My Oh Mysore

So my first weekend in India I took a day trip to the nearby city of Mysore.

After a three hour bus ride to get there, we hired a rickshaw for 200 rupees (about $4) to take us to all the sites and wait for us while we explored them. First stop was Chamundi hill, to visit a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Chamundi, known as the Chamundeshwari temple.

It was my first trip to a Hindu temple. There were three lines that you could wait on, the free line (no payment to enter, which was quite long), the 20 rupee line and the 100 rupee "express" line. We were pressed for time, so we took the 100 rupee line. After removing our shoes, and once we managed to push our way inside, we saw an idol of a goddess about 30 ft away that people were bowing their head to before being ushered outside again. We asked if we could get closer, since we had paid the most expensive ticket, and a security guard brought us to the closest part before the gate separating us from the idol. There a man in a white robe resembling a toga had a bowl filled with powder and incense. He put red powder on our forehead and then burned the incense/candle in front of us, so that we could wave the smoke toward ourselves to purify our surroundings. It was very relaxing.

On the way out, the security guard who had ushered us to the front asked us for a bribe. While we were still in the temple. Aaaah India.

The outside of the temple was even more interesting than the inside. Cows were relaxing lazily under the sun as passersby patted their heads and even hugged them. Monkeys ran across the pavement before sitting in the shade around the side of the temple. One cow was particularly sweet!

Next stop was a sandalwood factory, where they made small and large figurines and jewelry from sandalwood, which is pretty famous in southern India. Sandalwood has been valued and treasured for many years for its fragrance, carving, medical and religious qualities. After the factory, we had lunch in a traditional south Indian restaurant (which was delicious!) before heading over to the main attraction in Mysore - the palace. This was the official residence of the royal family of Mysore. The inside of the palace was beautiful, lined with traditional paintings and furniture, with intricate designs in the walls and ceilings.

Outside the palace, there was a man on an elephant that you could give a donation to before being "blessed" by the elephant. This, my friends, was by far the best part of the trip.

Once we had seen the palace, it was time to head back to Bangalore. On the bus ride home, I stuck my out the window as we passed small cities and towns on the way back, while warm and humid air whipped against my face and hair, and people on motorcycles outside honked and smiled. I felt such an exhilarating feeling up my spine - I felt alive.