Mysore visit

On Saturday, September 24, 2011 the 10 International Guests took a bus from Ooty to Mysore. Fortunately we had reserved seats on the bus and were able to sit together as a group for the journey. Bouncing along the road we were treated to many of the sights and sounds of India! The local bus took the long way down to avoid the 36 hair-pin bends. Some very beautiful scenery was missed ( I had done the trip in 2007) but we did arrive safely at the bottom of the mountain. It would appear the authorities have become very safety conscious and buses and large vehicles are prohibited from going down the 36 hair-p;in bend route! We did have some great views from the bus windows and we zigged and zagged our way. A morning coffee stop gave us a beautiful view down the valley.

After more than five hours on the bus we arrived at our destination, Mysore. The 8 younger members of the group stayed in a women's shelter and Gigi and I stayed at the Parklane Hotel with air-conditioning! (It was 32 degrees C in the shade) After a wonderful lunch on the hotel restaurant terrace we took a short stroll around the central part of the city. There were people everywhere, not to mention the multitude of street vendors who are more than willing to sell you souvenir objects.

Sunday morning was the time to visit the Mysore Palace. After paying our tourist entry fee of 200 IRS per person we made our way to the shoe depository! That's right - shoes and socks were removed and we entered the Palace in our bare-feet! The cool stones felt great at 10 h 15. The security to any of these historic monuments is high and after having our bag screened I had to deposit my camera at the camera depository! That's right, no cameras are allowed in to the Palace. Mobile phones posed no problem whatsoever! Can someone please explain! When we left the Palace and went to retrieve our shoes we realised just how hot the day had become. The former "cool" stone had become "hot" stones. We were not the only ones who experienced the discomfort! Once suitably attired we then were able to take pictures of the grounds and also the audience hall of the Palace. There were some great attractions! We returned at night for the light show and were not disappointed.

Monday morning we visited the Mysore Zoo following which we were taken by our rick-shaw driver to several silk and rosewood shops! My wallet is considerably lighter! The photos of the animals will tell their own story. After lunch we all boarded the bus for the return trip. Our driver swerved, careened, and blew his horn for the 5 hour trip back to Ooty.

Hectic week!

Well, here we are at the end of week 7! Where does the time go? Why does it just seem to disappear?
Last weekend was bright, sunny, and dry! The perfect ingredients for a "back yard" picnic and that is exactly what happened at noon on Sunday. Gigi was on kitchen duty and couldn't figure out why the tables were not being set in the dining room. As she had never been on kitchen duty before she really didn't know what to expect, even though she thought it rather "strange" no tables were being set. Then all of a sudden she realised the men were taking the huge food containers outside. That's when she realized we were going to be having a "back you" picnic. We sat around everywhere - some in the sun and some in the little shade, on benches, at tables, and on logs! We enjoyed a wonderful meal and also had a most enjoyable time talking with our fiends. Her 3-hour shift came to an end at 13 h 30 and we then had some time to ourselves. One of the benefits of staying with friends is they do let you help out and so at 15 h 30 it was my turn to be on kitchen duty for the next 3 hours. I read my Kobo reader and did Sudoko puzzles. When the cooks were finished, the head cook dictated the list on ingredients which had been used in the preparation of the noon and evening meals and I had to record all of the items in the inventory control book. The kitchen team worked well and, for my part, I got some extra reading time which had not been anticipated!

We are very fortunate to have flowers in abundance about us. Here is one team member refreshing the flowers at the front entrance.
We had planned on going out for lunch on the Monday. Our plans had to be somewhat flexible as we were caught in a deluge! After spending about 45 minutes under awnings in front of stores we commandeered an auto rickshaw and went to the tailors! Gigi had bought some material and wanted some tops made that she can wear back home next summer. The tailor was just arriving to open up shop and so our timing was perfect. After the tailors we went to Willy's for lunch! Willy's is a coffee house and they do serve light meals. We had pizza - Indian style - mighty spicy! Our goal had been to walk up to the King's Cliff Hotel and have lunch there. That will have to wait for another week.
We are off to Mysore for 3 days. More later.
Thanks to those who have posted comments. At least I know the blog is being read.

another week

Here we are at the end of another week. That means 6 weeks of our stay have gone by.
As I mentioned at the end of my last entry, we were preparing for some work with the youth who were in training for the IAYP awards program which many refer to as the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. The youth were to learn how to light a camp fire. You need to remember we are in the middle of the monsoon season. The group was divided into teams and each team was given a piece of rubber and some matches. The challenge was to find enough dry tinder and wood to actually get a fire going. Some groups did extremely well and other groups seemed to be sending up smoke signals! We all had a very distinct "smoky" smell about us at the end of the morning.
After church we went for lunch at the home of one of our new friends. The meal was simply delicious! We greatly enjoyed our time together and had another opportunity to practice eating without utensils! I am actually getting quite good at making a ball of the food and using my thumb to push the food into my mouth.
Monday was a simply gorgeous day and a walk in the botanical gardens was in order. There were many people in the gardens and my wife and I certainly stood out. We were approached on many occasions to have our picture taken. We felt like "movie stars"! It must have been quite a novelty for the locals to have their picture taken with someone with a very different skin color. The gardens are vast and have many types of vegetation.
Following our visit to the gardens we walked up to the Holiday Inn Gem Park for lunch. It was quite a walk up and gave us a very different view of the Nilgiris. We enjoyed a wonderful meal in very western surroundings. Quite a change! While there, the clouds came in and the rain came down. After meeting with some other friends, we walked back down to the town and made it back to our residence at the same time as the water truck was making a delivery of water. This was just before the rains came again!

