Weekend Visit to Mysore

"Horn Please OK" "Goodbye"

We arranged through the hotel a tour of Mysore, which departed at 6:00am on Saturday.  Mysore is approximately a 3 hour drive each way from Bangalore.  Despite the honking and speed bumps, I managed to fall asleep several times on the way.  On the highway, I noticed that many large trucks had "Sound Horn" painted on the bumper or back panel.  Variations were "Honk OK", "Blow Horn" and the more courteous "Please Sound Horn."  One truck had a typo: "Soun Horn".  Some were painted decoratively in fun fonts while others were in plain block letters. My favorite is found in the photo to the right.  What I found ironic is that even if the truck didn't indicate that honking at them was okay, other drivers did it anyway, so what's the point of the sign?

Sri Ranganthaswamy Temple

Mysore Palace

Our first stop was a Hindu temple in Srirangapatna called the Sri Ranganthaswamy temple, located 11.8 miles outside of Mysore.  It was built in the 9th century.  Being a group of 4 foreigners, souvenir hawkers and people offering tours immediately closed in on us the moment we stepped out of the van.  Entering the temple requires you to take off your shoes & socks, and leave them at the "slipper parking" area where a man collects 20 rupees to watch your shoes (although he really isn't).  I chose not to go inside because while temples are interesting to look at, it conflicts with my beliefs as a Christian.  My 3 co-workers received a bindi (red spot) between their eyebrows which they said represents another 100 years of life.  The driver also took us to a lake which we didn't understand the significance of, but it had a sign saying that swimming was against the law.  Many people walked down the concrete steps and splashed the water onto themselves.  We also visited the Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan who was the ruler of Mysore during the 1700's.  People from India were charged an admission of 5 rupees.  As foreigners, we had to pay 100 rupees.  After lunch, we visited the Mysore Palace which I later learned is one of the most famous attractions in India after the Taj Mahal, with 2.7 million visitors annually.  After navigating through souvenirs stands and hawkers trying to sell us sandalwood crafts & a snake made of wood that looked real, we purchased our ticket of 200 rupees (vs 20 rupees for locals).  It was built in 1912 and is the home of the royal family of Mysore.  On the building were thousands of light bulbs, and during festivals and special occasions the building is lit. I wonder how they often they replace the light bulbs since they are incandescent and do not last as long as the energy-efficient type. Photos that I saw on the internet reminded me of Main Street at Disneyland when the buildings are lit at night. 

Having light-colored skin is valued here in India, and my coworker mentioned that while watching TV in her hotel room, she saw at least 6 different commercials for skin lighteners.  During our visit to Mysore and at the temple, people often snapped photos of my co-workers Tina & Lynn, or directly asked to take a photo with them.