Last Day in India!

The Mysore city tour day was really fantastic. We were supposed to be ready with our luggage by 7:00 am for breakfast, then depart at 7:30. In a shocking turn of events, the restaurant on the Mysore campus did not open until 7:30, and our tour bus didn't arrive until after 8, so we ended up making a later start than expected.

Mysore has a lot of history, as it was the seat of the Maharajah. It's just a much nicer city than Bangalore. Bangalore is kind of like Atlanta; pure urban sprawl, while Mysore is more like Philadelphia or Boston, with some nice history tied into it. Our first stop was Chamundi Hill, home to a temple. The views on our way up were beautiful, and we got to see a lot of locals, including all black-clad pilgrims who walked 600 kilometers to the temple, and school children who were so excited to see us and pose for pictures. There were also a wide array of cows, some more photogenic than others. It was just nice to have a real feel of local culture. Even though we didn't get inside the temple (the line was longer than the line for Space Mountain mid-July), it felt like the "real India" for one of the first times on the trip.

After Chamundi Hill we headed toward Mysore Palace, which was built between 1897 and 1912. This palace was gorgeous; incredible grounds and just beautifully detailed artwork, carved ceilings and iron columns inside. We were not allowed to bring cameras inside, unfortunately, but I got plenty of photos outside and was able to purchase a book about the castle for 20 rupees (less than 50 cents). We had to remove our shoes to tour the palace, which was just cool. My feet were dirty & gross... but hey, I wanted the "real India", right? After we left the palace, we were invited in the back to take an elephant ride for 100 rupees. Many in our group chose not to, and I know that it's very un-PC to do it but I also felt that when else would I get an opportunity to ride an elephant in India? Plus, in a Hindi country the elephants are better taken care of than at a US circus, right? So I did it. I did feel bad for the elephant, but we were assured that we were not too heavy a load for her. She pooped while we were on her back, too. Unfortunately, we had to leave our cameras on the bus for the palace tour, so didn't have them with us for the elephant ride, but I was able to get a few pictures using the camera on my BlackBerry. Others in our group also rode a camel, but I opted against that.

After Mysore Palace we headed to a very bizarre restaurant. This restaurant was in a hotel, and called "The Road: A Unique Pub." Well, unique doesn't begin to describe it. We walked through 2 doors shaped like barrels, and then walked on a floor that was lit up Vegas-style. The place was very dark and sleek, with a few random antique cars that doubled as tables. Our table (not an antique car) had a glass top and was filled with pink feathers; thing is, the feathers looked kind of mangy. It was just weird. And the food in the buffet was not too good. I selected something called "Shanghai Chicken," but when I took a bite, it was certainly not a part of a chicken I had ever eaten before. I almost choked on it and decided from that point on to stick to white rice and these tortilla-style things that tasted like Munchos potato chips. I did have dessert- the vanilla ice cream tasted just like frozen cool whip, and they have these nifty little things that are basically doughnuts soaked so completely in a sugary glaze that they are soft all the way through. But overall, this place was just wacky.

After that stop we headed to another palace; this one was built in the late 1700s as Tippu Sultan's "summer palace" - most of the artwork depicted battles between the people of Mysore and the British. It really made me realize how America-centric my history education has been. The "bad guy" in these paintings was Cornwallis; that would be the same Cornwallis who surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown. Who knew that he went on to become Governor-General of India and led the British to victory in in the 4th Anglo-Mysore War? He killed Tippu Sultan, whose palace we walked through. I really had no idea that these wars were going on with India around the same time as the American Revolution, and that some of the same characters were involved.

The nice thing about Tippu Sultan's palace was that the grounds were beautiful; there were families picnicking and kids playing games. It was the first time we had really seen kids "be kids" in India; they weren't selling trinkets, asking for money or on a school field trip. It was a great stop on our tour.

So after a day of tourist activities we were off to the airport. It was a long commute, which also included stopping on a city street to transfer luggage, since only 12 of us were going to the airport as others' flights were later on Sunday or even later in the week. We had a bit of a wait at the airport, but eventually got to check in. While going through immigration, they barely glanced at the Visa paperwork that was the cause of our terrible Monday waiting at the police station; they didn't even take the copy from one in our group. Such a waste of time.

We got to the airport at 9:45, but couldn't check in for our flight until 11:30. The flight wasn't scheduled to leave unitl 3:30 am, and was delayed until 4:10. Fortunately, there was a lovely sports bar to occupy our time (much more fun now that we all knew each other!) and we all made it onto our respective flights. Our flight from Bangalore to Frankfurt was fine, but when we landed in Frankfurt there was snow on the ground, which caused us to deplane somewhere outside the gates and take a bus into the terminal. Unfortunately, there was only one bus for the whole plane, so I didn't make it until the 3rd trip (one in our group didn't make it until the 4th!). So basically, it took over an hour to deplane, and then we had a 10 minute bus ride and then had to go through security in Frankfurt... let's just say there was some stress over whether we'd make our connections. Once we got to our gate, we found out our flight to Boston was delayed an hour. At least we all made it. Upon arrival in Boston, my luggage came through about 20 minutes after everyone else that I knew, but at least my luggage returned safely.

So I'm finally back home safe & sound. It was definitely a memorable experience and one I'm glad I did. I don't know whether I'll go back to India (I certainly will carry on luggage) but I feel like I learned about a really incredible company, Infosys, learned about the bureaucracy of India firsthand, and eventually got to be in and among the people. While annoyed by street vendors, I never felt unsafe. The Indian people were all very nice (sometimes to a fault) and very hospitable. TONS of people took pictures of us; they were as interested in us as Americans as we were in them, which was kind of a funny phenomenon. The cost of living is incredibly low, and people are poor, but they seem happy. The people at Infosys especially talk about how India is on the cusp of greatness; while there are an abundance of intelligent minds and good companies, there is still a long way to go in terms of infrastructure, education and social justice.

I'm so glad I went, drama and all.... but am so glad to be home, too.