Thanks everyone for the thoughts and prayers for a safe journey. I arrived safely in Mysore very early this morning (5:00 am local time).
As soon as we exited the Bangalore airport, it was striking how entirely different India is than home - or anything else that I've seen before. Despite that it was the middle of the night, the sky was not completely dark - probably from all the ambient light - and there were no visible stars. The air felt amazing though. I don't recall whether the smell was completely different or not, but the air was so different. Warm and slightly humid, with plentiful palm-type trees and vibrant flower bushes, it felt very tropical. While we were waiting for our shuttle to take us from Bangalore to Mysore, we noticed how different the cars are! They're all so small - and absolutely crammed with people (none of whom ever use seatbelts... apparently they're frowned upon here). The funniest though was when we saw a delivery truck backing up, and the back-up alarm sounded more like the music that would come out of an ice cream truck in the summertime. It was so great.
The drive from Bangalore to Mysore was uneventful, but was definitely an experience. Considering the time of day (we were driving from 1:30 - 5:00 am), there were a remarkable number of vehicles on the road, people riding their bikes and people out walking and visiting in little coffee shops, as well as donkeys freely roaming the shoulders of the road. The two directions of traffic are separated by a concrete barrier, but within each side of the road there are lines (just like ours at home) - except here they serve more as a decoration than anything. People drive down the middle of the road, in between lanes, while vespas speed between larger vehicles. The buildings on either side of the road were so different looking. Small, boxy white apartment-type buildings, homes and shops - all were covered with colourful posters, paintings and signs. Really, there is nothing here that is like home. But that is what makes this so interesting!
The view from my room this morning was stunning - there's a small garden outside my window that is filled with palm-type trees, flowering bushes and lots of exotic birds. This morning, I saw an elderly man sitting on a mat meditating in the middle of the garden. The sun rises around 6:00 am, so the birds were all singing beautifully while I was showering. Now, this is where the name of this post comes from, the "dip & pour." I am living in a residential complex that belongs to SVYM, and they have running purified water, but not enough to take showers (in the way we would at home). So early this morning, I filled a bucket with warm water in my bathroom and proceeded to dip a smaller bucket in and pour small amounts over myself... thus the dip & pour. I have to say, it was one of the most refreshing showers that I've ever taken! Maybe because it had been so long since I'd been able to shower, or maybe because it made me appreciate the water more, I'm not sure - but it was a definite success.
Tomorrow I'm going with my group on a city tour of Mysore - it's going to be incredible. There's so much history (both cultural and religious) in Mysore, there are so many things to see and do... we are going to see Chamundi Hill (a 12th century site, boasting a large monolith of Hindu God Shiva's bull, as well as a temple of the town's patron goddess and a tower 335m tall that overlooks Mysore), Mysore Palace and St. Philomena's Church. After, we are going to do some clothes shopping for tunics, linen pants and saris.
As soon as we exited the Bangalore airport, it was striking how entirely different India is than home - or anything else that I've seen before. Despite that it was the middle of the night, the sky was not completely dark - probably from all the ambient light - and there were no visible stars. The air felt amazing though. I don't recall whether the smell was completely different or not, but the air was so different. Warm and slightly humid, with plentiful palm-type trees and vibrant flower bushes, it felt very tropical. While we were waiting for our shuttle to take us from Bangalore to Mysore, we noticed how different the cars are! They're all so small - and absolutely crammed with people (none of whom ever use seatbelts... apparently they're frowned upon here). The funniest though was when we saw a delivery truck backing up, and the back-up alarm sounded more like the music that would come out of an ice cream truck in the summertime. It was so great.
The drive from Bangalore to Mysore was uneventful, but was definitely an experience. Considering the time of day (we were driving from 1:30 - 5:00 am), there were a remarkable number of vehicles on the road, people riding their bikes and people out walking and visiting in little coffee shops, as well as donkeys freely roaming the shoulders of the road. The two directions of traffic are separated by a concrete barrier, but within each side of the road there are lines (just like ours at home) - except here they serve more as a decoration than anything. People drive down the middle of the road, in between lanes, while vespas speed between larger vehicles. The buildings on either side of the road were so different looking. Small, boxy white apartment-type buildings, homes and shops - all were covered with colourful posters, paintings and signs. Really, there is nothing here that is like home. But that is what makes this so interesting!
The view from my room this morning was stunning - there's a small garden outside my window that is filled with palm-type trees, flowering bushes and lots of exotic birds. This morning, I saw an elderly man sitting on a mat meditating in the middle of the garden. The sun rises around 6:00 am, so the birds were all singing beautifully while I was showering. Now, this is where the name of this post comes from, the "dip & pour." I am living in a residential complex that belongs to SVYM, and they have running purified water, but not enough to take showers (in the way we would at home). So early this morning, I filled a bucket with warm water in my bathroom and proceeded to dip a smaller bucket in and pour small amounts over myself... thus the dip & pour. I have to say, it was one of the most refreshing showers that I've ever taken! Maybe because it had been so long since I'd been able to shower, or maybe because it made me appreciate the water more, I'm not sure - but it was a definite success.
Tomorrow I'm going with my group on a city tour of Mysore - it's going to be incredible. There's so much history (both cultural and religious) in Mysore, there are so many things to see and do... we are going to see Chamundi Hill (a 12th century site, boasting a large monolith of Hindu God Shiva's bull, as well as a temple of the town's patron goddess and a tower 335m tall that overlooks Mysore), Mysore Palace and St. Philomena's Church. After, we are going to do some clothes shopping for tunics, linen pants and saris.
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