Karnataka Tour!

On the 12^th of October we set off on our second tour. This time we ventured to a northern state called Karnataka. Karnataka is similar to Tamil Nadu in many ways except that it is cooler (further north), the food is sweeter, and they speak Kannada rather than Tamil. We visited 3 different cities throughout our trip. First we were in Mysore where we saw the renowned Mysore palace. It really is incredibly beautiful. Next we went to Hampi, the enormous sprawling ruins that once constituted the capital of a South Indian kingdom. We had a few days to explore and wander by ourselves which was pure heaven. One of the days we spent was hands down one of my favorite days in India thus far. We awoke early in our beautiful hotel, ate breakfast and hopped onboard the bus that took us to the ruins. When we reached the heart of Hampi we rented cycles and proceeded to spend the rest of the morning cycling through the beautiful countryside. We would pause at particularly breathtaking views or especially enchanting temples. Then we would park our bikes and just wander through the ruins, winding our way past sacred spaces, coconut trees and banana forests. At one very small Vishnu temple I sat reading and meditating while a few of the others climbed around a bit. I was filled with so much tranquility and peace.  For lunch we ate at this great little spot called the Mango Tree. I had some “western” food- hummus and chappati and vegetables and fruit- JUST what I needed. In the afternoon we wandered around a bit and visited some shops until we boarded the bus back to our hotel. That evening we went swimming in our hotel pool and got in trouble for our outfits. We figured that it would be best to wear our salwar kameez (dress pants outfit) because they were more conservative but we got reprimanded for not wearing “swimming costumes”. When I asked the man what he meant by that he explained that swimming costumes were nylon body suits… so basically wet suits. Oops, guess I forgot that.

After Hampi we went to Bangalore just for a day (night train in and night train out) but it was magical! It is such a hip, happening place. It’s a very metropolitan city with western clothes, western food, and bars. Wow- very different. I traversed the city with my friend Reann. We ate INCREDIBLE Japanese food (it was sushi festival week) and had our feet eaten by fish in a Japanese fish spa. The fish eat off all of the dead skin and thus give you very clean and soft feet but it feels super bizarre. They can see your feet coming which causes them all to surge to the surface of the water in this terrifying mass of hungry little beasts. Dipping your feet into their mouths is pretty much the last thing you want to do. However, once you get over the gut instinct to flee, and ignore the weird tickling pricking sensations, it is kind of rewarding. I mean, it never got exactly relaxing or comfortable, but I’m glad I did it- it was definitely an experience to be had.

When we returned to Madurai this Saturday, we were launched into the heart of the 9 day festival called Navaratiri. My family goes ALL OUT for this holiday and my house was completely bedecked in images of Gods, lights, incense, colors, gold, food, etc.  I have many many pictures on my camera which I will upload soon. I have to go to lunch now but I will continue this post soon! Much love!!

p.s. It is COOLER FINALLY!!!!!