Mysore day 1-4

Nu maste vi ga over till engelska da det bara finns sadana tangentbord i Indien.

After a very long and hard journey we arrived in Mysore on 18 June. The flight came into Bangalore around 5 in the morning and we had to sit at the railway station and wait until 11 for another two hours journey to Mysore. Subramanya met us at the station and drove us to Green Hotel (www.cardaid.co.uk/greenhotel). It's a good and safe place in the outskirts of town where I have stayed many times. It used to be a small summer palace and then a film studio until it becam a hotel with an ecological profile. We are staying in a cheaper annexe, though.

The second day we didn't do very much except rest, and buy some things that we had forgotten to pack. There is a shopping street near the hotel that is a lot less intense than the downtown arcades. Alice and Esbjorn is still eating only french fries, white rice, serials and bread- more or less- and also some nuts. It takes some time to get used to Indian food.

The third day (Tuesday) we visited the Maharaja's palace. Apart from the imposing building it's not much to see really. It was built about a hundred years ago and designed by a British architect. All the Indian tourists wanted to take photographs of Alice and finally we had to start saying no in order to get anywhere at all. Her blond hair and white skin is attracting attention. It bothers her but not that much.

Today we wanted to go swimming but the pool was too deep for Esbjorn and Alice. Instead we did some more shopping and internetting. The weather is pretty good despite the monsoon with rains mainly during the night. We decided to use that opportunity and go straight to Kerala for a week. First to a nature reserve in the montains (Western Ghats) and then to the beach near a town called Kannur. Both of these places can be checked out at www.costamalabari.com. Last night I stayed up to watch Sweden play England. The game started at 00.30 here. What a drama. Sweden played well in the second half, I think, but none of the strikers (except Allback) are at their best.