A quote from lonely planet I read on the comparatively fast
sleeper train for a weekend trip to Mysore this Easter. I would argue South
India is full of many treasures and Mysore is just one of them but being a
‘medium sized city’ it had the right ratio of tourist attractions to tourists
yet doesn't have the extravagantly crazy rush that bigger cities like Chennai
engulf you with.
The most impressive attraction was Mysore Palace which you
are unfortunately not allowed your camera inside of as I found out form a tall
Indian man with a gun. I didn’t argue.
The design of many buildings in Mysore is actually quite
impressive. Aboveis the exterior of an Art Gallery we visited.
We made friends with a couple of Indians who showed us some
of Mysore’s more hidden secrets on their bikes. Mysore is also renowned for its
silk exports so the first place they took us to was a silk factory weaving threads
of silk and gold into expensive Sarees on machines over 100 years old.
The second place was a friend’s house who owned an incense
business. It smelt divine. An old woman sat on the floor rolling the strong
scented incense round thin bamboo sticks and I asked if I could photograph her.
She rolls 6000-8000 sticks every day.
The next day en route to the market we got caught up by some
mendi artists working on the street. It took about 45 minutes for 2 men to
decorate all 4 of our arms but as you can see it was well worth the wait, I
even got them to write my name on my palm.
The market was just like any other Indian market just a lot
bigger. Here is one vegetable seller; 12 tomatoes for 10Rs (12.5p).
For sale here is Kollam (that’s how it’s pronounced not sure
about spelling). Coloured powder that in Tamil Nadu is used to make intricate
beautiful patterns outside your house to ward off bad omen (and make your
doorstep look lovely). In North India and perhaps Karnataka it is used in Holi
festival where they throw coloured powder at each other. Unfortunately I missed
out on all this fun but there is so much to see, do and experience in India you
couldn’t possibly do it all in one year volunteering.
Hi Lily...Lovely to read and digest...got your letter this morning.8th june/13.. gma says ur having a stupendous time , i agree....have more lots of love Gdad XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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