On the Road to Mysore Part 2

Ok, no more grumbling and back to the trip to Mysore! Although, I won't promise that one or two grumblings here and there may find their way in somehow...

First, I can't leave out that we traveled during India's Independence Day weekend. So the road to Mysore was packed full of buses - that were packed full of people. Our driver told us that political parties pay everyday people Rs.200 to travel to Mysore for the parade. These people cheer and wave flags for their designated political person and then are bussed back home in the evening. These buses were another reason the trip took a bit longer to complete. They were also the reason that the Brindavan Gardens, where our hotel was located and we spent the first night, was overly packed full of people.

Brindavan Gardens and our hotel, The Royal Orchid, in the background.

The garden and the dam shot from hotel balcony.

Although the gardens appear quite packed now, it got even more so as time went on!

After we arrived at the hotel we ate, freshened up, and headed out into the gardens. After some time our driver met up with us and the three of us finished off the night with a dancing fountain show. For an American having seen my own share of such things, it was nothing to write home about. (or shall I say, write in a blog post about!) But what is worth mentioning is how the Indians went crazy for it! I was very humbled at this moment to see how many Indian families traveled so far, reached the fountains early enough to grab a good seat, waited ever so patiently, and clapped and cheered once the show began.

The small blue pool in the distance which holds the dancing fountain show is what everyone gathered to see.

The next day our only plan was to see the Mysore Palace. People had told us seeing all of the palace would take an entire day but this turned out not to be true. In less then 3 hours we were done and unsure what to do with all our extra time. We found a place to eat, browsed a silk shop, and then decided to start the 3 hour trip home.

The gorgeous palace.

But let's not jump ahead! The Mysore Palace was beautiful and my favorite stop on the trip. What girl wouldn't like a palace? But this is where some grumbling comes in: to see the palace, as well as all the other sites we had taken in so far, there are always two admission prices. One is for Indians and the other for foreigners. Foreigner's prices can be doubled or tripled. In the palace's case, I paid ten times the price an Indian payed to get in. Now, I can't help but wonder what an outright uproar it would be if America did the same thing to its foreigners. Perhaps India feels since foreigners don't pay taxes we should pay more for such historical sites - understandable. But I even had to pay more if I wanted to take a "joy ride" on an elephant. Really India?? grumble grumble...

The elephant "joy ride" located on the palace grounds.

Now back to the beautiful palace. Because I payed so much more, I guess they thought I deserved an audio tour. So after taunting "na na na na na naaaa" to my Indian friend, I put on my head phones and took the tour in style. I would simply pause the recording and relate what I was hearing to my friend. Also, most places you visit in India require you to take your shoes off. This was definitely one of them. It takes a bit of getting used to - roaming around barefoot, especially when men won't stop spitting everywhere!

But the palace was amazing and my only wish was that the tour lasted longer - that's how good it was. Again because it was Independence Day and a Sunday, the palace was packed. Sometimes I felt herded through the rooms. I would recommend visiting on a much slower day to not feel rushed.

Outside the palace, in my new long kurta!

A quick story for all the girls planning on coming to India and roaming around alone...I have been attached to my friend's hip the entire time I have been here so far. Until I start teaching and have to walk to the school on my own, I plan to keep it that way. While outside the palace, my friend walked ahead to roam the grounds as I decided to rest and sit and wait for his return. Not two seconds after he left me to myself, I was bombarded by men. First a group of men asked if they could have a picture with me. Fine, I let them. Then another man, not from the group, appeared and stood right next to me asking me where I was from, and "your name, please?", on and on until I said I had to go, and walked away quickly towards my friend. Now, I'm not saying any of these men would hurt me, obviously that wasn't their plan. But, if you don't care for such attention then just beware if you plan on traveling alone.

So that completes our trip to Mysore. Make sure you check out the dancing fountain video I've included. I also took tons of videos on the drive home, but that's for another day!