hello you faithful readers you! my apologies for such a hiatus.
firstly
happy BELATED international women's day! to celebrate, zach, kaitlin and i went to a film institute and saw an independent movie by a woman director. it was fun, and we got some pineapple cake afterwards.
last thursday, ciee took us all on a trip! we flew into bangalore and then took a four hour bus ride to mysore, our ultimate destination. when we landed in bangalore, we were met by an A/C charter bus just for us, chocolate cake, cheesecake, and pasta dinners from a german bakery located right above the german embassy in bangalore. YUM. the cakes were for a conglomerate of march birthdays, and our travel guide even ordered me a vegan pasta! the first time anyone has acknowledged my veganism in india, and it was delicious. we finally got to our hotel around 1 am.
our hotel was SO nice. it had beautiful white beds with cushy cushy sheets and pillows! oh it was glorious. when tracy snuggled up in her bed, she squealed, "i forgot what beds were supposed to feel like!"
the next morning, we had a delicious indian/continental buffet breakfast at our wonderful hotel with REAL coffee. i'm telling you, this hotel.
then we got on our A/C bus and drove about three hours to melkote, a hindu town. it started off as a center for brahmins (the highest caste) who worshiped vishnu (supreme god), and now it houses lots of hindu pilgrims and suprisingly, dalits (lowest caste). the dalits moved in once the brahmins moved out to the cities, so it's an interesting dynamic. the lowest of the low are now living in houses built for the highest caste people. we stopped in this house where pilgrims stay, and then we got to see the famous temple.
after touring the inside, we all split up into groups of five and got free time to wander about the city. each group had to take note of different aspects of the town. ours was water. we saw all the different ways that they collect water in their town since after the rainy season, that's all the water they have to sustain them through the heat of the summers until next rainy season. all of the water pools and canals were in close proximity to the temple, with the temple in the center of town.
we all gathered back at the pilgrim house and had our own private concert of carnatic classical music. it's mainly music sung and played to the gods. there was a violinist, vocalist, drummer, and tabla player. it was really cool!...and then it went on for about two hours. but really, it was cool.
after the musicians packed up, we got served a classic brahmin vegetarian meal. the kitchen helpers came by and slopped stuff on your plate, and we all gladly ate it. then we hopped on our bus and made it back to mysore.
we had some free time before dinner, so we walked around mysore and looked at their trinkets and even tried to get our palms read but the guy said we'd have to come back in the morning. we caught a ride back to our hotel and from there, our bus picked us up for a swanky dinner at a colonial inspired restaurant/hotel.
with full tummies and tired bodies, tracy and i snuggled up in our perfect beds and watched national geographic until we dozed off.
the next morning, we had breakfast and then we were off again--this time to a tibetan settlement in a town called bylakuppe. we had a lecture by the leader of their settlement, who talked about being a culture in exile, how accomodating india has been, identity issues, and his views on the dalai lama stepping down. he was the sweetest.
then he led us to their town buddhist temple. outside of it, there was a copper cylinder that apparently if you run around it, your sins are forgiven.
then lunch made my monks. it was so yummy! lots of veggies and vegetarian momos (dumplings)! oh my tummy was so happy and hungry. then to top it all off, they served us lemon tea for dessert and it tasted like liquid lemon drops.
from there, we walked around the center of the tibetan town, leading us to another buddhist temple and some shops.
the best thing: when we walked into the temple, we had unknowingly come during their prayer time. all these monks were seated on the floor, chanting, and beating drums. it was so peaceful to be caught off guard with that sort of peace.
after spending some quiet time in there, i went around the center of their town and looked at the shops filled with tibetan and indian handicrafts. then back on the bus to mysore.
back at our hotel, our trip organizer had arranged for us to see a traditional folk dance called dolu kunitha. the dancers were all men and they had these huge LOUD drums and cymbals and metal shakers and it was so so loud but so fun. they would play music, yell, dance, and do like, mini acrobatics (like doing a human pyramid).
all of them were so happy to be playing for us and they looked like they were having the best time. then i started giggling because i was picturing my dad doing this, wearing the tiger skin tank top, yellow turban cloth, peacock feather poking out of his head, in a black skirt, with a huge drum tied at his waist. honestly, i could see it :) love you dad!
after the dancing, we all walked down to see the mysore palace at night. the palace is home to the royalty of mysore, including the last king of mysore who is living there right now! as the story goes, his grandfather was cursed back in the day by one of his mistresses for not legitimizing her. she cursed him by telling him that his family line would end. and what do you know, the current king and queen do not have children. turns out he is just a figure head, and the family is very much inbred. hm
we had dinner at our hotel and then tracy and i repeated our national geographic snuggle time before bed. the next morning we woke up a little later, had breakfast, and then went to this little cafe run by a couple originally from hyderabad. there, our trip organizer had scheduled for us to learn the art of paper cutting. a woman and her husband met us there to teach us. the woman is a wonderful paper cutter and could fold and cut and make beautiful beautiful peices of art in a matter of 10 minutes. some of the more intricate ones took her 6 hours of cutting!! her husband was so cute too. he proudly showed off her paper cuttings and looked at her with loving eyes as she explained how to do basic designs.
apparently, the way she got into paper cutting was that she was upset that her parents were making her get married. so she picked up some paper and just started cutting randomly, and when she opened it up, she had made something beautiful. and she and her husband and something beautiful too.
after we relished in our five year old instincts of paper and scissors for a couple hours, we got on our trusty bus (one last time!) and headed to the airport.
it was an adventure packed weekend, and i'm kinda glad to be back in hyderabad.
