Mysore Get-Away

Last Thursday (Jul/24), we took a quick trip to Mysore for two nights after our stay in Juhu Beach, Mumbai. Our plane journey from Mumbai to Bangalore was meant to take about an hour and a half, but because we are in India, it ended up taking about 4 hours. Surprisingly, I have gotten quite used to the fact that time is not as valuable here as it is in the US. After flying we had to take a 4 hour bus ride to the more rural city of Mysore. I personally really love going to smaller cities like Aurangabad and Mysore because there aren’t as many people, and it feels like you are experiencing a more real “India”. Also, when we visit these smaller cities for a couple nights, we stay in fancy hotels. In Mysore we stayed at the Guest House of the Mysore Palace. During colonial times, the ruler of Mysore and Bangalore, Tipu Sultan, built palace-like 

guest quarters for the British guests to stay in while in India. It was actually very beautiful with old wooden doors, glass furniture, an old but classic bathroom, among other things. I love experiencing things from the older ages, and so I loved it.  

The first night that we arrived, we were actually quite exhausted, and so after a buffet dinner at the hotel we all retired to our rooms. The following morning we had to get up at the crack of down (9AM departure times honestly has started to feel like the crack of dawn for me) and our first stop was the Mysore Palace. This was one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen in my life. The walls, ceiling and floor were all beautifully decorated with such detailing using paint, plaster, gold, ivory and other materials. We weren’t actually allowed to take any pictures in the palace, and seeing as I am too scared to disobey the rules, I took some pictures from my friends below. Honestly though, these pictures do not do justice to this palace at all. The main theme color for most of the rooms was a blueish-green color. Almost like the Tiffany’s blue, but a bit greener. Absolutely stunning. 

After all of our walking, we were treated to another typical South Indian meal. Unfortunately, the restaurant we went to did not serve the food on a banana leaf, but the food was quite good. The difference between South Indian, and North Indian food is that South Indian incorporates curries, while the food from the North is generally drier (such as the dry Tikka Masala and Biriyani). All of this food made it quite difficult to pay attention during our visit to the Infosys training campus in Mysore. The Infosys campus was very strange though. It was so perfect that we thought we were going to brainwashed and forced to stay in India forever or something, hahaha. It did not feel like we were still in India at all. Previously, I worked in the Staples, Inc. home office in Framingham, MA, and I think they should learn a lesson or two from Infosys to see how they can improve their campus, haha. 

The next day we had to begin our drive to Bangalore, and along the way we visited another one of Tipu Sultan’s palaces. This palace used a lot of persian design in the architecture and in the paintings on the walls and ceilings. I find this type or art and architecture very, very beautiful. To be quite frank, everything that I see is so, so beautiful. As I mentioned before, India is completely and utterly blowing through all of the preconceptions that I had. As of today, I only have two weeks left in this beautiful country and it is a bittersweet feeling: I almost already miss the food and people!

First, we visited one of Tipu Sultan's palaces in Mysore. It is now a 5-star hotel. So fancy.

We then visited an arts and crafts store because we arrived at the palace too early. I was trying to prove to the store that they're not the boss of me. 

A piece of wall decor I bought!

The gates of the Mysore Palace. 

The Mysore Palace in all its glory! It is absolutely massive.

One of the rooms in the palace. This is the gorgeous blue-green color I was talking about. Note all of the detailing on the pillars and ceiling.

There was detailing in everything. Can't believe all of this has been around for about 100 years now.

One of the ballroom-type rooms in the palace. Ceiling looked like what you find in a grand cathedral. Again, the green color is present.

View from the open space of the palace. The ruler would receive his audience, and address the city of Mysore in this room.

The Infosys Mysore Training campus. Unbelievably modern and technological. 

In this dome there were several classrooms and auditoriums. Beyond cool.

The main building of the Infosys campus. Anyone else notice it looks very similar to the White House? Didn't think there was anything like this in India.

Jack fruit tasting at a local market in Mysore.

I was surprised to see how much stock of potatoes and onions these people had to sell. True entrepreneurs.

It was interesting to see how everything was organized by color; the greens with other greens, browns with other browns, etc. 

Where Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore and Bangalore kept all of his gun powder. Surprised this was never blown to bits, haha.

View from Tipu Sultan's palace on the outskirts of Mysore. Gardens were very western. 

On our drive to Bangalore we made one final stop at a market where silk worm pods are sold. This was quite nauseating seeing as you could see the worms moving in the pods. People buy bags of these pods, take them home and boil them. When they boil the pods, the worms die and they are able to harvest the outside of the pods in long strings that are then made into silk. It is interesting to look back at, but at the time it was definitely just weird, hahaha.