Have you ever seen such a wedding cake? I haven’t! Surprisingly, it wasn’t even from an Indian wedding. In my spare time I often browse wedding photographer’s blogs. I don’t really know why I do it, since I hardly ever in my life thought about my own wedding. I even watch “Say Yes to the Dress” way too often. Subliminal messages from the beyond? Not sure. It’s quite unique and lovely, no?

My friend took off for his childhood home in Kakinada early this morning leaving me on my own for the next 10 days. Besides walking to the grocery store and buying tortilla chips, salsa, sweet dill pickles, and Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese, (isn’t the homesickness just seeping through those food choices?) I haven’t done much else today. I have a feeling without my friend to guide me through India, I won’t be doing much of anything and therefore not having much to write about!

Oh, but, there is one newsworthy piece to document: our home phone is now up and running and I was able to chit chat with MIM for two hours this morning! Luckily he’s up all night due to Ramadan, so I catch him early morning my time and it works out quite nicely.

See you when there’s something to say!

Ok, no more grumbling and back to the trip to Mysore! Although, I won’t promise that one or two grumblings here and there may find their way in somehow…

First, I can’t leave out that we traveled during India’s Independence Day weekend. So the road to Mysore was packed full of buses – that were packed full of people. Our driver told us that political parties pay everyday people Rs.200 to travel to Mysore for the parade. These people cheer and wave flags for their designated political person and then are bussed back home in the evening. These buses were another reason the trip took a bit longer to complete. They were also the reason that the Brindavan Gardens, where our hotel was located and we spent the first night, was overly packed full of people.

Brindavan Gardens and our hotel, The Royal Orchid, in the background.

The garden and the dam shot from hotel balcony.

Although the gardens appear quite packed now, it got even more so as time went on!

After we arrived at the hotel we ate, freshened up, and headed out into the gardens. After some time our driver met up with us and the three of us finished off the night with a dancing fountain show. For an American having seen my own share of such things, it was nothing to write home about. (or shall I say, write in a blog post about!) But what is worth mentioning is how the Indians went crazy for it! I was very humbled at this moment to see how many Indian families traveled so far, reached the fountains early enough to grab a good seat, waited ever so patiently, and clapped and cheered once the show began.

The small blue pool in the distance which holds the dancing fountain show is what everyone gathered to see.

The next day our only plan was to see the Mysore Palace. People had told us seeing all of the palace would take an entire day but this turned out not to be true. In less then 3 hours we were done and unsure what to do with all our extra time. We found a place to eat, browsed a silk shop, and then decided to start the 3 hour trip home.

The gorgeous palace.

But let’s not jump ahead! The Mysore Palace was beautiful and my favorite stop on the trip. What girl wouldn’t like a palace? But this is where some grumbling comes in: to see the palace, as well as all the other sites we had taken in so far, there are always two admission prices. One is for Indians and the other for foreigners. Foreigner’s prices can be doubled or tripled. In the palace’s case, I paid ten times the price an Indian payed to get in. Now, I can’t help but wonder what an outright uproar it would be if America did the same thing to its foreigners. Perhaps India feels since foreigners don’t pay taxes we should pay more for such historical sites – understandable. But I even had to pay more if I wanted to take a “joy ride” on an elephant. Really India?? grumble grumble…

The elephant "joy ride" located on the palace grounds.

Now back to the beautiful palace. Because I payed so much more, I guess they thought I deserved an audio tour. So after taunting “na na na na na naaaa” to my Indian friend, I put on my head phones and took the tour in style. I would simply pause the recording and relate what I was hearing to my friend. Also, most places you visit in India require you to take your shoes off. This was definitely one of them. It takes a bit of getting used to – roaming around barefoot, especially when men won’t stop spitting everywhere!

But the palace was amazing and my only wish was that the tour lasted longer – that’s how good it was. Again because it was Independence Day and a Sunday, the palace was packed. Sometimes I felt herded through the rooms. I would recommend visiting on a much slower day to not feel rushed.

Outside the palace, in my new long kurta!

A quick story for all the girls planning on coming to India and roaming around alone…I have been attached to my friend’s hip the entire time I have been here so far. Until I start teaching and have to walk to the school on my own, I plan to keep it that way. While outside the palace, my friend walked ahead to roam the grounds as I decided to rest and sit and wait for his return. Not two seconds after he left me to myself, I was bombarded by men. First a group of men asked if they could have a picture with me. Fine, I let them. Then another man, not from the group, appeared and stood right next to me asking me where I was from, and “your name, please?”, on and on until I said I had to go, and walked away quickly towards my friend. Now, I’m not saying any of these men would hurt me, obviously that wasn’t their plan. But, if you don’t care for such attention then just beware if you plan on traveling alone.

So that completes our trip to Mysore. Make sure you check out the dancing fountain video I’ve included. I also took tons of videos on the drive home, but that’s for another day!

