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India 2012 ~ Day 6
I’m sorry—is it really morning? This is either a terrible mistake or some
kind of cruel joke… Haha… Last night was ridiculously fun but 6am is
kickin’ me arse!! Up shower and ready,
then straight down to the car and we’re on our way! We’re picking up Gerard, Sukanya and
Mahitha. OH! Forgot to mention… a familiar face in the
driver seat! Kaila and Matt’s driver is
the same man who drove me when I was here in 2007. I showed him the picture we took when I was
here before and he was so surprised, made him laugh… lol
Such a sweet man. Anyway—off we
go!
First stop, just out from the hotel in White Field we picked
up Mahitha, then to Gerard and Sukanya.
Quick stop at a grocery store for some breakfast/snacks to eat along the
way as we didn’t have time for breakfast before we left the hotel. It was a small little grocery store. Just opened, all the lights inside were still
off when we went inside. We walked around
looking for something to much on… I found a small package of orange cream
cookies (like oreos but both the cookies and the cream were orange flavored, I
think there were 15 cookies in the package), a bottle of mango juice (probably
about 28-30 oz), a big bottle of water (about 1Lt) and a bag of Cool Ranch
Doritos (I think it was a 10oz bag)… lol
Total cost: 430₨ (Current exchange
rate is $1=50₨, so about $8.60).
At home in the US the most expensive item would have easily been the
mango juice, probably $4-$5 or more for a bottle that size—any guesses on the
price of the juice? 30₨… Not
even lying… $.60 for a huge bottle of
mango juice—Remember how I love this place? So true. The cookies and the juice were awesome, but I
was super disappointed when I opened the bag of chips and they smelled like
rancid oil. Fail.
So we’re in the car… Kaila and I are exhausted from last
night and both trying to sleep. My body
is too long to get comfortable in the car and I’m trying in vain to find a spot
where I can relax enough to sleep. Not
happening. So smothered in
lamesauce! About 10, we pulled off for a
pit stop. I remember a KFC and a Cafe
Coffee Day. There may have been a few
other buildings back behind but I wasn’t really all that coherent… lol I
was soooo tired! Anyway—we tried the
KFC but they didn’t have anything ready (they had just opened) so we went
across to the Coffee Day. There was
laughing and mocking… repeating jokes and funny moments from the night
before… It was a good time. We go to leave and we’re clearing the area
where we had been eating. Kaila grabs
the tray they had put the food on and starts to walk out the door… with the tray still in her hands. I started laughing to myself, walked out just
behind her and said “Kaila—where are you going with the tray?” She didn’t realize she was till holding
it… We both dissolved in giggles. Good times.
Back in the car… still exhausted and still trying to find a
comfy spot with no luck. I don’t
remember falling asleep, but I also don’t remember much of what happened
between Maddur and Mysore… LOL I think
it was about 11:30 when we finally got into Mysore. We went straight to the palace to walk around
and see the sights on the grounds. When
I was here in 2007, it was end of June and it seemed crowded to me then… this
time around with the Mysore Dasara festival (biggest and most extravagant
festival in Mysore) nearing its end, the crowds were ridiculous! Literally, people everywhere. They were camped out all over the place in
make-shift tents of blankets and tarps with cooking fires and all manner of
stuff literally on the side of the road. I’ve never seen streets so crowded! Dasara is a huge deal. The festival celebrates and commemorates the
slaying of the demon Mahishasura by Goddess Durga. It symbolizes the triumph of good over evil
as depicted in Hindu mythology. You
should look it up… pretty cool stuff.
We got our tickets, went inside and made our way to the
palace entrance. No shoes inside, so we
left them at the counter along with the other 70,000 people who were wearing
shoes. There was another 110,000 already not wearing shoes, cuz that’s just how
they roll here… LOL They have a “rule” about no cameras/pictures
inside the palace… but phones are totally acceptable. It’s entirely possible that I used my cell
phone to take a few pictures inside. I
only got a few shots (my favorites being of the Golden Howdah and the stained
glass in the Kalyana Mantapa) before one of the guards yelled something in my
direction (no idea if he was yelling specifically at me or not) and guilt took
over. Damn the bloody conscience of
knowing right from wrong. My phone
stayed in my bag after that. I felt
better knowing that the howdah is actually used in the parades of Dasara so
it’s not like there’s never been a picture taken of it.
The first major room you come to is the Kalyana Mantapa,
which looks like a big roundish ballroom with columns all around and a beautiful
stained glass ceiling (see contraband).
The glass looks like huge peacocks surrounded by all manner of awesomeness. A little research has enlightened me to some
very cool facts about this particular room.
First—the purpose of the room itself is a marriage hall—which in and of
itself is just cool that they have a room in the palace just for weddings. Second—the glass and structure of the ceiling were
wrought in Glasgow, Scotland! How
awesome is that?!
