Time travelling

We have one last high tech moment in Mysore. What a day today! The weather was finally nearly perfect. Dry and not hot. This morning we had a long ride into the country to visit an old Hindu temple. Along the way we went back in time several centuries. We travelled along rutted muddy streets through rough villages where people were still working the land and shops the way they have been for a very long time. I managed to get plenty of pictures, but you will have to wait to see them. It is way too difficult to put them online from here. (For example, I typed the last two sentences entirely without seeing them. When they finally pop up I have to go back and fix the typos, which then take a long time to show up.)

 

We finally arrived at an ancient temple that looked very much like Angkor Wat temples of Cambodia. There is a connection. Then Hindus migrated to there and their religion slowly became that of the Khmers. This temple was built in the 1200's AD. It gradually became mostly buried in soil which hid most of it from complete ruin. The details of the carving in the stone of every surface was still quite visible in many places. It was, in a word, stunning.

 

On the way back to Mysore we stopped at the home of a friend of our guide where we were served an excellent halal Muslim lunch. There the Indian culinary connection to the mid-east became clear. Much of what we commonly think of as Indian food has its origins in the food brought here by the Arab Muslims who have been here for centuries.

 

This afternoon Susan and I wandered around the Indian markets. We bought a little incense from a very pushy, but well mannered vendor who showed us how incense is made by hand. That was followed by a Starbuck's break. There is nothing like an iced coffee Americano for a break from the Indian markets. Actually we went into the Modern Cafe in an old English hotel where the help and the clients have all been replaced with Indians. It was another time machine experience. It looked and felt like what I guess it did 75 years ago, well preserved, but aged without pretense.

 

I am finally getting somewhat used to being here. The dry weather certainly has a lot to do with it. Wading through mud and trying to avoid being squashed by traffic from the wrong direction did take some of the fun out of some situations.

 

Tonight is the overnight train to Chennai. We arrive there about 7 am tomorrow and immediately transfer to a van for another 3 hours ride to Mamallapuram. There we will have an easy day of sightseeing around the ancient small village on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

 

I realized that the stinky, muddy villages are likely similar to the old settlements of the US where there was not a sewer system, or pavement, and humans and animals discarded all their waste into the commons.

 

It is now time to head back to get ready for the train ride.

 

Namste.

--
Michael & Susan Kuhn
Trip email: indiaadventure2007@gmail.com
Trip blog: www.indiaadventure2007.blogspot.com