Mysore is Magnificent!

Alright, I know it has been too long since I last left a blog and I suppose I could use the excuse that I have just been doing to many fantastic things to have time to write and that is partly true but still not a good reason for negect.

Last weekend we went to a city in Karnataka that is known for its historical import. We were only there for two days but we were still able to see a batootie load of amazing things. Mysore is a town that was left mostly independant from the British Occupation so there are many things that have stayed true to tradition. Fortunately for me and my unwanted tourist tendancies, we were able to see a lot of neat things to take pictures of, but I do not currently have a way to get my pictures off my camera so I can't put them on here yet.

We (meaning all the USAC students) began the three hour ride to Mysore at 7:00 am Saturday morning but were suppossed to start out at 6 so I wasn't that happy that I woke up at 5:30 but I should have realized that we will always be running on Indian Standard Time here, no matter what our USAC coordinator says.
We stopped to see some pretty cool things along the way and I am lad that Jacob John (Indian USAC coordinator) was there with us so he could recognize these otherwise overlooked points of interest. We first stopped at a silkworm farm that was by no means what I had imagined and I have to say that silk in its pure form isn't quite so 'silky' to the touch as one would suppose. The silk fibres make up the encassing that surrounds the larve and it kind of reminded me of a squished piece of cotton candy that has become hard in the middle, if you can picture that which is doubtful because its a little crazy, I admit. We also stopped off at a jaggery mill. Jaggery is unrefined sugar that they get from squashing sugar cane and boiling the liquid down until it solidifies into a bitter yellow paste. Personally, I'm not a fan of jaggary but it is what is put in all the sweets here so I have had to get used to it. I must say that rotting sugarcane husks have a rather unpleasantly moldy sweet smell to them and by the time we left I was happy to go.
When we got into Mysore we first went to a big cathedral done in Notre Dame style which was an ironic thing to see in one of the most culturally prideful parts of India. The cathedral was complete with flying butchresses and stained glass windows but on a small level. There was an interesting mix of Catholic and Indian extravegance that probably isn't found anywhere else. I have realized that it is an interesting study of human behavior to be here and see the melding of cultures between 'east' and west.
We then went up to a temple on the top of a hill that overlooks the whole Mysore valley. It was amazing and beautiful and I wished I could have stayed there longer but we were on a schedule and for one of the first times since I have been here we kept to the schedule.

That night we stayed in a bed bug infested hotel and I was paranoid all night and didn't sleep very well because I felt like I had things crawling all over me. When I woke in the morning I told Stacy of my fears and she excused it as my being an insane person but I had the last laugh when she had bites all over and I had only a couple. No, I am not that heartless as to laugh at the pains of my dear friend, I did feel rather badactually but it was kind of ironic humor, I suppose.

The next morning we went to 'the best zoo in India', though I must admit that it was rather sad but most interesting at the same time. They did have lots f animals but there were almost more wild monkeys running around everywhere (uncaged of course) than there were animals behind bars. We had a number of people ask us if they could take a picture of us and I felt like putting a sign around my neck that said, 'Homo-erectus; of the white skinned variety' and getting my own cage to sit in so people could look at me. Dang this different skin!

After the zoo we went to the Mysore Palace. Mysore Palace is gargantuan, beautiful, and amazingly ornate!! I loved it and unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside because it was so incredible. Room after room was so dazzeling and ornate that I could hardly focus on any one thing. I don't mean to give undue anxiety but I might stay in India longer than I first intended because the current Maharaja who lives in the Palace is single and you know, I wouldn't feel too bad marrying the richest man in India, especially if I could live in the Mysore palace (along with his 13 other mansions)!! Our tour guide was giving out applications for marriage and, dang-it I forgot to turn mine in!! I'll have to go back and get a new one soon.

It really was a nice trip even though we had to stuff nine of us in a seven person car but there are no seat belt laws here so we lollopped about whichever way we chose.