"It's Better if you Think of it as a Continenet"

That was the advice a wise couchsurfer provided me with over dinner in Chennai. It seems ridiculous, but if you think of India like you think of Europe, then whole place makes much more sense. Another favorite saying given to me my Bharat, the son of the family I was staying with in Delhi, "When traveling in India, the water changes taste every 2km and the dialect changes every 4km." I can't personally vouch for either since I try to avoid the water like the plague (it may in fact contain the plague), and I am equally ignorant of Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, etc. But unlike China, which is fairly homogeneous (fairly being key in that phrase given the recent ethnic conflict), India changes night and day as you move throughout the country. It's not just complexion, but language, religion, types of food, styles of driving, degree of annoyance with foreigners and more.

I'm currently in Mysore, which is about 85 miles southeast of Bangalore. My intention was to get the train at 11a from Bang, arrive at 1p, tour for 5 hours and then get a 7p bus back to Bang. True to form, India was not having any of that. I arrived at the train station 25 minutes early with my e-ticket number, needing somewhere to print my eticket. Silly me for thinking there would be printing facilities in the IT capital of the non-Western world. After missing my express train, I resorted to the bus, which took 3 1/2 hours. Fortunately, Mysore is gorgeous and it all was worth it after wandering through the Mysore Palace that housed the Maharaja and his family. Talk about living in luxury... the gold throne on which he was carried weighed 750kg (1650 pounds). So much luxury and here I am in a hotel room without a change of clothes. A classic Indian contradiction.

After the palace, I scoped out the Brindavan Gardens, setting for many a euphoric Bollywood dance sequence. At 7p, they light up the gardens and fountains and it turns into a twinkling wonderland. That is, until the power goes out (ironically the gardens span a hydroelectricity producing dam). Here is a pic from the gardens.



Also, I had to mention a "they outsource THAT" moment I had when in Chennai. I was meeting with a local company and the woman (the head of HR) informed me that one of their business lines was pre-media. I asked for an example and she casually replied that they do all the airbrushing for the Victoria's Secret catalog. I actually burst out laughing. No wonder they checked my bag for pen drives and cameras... they don't want me to reveal what Jiselle really looks like!

I'm going to try and get some sleep before the bus ride back to Bangalore, where I'm meeting my couchsurfing host for his soccer team's practice. I don't have proper footwear, and certainly lack proper fitness, but can't wait to knock the ball around.

Recap:
Day 40/82
Distance from NY-JFK: 8319.38 miles
Current mood: satisfied with a small adventure
Current music: None... the soundtrack of whatever is playing on Indian HBO?
Only here moment: Does a 4 lane highway have speed bumps... riddle me that.