monsoon > palo verde trees

Pretty powerful monsoon system up in our area on the evening of 30 July.  We haven't had much luck keeping palo verde trees on the west side of our house - magnificent shade for a few years - now we have to figure out next steps (if any).

Hard to believe those trees were planted in 2008 (per this link).

trees look pretty remarkable from any angle (this is the tree toppled 30 July 2018)

toppled 5 July 2018

install date for these same two trees - 11 August 2008

MN-IA visit

Had just been in MN-IA in March; had been planning to return this fall; received word that Caroline Bormann had been moved back to the farm for hospice care so of course we moved up our trip by a couple months.  It was a delightful visit, here's what happened (TY to PJ for photo and video, click to enlarge):

Thursday 19 July - our travels were not quite as easy as usual (kids in row behind us on plane including a queasy one; rental car line) but nothing that affected our schedule.  We grab lunch and then head over to Mark & Therese's home - they are great company and in addition to talking with them it's interesting to see progress on the home and its furnishings (esp. Mark-created items), very nice.  Including a couple interesting beers.

our hosts, hanging out on front porch

We proceed to a restaurant a few blocks away - Groveland Tap - excellent choice - we four are joined by Steve & Cecilia and Jeremy & Margaret so this makes a very fine evening.  Then we make our way up to the House house in New Brighton for further chatting before bedtime.

a fine crew at Groveland Tap

Friday 20 July - back in March we much enjoyed the little breakfast joint inside Byerly's grocery store, so we repeated the experience - the four of us were joined by Angie, Liam, and Tillie, this was quite excellent.  After - we drive down to St. Joe - I-35 road construction costs an hour but otherwise quite easy going.  PJ goes to Algona grocery store to stock up as EMG stores have run down, plus she wanted to make lasagna and chicken/barley soup and brownies, all of which turned out pretty amazing and held us in good stead the entire visit (and some nice leftovers for EMG after we depart).

Friday's breakfast club

EMG and I head up to the hill farm where we look over some things, don't ever quite get around to working on mowing or trimming, and enjoy pretty amazing weather - cool/NNW winds which prevailed our entire visit, nice. Something I notice:  EMG seems more agile than last year, not sure how to account for this.  We look over a small trailer he designed for pulling the Farmall C mower behind his pickup (fabricated by Capesius bros and featuring mostly scrap or items purchased on farm sales years ago) - to my untutored eye the design looks simple/elegant and apparently it works.  Nice.  We (actually EMG on F-20) push around a few items (a couple old planters and an old manure spreader, each worthy of extended discussion which is the best part of all this anyway) to clear a path for the mower, and he even uses the F-20 (my 89yo dad operating tractor purchased by his dad 78 years ago) to lift up an old combine for the same basic purpose.  Later:  Twins baseball, chatting, dinner, a really fine evening.

man and tractor have been an effective working team since circa 1940

planter, and proprietor, looking good

Saturday 21 July - we get off to a marvelously slow start.  At this wedding a few months ago, we ran into some Luxembourg-heritage folks with western Iowa connections; I had mentioned this to EMG in a phone conversation shortly after; he thought they linked to Alton (a parish for which he has the history book courtesy Rev. David Hogan); we confirmed all this and sent around some information to the folks involved.  It was an interesting chain of connections, and rather fun.  Lunch, chatting, naps for some of us.

me trying to soak up some knowledge

Around 5p we visited Caroline at the farm.  These are pretty amazing experiences.  Yes, she's slipping. Yes, she has been an important part of my growing-up years and our (PJ, our kids, me) St. Joe experiences ever since - in both cases for as long as we remember (and of course including

with Caroline; ach

Clarence). We have the most excellent memories of our little games of 500 (PJ and Caroline v. Clarence and me) and accompanying refreshments.  Yes it's sad and difficult to see the inevitable even if she has reached 95yo.  It's quite fine that her children are making this effort to see that she's taken care of at the farm (and doing most of it themselves, Ellen and her daughter Carolyn in this case, nice to catch up with them).  We spend about 90 minutes and are very-very grateful to have had this opportunity.

