Mysore, Bangalore, Mamallapuram (Mar.11-14)

From Kabini we headed back to Mysore to take in a few of the sights. We stopped at a temple, Tippu's palace and the Mysore palace. Mysore was a nice, quiet city, and was not nearly as crowded or polluted as Chennai. It was like the Oakville of India. The Mysore palace was pretty impressive.





After seeing the palace, we decided to headed to Bangalore. We arrived at the train station at 3:40. I waited in the car with the bags while Deepa & my sis checked the schedule. A couple minutes later my sister came running and said the train is leaving at 3:45. After collecting all the bags, we all headed for the platform. Of course the train we needed to catch was on the other side of the terminal, requiring us to use the pedestrian flyover. I grab some of their bags and let them run ahead. As I'm navigating my way down the stairs on the other side, the train starts pulling out. Shite. I get to the bottom of the stairs, and it stops. Phew. As I catch my breath for a moment, and it starts up again. At this point my sister and her friend have made it onto the train. However, there was no room at the doorway for me and the 3 bags I was carrying. I ran alongside the train for only a few seconds but it felt much longer. Finally with much shoving, I jumped on. It was awesome.

This shepherd isn't really too interested in his flock. I enjoyed watching the sheep make their getaway.



In Bangalore the first night I was feeling under the weather and opted to stay in. I got a chance to see some Indian MTV & VH1. There are so many singles out that I have never heard before, it's gonna take a while to catch up when I get back. The next day we went to Bangalore Central, basically a shopping-mall-store. There were two things that really stuck out for me. First, the bathrooms were polished black marble and had all the latest motion-sensors and gadgets. But all the devices in the world don't matter if people don't lift the toilet cover to pee. If it was limited to just one toilet that was almost understandable...

The other thing was this pillar.



Now, in case it's unclear, the text reads: "Bangalore Central is a great place for eating. So why should outside food be brought inside?" I don't know why this sign made me laugh so hard, but it did. When something is forbidden, like alcohol, there is a clear warning indicating just that. However the issue of outside food is addressed in a very philosophic manner. It also seems to suggest that if you have a good reason, then by all means bring outside food in.

After Bangalore we headed back to Chennai. That was the day of my tragic Sify experience.
Monday we headed to Mamallapuram, to see the shore temple and the carvings from the local artisans. Apparently they weren't created for religious purposes, but strictly as a demonstration of an artists' ability.

We passed by a hand-cranked ferris wheel that had dozens of kids clambering to get on.



This didn't turn out the way I hoped, but you get the gist of it.



The drive to and from Mamallapuram was along a highway that followed the coastline. Here the tsunami effects could be seen quite clearly. There were numerous tiny villages of temporary housing that were basically still on the beach.

about India, from Singapore