Mysore; Zoo & Palace

From Madeikari we took a 3 hour bus to Mysore. Mysore is located just outside of the Coorg region but is still very impressive. Mysore is known for its huge Maharajan Palace and wild market at the city center. We decided to do the wild market first. We had to walk roughly ten minutes through the bustling city of Mysore. Once we got there we were bombarded with “look at my shop, madam look at my shop.” In the market there were shops trying to sell: fruits, spices, dyes for hair and paint, roses and various other flowers, incense and oils.
The market is well known for its oils and incense. Marsha bought many oils that smelt very good and were very authentic. Moving through the market we saw goat brains and hooves being chopped up for Indian family dinners, we saw fish and dead hanging chickens. It was an amazing thing to witness because we hadn’t seen anything like that back home, we were right in the action. After the crazy wild market we ended up at this great south Indian restaurant. It had the best south Indian thalis I had ever tasted. I was so happy that I ate the thali with my hands (Indian style of course only using my right hand). I had read in the LP (lonely planet) that there was an amazing garden outside the city. We took the city bus to the gardens which were 45 minutes away. The gardens are a popular back drop to many Bollywood films which we didn’t know until we got there. Accompanied with the beautiful garden were wonderful fountains that were illuminated with colours which shot up and down to the music. All this was happening with thousands of Indians everywhere; they seemed to really enjoy the fountain and the music.
The next day we went to the Mysore Zoo. The Zoo has so many amazing animals, including the majestic Bengali Tigers. The tigers had a descent sized habitat which they roamed freely. We didn’t realize the sheer size of the beasts. In small cages beside the roaming beast was a white Siberian tiger. The Siberian tiger was circling in his small cage and we felt bad for it. The Maharajas Palace was next on the list and we couldn’t take any photos of it. The Palace was a cacophony of colors and had amazing detail. The floors of the Maharajas Palace were made of Italian stone. The Palace was built in the 1900’s by an English architect that replicated the old Maharajas Palace that burnt down.