Back to St. Joe; the three of us swing by the cemetery and visit the family gravesites on an utterly lovely evening, this was nice.  A bit later PJ and I head over to visit Mark & Sue Bormann - their farm looks great - we much enjoyed catching up with them, nice to have a chance to visit.  Back to St. Joe again for late dinner, chatting with EMG, watching a bit of baseball, etc.

early evening with my dad at St. Joe cemetery (Mom's gravestone was installed just a few days later); for 
these Iowa farmers, the rows-of-crops seem to continue into the rows-of-gravestones . . .

much enjoyed catching up with these folks

Sunday 22 July - the three of us attend 10:30am Mass in Livermore; discussions after with Eugene Mertz and Tom Berte.

Eugene Mertz (and EMG) are much unchanged . . .

. . . by comparison this has taken a turn for the worse, even since our March visit

Then EMG drives us around a bit, starting with the place where I grew up - significant deterioration of the house; we check out some of the equipment in the machine shed, drive around the grove a bit.  Then some driving around the area - Spring Valley; Kohlhaas-Bormann lands; south from the West Bend blacktop on the half-mile road that overlooks St. Joe and always seems rather lovely.

Discussing many things, including the F-12 tractor (it's hidden behind the Super M;
F-12 was purchased 1936, horses were still used for many tasks thereafter).

Below: driving that half-mile road just west of St. Joe (with lovely views) while EMG explains some of the changes - 

via GIPHY

Lazy afternoon; we watch end of British Open and some baseball, rest a bit.  Timing didn't work out for a Cullen visit, but at least we had the chance for a fine phone chat with Dolores.  In the evening we three go to Algona to meet up with Mary Lou, Daryl & Kathy, also Sue Baker who was in town - very enjoyable to have a chance to catch up with these folks.  Back to St. Joe for dinner and chatting and 10pm news etc.

pleasant Sunday evening get-together

Monday 23 July - the three of us attend 8am Mass in St. Joe, Fr. Kollasch presiding and a nice crowd in attendance; the usual enjoyable conversations after in the back of church.  We have an hour or so to discuss various and then EMG leaves for a doctor appointment and we head out moments later.  Caught up with Steve & Liz for lunch in Mason City, they had been traveling over the weekend so we were happy they could work this in.  We even got a tour of their new lakeside home - with fellow new homeowners Nick & Maeve (with Beau and Jude) swinging by (well, it's a very short distance).  This was quite fun.  Easy trip up to the Twin Cities; we meet Cecilia at a TGI Friday's near the airport - this ended up working out perfectly for our purposes, we have a chance for more chatting.  Then an easy flight home

 I kind of love this photo actually.  Unfortunately missing SEG.

We had a lot to think about and to be grateful for as we returned home - Caroline's situation; all of the folks who were able to make themselves available; all the continuing interesting conversations with EMG; even simple things like the chance to see rural Iowa in perfect summer weather conditions; all of it was quite lovely.
________________________

We had put together some photos for Caroline:

Visiting southern India - observations of a novice traveler (last of a series)

Elsewhere I've described the day-by-day of our India visit (22 May - 5 June).  Here I want to jot down some more general impressions and recollections.  Cautiously, as we have so little experience with India (or with international travel in general).  Accurate or no, there's a reason I'm writing so much down:  I do not want to forget this entirely amazing trip.  The planners did a superb job!

[Photos relating to the below notes are included in the prior posts but I'm adding a few extras here.  Per usual, click any to enlarge all.]

lovely example of a home shrine

visiting family 

--of course:  leave shoes outdoor (next time:  bring slip-ons)

-- front room as sitting/entertaining area (generally also for eating); often including a lovely bench-like piece of furniture among the seating options

--every home with a shrine
--the courteous/emphatic, almost insistent, little gesture for guests to sit down in a favored seat immediately upon arrival

--lively, warm conversation everywhere we go - incredibly welcoming

elephants always look great!  The fellow on the left was purchased from a vendor
at the Nandi temple at Chamundi Hills; (Sreedhar graciously leading the 
negotiations on behalf of PJ); at right, a gift from Mysore relatives.

