We passed clean suburbs with posh mansions when we got to Bangalore. The next thing I saw was an area of slums. We arrived at 7am at the bus station and I was on the connecting bus to Mysore at 7:05am.
The region between Bangalore and Mysore is hilly and utterly romantic with rice fields and palm trees.
Everytime I think that I've already seen the best thing, something better comes up! And this is absolutely sure for the Mysore city palace. OK, it could also be the Bel Air home of a rich American weirdo, but this is no replica, it is genuine! The palace has only been completed in 1912 after the old one burnt down in 1897.
To get into the palace, one has to remove his/her shoes and leave the camera at the cloakroom. I thought that I could be sneaky and put my camera into my daypack. But gotcha! They have metal detectors and I had to walk back to the cloakroom, bare-footed on very hot tarmac.
The building looks like a fairytale castle and is splendidly equipped with a mix of Indian and European decorations and gadgets. The only flaw I saw was a very dodgy power supply for the ceiling light. Black and red coated twisted cable....This has for sure been fitted after the Maharadjas has moved out. For some reason, all Indians have to touch everything, which for sure doesn't do any good to this precious heritage.
After this experience, which was almost like an eye-treatment, I went for late lunch at some American-looking fast-food pizza place. The pizza was pricey but really OK and they had western music. They didn't have the newest chartbreakers on (a bit of Enrique Iglesias), but at least my ears stayed clear of the Indian cock-a-doodle-doo.