Last Thursday, the four American SIP girls and I traveled to Mysore and Bangalore, arriving back at Pondicherry University Monday morning at 6:45, after which I went to my classes and then slept (until I decided to go into town to see a parade, that is).
Traveling there meant taking:
-A bus from Pondicherry University to the bus stand in Pondicherry (45 min)
-A private bus overnight to Bangalore (8 hours)
-A bus from Bangalore to Mysore (3 hours)
Traveling here is both hard and easy - easy in the sense that it's much cheaper than it would be at home, and I have more time/flexibility to travel during my semester in India than I would back at Hendrix...but it's also incredibly difficult. I'd never booked long distance buses/trains/etc or hotels before, and doing so in another country where the people you're talking to don't always speak English is challenging. Also our internet doesn't work very well in the hostel, so it's hard to even look things up online. It's worth all the stress, though - as soon as I get back from traveling somewhere, I start thinking about the next trip!
Once we got to our hotel in Mysore, we rested for a bit (two of the girls were sick! poor things) and then headed into the city for some sight seeing. Mysore is a tourist destination - for Indian tourists, not Westerners - and so the city is very green/full of nature, the roads are wider, the sidewalks are cleaner, there is less traffic, and people even wear helmets when they ride motorcycles! It's a beautiful city. We visited the Maharaja's Palace and explored the gardens, then took an auto-rickshaw to the top of Chamundhi hill, where we could see all of Mysore in the distance. Then, exhausted, we returned to the hotel for dinner (most hotels have restaurants attached) and I tried my first Indian wine. Result: something like sweet brandy mixed with rubbing alcohol. Bummer.
On Saturday, we hired a driver for a few hours (something I could NOT afford to do at home, but divided among everyone it came to $4 per person for 4 hours) and went to nearby Sri Rangapatnam, a historic fort. Once inside, we toured the Gumbaz tombs, Summer Palace, and the Ranganatha Swamy temple. Afterwards we split up, and Liz and I went to Cafe Coffee Day (think Indian Starbucks) before wandering around, exploring Mysore and shopping. We hung out in a park for a bit, where we got several stares - being the only white people around - and then went shopping! Mysore is famous for silk, sandalwood, and incense...and I might have bought too many scarves (6) but some are for gifts! So it's fine, right? We then walked to a nearby art gallery which was unfortunately closed.
We ran into an auto-rickshaw driver who called himself Master Blaster (I only speak the truth) who offered to show us the "real" Mysore. We went through neighborhoods and alleyways, stopping to see wood carvings being made by hand, Indian cigarrettes called beedi's made of leaves being rolled, an incense/essential oil shop, and finally a silk emporium. It was awesome.
Sunday, Liz and I took the bus back to Bangalore, where we hung out at a mall (A/C! Fancy, clean bathrooms with a bidet! A bookstore/coffeeshop where I bought a book about feminism in Tibet and a french press! Did I mention the A/C?) and then went to India's first microbrewery, the Biere Club, where we met up with Kara, Jackie, and Lauren. I'd never been to a microbrewery before...after that, we took a bus from Bangalore overnight to Pondicherry, where we arrived at the university at 6:45am. I had breakfast, went to my classes, and then slept...until I went into town to see a parade that occurs once a year, that is.
The five of us at Chamundhi Hill
Cheesin' outside of Maharaja's palace - beautiful place
The Gumbaz tombs
Mysore city square: it's a pretty well planned city, I was impressed!
A man doing wood carvings
Driving the Master Blaster auto-rickshaw! (Just kidding, I didn't really)
Wandering through the small alleyways containing woodworking shops, incense makers, etc.
The temple on top of Chamundhi Hill and the bustling market outside of it
Traveling there meant taking:
-A bus from Pondicherry University to the bus stand in Pondicherry (45 min)
-A private bus overnight to Bangalore (8 hours)
-A bus from Bangalore to Mysore (3 hours)
Traveling here is both hard and easy - easy in the sense that it's much cheaper than it would be at home, and I have more time/flexibility to travel during my semester in India than I would back at Hendrix...but it's also incredibly difficult. I'd never booked long distance buses/trains/etc or hotels before, and doing so in another country where the people you're talking to don't always speak English is challenging. Also our internet doesn't work very well in the hostel, so it's hard to even look things up online. It's worth all the stress, though - as soon as I get back from traveling somewhere, I start thinking about the next trip!
Once we got to our hotel in Mysore, we rested for a bit (two of the girls were sick! poor things) and then headed into the city for some sight seeing. Mysore is a tourist destination - for Indian tourists, not Westerners - and so the city is very green/full of nature, the roads are wider, the sidewalks are cleaner, there is less traffic, and people even wear helmets when they ride motorcycles! It's a beautiful city. We visited the Maharaja's Palace and explored the gardens, then took an auto-rickshaw to the top of Chamundhi hill, where we could see all of Mysore in the distance. Then, exhausted, we returned to the hotel for dinner (most hotels have restaurants attached) and I tried my first Indian wine. Result: something like sweet brandy mixed with rubbing alcohol. Bummer.
On Saturday, we hired a driver for a few hours (something I could NOT afford to do at home, but divided among everyone it came to $4 per person for 4 hours) and went to nearby Sri Rangapatnam, a historic fort. Once inside, we toured the Gumbaz tombs, Summer Palace, and the Ranganatha Swamy temple. Afterwards we split up, and Liz and I went to Cafe Coffee Day (think Indian Starbucks) before wandering around, exploring Mysore and shopping. We hung out in a park for a bit, where we got several stares - being the only white people around - and then went shopping! Mysore is famous for silk, sandalwood, and incense...and I might have bought too many scarves (6) but some are for gifts! So it's fine, right? We then walked to a nearby art gallery which was unfortunately closed.
We ran into an auto-rickshaw driver who called himself Master Blaster (I only speak the truth) who offered to show us the "real" Mysore. We went through neighborhoods and alleyways, stopping to see wood carvings being made by hand, Indian cigarrettes called beedi's made of leaves being rolled, an incense/essential oil shop, and finally a silk emporium. It was awesome.
Sunday, Liz and I took the bus back to Bangalore, where we hung out at a mall (A/C! Fancy, clean bathrooms with a bidet! A bookstore/coffeeshop where I bought a book about feminism in Tibet and a french press! Did I mention the A/C?) and then went to India's first microbrewery, the Biere Club, where we met up with Kara, Jackie, and Lauren. I'd never been to a microbrewery before...after that, we took a bus from Bangalore overnight to Pondicherry, where we arrived at the university at 6:45am. I had breakfast, went to my classes, and then slept...until I went into town to see a parade that occurs once a year, that is.
The five of us at Chamundhi Hill
Cheesin' outside of Maharaja's palace - beautiful place
The Gumbaz tombs
Mysore city square: it's a pretty well planned city, I was impressed!
A man doing wood carvings
Driving the Master Blaster auto-rickshaw! (Just kidding, I didn't really)
Wandering through the small alleyways containing woodworking shops, incense makers, etc.
The temple on top of Chamundhi Hill and the bustling market outside of it
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