Mysore onwards to the Fort!

Mysore is a particularly important city historically. It was one of the last quasi-recognized states to fall to the British Empire. As well as one of the last remaining states that was once dependent on Vijayanagar empire (literally means "victory place") or today known as Hampi. (I've been reading up on my history along the way from "India: A History, 1999, John Keay.)

The Mysore area had long established trade with the Middle East and even Europe and flourished under the careful development of a two successive sultans. Mysore was known to be one of the most advanced cities in Asia in administrative and development measures before it was a part of British India. Some of these advancements you can still see, such as the palace that was rebuilt in the early 1900s after a devastating fire, and the wide streets and carefully planned round-abouts. Even the history of silk production was artificially cultivated and came about under the ambitions of Sultan Tipu in the late 1800s.

I enjoyed the laid back attitude and the wonderful bazaar in the center of town. The bazaar is known for the wide array of fragrances for sale and the colorful cone-shaped mounds of powder used for paints and other ceremonial purposes. I was delighted at all of the photo opportunities.

After sauntering around the hot and semi-closed-for-Diwali Mysore for a couple days, we decided to stop over for a couple nights on the way to Fort Cochin in Ooty.

Ooty is known as a hill-station town with a bit cooler temperatures that lures the weekend crowds from Bangalore and Mysore. We arrived just after the sunset (after a 6 hour bus ride, check to make sure you are on the fast bus), and found a place to stay. It was 6 of us in all, and we found a reasonably priced place, but had to suffer waking up to the shouting of the desk clerks, cell phone ring tones, and dealing with bed bugs :( (luckily, I wasn't bitten by the bed bugs).

The food in Ooty was only sub-par, we managed to have only one decent meal and some yummy chocolates during our stay. The rest of the food was either old, microwaved, or just plain awful. It ended up being a joke of sorts that we couldn't find a decent meal, most of the restaurants were touristy and therefore had marginalized Indian and Western dishes.

We did a couple of the touristy things around town including the Thread Garden, the first time in the world that it's ever been done folks! 50 people spent 12 years making realistic-looking flowers out of thread, I bet you can imagine this spectacle. I was more impressed by the most dangerous go-kart track, the rules included strongly suggested advice to drive slow... Most of the cars were on the side of the track in pieces.

We decided to go early and catch the bus the next morning onwards to Fort Cochin with a brief stop over in Coimbatore. Two of us fell asleep and woke up with the bus completely packed with people, it's safe to assume that whatever means of transportation you'll be taking will be full. The changes in the surrounds appear almost instantly, Kerala is a bit more developed than the rest of other states. I'll have to continue about this more later...

I think this post is long enough and I have to find a means of transportation further south. Only 2 weeks left in India, and a few more after that until I am home again. November 22nd I will be back in Minneapolis. I hope everyone is doing well!