On December 19th, we left Hampi on an overnight sleeper bus heading towards Bangalore, a much larger city to the south of Hampi.

Bangalore, recently renamed Bengaluru, is famous for being the country's most "western" city. Bangalore was the first city in India to have electricity. It has been the center of the rapid evolution of the country's hardware and software industries. Bangalore does not offer many sightseeing opportunities but it's nightlife is one of the most active in the country, with many downtown bars and cafes that stay open late.

We arrived in Bangalore at around 5 in the morning. Because we had no idea where to go, and because it was still very dark, we chose to take a rickshaw and ask him to show us a few hotels in the city. He took us to a first one, which was nice, though a little over our budget. They had a 24 hour check-out policy which meant that we would have to check-out the next day around 5 30 am. After some discussion, we decided to skip Bagalore and head towards the neighboring city of Mysore. We went to the train station and were just in time for the 7 am train to Mysore.

Mysore, found a little southwest from Bangalore, was once a city of royals. It is a much more laid back city where the main attraction is the Maharajah's Palace. This palace was originally built of wood but during the preparations for a celebration, most of the palace was destroyed in a massive fire. The royal family, mainly the Queen, did not waste time in starting construction on the new palace. She requested that no flammable materials be used in its construction and as a result, the wood was replaced by marble and other stones. The construction took a total of 15 years, and while it was being constructed, electricity became available in Mysore, so from the time the royal family moved in, the palace was equipped with this latest technology. The palace is beautiful and filled with details carved into the marble handrails and pillars. From the painted ceilings to the ivory detail found on the doors and down to the marble floors, the whole palace is richly decorated. This was definitely the highlight of Mysore.

We were also told that the Thali was very good in Mysore and thought that since we had yet to eat any since our arrival in India, this would be the place to try it. We were heading towards a restaurant recommended in our guide book when an Indian man started a conversation with us. He ended up recommending a different restaurant, where he said the Thali was the best in town and accompanied us to the restaurant in question. We thanked him and headed in for our first Thali experience. It was delicious and extremely filling! We have since tried to order some in other restaurants, but since it is only served until 3 or 4 pm, we often arrive too late and it is no longer available.

Mysore is also known for its essential oil production and incense making. Though they claim to be all natural, many of the oils sold in the market are chemically created and not genuine essential oils. The other large market is the fruit and vegetable market where, while we were looking for grapefruit, we tasted an Indian fruit that is brown and about the size of a golf ball. This fruit is eaten like a figue but it is much sweeter. Since we ate it at breakfast time, it was much too sweet for us!

We left Mysore on the 21st of December 2011 and headed towards Kochi.