Our backpacking trip: Dia 237 / Day 237

En la mañana cogimos el bus de Coimbatore a Mysore, es una carretera bastante peligrosa que sube a una montaña y pasa por una reserva natural. Llegamos a Mysore despues de 5 horas de recorrido.

Aca empezo la verdadera experiencia… Mysore es una ciudad bastante turistica y como todo lugar turistico los vendedores lo atacan a uno inmediatamente. Negociamos con un señor para que nos llevara a ver hoteles y decidir donde quedarnos. Le dijimos cuanto queriamos pagar y el escogio los lugares a los que nos iba a llevar. Seleccionamos el primer lugar que nos mostro y alli nos quedamos. Todos los hoteles en la India son bastante basicos y muy parecidos; las comodidades son minimas y los colchones son todos iguales… hechos de algodon y mas duros que un berraco.

El señor nos dijo que habiamos llegado en un muy buen dias, pues es el unico dia que le prenden las luces al palacio. Asi que de 7:00pm a 8:00pm debiamos ir a verlo iluminado. El señor tambien nos ofrecio tours a otros lugares cerca a Mysore, pero le dijimos que lo ibamos a pensar.

En la tarde tomamos un Tuk Tuk que nos dio un recorrido por la ciudad. Estuvimos en mercado británico y en la casa de una señora que hace inciensos y venden aceites esenciales.

A las 6:20pm salimos del hotel y le dijimos al conductor de un Tuk Tuk que nos llevara al palacio para verlo iluminado… para nuestra sorpresa el conductor no nos quizo llevar que porque no lo prendian sino hast alas 7:00pm y que estaba muy temprano. Bueno, aca en la India no es lo que uno quiera y como lo quiera sino como ellos digan y como ellos quiera… Leccion NUMERO 1. Por fortuna hay miles de Tuk Tuks en todas las ciudades, asi que pasamos la calle y le pedimos a otro que nos llevara y ese no puso problema… afortunadamente porque o sino… la verdad que le colman la paciencia hasta el mas guapo!

El palacio lo iluminaron a las 7:00pm. Alrededor de 97.000 bombillos prenden a la vez y la cara del palacio cambia totalmente, se ve muy bonito!

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In the morning we took the bus from Coimbatore to Mysore, it is a very dangerous road with 27 hair pin turns where only one bus or car can go at the time; however it passes through a beautiful natural reserve. We arrive in Mysore 5 hours later.

This is the beginning of the real experience… Mysore is a very touristic place and like any touristic town the sales people will get to you immediately. We negotiated with a guy to take us to see hotels and decide where to stay. We told him how much we wanted to pay and he chose the places. We stayed at the first place he showed us. All the hotels are very standard and similar in India; there is no luxury and the mattresses are all the same… made of compressed cotton and really hard.

The guy also told us that we had arrived at a very good day, beause it is the only day of the week that they light up the palace. He told us that we should go between 7:00pm and 8:00pm to see it. He also offered us to take us to other places around Mysore but we did not confirm anything.

In the afternoon we took a Tuk Tuk that showed us around the city, we went to the British market as well as a house where a woman makes incense sticks and sells essential oils.

At 6:20pm we left the hotel and stopped a Tuk Tuk, we told him that we wanted to go to the palace to see it lit up… what a surprise, he did not want to take us because they did not light it up until 7:00pm and it was still too early. Well, here in India is not what you want and how you want it but they way they say it and how they want it… Lesson NUMBER 1. Fortunately there are thousands of Tuk Tuks in every city, so we crossed the street and asked another one to take us and without a question he drove us there.

At 7:00pm they turn on around 97,000 light bulbs and the palace changes completely, it looks very nice!