Mysore city trek

I met Leah, a graduate doctor, about to go into an internship in Toucson, Arizona. Leah was also staying at the Green Hotel. Leah's friendly, active, into a bit
of yoga, pretty liberal...so we've had some nice conversations about stuff and we went exploring on Saturday, April 11th. Taking
off down Vinobi Road, the main road out of town in one direction, that the Green Hotel's located on. I was thinking at some stage,
maybe even first up, we'd take a rickshaw...but that didn't end up happening, even after about 15km of walking round the city...

We took off into one of the suburbs at the sight of a temple under construction in an open field. Along the way walking past
some local Mysoreans going about their chores, rituals and starting out in the day. We got to the temple to find a few workers
hard at it and a couple of older guys hanging out the front...who encouraged us to take a look inside the nearly finished
marble temple, about the size of a tennis court or thereabouts.The opening is due on May 4th, I think...

From there we wandered the backstreets, coming across heaps of cows with implicit right of way, cruising through a nice fenced
garden, then heading towards the city centre with no real plan in mind. Along the way I overpaid for an amazing fresh mango and
Leah got a portion of Jack Fruit, which I likened to dry banana, with a different texture. It's a huge fruit, little bigger than
the watermelons I'm used to, full of flesh covering seeds.

More meandering saw us link back up to Vinoba Road, heading into the city. The pattern of shops would repeat throughout the
city centre, as they do in a lot of cities I guess. We ended up at the main markets, organised mayhem. We stopped for a while
at a perfume and oil store, the young, confident guy is a real good seller, keeping us engaged and interested, helping to remember
the name of the store as IRS, like the American Tax Agency...working out how much money we could spend, providing samples of the
scents...and finally giving us some incense sticks. All this will probably see me back there, because, in addition, he gave us some
great tips about local scams - come and see the incense factory, the beedie (cigarette) factory etc.

After negotiating our way out of the market, we were back on a main road and the city had picked up a couple of notches in pace.
Being a Saturday it was probably an especially busy day...we had any number of beggars, one of whom was on our case as we approached
a silk store. It looked like a nice store, so we stepped inside and evaded our pursuer. These guys were also slick in sales,
but, it's a state run shop, so the prices are fixed, but some of the normally attendant sales pressure isn't there. Upstairs to
look at various colours and patterns of silks and pashminas, ranging in price for Rs 250 to Rs 1550 for some of the nice pashminas.
I ended up getting a nice, pale green pashmina for my mum, Leah ended up with a range of pieces as gifts...though Leah's ATM
card wouldn't work in the store...a couple of the local ones didn't work either, so, we promised to come back when we found some cash.

I was in the market for a hat of some kind, the day was typically hot and I thought that I'd end up fried...I certainly would have
if I'd spent the same amount of time in the sun in Australia. We found an ATM, but, since it was just after midday, Leah pulled out
some Lonely Planet pages and we decided on a nearby restaurant...me being happy that she was happy to lead the way - I had no
idea which way to go. After a bit of toing and froing we found the restaurant, which turned out to be a first floor oasis after the
dodging of traffic, constant begging attention and general assault of the senses.

Recharged we hit the streets, back to the silk store for Leah's transaction, then off...to check out the lake...Karanji lake,
I think...or, as the shopkeeper told me Karanji Keddeh. That was a feat of patience, as the lake was off Leah's map, but in the
mean time we passed Mysore Zoo, the Palace on one side, a municipal hall of some sort...backtracked a couple of times, asked for
directions a few times...and we were finally there...not after passing a bus stop with a clock nailed to a tree, to help the commuters
with the likely bus traffic.

The lake was in some way linked with the zoo, there were peacocks, ducks, geese and the tallest birds in India...? in an enclosure.
The lake itself was another great sanctuary with huge trees, grass, sprinklers and the lake itself, to provide some welcome cool
after the hot city streets. We sat down for ice cream by the edge of the lake for a bit, posing for a photo with some locals...
then circumnavigating the lake, walking past young couple on the seats dotted along the edge of the lake...over to a butterfly garden...
and back again.

Now, I was hoping for a rickshaw ride home...but we kind of set out and never really stopped to get one. Some drinks from
a streetside vendor kept our pep up, along the 7 or so km walk back to the Green Hotel, just in time for a well earned shower
and dinner...and bed, ahead of a 4.15am get up for my first practise at the Shala...