Mysore

On the weekend we had our first adventure out of Bangalore - we were heading to Mysore, which is about 150km south of Bangalore.  We had a slight delay in leaving with a burst pipe on the hot water geyser but a quick repair and we were off.   It's a good 3 hour drive, especially with traffic but with ipods and ipads in hands, the boys were happy to watch the footie progress back home while we travelled.  It also gave Mike and I a chance to catch up with each other, as the days seem to just disappear at the minute.  I have spoken about traffic a lot - so will not bore you with it any more.  Anthony, our driver, was spending the weekend driving us around - lucky him ??

Sultan Tippu's Grave

Srirangapatna Temple (it was being cleaned)

Our first stop was Srirangapatna which was the home to Sultan Tippu.  The palace remains are still there, but the main attraction is the Temple and its surrounds.  We proceeded to take our shoes off and join the masses to have a look at the ancient temple.  There was a lot of push and shove to get a glimpse of the statues and to leave an offering to the Gods, but we survived and enjoyed seeing the devotion of the people.  The boys were trying to relate it to the church at school - interesting comparison.....

The River Cauvery

The boys overlooking the river

In the dungeons

In the dungeons

We then headed to Mysore to check in to the hotel and have some lunch.  After that, we drove up to the top of Chamundi Hills which towers over the city of Mysore.  What a view !!  There is another huge temple at the top of the hill and part way down the 1000 steps from the temple, is the HUGE Nandi Bull (Lord Shiva's Bull). There was a festival on over the weekend, so there were many people taking the pilgrimage up the 1000 steps to the top of the hill.  Each step had both Red and Yellow finger prints from the thousands of pilgrims blessing each step on the way to the temple.

The boys and Nandi

A trail of red paint pigment to a mini shrine

The ladies are blessing each step as they go up

Finger prints on the steps

That night we went to watch the Mysore Palace Light and Sound Show.  It was all in Hindi, so it was a bit difficult to follow, and with the blackout in the middle for 10 minutes, the show took longer than expected.  However, at the end it was SO worth waiting to see the palace lit by 97,000 bulbs.

Mysore Palace

Sunday morning, and we headed to the very well known Devaraja Market in the centre of Mysore.  It is a daily market and sells mainly fruits, vegetables and flowers, and then the paint pigments add such a spectacular blast of colour.  We were lucky enough, (not really, he dragged us) to have a 12 year old boy take us to his stall and show us how to make the sandalwood incense that is renowned in the area.  The boys enjoyed watching and listening to this boy explain how he does it and that he only does it on Sunday, because he is at school the rest of the time.  I just loved walking through here - a highlight for me, not so much the boys !

Apples and Oranges

A mountain of beans

A gorgeous display of apples

Fresh herbs

The banana aisle

Flowers  used as religious offerings

Paint dye

My favourite

After this we visited the Railway Museum - Mike's Lonely Planet guide said it was worthy of a half days' visit - we lasted about 1 hour..... he will rightly update them of our opinion.  We went and saw St Philomena's Church - a beautiful gothic style church in the centre of town.  It is surrounded with beggars who won't leave you alone, and even follow you back to your car.  Mike was back in the car trying to get his phone out of his pocket and one of the beggars thought he was reaching for his wallet, so he was banging on Anthony's window to stop driving so he could get his money from Mike.......poor guy (no pun intended).

With my trusty Trip Advisor App in hand, I had found a place for lunch - it was a bit out of the way but was a great spot for a bite to eat.  There was a playground within the premises and the Indian curries were just the right heat for the boys.



With very full stomachs we headed to Shivasamudram Falls.  They were spectacular waterfalls made even better with the recent monsoon rains.  We were told to visit now, rather than wait for another trip when it may be dryer - and we are so happy we did.

The trip home was hampered with some very heavy rain but it was a fun weekend and we're looking forward to our next adventure.  Maybe Goa or Kerala.