I have to admit, I feel a sort of discomfort generally here in India. It’s a tenseness that never seems to go away. It’s when I’m driving along fine in the car, but the anxiety that hits as soon as I have to step out and face the realities of India. Or when I walk outside the gates of my expat sanctum and am thrust into the Indian streets. All I can say is it’s a really uncomfortable feeling that I hope goes away soon.

Today, I didn’t want anything to do with India. My friend suggested we walk to the mall. I was fine with the initial thought of it, but as soon as we began the walk I felt so much apprehension. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to run and hide back in the house. I put on my sunglasses and drooped my head the whole way there. I didn’t want to take in anything new today. I didn’t want to be in India today.

When we got to the mall, all the noises were intensified. I seriously thought I was going to have a meltdown. I pouted, I dragged my feet. When he suggested we get lunch, I cried out, “I don’t want Indian food! I am so sick of Indian food!” Even the sandwiches at the cafe’s (which sneakily look like American food) are paneer this or masala that. So, for the first time since being in India, we finally had “American” food. Yummy, lovely, familiar, American food. Salad with sliced pears, goat cheese, and red wine vinaigrette. Lasagna. Iced Tea. Thank God we have an Italian restaurant in our mall. I have a feeling it will be my sanctuary when I need a slice of home. Funny enough, the place was full of expats. I guess it’s not only me that needs to escape India every now and then.

I needed to escape India today but after a tummy full of familiar food, I’m feeling a little bit better now. I have a feeling this anxiety I keep experiencing is something that won’t ever completely go away. This is my very first time living in another country, one so completely different from my own, and I’m definitely struggling. I can’t say yet that I like being here, but I am grateful for the experience. I’m glad I have my blog and all of you to share things with, and I hope soon enough I can feel differently.

**I’m making our trip to Mysore a two part series because there is so much to say and show to you. For this post, I’ll concentrate on the drive to Mysore and the stops we made along the way.

—–

Our Saturday began early and without power. Without power there is no way to heat our water, so I took a crisp shower before getting ready in the dark. (Yes, there was some grumbling!) We hired the same cab/driver we have been using since arriving in Bangalore, as he’s about our age, a good driver (sometimes a little too speedy!), and we took a liking to him. He doesn’t speak much English, but he can speak Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada among others, so I can only communicate with him through my friend as interpreter.

The Travel

The drive to Mysore is about 3 hours. Because we stopped for breakfast and saw sights along the way, the trip instead took 6! On our way out of our development, I saw a young man kick a dog. So for the first few minutes I sat seething in my seat. A little further down the road, there was a man dressed as a woman in complete sari and jewelry and everyone at the stop signal was giving him money. Even our driver did the same. The man wasn’t begging but more like expecting to be handed the money. So I asked our driver, “why did you give him money”? And our driver’s response was that if he didn’t, the person would cast a curse on him, therefore most people give money to be safe rather than sorry. I then asked, did you know that was a man? And he answered, “it’s neither one or the other”. With those broad shoulders, square jaw, and muscular arms, I’d say he was definitely all man. But hey, what do I know?

The rest of the trip went off without a hitch. I really enjoyed having my eyes glued to the window and trying my best to take everything in although there is NO possible way you can take in everything here in India. There is just too much going on and most of it we as foreigners cannot understand. It’s true though, you can never possibly get bored looking out a car window in India. Whether it’s a family of four on a scooter, bullock carts passing by, men peeing on the side of the road, passengers hanging on for their dear lives outside and on top of speeding trucks; there is always something to see that you may have never seen before. Seriously, I didn’t even want to take my eyes off the road for two seconds in fear I may miss something new, especially since this was my first time seeing the countryside.

Sites Along the Way

We stopped about an hour into our trip to have breakfast. It seemed to be a very popular roadside stop by how busy the place was. We decided on the buffet and had a truly delicious breakfast for only Rs.80 ($1.50) -all while watching monkey’s goof around!

Our breakfast buffet spot.

The monkeys were literally four feet in front of us as we ate!

Ranganathaswamy Temple

A couple hours later we came to our first sightseeing spot as suggested by our driver: Ranganathaswamy Temple. This became my first experience being bombarded by street peddlers. As soon as I exited the car they were there shoving things in my face. One guy even pleaded with me to get on his horse and let him take me the 100 steps to the temple. When you say “no, thank you” to an item a peddler is shoving towards you, he simply exchanges the item for another he his holding and you suddenly find yourself being followed saying “no, thank you, no, thank you,” over and over again.

Along with the peddlers are the beggars. On our way back to the car, a small, very dirty girl came running up to me with a blanket wrapped around her and her hand outstretched yelling “madam! madam! madam!” continuously. She followed me until I reached into my purse and handed her a few coins. It’s such a hard sight to see. And although I feel incredibly sorry for the beggars, especially the children, I soon discovered it is them plus the peddlers that make sightseeing a mentally and emotionally exhausting experience!

