Finally Mysore

Last weekend we went to Mysore. After having heard from so many people we should go there, it was almost an obligation. The weather was not so good, but it did not stop us from enjoying the beautiful landmarks of the city.

We first visited the Mysore Palace. It was very nice from the outside, as well as the gardens in the front. In the inside cameras are not allowed, which is a shame, as the various decorated rooms can be very impressive with colorful stained glass and big paintings on their walls.

After that we went for something to eat to the Royal Orchid. The buffet there was very good and with a good variety. Most impressive was its price, only 250 Ruppies or 4 Euros!

In the afternoon we visited the musical fountains by the Brindavan Gardens. It was a very nice spectacle, and beautiful illuminated.

We stayed at the Ginger Mysore for the night. It was comfortable and it had all the necessary for sleeping for a night there. Some of us could not sleep too well because of all the noise in the halls, but for me it was not a problem. There is also a Cafe Coffee Day inside the hotel, and you can have breakfast for 100 Ruppies, which is mostly Indian.

The next day we visited the Chamundi Hills. There is a Temple and a statue of Nandi, the bull ridden by Shiva, which you can visit after walking the thousand steps up the hill. While walking there we saw many women walking up the stairs and applying colorful powder to each step of the way. Many Indians were also interested in taking pictures with us, specially with David. It was a nice place but we were not allowed to take pictures inside the temples, although you will probably take more pictures of the landscape than of the temples.

The rest of the day we visited the market in the middle of the city, where we bought some eatables and gifts, and then went to the Zoo of Mysore. It was very big and had some interesting animals, some of them in interesting situations. On the way to Bangalore we also stopped at the Summer Palace of Mysore.

All in all it was a very interesting experience, and a must for everyone coming to Bangalore for more than two weeks. The city is not as stressful as Bangalore and the food is good. The road Bangalore-Mysore is also in good conditions and you will probably take 3 hours from the center of Bangalore to the center of Mysore.

Hope you enjoy my trip report, until next time!

Temples of Southern Karnataka

Yesterday we did a small trip of 13 hours to three different temples west from Bangalore.

We first went to Shravanabelagola (yeah, try to say that three times fast) and visited a temple on one of the hills near the city. The walk to the top was very enjoyable, watching other tourists go by, running to the top or taking pictures of the beautiful landscape. On the top there is an at least 60 meters high Gomatheswar Statue, which has became the landmark of this city.

Then we headed north to the Hoysaleswara Temple. On the road we got the opportunity to enjoy the indian country side and shoot some pictures. The temple, even if not as big as the first one, was also very interesting. I liked the gardens in front of it, where many indians seem to enjoy a quiet afternoon, and the sculptures, done with amazing detail. The only downside to this temple was the many people waiting outside, trying to get you to buy anything, from a small sculpture made by themselves (or so they said, because there were more than three people selling exactly the same one) to postcards and Kamasutra books.

Finally we went to Chennakeshava Temple in Belur. The sculptures inside the temple were very special, illuminated by a big search light that only guides are allowed to use.

All in all it was a nice experience. The ride was stressful, because of all the lorries transporting goods in this region and the cars trying to overpass them. But I would recommend it to anyone coming to Bangalore to visit these places, specially Shravanabelagola.

Where is the energy?

The blasts in India are not the only topics written about in the newspapers these last days. There are other important things, like the death or a pop star or that last Bollywood movie. But just before the terrorist attacks began, and even if many have already forgotten about it, there was a power shortage problem.

Apparently the government did not make the predictions right and they now have less power than necessary. Everyday, and often more than 5 times a day, there is blackout. At our apartment, the green light near the door goes on and if you keep the AC or the water heater on, after 10 min the power will run out.

At the office half the lights go out, the AC stop buzzing and nobody could care less. Everyone keeps working, and using their computers, may it be desktops or laptops. Internet connection and servers continue to work. You can only hear the generators starting, and after less than a minute everything is back to normal.

Elevators are the only thing which are affected by it. They stop and go to the bottom floor. For somebody inexperienced like me, it can be quite a scary experience. For the Bangaloreans, nothing more than a reminder of why they cannot only rely on the generators.

This also influences the oil problem. People queuing at the petrol stations is the everyday scenario here. They are trying to get diesel for their cars or for the power generator at the office or home. Luckily enough, we have not yet had very hot days. The weather continues to be very comfortable, and even sometimes a bit chilly.

They are now saying we will experience more than 8 hours of power shortage daily in the cities, and even up to 18 hours in the country side. Time will tell how Bangalore manage the power supply for so many servers and people. Time and politics.

Log of my first day of internship

8:00 I have just woke up, will take a shower and get ready

9:00 preparing my breakfast and ironing my shirt (the one I wanted to use did not look too good)

9:35 shenji, matthias and me are waiting for the taxis to go to work which should have come at 9:30

9:50 david and romain joined us in our waiting

10:00 shenji is officially too late

10:30 I am officially too late and the taxis have not arrived yet. We have called them more than 4 times, we have called our respective bosses and said we are too late, and we have heard matthias has to go somewhere else first.

10:45 the taxis are here! Romain, david and I take one to Bang 4

11:30 wow, 45 min for 8 km, that’s a new record. I meet my boss, who gives me my access card and I follow him to the bay, where all the desks are.

14:00 going for something to eat. There is a McDonalds, a Subway, Pizza Domino’s and many more :-) but we choose indian, and it is very good. Best I’ve had so far!

17:30 well, I’m going home. The car should be waiting for us outside.

We have arrived!

I am very happy to write to you from my apartment. Today very early, at one o’clock in the morning, we arrived to Bangalore International Airport. We had very nice flights, though the audio system was not working in my seat, nor in the free seat next to me, so you can imagine 10 hours of flight watching movies without audio was not the best flight ever. Lucky enough I had got a hilarious book from my girlfriend which allowed me to do something else but sleep and eat plane food.

Next phase was the airport. There we had to wait for at least 30 Min. for our luggage, and after that some of us decided to change money, all this being watched by 3 security guys from far away. Passport control and luggage control were not a problem, they just wanted the necessary papers and everything else was ok.

Last but not least we had a very special ride from the airport to our apartments, which as our first experience in the Indian traffic, was pretty shocking. Everything you could imagine happens in the Indian roads, from trucks going in opposite direction, to rickshaws in the fast lane without any light whatsoever. The most interesting thing though was the standing honking you hear. There is at least one for every overtake, and at least 4 in each cross, being one honk for advertising one is coming, one honk when you are on the cross, one for the car coming form the side, and one when you have left the cross.

Well, this is what most surprised me on the first night, I will write back when I have more information about Bangalore. In the meantime please watch the pictures on the right side of our apartment. It is very nice and spacious, everyone has one private bathroom and a TV, and there is a nice kitchen, even though you cannot cook there.