My last couple of days in Mysore were spent relaxing and catching up on some reading but not before going to the races! Yep that's right I managed to find a race meeting that was on in Mysore, that's one experience I was not expecting here in India. It was a well organised affair with a couple of English jockeys riding too, in truth it was no different to a meeting back home, proper on-course bookies and also a tote option. Obviously I had a bet and inevitably I lost, but somehow betting and losing 100 rupees(£1.50) a race didn't seem to matter, it was the whole atmosphere that made it special. I had a lot of attention from the locals as I was the only white face in the big crowd of about 5 thousand people at a rough guess, but once again everybody was very pleasant if a little baffled why an English man was there, and before anybody says it yes some folk did think I was a jockey!
I went the lake here on Sunday for a stroll and to take a break from the hustle and bustle, there was a bird sanctuary and a butterfly park which was a great way to unwind for a few hours to gather your thoughts and just enjoy the simple beauty of nature.
Mysore was a great city made even better by the welcome I received from Steve at his homestay and the wonderful homemade food by Manjula, special mention to my rickshaw driver Vasanth who was a star.
One of my favourite sayings as quoted by my Dad "You never see a bookie riding a bike"