Mysore was our favorite city to be in. After experiencing the traffic gridlock and the endless screeching horns of Bangalore and Chennai, Mysore seemed navigable and calm in comparison. There is a definite British flavour to Mysore, but part of that perception was due to the fact that we stayed at The Green Hotel, which caters to mostly foreign tourists. The hotel had once been a small palace that has now been converted into an eco-friendly hotel. What that meant was, no air conditioning or TV, in the name of saving electricity. In addition, all profits from the hotel go to local environmental charities. Mysore was just enough higher in elevation (perhaps 2000 ft) to be a little cooler than the other places we had visited. It probably stayed around 80 degrees during the day, and the fans in the room were enough to keep us comfortable for sleeping.
The grounds of the hotel were lovely. Lots of flowers, and there were tables available both under awnings, and out on the lawn.
We should mention that we arrived in Mysore on New Year's Eve. Although, truth be told, we really weren't very aware of the day or date at this point in our journey. We had dinner at 8:00pm out on the lawn, to the sound of Indian pop music. Since we had been up since 4:00 a.m. due to our train schedule, we were actually sound asleep by 10:00 p.m. However, we awoke briefly to the sounds of fireworks at midnight.
Fortunately NY Day was NOT a holiday in India, so all the tourist places were open. So we loaded into an autorickshaw to go see the sites. It turns out that we had a very accomodating driver, Shareef, who really was as much tour guide as driver. First stop was the magnificent, walled, Indo-Sarcenic Maharaja's Palace. It is impossible to describe the intricate artistic details that decorated every square inch of this massive structure. It meshes architectural influences of Hindu, Muslim, and British styles. The Wodeyar family were the local Maharaja's up until India's independence from Britain, at which time a Wodeyar became governor. The palace is no longer used as a residence.