After the Kalyana Mantapa you go through a doorway into a
set of hallways (I’m writing this from memory so I may get the order wrong,
don’t be mad). In one hallway you see a “small” collection of caskets (ornate
wooden boxes), trinkets and gifts presented from leaders, ambassadors and delegates
from other countries. One hall as
portraits of the Indian royal family. I
found it very interesting that the last portrait in this hall was actually of the
Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna Romanov. No
gonna lie, I was pretty proud of myself for recognizing her awesomeness way
before we got to the sign with her name printed on it. J Have
I mentioned recently that I’m in love with the Romanovs and I fully intend to
see all there is to see in St Petersburg and the surrounding areas? Everything from the Hermitage to ballets at the
Mariinsky Theater and on to some of the most beautiful palaces in all of
Europe. Don’t worry, when it happens I’ll
take you with me. J
Eventually you come to the Gombe Thotti (Doll’s Pavillion).
Way cool… all kinds of dolls and figurines and statues and ceremonial stuff
from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The very last thing before you go into the
next part of the tour is the howdah. It
was so beautiful! (pic below) The howdah is the carriage frame thingie they
strap to the elephant for the king to ride in for parades. Sooooo cool!
As you weave your way through the incredibly ornate hand
carved doors and doorways, up and down gorgeous marble staircases and in and
out of beautifully tiled and painted rooms and hallways you eventually come to Ambavilasa
which is the reception room or “throne” room of sorts. It’s the place where the head of the royal
family (I think they are referred to as Krishnaraja in Mysore—I could be
horribly wrong) would receive guests and take audience with visitors. You only get to walk through the far end,
away from the throne. I so wish I could
have taken pictures, it was gorgeous!
Once we were outside again, we walked around the grounds for
a while. The gardens and the temples and all of the outer buildings in the fort
are all so beautiful. As we were walking
around, a little girl stopped us. She
wanted to have her picture taken with us!
She was so precious! That started
an onslaught of random people stopping us and asking if they could have their
picture taken with us… happened at least a dozen times… lol I’ll have to get the pictures from Matt so I
can post them. For a fraction of a
moment I had a little tiny taste of celebrity life… and I didn’t even
mind! J
Once we’d covered the front side of the palace grounds we
headed back behind the main palace structure.
We were looking for an elephant to ride… cuz that’s what you do when you’re
a tourist in a country where they let you do that. It was one of the coolest and most memorable moments
from my last trip. We found the area
where they were staging the elephant rides but they weren’t doing rides that
day. We were so sad… :o( We did go over the where they were feeding
the elephants and asked about taking a pictures. We just thought they’d let us include the
elephants in the back ground of the picture… we were pleasantly surprised when
they brought the elephants up and told us to come into the pen area and stand
next to them! Was so cool! They lifted their trunks and petted/rubbed
our heads… totally startled me the first time… lol wasn’t expecting it. We got to have our moment with the elephants
(which didn’t last nearly long enough) and then we were headed off the
grounds. As we were leaving, we got stopped
again by a group of about 12 men who all wanted to have their picture taken
with us… LOL still makes me laugh a little. I guess when you don’t see many foreigners
you want evidence to share with your friends so they know you really saw one!
Lunch was at a little place called The Road: A Unique
Pub. The entrance was a huge barrel. Inside they had old cars set up with tables
inside and there were posters of old cars all over the place. We of course climbed into the cars to take
pictures (also on Matt’s camera L)
and be tourists. The area where we ended up sitting was set up with wide padded
benches and pillows, kind of a mid-easterny feel to it. Which was totally fine with me… I ate and then laid down for a nap while
everyone else finished… lol We were the
only ones in the restaurant.
We left the restaurant in search of shopping then to the Mysore Zoo to walk around for a bit. So many beautiful animals... I love the zoo. After that it was back to
the palace grounds for the lights! They
light up the whole place like Disneyland.
It’s pretty cool. By this time,
my phone had died so I couldn’t take anymore pictures, but Matt and Kaila took
lots so as soon as I have a chance to meet up with them again and get copies, I’ll
post them. We stayed at the palace for a
short while to oooo and aaahhh at the lights and then moved on to Brindavan
Gardens for the Musical Fountain. Last
time I was here we saw the main gardens but the water was so high, we weren’t
able to get to the side of the grounds where the fountains were. It was pretty cool. They choreograph the lights and the movement
of the water in the fountains to music.
Kind of like the fountains at the Bellagio but way cooler—cuz it’s in
India. After the show at the fountains, we
went up to the Royal Orchid hotel for dinner.
YUM! It was a “5 star” moment…
waiters with towels on their arms who bring the food to the table and then serve
it to your plate.
After dinner we were headed home… I was exhausted! So tired!
Didn’t sleep much on the way home and was so glad to see my bed. What a day!
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