Over the last weekend, Magdalena and I were on our last trip together in India. The destination was Mysore. We heard a lot about this city and everyone was telling that this city is definitely worth a visit. The train journey on Friday was already convincing. I could look through the windows forever and let the green landscape with the numerous palm trees, huge rice fields and a wide variety of plants pass by me.
As we arrived, we were just strolling through the city without a plan and letting the vibe of the city get to us. And I have to say that we liked Mysore from the first moment. It was pleasant that you could just walk around there without so much traffic and so many people. We experienced it very relaxed and quiet there.
First we visited the Divaraja market, which was beautiful. I think the markets in India are one of my favourite parts of the country. The colours of the different types of fruit and vegetables, the smells of the numerous spices, and the voices of a language that I can't begin to understand. We watched the drift, strolled through the crowd and tried a dragon fruit for the first time. I will definitely miss the markets in India very much.
We walked through the market to the old town, stopping by the shops where they make the wellknown sandalwood. We saw how you can not only make furniture from the sandalwood, but also make incense sticks and produce oils. I do not know how often we were asked: “Madame, do you know how to make incense sticks, come here and have a look at it!”. But you have to be careful: sandalwood is probably the most "fake" wood scent. We have found out that there is more sandalwood in the trade than from the two state-certified distilleries. Another thing for what is Mysore famous is the silk factory.
The next day we visited the second most visited place in India after the Taj Mahal, the Mysore palace. We have to admit that we were a little bit disappointed when we first saw it. It seemed a little bit dreary and dull. But when we were in, we were blown away. One room was more beautiful than the other. We marvelled at the more detailed wall and ceiling decorations for several hours and went through the colourful decorated rooms. Unfortunately, there were also elephants and dromedaries that were chained on the palace grounds. Although it is of course impressive to be able to look at these gorgeous animals, we agreed that these animals do not belong here.
Once a week, the palace is illuminated and almost 100,000 lights shine. That was magical and reminded us both of a German Christmas market.
The next day, we visited the Chamundi hill, which is also a must-visit in Mysore. We drove up the hill with a bus, visited the temple and looked for a quiet spot to watch the sunset. We played cards, talked and enjoyed the last sun rays of the day. Not only that, but we were lucky enough to catch the last bus by chance.
I had the feeling that the city works very harmoniously and quietly. Incidents I noticed this because I saw the mosque, church and temple right next to each other, and they were celebrating a festival all together. Locals there also claimed this from the city of Mysore. Magdalena and I definitely recommend visiting this city. My Highlights were the market, the insight of the palace and watching the sunset from the Chamundi hill.
Comments