Mysore

For our first weekend in India, we decided on a day trip to Mysore, about 80 km Southwest of Bangalore.  This was perhaps the longest day trip I have ever embarked on.  Our driver, Shankar, picked us up at 5:30 AM to take us to central Bangalore.  There we boarded an overly air-conditioned bus run by the Karnataka State Tourism Office.  Our first stop was a 15 minute break where we could by some cheap souvenirs.  I spent most of this time gaping at the number of people that you could fit in a single auto-rikshaw.

Next we stopped for a quick bite to eat and then we were off to our first real stop on the tour, Daria Daulat palace in Srirangapatna.  It wasn't much to look like on the outside since it was largely surrounded with green blinds to protect the paintings from damaging sun rays.  Inside it was nice glimpse at how the sultans lived about 300 years ago. 

From there we drove through the town of Srirangapatna while the driver pointed out sights to the left and right of the bus. Unfortunately, his English was so heavily accented that we sometimes were not sure if he was still speaking English or had switched to repeat the spiel in Hindi.

Next we stopped at a Roman Catholic church for 10 minutes, followed by a 40 minute stop at another shopping stop. This one apparently know for it's silk saris and fragrant oils.  Although it was repeated many times that we would not have to pay any sales tax here, unlike everywhere else in India, Nick and I both managed to resist purchasing anything.  

After lunch, we finally made it to the Mysore Palace.  Although it was quite beautiful, I was surprised to learn that it was only 100 years old and was designed by a British architect.  I expected everything in India to be much older.  

Our next stop turned out to be the most interesting.  We drove quite a up a winding road to the Chamundi Temple.  Here we were swindled into a brief tour and ceremony but at about $6 it was worth it.  Our guide walked us through the process of giving and offering, blessing ourselves with incense and ending with a bright red dot (bindi) on our foreheads. Although we got a few more looks after the ceremony, it was definitely interesting to learn about some of the various Hindu gods (just don't quiz me on this).  

The final stop on the tour was to the Brindavan Gardens known for their illuminated fountains.  I guess we were expecting something more reminiscent of the Belagio fountain show in Vegas so were a bit disappointed that they just lit the fountains a variety of colored lights.  We suspected there was more to it on the other half of the gardens but before we had a chance to check it out, the light rain we had been experiencing turned in to an outright downpour.  As a result, we booked it for the bus rather than continuing to explore.