On the Road

We are now in Mysore for the night. 

We've had a very long day and though it's only 8pm most of the group have already headed up to their rooms for the night.

Again, it was an interesting experience travelling on Indian roads. The drive from Bangalore to Mysore is about 180km and took us about 4 hours not including stops to drive. 

We stopped for breakfast and we were all quite happy to eat dosa again, along with Indian tea. I've never been a huge fan of chai tea, but it tastes different here and most of us enjoy it almost as much as coffee, though it's a little sweet. 

As we got closer to Mysore we stopped and Samuel bought fresh coconuts for each of us. The tops were cut off with a machete and we were given straws to drink the coconut water. Coconut water is very good for you and is quite refreshing but I don't particularly enjoy the flavour so Keaton drank the rest of mine for me. 

I shared a jeep with Keaton, Luke and Saloni and we did some singing together to help pass some time. I could sing almost all the time and enjoy singing with the others. Gupal is our driver and he doesn't speak much English, but seems to enjoy watching us sing and joke together:). 

Packing up for the trip to Mysore. 

From the back left: Gupal (our driver), Bill, Luke (Bill's son), Keaton, Robyn.

Standing at the front: Paul (our other driver and worker at the missionary training centre).

Front, sitting, from the left: Alex, me, Saloni (Samuel's daughter), Samuel, Jonathan (IEM staff and main organiser of our trip).

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Upon arriving in Mysore we visited the palace there. Just outside the gates and in the car park we got mobbed by people selling different things. I've become used to being in these situations and in Uganda I was by myself so I quickly learnt how to get people to leave me alone. In Africa I learnt tricks to showing no interest and avoiding eye contact with people in order to avoid having different wares shoved in my face and people clamouring for my attention. 

Inside the gates of the palace we had to hand over our cameras and our shoes. The palace was amazing! Intricate carvings, paintings, colours and textures of all kinds, great teak doors, gold pillars, marble floors and portraits of royalty. It was the kind of craftsmanship that has been lost in generations past, skills that this generation doesn't possess anymore. I couldn't help but wonder what the temple would have looked like in Solomon's day compared to this Indian palace. 

We saw the throne room, and lots of golden figures. The gold throne itself is made of solid gold worth about 49 million dollars. 

Leaving the palace, we collected our shoes and Keaton, Luke, Robyn and Saloni went on an elephant ride while the rest of us were happy to watch on the side lines. 

We seem to do a fair bit of waiting around as a group, which though a little tiring, makes for a fairly relaxed atmosphere within our group. 

We went and had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant afterwards. The food is amazing and I'm learning how to eat with my fingers a little better each time. I usually pester Saloni to teach me the right techniques. 

We stopped for fuel, which was right next to McDonald's. As McDonald's employees, Alex and I decided we had to at least go in and look at the menu, though we didn't buy anything. I'd much rather eat Indian curries than Indian McDonald's :). 

We managed to get in a photo with Ronald's Indian cousin. 

Only a few minutes after leaving here it began to rain and Gupal turned the jeep around. I wondered for a minute and then realised, our suitcases were on the roof! It was raining fairly hard and Gupal didn't see a large speed bump and so didn't slow down. Those of us in the back weren't wearing seat belts and so hit the roof pretty hard as we went over. We went back to the fuel station and the guys managed to fit all the suitcases into the back of the two jeeps. We managed to squish Alex into our jeep meaning there was now four of us on the back seat. After some shuffling around, I ended up sitting on Saloni's knee for our short trip to the hotel and hoped that we wouldn't go over any more unexpected speed bumps with my head now a lot closer to the roof of the car. 

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The hotel is beautiful and makes all of us feel slightly uncomfortable in our luxury. We enjoyed showers and then met together for prayer and a bit of a debrief. Bill headed up to his room early in order to prepare for all the added sermons he has to do on this trip. The rest of us chatted for a little while longer, some made use of the internet at the hotel, some headed off to bed and Luke played some more guitar. 

Praying together is the perfect way to end any day and I love it when as Christians we support and encourage each other in this way. 

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4-7