The best of Crass

We spent a whole week in Mysore. It didn't need that much time but Louise didn't want to be in Bangalore before Feb 1, and so we hung out there.

On one of the days we took a day tour. For me it was a lesson in Indian Stretchable time (IST) and Indian lies. IST because at the very first stop we were told to return in "20 minutes or 30 minutes, be here at 10.30". It was 9.30am, so 10.30 meant an hour.
At each stop we were given a variable deadline, and at each stop the Indian tourists (everybody else) took more than the maximum given time. It was driving me insane. And then this is where a lie was delivered.
I guess with full expansion of the IST we ran out of time because we didn't visit Tipu Sultans summer palace as of the itinerary (it was one of the attractions we were looking forward to). When we asked we were told that it was closed for the day so that was why we weren't visiting it. We had doubts about this, but went along with it.
Two days later when I was in the tourist office the man there asked me if I had seen this palace, I said no, we went on the tour on Tuesday but it was closed for a holiday. No, he said, that's not true, there have been no holidays this week.

The day actually started out with some mild corruption. We had been told by the KSRTC office (govt run buses, including tourist services) not to pre-book but turn up on the day to book the tour. On the day we were told that the KSRTC didn't have enough people on the tour but we could do another tour, same itinerary, for Rs150 each and Rs50 each to the driver. ( this actually was slightly cheaper than KSRTC). Then the KSRTC man asked us to pay Rs150 direct to him. He promptly put this in his top pocket. I asked for a receipt, he said he couldn't. I insisted and got the 150 back to pay directly to the next place. In the end we got a tour but no receipts. Other people had the KSRTC brochure too, so I guess that the govt tour doesn't run because the office guy pockets money this way. Hopefully someone reads this!

But now, you might be wondering about the crass?? Well, although we missed that palace I don't care because we got to go in the evening to the Brindavan gardens to see a fountain (of about 4 x 4m) lit up under changing coloured lights and dancing to the sound of Bollywood tunes. This was so crass it was wonderful! ... Made all the better by the couple of thousand Indians who cheered and applauded its dynamic (I'm exaggerating) moves. Louise was speechless (this is rare), I did showed my enthusiasm with a seated dance (much to the amusement if those around).

Aside from that, the only other part of the day that really got my attention was a broken coconut area outside a temple. Hindus would break a coconut here as offering to a god. But one young man had a big bag of coconuts and was rapidly breaking them, one by one, with all his might. We figured he must've been naughty and this was the Hindu equivalent of the Catholic hail Mary's.

Finally, the most wonderful thing about Mysore is its palace. It is magnificent, and the audio tour is particularly good. Put it on your list with the dancing fountain!

Notes:
Mysore: 25 Jan - 1 Feb, 5 nights Mannars lodge Rs650 twin share, 2 nights Youth Hotel HI, dorm Rs100 (I went without Louise). Bus Bangalore to Mysore Rs110 3hours. Bus Vellore to Bangalore Rs144 5hours.