Maharaja madness!

We're now in Mysore, battling mystery Indian flu diseases but still enjoying ourselves!

Coloured dyes in the Mysore market

As well as dodging stray cows and out of control auto-rickshaws, we've been to the Maharaja's Palace here twice - once at night and once in the day. On Sunday nights (which conveniently happened to be our first night here!) the palace is illuminated by 97,000 lightbulbs and it looks like a castle out of a fairytale! We went again in the day to actually see inside the palace, and it was so amazing. There are really ornate, detailed wood carvings on doorways, a domed stained glass ceiling, huge columns and beautiful paintwork and furniture/artifacts. It's hard to imagine people actually living in such a place, it must've been nice for some!

The Mysore Palace in daylight

This morning we caught a bus up Chamundi Hill, with views over Mysore and a Hindu temple on top. It's a pilgrimage site, and once inside the temple we found ourselves caught up in unfamiliar Hindu rituals and walked out with red dots on our foreheads. Feeling slightly like imposters we wiped them straight off! We then walked down the hill and on the way saw a huge statue of Nandi (Shiva's bull).

We've also wandered around the local fruit and veg market, and seen really beautiful stalls selling brightly coloured dye powders (hot pink, purple, green, royal blue etc.) heaped in rows of bowls. Mysore is quite a nice place to visit, especially once you escape the mayhem of the centre of town. Tomorrow it's time to move on though, first to Mangalore and then up to Goa for a beachside Christmas!

The Mysore Palace lit up by 97000 light bulbs