Ok, only people who sign or otherwise identify themselves get to complain about updating. Booya. Unless I can tell who you are. I actually am working, more than I thought. There's really only time for dinner when I get home and then bed. Also, my photo gallery stopped working, and I really wanted to post pictures, so I was kind of delaying this entry until I could do that, but I'll just cave and post words now, and pics later.


Saturday we went to Mysore for the day. Pam picked us all up and we drove out (about 2 hours). I've been on many a roadtrip in the upper midwest, to Texas, to Ohio, etc. But never have I actually appreciated "watching the scenery." I could probably write a whole entry on this, but no use in using up all the material now. I will say that most of the time we were checking out the fashions, since Denise was destined to buy some silk and have some things made. My other favorite thing was: We noticed and commented on how the women in sarees were riding on the backs of motorcycles side saddle and magically staying on without holding on. Sometimes, they had a baby or two as well. Then, while commenting on one such woman in a very pretty lavender saree, our driver, Prakash noted that they were newlyweds. We asked him how he could tell, and he said "because she's holding on to him. After a while, she'll lean on the bike more than him."

At Mysore, we first went to a...Catholic church. St. Philomena's. It was kind of what you'd expect of a church in India - looks like your typical church, but not paid too much attention. Not in a bad way at all, just not the main draw. There was a statue of a Virgin Mary in a saree inside, though. I would love to show you a picture, but alas, not allowed inside.

After the church, we went silk shopping. That was the most intense shopping I've ever done. The people who work n the shop just kept bringing out silks to look at, unfolding them more quickly than you can even process what you just saw. It was actually stressful, which shopping should never be!

Then we went to Chamundi Temple. This is the "patron" (if I can call it that?) deity of Mysore. It was a cool temple, very small. Prakash made an offering and we each got a smudge or red something on our foreheads for it. When we left the temple, we each got a marigold head. Which we obviously fed to the cows outside the temple, along with a few little bananas.

Then we went on the the Maharajah's Palace. We had a guide show us around, which was great, since it brought much more meaning to an otherwise "just" pretty building. The whole place burned down on one of the princess's wedding days - worst. wedding. ever. So they rebuilt everything in steel, iron, granite, and marble. While looking at the painting gallery, we were so amazed that the gaze of the figures in the first one followed us as we walked by, that our guide pointed it out in every single once henceforth. Which got very old, very fast. There were several counters to deal with - admission, a camera locker, a place to hold our shoes, and a place to redeem our admission. I'm seeing a common theme here of breaking up work into the smallest units possible to create as many jobs as possible.

abrupt ending and no title cause you are impatient little buggers and I'm going to be late. :)

posted by Diana @ 12:44