Mysore, Karnataka

After escaping with a morning bus from Bangalore to Mysore we arrived to slightly more fresh air in a smaller city. We ended up bargaining with hotel inthrowers about their accomadations and decided to stay in "Chandra Palace". Our room is ok if you do not miss a view - there is a brickwall ½m from our windows blocking everything.

Maharaja's Palace

On the first day we went walking around and checked the famous Maharaja's Palace. It was beautiful, but a bit boring as it was just a palace, reconstructed by british a hundred or some years ago. The stars of the visit were a friendly elephant and two camels on the palace yard.

The second day we took a rickshaw drive to Chamuti Hill with an active pilgrimage temple and Nandi (Shiva's Bull vehicle) monolithic statue. We got a blessing for happy future with a long piece of red yellow cotton wrapped around our wrist with under it the kumkum-(red powder) dot that most hindus wear between their eyes. 

 Chamuti Hill

After that we visited some local workshops to see how incense, silken carpets/sari's/pashminas and sandalwood items are manufactured. Mysore is the only place where sandlewood-trees are growing so lots of woodworks, oils and jewelry are made and sold here. Mariska couldn't leave without buying a little overpriced but cute brown bead necklace made of sandlewood that has a nice woodfragrance when you rub it. Unfortunately all the hindu temples look a lot less majestic after seeing Hampi. 

 

 Hungry cow eating a bike