... I think it was the Fourth of July.

Mysore on Saturday was outstanding. I could have done without the peddlers, but overall, it was a really neat trip. We met Eric at about 5:30AM and got on the bus for an 80km trip. The bus was much nicer than I expected! It obviously wasn't a Fullington with TV's and a bathroom in the back, but it was a bit more spacious than a Fullington and I could actually sit in it straight and there was room for my legs to be in front of me. I had been worried about what type of bus it would be, but I was very pleasantly surprised. For less than $10 US, the bus would take us to Mysore, herd us like sheep to the most important places, then take us home - no complaints there. The only complaint really I could have would be that it took nearly 4 hours to go 80km when a ride like that in the US would be much shorter, but that's mostly just due to the driving conditions, and it's something that will only improve with time as the infrastructure here gets better and better.

The first stop was a small palace outside the city, and really it was nothing that special. I know you get what you sign up for, so again it was kind of like a tourist trap, but it was still neat to see the architecture. This is something that I recall remarking in Budapest and certainly in Rome as well, but I'll never get over the feeling of looking at these structures and just how OLD they are. I love the US, and I love the structures we have in the US, but we just don't and can't possibly have anything that old at home, so I love seeing these things here. To see these structures that are just centuries if not thousands of years old is breathtaking. I really enjoy just taking a step back and thinking about how many people have seen this and the kind of times these types of things have remained intact through. Before this summer, I'd definitely like to say I had a good sense of international appreciation, but this summer has really served to enhance that appreciation by allowing me to see some of these things first hand and getting to just soak it all in. Working everyday is just like it is in the US, but the things I get to see on the weekend are hard to beat.

Our next stop was at a temple closer to the city, and walking into the entranceway was almost like walking into a new world. The hand-carved archway with all the Indian symbols was beautiful and frankly just astounding. We took our shoes off out of respect to enter and then got a chance to see some of the shrines and symbols inside. It was a very moving place regardless of my personal beliefs because of the way some people were so overcome and so inspired by the temple. They took such great pride in entering and seeing these things, and it was an awesome experience to watch the emotions of these other native people as they walked around the temple.

After the temple, the bus took us to the grand-daddy of all Mysore temples, the aptly named "Mysore Temple." It was a bit annoying to have to pay more than everyone else to get in, but we gladly paid the entrance fees to get a closer look at this marvel. (Entrance for Indians was 5 rupees, while entrance for foreigners was 100 rupees. This is commonplace, too, as we found that type of price jack-up at all the places we visited. Can you imagine the outrage and the lawsuits if such a double standard was placed on admittance prices such as the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty or the cost to see another US tourist attraction?) Anyway, upon entering, it was pretty darn cool. Again I felt the overwhelming sense of history inside the compound. Since we had just a limited amount of time at each of these destinations because of our bus tour timelines, we headed right for the palace, and just stood in awe. We didn't really have the time to go inside, although plenty of peddlers offered us the opportunity to follow them around for some set price of rupees. "No thank you" was the customary response at the beginning until we started getting mad at all these people trying to take advantage and make a buck off us and eventually just ignored them like everyone else was.

Overall, that was probably the most difficult part of the day - all the people (including children!) that were just following us around trying to sell us things. They could tell that we weren't from around here (obviously) so we were easy targets. "Mister, mister" or "Sir, sir" or even "Uncle, uncle" (I'll never get that one) they would plead with us and tug on our clothes to buy some of their wooden trinkets or jewelery or postcards or pictures or baskets or whatever it was that they had. "It's real! Best quality!" Of course it was impossible for us to judge what was real or wasn't real, and so really we just didn't want to buy anything. I did buy one thing, though, after someone came up to us wanting to sell some wooden musical instruments. One looked to be just some type of bamboo flute, and the other was made from a gourd and bamboo (think a small version of this). After originally asking for 350 rupees for each instrument, we were able to haggle and get three of them for 50 rupees total. I figured what the heck, if I can learn to play "Victory" on one of these things, it will be a source of amusement for a day when I get back in August and all it cost was just over a dollar.

Another thing we got a chance to see briefly at Mysore Palace was the makings of a parade! We saw a marching band and also some camels and other animals coming up the pathway towards the palace. We had to leave before we heard the marching band play, but it was still fun to see. And yes, even here, there was one trombone player, "that guy", who managed to be about three or four minutes late to the party and was straggling behind before joining up with the band. Glad to see some things transcend borders. ;)

Our final destination for the evening in Mysore included a big park by the dam with some fountains and a large musical fountain. The musical fountain was pretty cool, and similar to ones I've seen before in Las Vegas and on Margaret Island in Budapest, but it was really neat to see at night, and neat to see and hear with the Indian music playing. And of course, like most things here, there were a ton of people there to see it and watch it and enjoy it. The amounts of people seen all the time is really just astounding. Everywhere you look, there are people, and it's neat when you're at something like this attraction and all of them are just sitting and watching in enjoyment.

After a long bus ride home Saturday night that got us back in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Sunday wasn't that eventful after sleeping in, but we did check out Commercial Street by MG road. We went out with Tanu to get something to eat, and also saw the shops and everything else lit up at night (pictured later in this entry). It was not quite Times Square, but almost, and you could easily forget that unfortunately less than 500 meters away in any direction there is probably a tin shack with families living in it.

Commercial Street has some neat shops that I'm looking forward to returning to which have just stacks and stacks of fabric on shelves, and you go in and pick what fabric and what pattern and design you like, and they'll take your measurements and make you a shirt for less than $10 US. I'm looking forward to having a number of custom-made shirts to bring back home. Also, I'd like to get some of the traditional cotton shirts and pants that many of the locals wear that look very comfortable and breathable, and will be very nice in the hot weather.



Tonight we will be joining Dr. Petrick for dinner at another nice restaurant, and we're excited for that. Additionally, we've solidified our plans for Goa this weekend. That's right, click on that link and be jealous. We'll be leaving Friday night and we'll have a very nice relaxing weekend at a great beach. It'll be sad that I'll be going to work on Independence Day on Friday, and I sure will miss having hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and fireworks, but going to Goa will at least help to make up for it somewhat. :)

I should make one more post on Friday before we leave, until then hope all is well with everyone, and have a wonderful upcoming holiday weekend.