whom we oblieged to pictures with later. The temple at the top of the hill is devoted to a hindu godess who defeated a Bull demon. Names escape me at this moment, but the temple was intricatly carved, clean and packed with people givving offerings of money fruit and such things, a busy, squashed and enthralling sight.

We descended the 1000 steps from the temple- though more worshipers were climbing them for the next round of offerings- A breif stop was made after 400 steps to admire the black statue of the bull demon then we continued to the bottom to meet our rickshaw.

The hill adventure itself didnt take place until the afternoon, morning time we had experienced the zoo. I hadnt been to a zoo in years, and an indian zoo i wrongly asumed would be dirty, dingey and poorly constructed. Wonderfully I was very very wrong. Mysore zoo was lovely and we had a bri;lliant time walking round. We no doubt were also part of the attraction for indian visitors as around every corner we were asked if we would be in a photo with them….’ can i click with you once?’ ….’madam madam photo,…just one…please?’

 Hilariously in our chirpy mood fresh from the bird area we obliedged to 9/10 of them. So we no doubt will be all over indian facebook by now…brilliant. The photo taking didnt distract us from the main attraction for us…Tigers. We could of sat and watched them for hours. Thankfully they had a fairly large area in which to roam, though they could only roam indiviualy so they would attack or eat each other. This ment when they werent outside they were in pens… which didnt look all that entertaining…..Then again they do get all their food handed to them on a plate rather then having to hunt….would u rather be waited on hand and foot or go out and track then kill your own rats?

We’ve moved hotels here due to a full booking tonight at our first hotel – Dasaprakash…..which quiet frankly is bottom on the list of places we’ve stayed so far…now we infact have a ‘delux’ room at hotel Dasharath. It is actually luxury for us and cheaper then the larger Dasaprakash…and by the looks of it a whole lot cleaner too.

This morning after consulting the map weve abolished our plans to go to Hampi for the moment. Were going to hit Gokarna first for some beach fun…one more night here first. Its halloween so were going to hit the palace ce soir to see it all lit up and pretty..it is actually magnificant just as it is, then either we shall meet up with the friends weve just bumped into or go to the resturant bar we were at last night. We treated ourselves to some wine last night….well worth it, thought it cannot be a regular purchase at ***ruppees a bottle….we also sampled the hotest thai chicken known to man….the devil as Kate called it.