I woke up at the crack of dawn in the town of Mysore, in Southern Karnataka. I frantically went to the ATM, tourist office, bus reservation counter, and breakfast. Apparently the tour to Halebid, Belur, and Sravanabelagola isn't happening, which sucks (I will miss a ton of Hoysola Temples and the biggest Jain statue in the world) and I will have to waste away my time in Mysore. Today, I took ANOTHER city tour, of Mysore. Mysore was the capital of the state of Mysore, renamed Karnataka, and was ruled by the Hindu Wodeyars from the 1400’s to independence. The city is popular for tourists, and I can see why; there is a ton to see, the weather is perfect, its close to many other sites (unavailable to me thanks to a lacking Karnataka tourism department), and it’s a pretty city. We drove around town, and the first stop was the Jagmohan Palace & Art Gallery, with random artifacts, paintings, and a market outside. We made our required emporium stop, the highlight being silks and sandalwood, both of which are famous in Mysore. Driving through the regal tree-lined roads of the city, we came to the Mysore Zoo, which was probably the best one I have seen in India, with elephants, peacocks, giraffes, tigers, hippos, snakes, and lions. It’s pretty sad, though, because the enclosures are so small, so the animals just pace or sleep. It’s pretty easy to make me a happy traveler; I just need a chance to get good photos…and that's all. I don't need a lot of time somewhere; as long as I get good pictures, I am happy. The next leg was the 13km ascent up Chamundi Hill, one of the holiest in South India. There are 1,000 steps to the top, over which devotees are supposed to climb to the top to see the Sri Chamundeswari Temple, with a huge gateway tower, the second-tallest in South India, to Madurai’s Sri Meenakshi Temple. The road to the temple was lined with vendors selling random housewares, god posters, and of course, milk coconuts, flowers, and garlands for prasad. I went into the temple, where Brahmins were giving ghee and chanting, and of course, eliciting donations. At the temple entrance, there was a colorful statue of the ugly Maheshswara, and "Gallery Museum". The views of Mysore were great, and you could see the enormous Mysore Palace well. We descended Chamundi Hill, passing by a huge statue of Nandi, Shiva's bull, which was blackened by charcoaled coconut oil and wearing yellow flowers. We went to lunch and then want to Mysore's undisputed highlight, Mysore palace. Shoes were randomly not allowed. The interior was really lavish and quite amazing. It was built by a British architect, so stained-glass chandeliers, oil painted frescoes, and gold and Baroque carvings embellished the entire façade, it was amazing. The grounds were so vast that the they contained temples inside, as well as really nice rose gardens. After, we visited Saint Philomena’s church, the third largest cathedral in India, which was weird seeing all these Indian boys and girls in Catholic-school uniforms. These was nothing that would indicate this was not Latin America by just looking at the scene. The next stop was Srirangapatnam, 15km away. I, of course was sitting next to a huge guy with the broadest shoulders. His Dad was probably 6’3”, and his Mom 5’10”, and I am sure was a Samoan posing as an Indian. The gardenias placed in her ponytail, which is really common for women in South India, didn't help my convictions. Srirangapatnam had a pretty onion-domed tomb for the Telugu royalty, called Gumbaz, like the Taj Mahal but way more pathetic, not marble, no inlay and tiny. The Sri Ranganatheswary Temple was nearby, with dark corridors and colonnaded halls, and a huge congregation of hawkers. After that, we drove through coconut groves and rice paddies during sunset to Brindavan Gardens, which was dark by the time we got there, and overwhelmed with dozens of tour buses. Groups of young uniformed school children, family holiday-makers, groups of teenage boys, and Keralan Vaishnavite pilgrims in black robes and foreheads painted white all milled about. Shops pedaled food, cheap jewelry, and toys, while people gathered around for a picture, of seriously India's tallest man (easily over 7 feet tall with hands as huge as a TV screen). Brindavan Gardens is weird. It has some rose gardens built on the banks of the Cauvery River, right next to a massive dam. From 6 to 7 pm was the exact same thing as what I saw last night; illuminated fountains that looked like iTunes visualizations, along with popular Hindi tunes, Daler Mehndi beats, patriotic Indian songs, and Vengaboys. The bus took us back, and I went to dinner at the South Indian restaurant in the bus station. It’s officially been over a week since I have taken a shower, and I have been sweaty with dirt and dust kicked up from buses, so basically I am disgusting right now. And I really have no desire to take a bath; cockroaches are everywhere in the bathroom, I will just get dirty again, I look tan and Inadian (I have gotten into places for the Indian rate, and everyone thinks I am Indian, asking for directions & talking in Hindi) everyone else smells like coconutty Krisco oil, and I haven't had to wear sun block.
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