16th Feb - Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel

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We decided not to go for breakfast at the hotel as the food was so bad last night. We wanted good coffee and so arranged to meet Miranda in town at the Ginger Hotel and went for a coffee. As it was starting to get late on in the morning we decided to the head to the Metropole Hotel for a big Buffet Lunch instead of having brunch. The Metropole is another posh Hotel in true Colonial style. We felt very decadent sitting drinking, chatting, eating in the shade in the beautiful surroundings of the Hotel and Gardens.

Over the last week I have really warmed to Miranda. When I first met her she was rather vacant and distant - but not in a shy way - just not really interested or engaged. As time went on she caught up sleep she changed into a very funny, interesting person.

Miranda, rather matter of factly, referred to the last week as like being in a vortex. All of time and space seem to slow down in the vortex. Time seems to disappear - lunch takes 3 hours, a couple of evening drinks ends in a drunken mess but not quite sure how we got there, a trip to Mysore for lunch takes 3 days, popping to the swimming pool for a dunk becomes the major event of the day. All of these things mean that I have not done any of the paper work things I need to do before I leave here. Neither have I travelled very far up through India yet..... Oh well having lots of fun.

In fact today we were going to head back to Masinagudi first thing and not stay in Mysore... but then coffee happened.... then lunch.... then some shopping.... and before we knew it we were leaving Mysore at about 3. We said good bye to Miranda as she is staying in Mysore and then heading on to Bangalore and then Nepal.


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The drive home was lovely through the countryside. We stopped off for pancakes and coffee and a roadside cafe called Dream catcher and I had a little nap in the hammock.

It was strange Miranda not being there when we got back. We had got into a routine over the last few days and it changed the dynamic her not being here.

15th Feb - Mysore

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Some how or other we decided that we could not leave Mysore today without seeing more and so we decided to stay another day. Johnie and I were up early and went for a huge breakfast at the Hotel Restaurant. It was great to try loads of different Indian dishes for breakfast. Miranda joined us for brunch (even though we had got too hungry earlier on and gone for breakfast at the hotel restaurant). We wanted to stay another night at the same hotel but unfortunately it was fully booked. Johnie suggested we stay at the Palace instead! He seems to find budget traveling amusing and thinks that me an Miranda should do India in style instead. I was not objecting. Me am Miranda are trying to persuade him to travel on a budget of 1000RS per day - just for the alternative India experience! I wonder whether he ever will.

Miranda and I went for a swim in the pool for about 1 hour. I did not have my swimming costume with me and so I tried to buy one from the hotel. A guy popped round to the room with full head to toe costumes that had a little tutu in the middle. I wish now that I had taken a photo - they were fantastic. The guy could not understand why Miranda and I were in fits of giggles....

I ended up swimming in my clothes and then drying them off later by lying in the sun. It was great fun as there were loads of buoyancy aids in the water and balls etc. We turned into big kids and played while Johnie had a nap.


After the swim we went to check out the place where we are staying tonight - a MASSIVE palace! Although the rooms themselves are not great the Palace was amazing .... It is real old school colonial India. Apparently the service is really bad and the hotel itself is quiet but IT IS A PALACE! It costs about the same amount to stay there as it did to stay in the modern Windflower last night but the difference in the quality of the room is huge. For the same price in the Windflower, the accommodation comprised of a suite with a living room, a dining area and bar, 2 bathrooms, a private small pool and a huge bedroom -all immaculately decorated. In comparison the room in the Palace was just a nice standard room (with a balcony over looking the gardens and pool area). It was great to be able to experience the 2 different sides to high end accommodation in India.

The Palace was like stepping into a time machine. I loved all the doilies and lace covering everything. They even had patterned/floral wall paper covering the fan at reception - presumably to make it look more "posh"?! There are stuffed dead creatures all over the walls and the staff are dressed in clothing from the nineteenth century. There is a horse draw cart that you can take a ride in round the grounds. It is of course falling to pieces and the paint is pealing off - but that kinda fits with the rest of the hotel.

We all went into Mysore to do some shopping. I was feeling a little grotty still wearing the clothes from yesterday and I wanted some more elegant clothes to go out in around Mysore rather than my very practical hiking trousers and merino wool top. Johnie took us to Fab India where I think I tried on half of the shop and did not find anything that I really liked other than a skirt. I ended up buying some jeans and a western top from the shop just round the corner. It was the first time I had worn jeans since I left the UK! It was great to have some other clothes to wear out around the city. Wealthy Indian women in cities do wear jeans and long tops and I felt more comfortable in my surroundings with my new clothes.

The modern high end stores are very different to stores in the UK. I spent ages trying to find a birthday card for my sister as I had not managed to find one anywhere else in other towns. I love some of the designs on the t-shirts - this one says "SPUNK". Most of the t-shirts are absolutely gopping. It seems that the more writing and colours there are on the t-shirts the better value for money. Men seem to be far more bothered about looking Western than women. There are a huge number of knock-off t-shirts available.

