Mysore and Tea

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Mysore, a great small town of South India with a beautiful and well preserved palace.  Mysore is famous for silk, too, and I went to a silk factory which was a really fascinating experience.  The process is amazingly intricate, going from mulberry silk pods to finished silk saris and other silk products.  Unfortunately, they don't allow cameras inside the factory, but I did get a pic in their sari show room. 

On the way down to Mysore, we passed through two wildlife reserves, and saw elephants, deer, boar, and monkeys. The elephants were being guided by reserve workers (they offer safari tours on the elephants), and they got REALLY close to the car. 

The highlight of the trip was the Mysore Palace.  Built in the early 1900s to replace the original palace after it burned down, it was designed by a British architect and incorporates design elements from Victorian, Mughal, and Hindu architecture, making for a really interesting and beautiful building.  In the evenings, they light it up with thousands of light, a visual treat! 

yummmmmmangoes

Ganesh doll

Worshippers could
purchase an offering for the
priest to bless

Huh? on a t-shirt

The promise on this "Nike" t-shirt
seems a bit overt, even for Nike

juxtaposition of old and new

We also visited Chamundi Hill and its temple. Similar to the technique used to manage long lines at an amusement park, at the temple you could pay Rs. 20 and go into the 2.5 hour line, or pay Rs. 100 and  get in the fast lane, which took about 20 min.  Either way, once the two lines merged at the temple entrance, it was the

quintessential press of the mass of 

bodies, each vying to get closer to 

the priest and receive a blessing.  The temple architecture was beautiful, and the streets outside were lined with shops selling everything from t-shirts with bad English to religious artifacts.  Here are a few more of my pictures.

last king of Mysore

Beautiful fields of sunflowers on the drive home from Mysore

Recently, we also had our first field exercise.  Conducted in a much more civilized manner than I've ever experienced, the "field" in the Army includes tea break, and involves sitting in a semi-circle on our camp chairs discussing the terrain around us.  This time, we were seated in the middle of a tea plantation, so it made for some great pictures!

My friend Ghiyas from Maldives is ready to go!