Ranganathaswamy Temple

Colonel Bailey’s Dungeon

Very near to the temple is Colonel Bailey’s Dungeon. We exited the car, tried our best to avoid the peddlers, and once making it into the dungeon, an older man jumps up and immediately starts giving us a tour in broken English. He follows us around explaining this and that (all the while not knowing how much of it is true or not!) and at the end of this “tour” he asks for payment. Of course we didn’t request him to give us such a tour but, what can you do? We handed him money and walked away. I was told this is a usual occurrence at such tourist spots. A local will hang out and give “tours” for money – without of course, asking whether you even wanted one or not! My friend always says to such things: “this is how a billion people survive in India”.

Colonel Bailey's Dungeon

Gumbaz

Next up was Gumbaz, the mausoleum of Tipu Sultan and his mother and father. Again we were given a “tour”. Also, here we had to take our shoes off and pay for them to be kept while we roamed around.

Gumbaz

The Sangam River

Our last attraction before getting to Mysore was the Sangam River, where two rivers meet and is considered to be a holy spot. We were feeling thirsty, so we ordered what has become one of my favorite drinks here, freshly squeezed cane juice. They serve it to you in glass or plastic cups. You stand and drink, and return the cup.

Sangam River

Sweet cane juice squeezed right before your eyes!

Because we didn’t know the places our driver would take us, (I actually didn’t even know we were making stops along the way – surprise!) we didn’t have the chance to first learn about their history. I made it a project for myself that as soon as there is time, to read up on everything we saw on the trip. If you are also looking for more information, the links I included should lead to some, the rest is up to you!

We got to Mysore tired and a little overwhelmed but once rested and refreshed, headed out to take in even more sights. Those will come later! If you are traveling to Mysore, I highly recommend you make a stop at these places plus more. Here’s a map that should help:

I was attacked by a crow. The thing literally dive-bombed my head, I screamed, and all the Indian women who were working in the yards had a nice laugh!!

Replace this unsuspecting man's head with mine, and you'll understand what just happened to me! Yowzers!

We arrived home from Mysore last night and crashed. I developed a headache that turned into a migraine from the long, jerky car ride and from staring out the window taking in all I could, even though I knew looking out the window always makes me sick!

In about 2 hours I am attending an orientation for volunteer English teachers. I will be teaching grade school kids at a school not far from my home. When I get back, I’m preparing a big blog with lots of photos of our trip! Can’t wait to share my trip with you!

Dosa: photo courtesy of: lakshmiskitchen.blogspot.com

After being spoiled with perfect dosa’s at our friend’s place for a week, we decided to buy a ready-made packet and try it ourselves. Well, we failed quite miserably, and didn’t have the appliances or ingredients to make chutney, only had a package of chutney powder, so instead of eating it as a dosa I ate it as a crepe, and dipped it in Nutella! mmmm!

I have a few goals to accomplish while here in India and one of them is to become good at making Indian food. But this morning I realized mixing the tastes of East and West isn’t such a bad thing at all.

Today while out walking we came across hand made cane and wicker chairs and decided on the spot to purchase them for our balcony. We bought two chairs and a small table that could also double as a chair when needed. We then lugged them home ourselves, as it wasn’t too far, and couldn’t wait to set them up and finally experience comfortable patio seating! We poured a glass of lemonade in our steel cups, sat, relaxed, put our feet up, and breathed ahhhh.

There’s quite a funny story to go along with our purchase: My friend did his best bargaining with the salesman in Hindi, but the salesman would only say, “you don’t have shortage of currency notes”. After he replied like this a few times, my friend finally said back, “how do you know what I have or don’t have?” The salesman took one look at me and said to my friend, “just look at her!”

Wah ha ha! Again my white skin crashes and burns any chances of my friend winning at bargaining here in India. Wonder how long until he stops wanting to go anywhere with me?

My younger brother who’s quite the globe-trotter himself, noticed my recent obsession with making a house a home and swiftly kicked my arse in gear:

I hope everything is going well over there, but from your recent posts it seems you’ve been sucked into whitefield too much! Don’t worry about the cleaning wipes and bathmats, those are mere comfort items you can live without! Get back on the rickshaw and explore the city! Eat eat eat, see see see. The more comfortable you make your house, the more you’ll stay indoors..

He’s so right, as of all of you who told me not to make such a fuss over the small things. So, from now on, I’m relaxing on the home goods and am going to embrace whatever set up we have. It seems we both needed to take a break from all the shopping anyways because neither of us have mentioned it lately. Instead we are concentrating on an upcoming trip to Mysore!

Many of you have mentioned visiting Mysore which is only a three hour drive from here. We’re planning to leave this Saturday. If you have any tips or suggestions for what to see and do there, throw them my way!