One of the most unexpected happenings this week has been the number of times the power has gone off. Actually we were without power all day last Saturday. This meant the pumps for the 3 wells were not operating and as a result we had a water shortage which necessitated a delivery of water on Monday afternoon! We have had several other power failures as well. Last evening we had 3 or 4 blackouts within the space of an hour. Sometimes we can be without power for 6 - 8 hours, at other times the interruptions are very short. Candles, matches, and flashlights are kept close at hand.

Another event was my first haircut. I went out looking for a "Saloon" and found one just down the road from the back gate. It is called "Star Saloon" and has the usual tinted blue-glass windows which prevent anyone from staring in. I opened the door and went in. The "barber" greeted me politely, took my umbrella, and showed me where to hang my jacket. then I saw the two old brown cracked-leather barber chairs. I jumped in to one of them and the barber started. Let's just say "I got clipped!" (No photos are available!!) I guess I really shouldn't complain because I really got my money's worth. The cost 60 rupees which is about $1.40 Cdn.

Monkeys seem to be everywhere at Lushington. Just yesterday I saw one of them flip the lids of a garbage bin and start rummaging inside. We have got to be very careful with any food garbage to place it in the correct bins.

Hot water! Oh, for the comforts of home! Do you realize I have to heat up less than 1 litre of water every morning so that I can wash and shave! Water is very precious and I am learning to appreciate just how fortunate we are to be able to turn on the tap and have water. There are many families in town without running water! You realize this when you walk through town and see people at the outdoor tap with their water pots collecting water and then taking it home. We are indeed fortunate to have a supply in our flat.
That's it for now.

Snowdon!

Here we are at the end of week 5! Wow, were has the time gone?

Last weekend was a Hindu festival and because of the crowds and the parade the decision was made to keep everyone at their respective settings instead of going to church. We had a service with the girls here at Selborne. One of the IG's, Liz, shared her very moving life story with us and I followed up with a thought on the wise and foolish builders.

On Monday, our day off, a group of 8 IG's went for a hike. We had ordered picnic lunches from the Lushington kitchen. After having the security guard open the back gate we walked up the Toda path and then through the Toda village until we found the forest road. We really had to watch our step as we went up the path due to the fact the buffalo use the path when they come down to town. Once we were up the path we had to negotiate lots of mud! We saw the Toda temple and one of the residents told us only the priest can enter the temple.

We followed the forest trail for some time and then went through various trails in the brush. We slipped and slid in some places and just about had to crawl on all fours in other places. We eventually found a clearing at the top only to realize we had come up to the wrong peak. The peak with the tower on was right in front of us, across a valley. As we had been on the way for over an hour and a half, we had lunch and chilled for a while.

We came back down through the Botanical Gardens and then made out way back to Selborne. Tuesday was the normal "music Tuesday" with Junior and Concert Band practices. We went to Bible study at one of the local homes on Wednesday night There were about 25 of us. Some sat in one room and about 14 shad to sit in the other room. The leader ended up sitting in the doorway between the 2 rooms! It was quite something. Thursday we were on supper duty and then on Prep duty and tonight was the dorm meeting. The dorm parents had a beautiful fire going in the fireplace. The treats were great as well! Tomorrow we are involved with the training program for the D of E awards. We are not really sure just what our involvement will be. More later.

One month ago

One month ago we left Canada for our visit to India.
Thanks to all of you who have posted comments on the blog entries. It is good to know the blog is actually being read and is a source of amusement for some and a source of information for others.
Since the lost entry after the Monday visit to Coonoor there is not too much to report. Tuesday was my first day in the Department of Enhanced Learning (DEL) and I met several groups of students. As the week progressed so did my timetable. There was even the addition of 2 after school French classes for students in Standards 8 and 9 who have not had French before. That is quite a challenge. I am also sitting in on 3 Standard 8 Math classes to provide in class support for a pupil. This is, of course, in addition to the 15 class periods in DEL. So, I am kept quite busy during the day.
We are coming to grips with the drama group. We are still sorting out props, costumes, scenery, and music. Some of our actors have done a great job at learning their lines. Others - need lots of practice (on their part) and lots of patience (on our part!) We have only 5 more rehearsals before we perform before the school. It is really neat they way drama is organized. It is only the Standards 7, 9, 11, and 13 that perform in a given year. All students have an opportunity to be in the spotlight! Some take to it very easily and others need quite a bit a coaxing and encouragement.
Gigi and I were invited to share our life stories at the Staff Meeting on Thursday. It was quite an experience and we have received many encouraging comments from the staff. We also shared part of our story with the Standard 10 girl's dorm last night.
This morning was spent rummaging in the props cupboard and in the wardrobe cupboard for useful articles. We really hope to be able to find some old style wooden desks for our play.
Tomorrow there is a Hindu festival and parade in town. There will be lots of people in town and there will be lots of noise as well.
Sorry, no pictures to add today!