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We were the first on the bus (making sure we had use of the tiny luggage space). Ooty was not very touristy so we were very excited to see a French man coming towards our bus! We made friends with Mehdi despite stealing his luggage space. We made our way with Mehdi and Thomas (a German guy) to find somewhere to stay. We ended up finding a really nice hotel for a bargain price.
We went out straight away to find Mysore Palace - which is the town's main attraction since it is so huge and very spectacular! It took us a while to get in...ticket counter....camera deposit counter....shoe deposit counter....security...audio guide counter....entrance (being uninformed as usual, we did this in the wrong order and burnt our feet running from one counter to another). Thanks to the audio guide which was free - after signing your life away and handing over a passport, we actually learnt something about the Palace and left feeling very cultured (and hungry). We went to Devaraja Market and competed over how many 'taster' bananas we could get. The market was exactly what you would expect from India - colours, spices, herbs, flowers and so many people (and cows). We were taught how incence sticks are made and told we could buy Chanel base oil for 50 rupees....debatable. The next day. we headed out of the town to the Mysore Silk Factory where we tried on Sarees but left empty handed much to the shops annoyance! Mehdi and Thomas were told how beautiful their wives looked! We were able to look around the factory and learn how silk sarees are made - from one single cocoon, 144m of silk can be produced! Each saree had real gold thread which remained intact throughout the 11 stages - even the dyeing at the end. The noise of the looms was insane - could not hear each other talk so not sure how the workers managed to communicate. After a spot of lunch in a student coffee shop, we went to the Sandalwood oil factory. Despite the factory not having any business, a guide told us about the process (no questions allowed Thomas!) and an old man rubbed Sandalwood in our arms. Because of the high demand and the fact that the trees take 50 years to grow, we could not afford a thing so the guide stormed off in a grump. Thomas left us that day so Mehdi was left with two wives. So Sarah and I took him on a date to the most expensive restaurant in Mysore! Kingfisher beer...mmmm The next day, we did some more silk shopping and then headed out of town to the Gardens where lots of Bolloywood films and Music videos are made. Apparently, the highlight of the gardens is the light show in the evening. We did not think much of the light bulbs being turned on but had some scrumptious milkshakes and watched the sun go down. Looking forward to meeting up with Mehdi again in Goa.
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