love to everyone, in particular to japan, along with lots and lots of hope
lauren
firstly
happy BELATED international women's day! to celebrate, zach, kaitlin and i went to a film institute and saw an independent movie by a woman director. it was fun, and we got some pineapple cake afterwards.
last thursday, ciee took us all on a trip! we flew into bangalore and then took a four hour bus ride to mysore, our ultimate destination. when we landed in bangalore, we were met by an A/C charter bus just for us, chocolate cake, cheesecake, and pasta dinners from a german bakery located right above the german embassy in bangalore. YUM. the cakes were for a conglomerate of march birthdays, and our travel guide even ordered me a vegan pasta! the first time anyone has acknowledged my veganism in india, and it was delicious. we finally got to our hotel around 1 am.
our hotel was SO nice. it had beautiful white beds with cushy cushy sheets and pillows! oh it was glorious. when tracy snuggled up in her bed, she squealed, "i forgot what beds were supposed to feel like!"
the next morning, we had a delicious indian/continental buffet breakfast at our wonderful hotel with REAL coffee. i'm telling you, this hotel.
then we got on our A/C bus and drove about three hours to melkote, a hindu town. it started off as a center for brahmins (the highest caste) who worshiped vishnu (supreme god), and now it houses lots of hindu pilgrims and suprisingly, dalits (lowest caste). the dalits moved in once the brahmins moved out to the cities, so it's an interesting dynamic. the lowest of the low are now living in houses built for the highest caste people. we stopped in this house where pilgrims stay, and then we got to see the famous temple.
after touring the inside, we all split up into groups of five and got free time to wander about the city. each group had to take note of different aspects of the town. ours was water. we saw all the different ways that they collect water in their town since after the rainy season, that's all the water they have to sustain them through the heat of the summers until next rainy season. all of the water pools and canals were in close proximity to the temple, with the temple in the center of town.
we all gathered back at the pilgrim house and had our own private concert of carnatic classical music. it's mainly music sung and played to the gods. there was a violinist, vocalist, drummer, and tabla player. it was really cool!...and then it went on for about two hours. but really, it was cool.
after the musicians packed up, we got served a classic brahmin vegetarian meal. the kitchen helpers came by and slopped stuff on your plate, and we all gladly ate it. then we hopped on our bus and made it back to mysore.
we had some free time before dinner, so we walked around mysore and looked at their trinkets and even tried to get our palms read but the guy said we'd have to come back in the morning. we caught a ride back to our hotel and from there, our bus picked us up for a swanky dinner at a colonial inspired restaurant/hotel.
with full tummies and tired bodies, tracy and i snuggled up in our perfect beds and watched national geographic until we dozed off.
the next morning, we had breakfast and then we were off again--this time to a tibetan settlement in a town called bylakuppe. we had a lecture by the leader of their settlement, who talked about being a culture in exile, how accomodating india has been, identity issues, and his views on the dalai lama stepping down. he was the sweetest.
then he led us to their town buddhist temple. outside of it, there was a copper cylinder that apparently if you run around it, your sins are forgiven.
 |
| prayer flags between the trees |
 |
| inside the temple |
 |
| hello everyone welcome to the temple |
then lunch made my monks. it was so yummy! lots of veggies and vegetarian momos (dumplings)! oh my tummy was so happy and hungry. then to top it all off, they served us lemon tea for dessert and it tasted like liquid lemon drops.
from there, we walked around the center of the tibetan town, leading us to another buddhist temple and some shops.
the best thing: when we walked into the temple, we had unknowingly come during their prayer time. all these monks were seated on the floor, chanting, and beating drums. it was so peaceful to be caught off guard with that sort of peace.
 |
| inside! |
 |
| turquoise drums |
 |
| monks galore |
back at our hotel, our trip organizer had arranged for us to see a traditional folk dance called dolu kunitha. the dancers were all men and they had these huge LOUD drums and cymbals and metal shakers and it was so so loud but so fun. they would play music, yell, dance, and do like, mini acrobatics (like doing a human pyramid).
after the dancing, we all walked down to see the mysore palace at night. the palace is home to the royalty of mysore, including the last king of mysore who is living there right now! as the story goes, his grandfather was cursed back in the day by one of his mistresses for not legitimizing her. she cursed him by telling him that his family line would end. and what do you know, the current king and queen do not have children. turns out he is just a figure head, and the family is very much inbred. hm
we had dinner at our hotel and then tracy and i repeated our national geographic snuggle time before bed. the next morning we woke up a little later, had breakfast, and then went to this little cafe run by a couple originally from hyderabad. there, our trip organizer had scheduled for us to learn the art of paper cutting. a woman and her husband met us there to teach us. the woman is a wonderful paper cutter and could fold and cut and make beautiful beautiful peices of art in a matter of 10 minutes. some of the more intricate ones took her 6 hours of cutting!! her husband was so cute too. he proudly showed off her paper cuttings and looked at her with loving eyes as she explained how to do basic designs.
apparently, the way she got into paper cutting was that she was upset that her parents were making her get married. so she picked up some paper and just started cutting randomly, and when she opened it up, she had made something beautiful. and she and her husband and something beautiful too.
after we relished in our five year old instincts of paper and scissors for a couple hours, we got on our trusty bus (one last time!) and headed to the airport.
it was an adventure packed weekend, and i'm kinda glad to be back in hyderabad.
love to everyone, in particular to japan, along with lots and lots of hope
lauren
No samples of the paper cutting? Love, love love your "travelogs"
ReplyDelete"then lunch made my monks. it was so yummy!"
ReplyDeletethis made me giggle whole lots.