It took far longer than we all wanted to do some shopping. We went for a little tour of Mysore and then back to the Palace for Afternoon Tea. How every civilised. I had to have tea (as well as coffee) because it is Afternoon TEA after all. I had a massive "Royal" toasted sandwich...




We had a little nap after afternoon tea - it had been a tough day lounging by the pool and shopping....
Afterward we went for a wonder round the Hotel and grounds. We decided not to eat in the huge restaurant with only 2 tables full. The Hotel was very quiet. The bar was shut. I am not sure how they expect to encourage new guests without some sort of atmosphere. They are probably running at a significant loss. It was still very cool to stay in a Palace!



We ordered room service and were sent up burnt Porottas. We sent them back and asked for ones not cooked. 30 mins later some new Porottas arrived and they were more burnt than the previous ones..... The service and quality of food in India is inversely proportional to the price you pay!








A great day exploring the city and experiencing the other side to Indian culture :-)....

14th Feb - Mysore

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I got up early this morning and decided to go for a run up to the top of the temple - a 5 mile round trip. I have been eating and drinking way too much over the last few days of total relaxation and decadence and my running ability was terrible. I really enjoyed getting out of the house and having some time to myself though. A lovely, sunny morning - blue skies and great views from the top of the hill. It is very peaceful here - even though the festival is still going on and I had to run through it to get to the temple.

I sat and pondered the meaning of life on the top for a while and then ran back to get showered and dressed so that we could go to Mysore for lunch. Marianda is going to stay in Mysore for a couple of days and then head on to Bangalore. The idea was that we would all have lunch, say our farewells and me and Johnie would return to the Jungle and I would then head off on my bike in 2 days once I had finished all of my internet stuff. Best made plans and all..... We ended up staying in Mysore for 3 days and I am still in the jungle at Johnie's house as I am writing this now.

We had to drive through the festival to get on to the road to Mysore. It took a while to get through but I did not mind as it was great to watch a couple of Hindu's men painted like tigers and being paraded through the crowds in chains.

The drive to Mysore was interesting. It is only 130km but it took about 2.5 hours. I am missing being on my bike a bit now. I always feel caged in a car and never take in as much as when I am going slowly on my bike. It was interesting to watch the countryside change from Jungle land and national parks to villages and towns and then to Mysore. There used to be Banyan Trees along the side of the road all the way from Mysore to the Jungle. These would provide shade for the rich people traveling between the 2 places. Unfortunately many of them have now been chopped down by the government.

When we got to Mysore, Johnie checked his car in at a garage to have the tyres replaced and we all went for lunch at the Parkclub Restaurant and Hotel. This was the first high end restaurant I have been in during my trip around India so far. Johnie ordered lots of lovely wine and food for me and Miranda. It was strange as although the food was good when it finally arrived it took ages and the service was worse than many other places I have eaten in which only cost 50p for a meal and drinks.

Another friend of Johnie's, Manish, joined us for lunch. He works just round the corner from the restaurant. He is also a couch surfer and he offered to put Miranda up for the few nights that she is staying in Mysore. The wine flowed and we then had to make the decision about whether to stay in Mysore so that Johnie could continue drinking and I could explore or whether to go back to the Jungle. I suggested that Johnie experience the travelers view of India and spend a couple of nights at a hotel for £2 per night..... He instead suggested that I should experience extravagant India and stay in a high end hotel. I was not complaining... so he booked us in.


After lunch Johnie went off to pick up his car and suggested that Miranda and I should go and see the Palace and have a wander round Mysore. We ourselves off on a horse drawn carriage to go from Parklane to the entrance of the Palace. Today is a day of India in STYLE! I could get used to this :-)

The Palace was very impressive. We did not go in as it was getting late in the day and you have to pay to get in. We thought we might do that tomorrow instead. We had a lovely wander round the grounds.

I had a good old fashioned girly natter with Miranda. I have really warmed to her over the last few days. When we both arrived at Johnie's she was absolutely knackered and rather vacant. I was not sure whether this was because she was over tired or just her personality. It turned out to be that she was exhausted. She is really quite fun and incredibly cheeky.

Once we had explored the grounds of the Palace we walked back through town to meet up with Johnie. Another couple of bottles of wine were consumed and we all then decided to go and explore Mysore center. We got into an Auto-rickshaw asked to go to a particular night market - a few kms away. The driver said that as it was nearly 8pm it would be closing soon and so asked if we would like to go to another market. We said "yes" and off we went. After about 1 minute he pulled up and said "there you go". He had literally driven us round the corner from the restaurant to a really quiet area where there were 3 clothes shops open. Funny. We suggested that he take us to the center of town instead and he happily obliged.

We had a wonder round Ghandi square and some shops and then met up with Manesh again. We all had a night cap at a roof top restaurant which looks out over the city. It was a lovely place - but with lots of other Westerners (what are they doing in MY India?? ;-)).

Miranda headed off with Manesh to meet his family and Johnie and I went to our hotel. (the Windflower). and what a place it was! He had kindly got me an amazing room! There was even a little pool outside.






