Hotel Siddharta Mysore

... though I’d felt a touch removed from the corps on the trip to Mysore, the return was much more congenial.

Photographers are interesting people, mercurial outsiders who can be a touch nuts, and I had a gas with them. They reminded me of the brigades of chefs I worked with over years in the restaurant trade, funny and cynical and so much more interesting than the average waiter or in this case journalist.

I was treated to a chai and spice salted cucumber when the ...

... I was shocked! It must be something to do with Ghandi i reckon but couldn't tell you what...it was very surprising and interesting.

And the rest of my time...i wandered the very colourful Devaraja market, a different market. A big bazaar, lively and spellbinding, as they are many different alleys....selling all the standards, food, veg, meat, kumkum (coloured powders used for bindi dots), spices...it was grrrreat for photos ...

... Boppu rebelled as usual to come out of the water.. sriram pulled , dragged him out.
Now that water is over , new dress is over - everybody was hungry.. we have to travel about 50kms to reach food !!. road was less motorable and sriram over came that wiht sheer patience. I have to tell this - when we started from talakadu , just a small turn from the parking lot.. we heard a screeeching metal noise.. first we thought it was from the neighbouring cranes ...

... this was no exception. Typical regional products include incense, carved wooden ornaments (traditionally sandlewood although now that sandle is becoming rarer any white wood is used to keep prices affordable). The market also contains wide varieies of spices, perfumes, and oils associated with the incense stick process and added to the standard flowers, fruit and veg smells this may be the best smelling market in the world. I bought some ...

... Mark said the Alpha 2 troops had also been painting the English alphabet on the walls of the school where they are staying during their down time, to help the class learn the alphabet. The team has also been to a high-school in a nearby village to help students who are due to undergo English exams shortly.

But that's not all from "team toilet", they have also been fixing up the school playground.

Now the green 8ft tall construction is loved by the school's ...

... had been to have a few days sightseeing and then embark on a yoga course which would encompass two daily asana practices plus meditiation and sanskrit chanting! It sounded wonderful and I was so excited as our rickshaw buzzed through what looked like a smart suburb of the city to where the yoga hall was supposed to be. When we arrived I was slightly confused as the building I was looking at bore no resemblance to the shiny white one on the website. I ...

... confessed to poisoning the very dog who was a part of the trash incident the week earlier. I guess last weeks scene was never settled afterall. I glanced at the dog - it was not looking good. In the end, the dog didn't make it. I will only say this: a vagrant dog on the streets of India is a very tough life. I don't know if temporary travellers feeding the dog yet not fully adopting these animals makes things better or worse in the end. It is not without impact though.

... very hectic with so many people around when you stopped to just take it all in there was a very laid back, relaxed feeling to the whole market. They say when you come to India you should just let go and immerse yourself into it's very unique ways. I've learnt that this is definitely the way to go. After a fresh juice, a wander round an art gallery and museum, chilling out in a garden and another thali it was time to catch the night bus to Hampi.

i brought my running shoes, so that maybe i could run while i was here in india. well, let's just say that walking is hard enough for me right now. most of you know that i have just recently arrived in india to spend 2 months doing my photography and also practicing yoga at the AYRI (Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute) in Mysore. the school is the product of Sri Patabi Jois, the forefather of modern day Ashtanga yoga. Sri Jois teaches there (all 93 years of ...