Mysore

One thing you quickly learn in India is that nothing is easy. Well, maybe in a few weeks I'll have a different opinion. I've got travel buddies (Anita, Sandy, and Hannah) for a few days and that makes things very easy. They've been in India for two months now and have quite an amazing understanding of the country. What I like about being with them is that they are so into the culture and have a lot of enthusiasm. So, it's rubbed off onto me and I'm having a fantastic time. It's quite a feeling to know that each day is going ot bring brand new experiences. We took the train to Mysore from Bangalore and my goodness, what an experience! I loved it. Absolutely loved it. As soon as we got seated a man came around taking lunch orders. We had packed picnic stuff so we declined. But I was told train meals are fab. so next journey I'll be prepared. As the train started moving guys kept walking up and down selling coffee and tea. Then halfway along, the train made a stop and a snack vendor came on selling vadas (flat, crispy opnion pakora like things). They were warm and delicious.
Would you believe there are eight different classes of train compartments? Foreigners seem to be given a choice of comfortable or extrememly comfortable!

In Mysore we took an autorickshaw to the hotel area, found comfortable digs, then went out for a meal. I immediately noticed a big difference between here and Bangalore. The people are smaller, dressed in colorful saris, and seem more provincial. Also, it's quieter without the jarring traffic noises. For dinner we had North Indian cuisine which was exquisite.

We went up to Chamundi Hill to see a famous temple, then walked down many steps to the bottom of the hill from where we took a bus back to the hotel. We had a sensational lunch at an Andhra restaurant. The meals were served on banana leaves. Waiters come around serving rice and different curries and you could eat as much as you liked. It was kind of like a home meal. Yummy!

There is so much more to say, but I have to meet up with my new friends.

Shanti!