Sri Keerthi Comforts Mysore

We're in Mysore now! We drove here yesterday after making a few stops along the way. We first stopped at a bird sanctuary and then to see a small river in a village. I forgot what the name of the river was, but there were many people bathing and washing their cloths along the banks. It is considered a holy waterway. Many people have their ashes spread here after they pass away. There was also a group of men sitting around a small fire ...

... clever people had decided to bring umbrellas, a lesson i have headed. However, these people's cleverness did not extend to the fact that there were other people without umbrellas who did not want to be in the rain. They would saunter along in the manner they would on the sunniest of days. Most people walking seem in no rush to get anywhere, interestingly, a stark contrast to the attitude of most people driving. However, when they have umbrellas they also take up the whole road ...

... come first served and all that Jazz...this is a recurring theme of travelling in India where there are so many people that new rules of etiquette seem in place to prevent total anarchy. How these rules work I haven't the foggiest, so Dean and I try the best we can not to offend, while keeping our sanity at the same time....thanks Sister Francis Xavier for all those lessons on patience and reserve! Trains are like living organisms in there own right in India. The noise, smell ...

... venturers and the remainder of staff and got to know our way around Field base, which was to be our home for the next 4 days.

The expedition was to last for 10 weeks and was split into 3 phases, each approximately 3 weeks long. So we were split into "Alpha groups" which changed for each phase. First I was in Alpha 1 which did a 250+km trek and a 14km river raft trip. My second phase was in Alpha 2, which was building eco-sanitation units for a remote village, and ...

... i gimpily lurch to the emergency area. not too bad in there, definitely could have been worse and a doctor sees me quickly. no fracture, just sprain. 2 more shots, a bandage job, drugs, and $12 later i am released. now i am thanking my lucky stars this happened in india! in america this would have been a logistical nightmare! a fortune in fees and lots of presciptions! i have been resting for 3 days now and my ankle is ...

... We got on the Mysore Express, and it transpired we were on the right one - though a Canadian guy called Patrick who we met when he had got on wanting the 6317 wasn't so lucky and had to pay the fare in full, plus a fine for having the wrong ticket. I think it was a bit unfair, as the mistake was largely due to the station advertising the wrong number, but the rules are the rules I suppose. Anyway, the journey was just 3 hours to Mysore - amazing ...

... lovely place with not many tourists, very colourful and compact. After checking in we wandered to Parklane restaurant where we had a very enjoyable tea (Becky had sweet and sour pork which was a delightful change from the usual not so reliable chicken). It had a really good atmosphere with live indian classical music. Tuesday we visited the impressive Mysore Palace. A bit plain on the outside apart from the sheer size, stunning on the inside it was decorated mostly in turquoise and ...

... un excellent restaurant vegetalien,buffet a volonter, comme j'ai pas cours l'aprem j'ai mange a satiete.Ensuite, je suis alle dans un spa, prendre soin de mes pieds qui ont pris une couleur marron fonce permanente, malgres que je les lave plusieurs fois par jour. les jours passent, et sont tous aussi beaux les uns que les autres, j'ai une petite routine bien installee, je prends le temps d'etudier 2 a 3heures par jour, va falloir revenir, il y a encore bien des choses que j ...

... child labor working for me. by the end, i had lil' sister #3 basically being Apollo Ono skating for the gold on my back and sister #1 working on my scalp (don't worry, this part was with her hands). not that anybody is real rotund in india, but i was glad that sister #1 got the chore of being the solo skater. when the hour was complete, and i finally got up, i knew that it was much more than just a good story. for the first time in a week, my hamstrings and butt had stopped ...

... we were told monkeys usually hang around temples. Outside the temple of Chamundeshwari was a large statue of Statue of the demon Mahishasura battling with a snake. Legend goes that Mahishasura, whose abode was somewhere atop the Chamundi Hills around Mysore, wreaked havoc among the land. Goddess Chamundeshwari came down and defeated him in a 10 day battle. After the temple we ...