"I hate solitude, but I'm afraid of intimacy. The substance
of my life is a private conversation with myself. The company which I need is
the company a pub or cafe will provide. I have never wanted a communication of
souls. It's already hard enough to tell the truth to oneself."
- Iris Murdoch
So this year, apart from resolving to travel to at least one new
country every year, I also resolved to undertake solo trips. So one fine
weekend of January I decided to pick up my bag and head to the Majestic bus
stop and catch the next bus to Mysore for my trial run.
I found one of those swanky Airavat buses which play really crappy
movies, and for just INR180 I was on my way to Mysore. The journey to the
Mysore central bus stop took about 4 hours or so to cover. On reaching, I
pretended to be a seasoned solo traveler and somehow managed to find a decent
1500 bucks per night hotel room. Now this was before I had my Karnataka travel
guide so I had to rely on advice from the old hotel guard. As per his
directions, I reached by first spot, the St. Philomena's Church. It is by far the
best example of Gothic architecture I have seen in India, instantly reminded me
of the Notre Dame in Paris (sans the gargoyles!)
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| The Gothic architecture of St. Philomena Church instantly reminds you of the Notre Dame |
Next up was the most famous attraction of the city, the Mysore
Palace. And words will not do justice to that beauty! With such well preserved
interiors, lush garden with all kinds of flowers in bloom, gilded ceilings,
silver doors and photo frames made of elephant tusk ivory (!!) it is
unfathomable to think of the royalty that once existed, not so long ago!
The palace in the morning was so breathtaking; imagine the sight
at night with thousands of lights lining every foot of the palace walls! Post
the amazing light and sound show which tells about the history of the city, the
entire palace lights up in a million dazzling lights for the few minutes and
you realize the entire journey was just for those 5 minutes and every moment
was worth it!
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| Magnificent Mysore Palace with the clear blue sky and gardens in full bloom |
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| The Mysore Palace by night, lit up by a thousand lights |
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| Breathtaking! |
Last leg of my very short trip was climbing up the Chamundi Hill.
So there are two ways to reach the top, either take the stairs on one side of
the hill, or board one of the many buses that ply almost every half an hour. I
decided to take the bus on my way up. And yes just like any other religious
site in India, this temple too was overflowing with humanity! With multiple
queues to enter the temple (depending on how much you were willing to pay),
touts selling all kinds of paraphernalia, private ceremonies to bless new cars,
it was a crazy sight on a supposedly lazy Sunday morning! On my way down i decided to take the stairs, and it offered a spectacular view of the Mysore city!
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| Mysore city view from Chamundi Hill |
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| Nandi Bull at Chamundi Hill |
All in all it was a pretty eventful first solo trip
and lesson learnt that all Indian men may not be as desperate as the national
dailies make them out to be (however exercise caution at all times when around
one!)
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