Unfortunately Friday morning meant that it was time for Edd and me to leave Turtlepond and Coorg. Like all mornings in Coorg it began with a cup of strong black tea, and the mist adding a refreshing chill in the air, neither of us really wanted to leave, and wished we could have stayed longer.
Meena and Ravi, who split their time between Turtlepond and Bangalore were heading back to Bangalore and offered to give us a lift to Mysore. They have been invaluable to helping Edd and me explore Coorg. We both cannot thank them enough, and hope to see them in London soon. They have also helped us with a couple of spare days we had in our itinerary- so as a slight change of plan we are heading north of Mysore to see two unusual temples at Belur and Hallebid.
We began the journey back to Mysore, this meant another trip through the Nagarhole national park. We saw one of the buffalo that the Tigers hadn't quite got round to eating yet. It didn't look like it was taking any chances though, and was standing firmly in the middle of the bush-just visible from the road. We hoped very much to see some elephants again, and just as we were beginning to think they had not come to wave us off, we rounded the corner to find a mother and her calf crossing the road. This has unfortunately led to yet another elephant video. Apologies for the spam I am sending out on whatsapp. I have an elephant sized elephant photo addiction.
Meena and Ravi dropped us off (from their very nice air conditioned car) at a bus station in Mysore, and it was swiftly back to the Indian travel reality as we got on a four hour local bus that had no air conditioning. I sat by the window, which was ok apart from the driver was very keen at spitting and this seemed to work its way back along the coach and neatly into my window.
Neither of us were full of the joys of travelling by the time we got to Belur. We headed out to find some lunch at 5pm, hoping that the temple would be worth the dusty bus slog.
Fortunately the temple was extraordinary. It had some of the most intricate stone carving I have ever seen, some entertaining images of the karma sutra, and a bunch of highly enthusiastic children who were desperate for selfies and to show us the 'lucky rock' of the temple. You had to sit on the ground and place your hands in an arch on a circular rock and make a wish. There seemed to be a slightly indeterminate time you had to sit there wishing before you were released- Edd got double the time to me- and was then told his wish didn't count. Whereas I was considered very lucky. The selfie craze continued with the adults. Admittedly there were no other westerners there, but by the time we left the temple substantially more pictures has been taken of us than I had taken of the temple. An odd trade surplus.
Meena and Ravi, who split their time between Turtlepond and Bangalore were heading back to Bangalore and offered to give us a lift to Mysore. They have been invaluable to helping Edd and me explore Coorg. We both cannot thank them enough, and hope to see them in London soon. They have also helped us with a couple of spare days we had in our itinerary- so as a slight change of plan we are heading north of Mysore to see two unusual temples at Belur and Hallebid.
We began the journey back to Mysore, this meant another trip through the Nagarhole national park. We saw one of the buffalo that the Tigers hadn't quite got round to eating yet. It didn't look like it was taking any chances though, and was standing firmly in the middle of the bush-just visible from the road. We hoped very much to see some elephants again, and just as we were beginning to think they had not come to wave us off, we rounded the corner to find a mother and her calf crossing the road. This has unfortunately led to yet another elephant video. Apologies for the spam I am sending out on whatsapp. I have an elephant sized elephant photo addiction.
Meena and Ravi dropped us off (from their very nice air conditioned car) at a bus station in Mysore, and it was swiftly back to the Indian travel reality as we got on a four hour local bus that had no air conditioning. I sat by the window, which was ok apart from the driver was very keen at spitting and this seemed to work its way back along the coach and neatly into my window.
Neither of us were full of the joys of travelling by the time we got to Belur. We headed out to find some lunch at 5pm, hoping that the temple would be worth the dusty bus slog.
Fortunately the temple was extraordinary. It had some of the most intricate stone carving I have ever seen, some entertaining images of the karma sutra, and a bunch of highly enthusiastic children who were desperate for selfies and to show us the 'lucky rock' of the temple. You had to sit on the ground and place your hands in an arch on a circular rock and make a wish. There seemed to be a slightly indeterminate time you had to sit there wishing before you were released- Edd got double the time to me- and was then told his wish didn't count. Whereas I was considered very lucky. The selfie craze continued with the adults. Admittedly there were no other westerners there, but by the time we left the temple substantially more pictures has been taken of us than I had taken of the temple. An odd trade surplus.
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