Mysore - My Kind of Place

Mysore is my favorite Indian locale so far. It's a charming garden city, with lots of trees and parks, and of course, friendly people. While there, we stayed at the most amazing place: the Metropole Royal Orchid hotel, which was originally built as the state Maharaja's guest house for visiting dignitaries. It is a colonial gem - beautifully appointed rooms, airy verandahs, shady palm trees and colorful blooms framing the arches and walkways. Its casual elegance set the tone for our visit to the fine city - just staying there made you feel like taking a leisurely stroll to see what might be of interest outside your door. Our pace was far from leisurely, but we did get to see some incredible sights and bask in the lingering colonial atmosphere that pervades Mysore.

While there, we visited the Chamundeshwari Temple, located high on a hilltop overlooking the sprawling city. The hilltop is one of South India's eight most sacred mountain tops. The temple perched at its crest is spectacular, and a constant stream of visitors march like ants to its gates, and stand in snaking Disneyland-like queues to gain entrance. Outside, a buzzing marketplace can find you everything from blessings to baubles for sale.

In Mysore itself, the Maharaja's Royal Palace is really the place to be. It's actually pretty indescribable in its scale and in its riches - and no cameras are allowed inside, so even if I could have taken photos there, I doubt I could do it justice. The grandeur rivals any European royal palace - maybe that was the point? But from the soaring, columned ballrooms, to the hundreds upon hundreds of stained glass windows, to the ornately decorated walls, ceilings, and floors - this place left no stone unturned in terms of the attention to detail. We actually visited the grounds twice - once during the daytime to explore and photograph the exterior and take the interior tour, and then again in the evening for the weekly illumination of the palace. During the one-hour illumination, all of the palace buildings are lit in gorgeous white light - it's like Christmas on steroids.

Royal Palace and its splendor aside, my favorite place in Mysore by far is its renowned Devraja Market. Known largely for its prolific flower stalls, the market supplies goods of literally any sort in its warren of stalls and storefronts. We were there a day or two in advance of a Hindu festival, and so the flower hawking was in full force. Fresh flowers are big business here in India - they are used literally everywhere and for any occasion. Women wear them in their hair; people offer them up at the temples; wreaths and garlands adorn doorways and statuary. The market was a sensory overload - from the floral aromas, to the sandalwood of the incense, the smells were almost intoxicating. It was noisy - flower vendors were barking attention to their wares, and the constant chatter of the urchins accosting me from all sides to visit their stall buy their trinket see their talent made the venture somewhat exhausting. And visually - well there was just no way to take it all in. It was like watching a beehive. But that's why I'm here - I like the honey!