Movies, markets and molestation in Mysore

We made it out of Coimbatore on the morning bus. No dickheads on this one, thank goodness. The only potential problem was the donkey who was trying to bumrush Ben in the queue at the halfway snack shack:


Mysore - awful name - is a nicer town than many of the ones we've been to previously. But still nothing to write home about. Despite that we've had a nice time together,, and kept each other sane. Most importantly we met some other travellers - yoga nuts - and got drunk with them and vented all our frustrations. They didn't share our negative feelings, but lent a sympathetic set of ears. Very therapeutic! We think the secret is to find something we really enjoy doing e.g. music/crafts and just stay in one place and do that. So we're going to try to do that up in the North.

Meanwhile, while Debs has been planning a bathroom update for when we get back home, Mysore has treated us to some exciting moments. The Market is incredibly well set up and kept, with crazy colourful fruits and veg and these cones of kumkum - the powder that Hindus use to denote various key social events:

I bought myself a Mini Mohini - an electronic drone box that reproduces the sound of a tambour. It's brilliant, and only cost 1750 Rs (EUR 27). There was another one for Rs 5250 which was bigger and better and had a great "tone" knob that went from "Ladies" to "Gents"... but it was too big and heavy for me.

The men of Mysore have trouble keeping their hands to themselves as Debs has discovered on about half a dozen occasions. After the first few "accidental" contacts, she took to whacking the pervs with a plastic water bottle while I shouted "you should be ashamed of yourself" at them. Giving it back to the creeps makes us feel much better. Debs was pretty nervous after the initial encounter but now has a good swinging-arm blocking technique. We're pretty sure it was the sight of her naked ankles that inflamed their passions, so it's trousers all the way from now on.

Our final "get happy" treat was a visit to the cinema this morning to watch the new Indiana Jones film. We both agree that it's the most fun we've had we arrived in India. :-)

Otherwise, the Palace here has some crazy interior decor - thick tiles, opulent stained glass... and ugly yellow plastic barriers herding the crowd around. No cameras allowed unfortunately, unless you want to bribe the guards. We didn't. Zoe would be proud of us. There's also a drab Art Museum here which promised some exciting musical machines but only delivered a load of dusty and rusty old instruments... and another guard fishing for a tip by demonstrating the instruments in a truly cack-handed manner.

Oh yes, and Debs got her hair cut here! Including an eyebrow trim, achieved with an impressive method involving cotton, tension and a very skilled operator. The shampoo (L'Oreal!) cost 3x more than the cut, but the whole thing was only Rs 190 (EUR 3). Bargain.

That's it for Mysore. Off to Hampi tomorrow, assuming the timetable information we have is accurate... fat chance - each of the 5 people we asked gave us a different time of departure, but we'll take a best guess and hope. Seems to be the way things work out here.

Ben and Debs