Travel Week: Days 1 and 2

My apologies for such a long gap between my posts! I've been keeping extra busy since returning from travel week. To make it easier (and more manageable) for you to read, I will break down travel week in to smaller posts. Here goes:

Epic travel week began on Friday, September 28th. After a full day of classes and field visits, we loaded into  a bus for Mangalore. This city is something like going to Boston - everything you could ever need for miles and miles. We have made a few trips here before, but this time it was simply to get to the train station. Around 8:00pm we boarded an overnight train. En route to the station, we were given some general advice and expectations to have for the train. Perhaps the most highly stressed tip was: avoid the toilets if at all possible. While this was not feasible because the ride would last nearly 12 hours, I certainly did my best to avoid any and all water I could. Generally speaking, the bathrooms were smelly, dirty, had no toilet paper, and emptied on to the tracks.

There are several classes one can choose from when purchasing a ticket. We were in 3 A/C. This was a wonderful place to be because the compartments were cool, windows were sealed to block noise, complimentary pillows, sheets, and blankets were given, and privacy curtains could be pulled. I had the top bunk on a triple bunk wall which I really enjoyed. Being so high up gives you both privacy and control of when you want to call it a night. Before passengers are ready for bed, the bottom bunk is used as a bench and the middle bunk folds down as a back rest. After an hour or so of chatting with other passengers and my group, we clambered in to our beds, took melatonin/Dramamine/Benadryl, and drifted off to sleep.

Following a night of somewhat un-interrupted sleep, we arrived in Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka (Manipal is also in Karnataka) around 7am. After waiting for our taxi driver's arrival, we spent around two hours at a hotel to eat breakfast, shower, and prepare for the day. It was beyond wonderful to have a hot shower, brush my teeth, and eat something other than crackers or cookies! Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to sneak in a nap. However, no rest for the weary! Around 9:30 or 10 we hauled our bags (and selves) back onto to bus for a full day of sightseeing.

Long story short, our tour guide was amazing. In the span of roughly 7 hours we saw and learned more than I imagined possible! Our first "stop" was walking through the fruit and flower markets. For several blocks, there were stands chock full of fresh produce, beautiful flowers, and ovwhelming scents. In past years, Bangalore was known as the "Garden City". Due to modernization, though, the once "Garden City" has now become a "Concrete Jungle" as our guide said (cue Jay-Z...).

Our fantastic tour guide.

These days, very few parks remain in the city. We were lucky to walk through one known especially for its bat population. Imagine looking up into trees to see what you think are birds chirping only to spot thousands of upside-down bats. This will give you a visual:

See all of the bats?

Our next few hours consisted of visiting temples and a palace. The Sri Big Bull Temple, as its name rightly declares, is huge. Built is 1537, the statue of Nandi (Lord Shiva's bull) stands roughly 15 feet tall and 20 feet long! It was quite a sight to see.

We spent time at Dodda Ganesha Temple where a very surprising practice of worship occurs. Legend states Ganesha was quite fond of butter so every day over 100 kg is applied and coated over the statue! At roughly 275 Rupees ($5.50) per kilogram, this is no small investment. The final temple visited was Sri Govardhana Temple, which was probably the coolest temple I have ever seen. It is built like a cave and entirely underground! We entered during a service, hence why there are no pictures, but it is certainly worth looking up.

Our final stop before shopping with Tipu Sultan's Palace. While it was nothing compared to Mysore Palace's size, this was a beautiful structure with intricate detailing and precision. Built in 1790, it was ingeniously constructed with natural air conditioning. Even in the sweltering heat, I felt cool and comfortable once inside.

After a busy morning bustling around the city, we were pleasantly surprised by our lunch destination. What appeared to be just a hotel restaurant soon became an elaborate buffet thirty or more feet long. From stir-fry to salad with cheddar cheese (Can you BELIEVE IT?) to fruit salad with figs, it was everything and more we could have hoped for...even if it was $20 a head.

Photo credit: Erica Cross

Photo credit: Danielle Pelaez

Following our leisurely "splurge" lunch, we rolled out of the hotel to our final destination: the famous Lalbagh Botanical Garden. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable about identifying plants and explaining the meaning, origin, and/or purpose behind each one. My favorite thing I learned was about the Glass House pictured below. Initially the private 40-acre garden of Hyder Ali, Lalbagh is of royal origin. In 1889 the Glass House was built so plants foreign to the climate, or even continent, could be nurtured in a protected environment. It is because of this house that plants from Australia and many other continents and countries flourish in Bangalore. We had a quick dinner after the sun set and headed to our second consecutive overnight train. Next stop: Hampi!

There were over 200 varieties of roses!

Krishna's Buttercup

View from the hill/boulder of Bangalore