Day 10 In India

Day 10-January 12, 2014

Today we made the 4 hour trip to the second leg of our India class.  We arrived in the city of Mysore, India.  Still in the state of Karnataka, Mysore is the 3rd largest city in the state.  After traveling we checked into our host for the next couple of days, Infosys, Mysore.   Infosys in Mysore is the home to a rigorous 6 moths training course for all new hire assocaiates with the company.  Word is the training is very hard.  Each week there are tests & if you don't pass one, you are out!! 



Our accommodations at Infosys are much more modern than those in Bangalore.  Here each of us has a private room, with a private bath, with a scalding hot shower, air conditioning and wait for it......a TV.  Now I can watch something other than free tv shows I downloaded to my iPad.  The campus is just as lush and green as the one in Bangalore.  I am hoping to take a few long walks each day to try and work off some of the great Indian food I have been eating.  But I can't spend too much time exercising because there are also many sites to see in the Mysore district. 

On the way to Mysore, we stopped by the Ranganathaswamy Temple in the town of Srirangapatna. Since today is Sunday, the temple was very active with worshipers lining up to visit.  So we decided not to wait in the long line to enter.  But we did get to walk around the outside & get some great photos.  Most of the group also tried coconut water from a vendor at the temple.  Since I am not a fan of coconut, I only tried a sip and wasn't impressed, but wasn't disgusted either.

After checking into the guesthouses at Infosys, we quickly headed to the famous Mysore Palace. Since Sunday is the only day off for most workers in India, it was very crowded.  Sunday is also a special day because it is the only day of the week that they illuminate the palace at 7pm.  It was an interesting visit.  In case I haven't told you, I stick out like a sore thumb in India.   People stare at me, smile at me, take pictures of me...I am a curious attraction to most.  At the palace the entrance fee for Indian citizens is much cheaper than for foreigners.  Our Professor, Dr Kanti, is Indian so he purchased 6 tickets for the group.  As we entered, one of the gatekeepers noticed this and after a lengthy debate, I was forced to go buy 2 AudioTour headphone devices to make up for the difference in price for my ticket (which was really only about $4).  Next, you can photograph the outside of the palace but photographs inside are strictly prohibited.  So as we were about to go in, I stuck the camera in my pocket and entered.  The guards inside quickly noticed the big bulge in my pocket & wanted me to go take the camera to an outside camera check stand at the other end of the palace grounds.  After the 2nd heated debate in 10 minutes, Dr Kanti, convinced the guards to let him carry the camera in his pocket, ensuring I would not have access to it to sneak any pictures.  But after all that we got to enter the palace, and it was quite a site to see.  You can see some of interior pictures on this website.

 There was also some animal activity at the Palace.  Behind the palace, you can purchase a ticket to ride on either an elephant or a camel.  The line was rather long & of course the price was higher for me, so we decided to pass.  But we did get to get up close to the animals, pose for a few pictures and I learned if you hold some money out for the elephant, he will take it in his trunk. 

 Next we took a brief walk into downtown Mysore for some dinner.  Dr. Kanti recommended the Indra Cafe.  Dinner was a couple of different variations of the dish Chaat, including Behl Puri.  to go along with Rava Dosa & Onion Dosa.     Plus, we had to have the mandatory coffee & picked up a couple of sweets before leaving.  More details on that further down this post.










 After dinner, we took the walk back to see the palace illumination.  The entire palace complex is lit up with white lights for this occassion.  Pictures do it better justice than my words ever can.  Take a look at all my photos from today.

Random Thoughts for today

Jalebi

 One of my favorite new deserts is jamoon.   In India, having sweets helps to off set some of the really spicy foods and seems to ward off any heartburn like issues because of all the spice.  Even though Jamoon is great, I think the best sweet I have had in India is something called Jalebi.  Every time I have had it, I love it!!  That is why I bought a 1/4 KG of it at the Indra Cafe tonight. 









Normally coffee is the only thing I have for breakfast, but here one of my favorites is Upma.  Upma is basically flavored Cream of Wheat.  At  home I don't think I have ever eaten cream of wheat more than twice.  But in India, they have been serving it to us in the mornings flavored with bananas and other fruits and it tastes great.







Dosas are served with every meal in India.   It is the bread like dish that you use your fingers to tear, scoop up your other food with and eat.  Even though they are so common place, they taste different almost every where you order them.  Sometimes they taste different from day to day at the same place.










Since Lehigh Portland Cement is one of the biggest companies in Carroll County.  I found it interesting that their Parent company also owns a cement plant in India.  I have been on the look out for an ad for MYCEM, the product they make in India, but have not seen one yet.  There are plenty of cement plants in this part of India so I will be excited to see my first Mycem ad.







     


For some reason I had never considered the idea of amusement parks in India.  So I was surprised to see billboards for two different ones.  Today we drove past those two amusement parks, Wonder la & Amusement Park and GRS Fantasy Park. 

 

 

Stimulating the Indian Economy by paying more for things :)