Steven Raucher's World Tour
2001-02-12 in Mysore, India
A whole lot of Bull
We started our trip from Jogg Falls to as-far-as-we-could-get to Cochin bright and early. But then there was
It was only after we had passed Mangalore on the coast that I remembered that I had meant to visit Madikeri, Mysore and Ooty on the way. This meant backtracking through lousy B-roads until we reached Madikeri. This leg of the journey was spectacularly beautiful and our determination was well rewarded when we stumbled upon a cashew nut factory! I think we hold the record for cashew nut consumption, 500 grams in 24 hours!
Madikeri is a hill station flanked on all sides by coffee, rubber and pepper plantations. The town itself has an Old World charm despite a lack of sites to visit. We spent one night here before taking a very slow (i.e. shanti) drive to Mysore (more plantations, potholes and suicidal bus drivers...)
Mysore has a vibe! There is an air about the place that you just can't deny. The streets are buzzing with both pedestrians and yellow cows (don't ask, just see picture). We managed to find accommodation for both us and the motorcycle in the same building - always a good thing! The first day was spent changing money and drinking beer. When we returned to our hotel we found Martin Rooiman (remember the Dutch guy we met in Agra on an 1100GS?) Had just arrived and was staying in the same hotel. We overlanders have got to stick together, eh?
Day two in Mysore and we hit the sites with a vengeance. We commandeered a tuktuk and headed for the hills (literally) where there is a very large stone bull. The bovine theme in Mysore is definitely a recurring one. There are cows everywhere here! I love it! (As an aside to the bikers out there: Cowpats are more slippery than diesel spills so look out!)
There is a wonderful bazaar in Mysore that specialises in fruit and veg but as any typical Indian market you can get pretty much anything you want there (see picture). Wandering this town is great, you can get lost in the little pockets of life they call neighbourhoods, and find yourself outside an incense factory and around the corner from the beedi factory - and this is in the middle of a residential block!
I think I tempted fate too many times when I bragged about not having a single puncture. It was only yesterday when I pulled a nail out of my tyre and went on a crash course of repairing tubeless tyres (with the very helpful aid of Martin). We were supposed to leave yesterday. And so it was just this morning that I awoke and hopped out of bed ready to take on Ooty. Alas! It was not meant to be, the tyre pressure was still low and after dousing the tyre in liquid soap I discovered three more punctures (which I fixed)! When it rains it pours! Luckily during an outing to Bangalore (I can't remember when but I know it was this week) we met a very nice man on a 600cc Suzuki who has promised to bring me a new tyre tomorrow. The beauty of travelling like this is that you never know which stranger is going to help you next, I wish the West was like this!
So I took this reprieve to do some errand running and am now sporting an impressive number one haircut and have lost my beloved adventurer-beard.
�Well now it is tomorrow and the tyre didn't fit. Oh well, back to Goa tomorrow to wait for my beautiful sister to bring me tyres from South Africa. The things we have to do!
 A picture worth a thousand words... |
 The biggest Bull in India |
 ...And the most yellow! |
 chatting up the ladies in the market |
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