Keep Moving

Mysore: I arrived here to catch another bus to Kalicut and thought I would have enough time to see the Palace during the five hour stopover. It turned out that I only had enough to see it from the outside since I forgot to factor in the time it would open. So the early morning was spent at Chamundi Hills and a couple of quick snaps of the Palace from the outside.

The view from Chamundi Hills.

The Chamundeshwari Temple on top of the hills.

The offering baskets waiting for a buyer.

Mysore Palace: my best pic.

Cleaning out the canon at the Palace.

Kalicut: I didn't find much special about this city but since a motorcycle stuntman showed me around, it was short of becoming another stopover. I also caught the Onam celebration, which is only present in the south of India. Each of the four days of the festival, the householders made a beautiful design out of flowers drawn outside of their door. For shops and malls, artists got to show off their talent and that design was kept for the duration of the festival.

The Pookalam at the mall.

With my guide, Binoy, the motorcycle stuntman and engineer.

A free Onam show sponsored by the government. I caught the first dance and I have to say it was top rate! The colors they wore, were not only beautiful and bright, but also reflected the god, Vishnu, they were celebrating.

An Pookalam outside a hotel.

Pickled anything: the Kalicut refreshing snack.

Kochi: If you asked me what I remembered from here, it would be the dreary weather and artsy surroundings. Oh, and I got evidence of what my friend's told me goes around in an Indian man's mind.

Locals flying kites along the Fort Kochi beach.

In a cafe that was also home to artists.

One of the many works of art along the streets.

An old snake boat in an antique gallery.

Suffice to say that this did not improve my opinion of India men. Not to generalize as there are good and bad and everywhere we go, we will meet both. If you go to Fort Kochi though, I would advise you to stay away from all of the lodging offered near the bus and train station (Ernakulam) for several reasons. They were either really filthy even for budget standards, occupied by creepy men (the fellow above worked the reception at the hotel I stayed), were too expensive for the budget traveler, or did not offer lodging to foreigners (did not have the paperwork they needed to hand in to their government).

Hampi

DO NOT AND I MEAN DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY OF THE INDIANS TOUTS IN HAMPI, NOT EVEN THE TOURIST INFO CENTER IS RELIABLE. WALK, RENT A PUSH BIKE OR SCOOTER AND EXPLORE THE PLACE ON YOUR OWN. ONE FULL DAY IS SUFFICIENT AND YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A MAP.

I for one got suckered into a tuk-tuk for the day. The plus side of it was that I was out of the hot sun as I went from one place to another. The highlight of this city was watching more of the Ganpati Festival at night after visiting the ruins. Here are some of the sites:

Started at the Sasivekalu Ganesha. The guard on the right looks like he's working hard, right :P.

Lakshmi Narasmiha Temple: Vijayanagara sculpture from a single rock.

Playing music at the Chandikeshwara Temple.

The sister rocks and my tuk-tuk.

Taking a noon-time nap in the Band Tower.

The Elephant Stables.

Yawn...stretch. 

Carvings in the Hazararama Temple.

A family enjoying a picnic at the Queen's Bath. They invited me for some rice and brinjal curry.

View inside the Vitthala Temple.

The famed chariot in the Vitthala Temple.

Sunset at the Virupaksha Temple.

Starting the celebration off with numerous kids.

The audience: "Yeah, check out my guns."

Kids continued. 

Singing and dancing his heart out. One of the better dancers. He also did a Gangnam style remix later that night with some friends. 

The holy elephant having his bath. 

Getting blessed once you gave the elephant a coin or note.

On my own the next day and realized the minute size of the city. At the King's Pond.

The view from above. No wonder there are so many monoliths in this city.

Sending the idol to the river. They said it would be finished before sunset but that was never going to happen. They went from starting at 4 PM to starting at 7 PM. Even then, the idol, which was carried via a tractor, moved an inch every half an hour. You felt like you were included in the festivities though as they ran up and covered your face in red powder.