Touring, part 2

Pictures that roughly go with this description: (http://burnsfisher.com/India2006/Touring2/)

Tuesday, Oct 24 was Eid, or Eid Mubarak, the day that marks the end of the Ramadan fast for Muslims. I again had the day off from work but we were sick to death of long distance travel, so we asked Stanley to take us to the "Dance Village" of Nrityagram established outside of Bangalore. The village was established specifically for teaching, actually LIVING dance. It is way out on the end of a country road that goes by any number of government agricultural establishments (Turkey research, bull research, chicken research, you name it...) Stanley had never been before and had to stop a few times to ask directions. We thorougly enjoyed the trip out. We had not been in "the country" in this part of India and it was a pleasure to see pastoral scenes. When we got there, we discovered the village was closed for Eid (and apparently all public holidays). Stanley was clearly upset (probably embarassed and afraid that we were unhappy), but we were ok. There is also a small but elegant hotel there. It's part of the Taj group that just took over the Ritz Carlton in Boston. We could walk around the gardens in the hotel and it was very pleasant. Looked like a nice place for eating too; they had a café out on a terrace that looked beautiful, but it did not fit our plans. We also took a walk along the road that we had come in on just to be able to walk and see nature, and not hear cars. It was very pleasant and relaxing.

Then we headed back. Stanley, always wanting to "surprise" us, stopped along the way at a resevoir. It was a place that we could get out and walk along the top of a dam. It was also pretty nice; the breeze was great. There is a temple in the middle of the dam (me thinking, "drat, do I have to take my shoes off to walk by?") We were able to walk by, but apparently there had been animal (lamb?) sacrifices done there recently so we needed to skirt the, ah, liquids. Oddly, this appeared to be a Hindu temple (I'm far from an expert, you understand) but I did not realize that Hindus did animal sacrifice. Perhaps Stanley did not have it quite right. I suspect he looks askance at the Hindu religion (he is Christian). Aside from that, the walk was pretty nice, and there was some nice pastoral scenes of cattle grazing on the edge of the pond. There were also people washing and fishing in the water. I'm not sure I remember any fish actually being caught, but I suspect they would not be there if they were not successful occasionally. There was a little building that evoked a lighthouse to me, but I think was actually the water inlet. You got to it on a rusty metal grate dozens of feet above the water. It was a bit creepy crossing, but it was a neat place to be. You can see some pictures of it with Ellen and me taken by Stanley and Stanley and me taken by Ellen.

After spending the long weekend (Deepawali, Eid) touring around I went back to work on Wed (Oct 25) for three days. Then another weekend. Quite a life :-) Ellen used the time to get her "Bangalore legs" finding her way around the area and around the commercial district. Stanley took her a few places and she also walked herself quite a bit.

We had been told by our friends Chuck and Michelle (from Nashua, but spend quite a bit of time here) about "Bangalore Walks" a business run by a fellow named Arun which provides guided walks of various sorts: History, botany, pubs, etc. Ellen discovered one going through Lalbagh, the botanical garden in Bangalore. I decided to skip the 8AM Saturday departure, so off she went with Stanley to the garden. (Stanley had taken us through the garden previously but he is no botanical expert.) She came back a few hours later very enthusiastic. The guide, Vijay, was very knowledgable. I guess they really hit it off, and she got just the sort of tour/info that she wanted.

After she came back we headed to the Nandi Hills. This is a spot maybe 60km from Bangalore which has some very high hills with a beautiful view. In fact you can see them from B'lore on a clear day. We got most of the way up in the car, and walked the rest. There were monkeys galore, including one hiding on the top of a truck with two stray dogs sniffing around the ground trying to find it (see picture).

And finally, on Sunday, we went to Mysore. That is a very long ways (3 hours is the official estimate. It seemed much further.) The B'lore-Mysore road is in the process of being upgraded to 6 (I think) lanes, but not limited access. That means that, as in the trip to Hassan, we were constantly weaving around at 60MPH to avoid bullock carts, rickshaws, busses, etc. And on top of that the 6-lane road would occasionally just end suddenly and you'd have to make your way across a few hundred meters of mud, or drive down the wrong side, or something. There were few signs to notify you of what was expected. Even Stanley was grumbling.

We first stopped at a hydropower station (I think Shivasamudra) where there are beautiful waterfalls along with lots of funny warning signs containing little poems warning you of the dire consequences of not staying behind the fence. This place was WAY out of the way to Mysore, but Stanley wanted to surprise us again so there we went. I actually wanted to go to a bird sanctuary, but somehow he managed to avoid doing that. They are not open at noon time. This is migration season and they are not open. It is too late in the day. I'm not sure what the deal was at all, but he had his way and we did not get to the bird place. We did see the Chimundi Hills overlooking Mysore (a nice overlook and a market with and odd pirate-like statue, which is supposed to be the demon driving out by the god in the temple. Did I forget to mention a temple at the top? Assume there is a temple at every significant place. Not the dance village.) We also went by the famous Bull Temple on the way down the hill. We could have stopped, but I guess we were (or at least I was) templed-out. I remember that feeling from 20 years ago when we were here.

We also saw the Mysore Palace, as well as Tipu Sultan's summer palace in Srirangapatnum (just a few k outside the city). Amazing and interesting. You can see some pictures. The history of Tipu vs the Maharajah is pretty fascinating. Maybe I'll expound in another entry.

On this weekend, two colleagues from work arrived, Doug and Verell. It was nice to see some old familiar faces at work after 3 or 4 weeks of only new familiar faces. Ellen and I ate dinner a couple times with them, and the head of VMS in India (Shobha) took us all (including Ellen) out to lunch as well. Then Wednesday Nov 1 came along. Another holiday! This is the founding of the state of Karnataka. Lots of patriotic displays, fireworks, a big performance at the cricket stadium, which we could hear from the apartment. We decided to hang around home that day, and lent the car (and Stanley) to Doug and Verell for a city tour. I guess they had a hard time getting around because of the holiday crowds, parades, etc. Ellen and I walked in the park and saw lots of people with Karnataka flags, and also parades of rickshaws going by with either driver or passengers holding K. flags. It was pretty cool!

I also took Thursday off, since it was Ellen's last day here. I think we went to some nearby place, but I can't remember where, and I don't see any photos of that day. Hmmm. Thursday night Stanley drove us to the airport for Ellen's flight home. I was planning to go in as far as the ticket counter to hold things while she messed with the paperwork and so on. No, they told us. Only the passenger can use this airport entrance. Visitors have to use the other entrance. Ok, we'll meet inside. Turns out visitors have to buy a ticket to get in (Rs 60) and then when you get in, you are in a little room separated from the main terminal by a waist-high fence. To one side is a stairway and the fence continues up the middle so the visitor can walk up on one side of the fence and the passenger can walk up the other. And this is the way to immigration etc. Of course Ellen did not know this so she was trying to figure out where I was all the time. She finally gave up on me and checked in (luckily!) and came along toward immigration only to find me waiting at the stairs. Odd system, but again it's one of those things where you just have to not make too many assumptions about outcomes. Just go with the flow...

Next installment: Burns meets a black bear