I won the bet that I would not jump in the cold pool - Johnie has not yet worked me out. All my friends know that I am stupid enough to do it just for a bet let alone a whole 500RS! That's £7.50!

An amazing day was had by all.

13th Feb - Temple, Festival and Jungle Retreat

Went for a walk up the temple first thing with Johnie. It was a beautiful morning and it was great to see the sunrise and sit and natter for a few hours and just chill.



On the way back to Johnie's house we saw loads of Hindu's on their pilgrimage to the festival (Bokkapuram Mariamman Temple festival) just down the road from his house. The festival is in celebration of Mariaman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariamman). Many of them were carrying arrangements of yellow and orange flowers and had walked a long way to get to the festival with their offerings.

Bokaporum, the village where Johnie lives, normally has a population of a few hundred but this increases to hundreds of thousands for the 5 days of the festival. People are bussed in from all over the area. It is unfortunate that there are no public toilets or rubbish bins provided by the local government and the clean up operation afterward takes a long time and is generally finished by local businesses who want the area to look beautiful for paying guests at the lodges.

The festival goers use the river to wash and bathe and the surrounding countryside to go to the toilet for the duration of the event. Unfortunately access to Johnie's property is only possible along this route and the smell increased badly over the 5 days.

Went for a nap when we returned to Johnie's house and then in the afternoon we headed down to see what was happening at the festival. Unfortunately we had not got our acts together an by the time that we got there the light was going and so the photos were not as amazing as they should have been.

We went from the festival out for a drink at Johnie's local - a resort called Jungle Retreat. It was good to meet some of his friend there.

It is a great local. Very nicely done up inside. The Indians that work there speak better English than I do (not difficult really). The buffet was fantastic.

After jungle retreat we went back to the festival to see what was happening in the evening. We went to one of the most amazing things I have ever seen - bikes and cars driving on walls!!! It is called the Wall of Death! It is difficult to explain without seeing it with your own eyes.... There is metal structure made of scaffolding containing a barrel-shaped wooden cylinder. It is several meters high. The wooden slats on this Indian structure look like they are rotten and there are several parts of the structure where the slats are missing. The audience climb up the stairs to the platform over looking the cylinder. Once there is a certain number of people watching they close the entrance and the show starts. Within about 5 seconds the motorbikes have started and the guys are driving them round and round the inside of the cylinder on the walls of the structure. The whole structure shakes and it is utterly terrifying even for the audience let alone the drivers of the motor bikes. Within about 1 minute there were 4 motorbikes and 2 cars all circling the cylinder. The main performer on a bike road round snatching money from members of the audience holding out notes from the platform above. They guys on the bikes did additional tricks like sitting sidesaddle and riding with no hands. The guys driving the cars lent out of the windows of the car and steered with their feet. They were absolutely INSANE!! It was amazing to watch..... Only in India would they do such things with out even helmets and with a shaking structure and broken wooden slats on the walls.

The rest of the festival was great too. There are robots where you can put in a little change and they will read out your fortune to you in Hindi. There are also tarot card readers. A parrot or a guinea pig is let out of a cage and is trained to chose the cards from a pack. Whichever cards creature chooses are the ones which are applicable to you.

In true Indian fashion, everyone wanted their photo taken and as always I was more than happy to oblige. There was loads of chanting, drumming and dancing going on. The same people that I saw this morning walking to the festival were still walking around with their hats of flowers. This time they had a massive crowd following them.

Many people that attend the festival also sleep there. Some people have tarpaulin tents but most people just sleep under blankets and next to fires. The festival carries on late into the night - we left about 1am. There were still loads of children running around. They do not seem to adhere to the same idea of bedtime for children as we do in the UK.

I do love the signs in India. This sign says "Name in Keachein" rather than Keychain. Better spelling than even I could manage......


There are loads of good photos from this festival:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112614&id=1408960696&l=cca793e1e0

12th Feb - Chilled in the Jungle

Had a totally chilled day and did not leave the house area for anything. Today I was feeling more like doing some of my paperwork things and so spent a lot of the day on my computer uploading albums to FB, playing with my photos and faffing around with html and GPS tracks in Google Earth (managed to finish the Australian tracks). I enjoyed being a geek for a while. I am happy that I have now processed a large number of tracks and I now know how to included the routes on my blog :-)

Again it was a beautiful sunny day. There are so many different types of birds and animals in the garden. This place is better than a resort as it feels more like home.

When I am here I am unsure how I ever manged to find the time to work or bike anywhere or be productive in anyway! Time disappears when cooking, eating, napping and chatting. It is not even as if any time is being spent cleaning (as the staff do that). I have not just flopped and done nothing like this in ages.

I do have a bit of a dodgy stomach though - which would actually have stopped me biking anyway. It has gone on for 3 days and so I took an general antibiotic. That cleared up the problem in a few hours and after that I started to feel much better.
I am enjoying nattering with Miranda and Johnie.