--always a gift or gifts for PJ - bindi mark (I'll call it) - coconut or piece of fruit; often a gift for both of us

--at one place PJ admires hostess's bangles, all of a sudden she receives two
--recognition of C&D's wedding for PJ&me as groom's parents in multiple places (shawls/beads for PJ; shawls/beads/hat for me; etc.) - nice!

--photo albums are shared (D showing pictures from C&D wedding; hosts' own wedding albums are high quality)

--English proficiency varied but remarkable effort, impressive command of multiple languages; we get better at listening and speaking

yum . . .

 food at the family visits

--always serving the guests first; generally we eat pretty much by ourselves

--we are always at table; typically they did not set up additional tables for the family members in attendance so they often just ate on floor (somewhat formal for us, informal/"homey" overall feel)

--served on banana leaf several times - nice, we learn it's traditional

--many complex dishes at the relatives' homes - lots of work went into this!

--typically including meat (mostly chicken or lamb) dishes, which we think was tailored for us (we think day-to-day would be more veg); perhaps dialed down the spices though not sure

meal at the village was perfect

--we get along so well with the Indian food - no digestion issues; loved the flavors, complex/fresh spices, gravies (sauces) are quite marvelous; occasionally thrown a bit because less picky than U.S. in their prep process with removing small bones

--we get better at eating with fingers

--very few towels or napkins; almost no paper napkins; small towel on your chair; nearby sink when finished

--white rice often served toward the very end of the meal - great for absorbing last tastes of gravy 

--desserts - vermicelli dish; jamun

--constant replenishing of servings!  CPG does a great job, me adequate, PJ called out by Mysore auntie "you're a very poor eater"

--rasam after meal (allegedly a digestive aid, we're pretty sure it worked!)

the wonderful Sunday party in Bangalore ("bench" furniture with lovely fabric at far R)

--always coffee/tea; never alcohol

--always milk/sugar in coffee/tea

--mukhwas after meal a few times

--betel leaf chaw at two places
--we just felt so well taken care of

scenery on Bangalore streets

via GIPHY

--chaos of Bangalore traffic:  trucks (on larger roads), cars, auto rickshaws, two-wheelers, pedestrians, virtually never a bicycle, occasional horse or bullock cart, stray dogs, cows, very few traffic signals, no one cares about lane markings (typically nonexistent anyway)

--the efficiency gains as auto rickshaws and 2-wheelers squirt through the tiniest openings

--overloaded auto rickshaws and 2-wheelers

eventually we became used to seeing four (or more) riders on the two-wheelers

--2-wheelers:  multiple passengers (commonly four, sometimes all adults but often children); freight; using cell phones while navigating

--many female passengers on two-wheelers somehow hanging on side-saddle (attire or modesty required this feat)

--burka wearers on two-wheelers (initially seems like pre-modern juxtaposed with modern but after a bit that doesn't seem accurate)

--auto rickshaws just look funny or emblematic - adapted for passengers or freight or any combination

we loved the look of the auto rickshaws, how they dart around in traffic

--vehicles pull out in front of you, turn in front of you, cut in front of you constantly making moves no one would consider in US (admittedly at lower speeds than often available to US traffic but still)

--the "continuing conversation" of horn honking - not aggressive - just a way of communicating one's presence and/or upcoming moves; all the fancy jostling and turning wouldn't work without it

via GIPHY

--not easy to be a pedestrian - sidewalks not available or dicey; street-level pollution

--shops - so many, generally so small

--food stands; live chickens in cages; lamb carcasses strung up

--stalls/fruits or vegetable arrays - great visuals

--construction scenes - workers more than machines

Bangalore - street work in this area largely powered by these ladies it appears

--wandering dogs

--the wandering cows, often with painted/decorated horns - all over the place - not an exaggeration

--beggars - really only on Commercial Street (is that the correct name)?

--the "fly over" - essentially an overpass speeding traffic over what otherwise would be congested neighborhoods - relatively quick once traffic merged onto it, great views

this bullock cart - ON THE MAIN HIGHWAY enroute to Mysore - makes for one of my favorite photos of the entire trip

scenery on/from roads (to/from Mysore and temples) (overlap with Bangalore scenes, plus these)

--bullock carts

--cows - like in Bangalore

--wandering dogs

--people walking esp. cattle along the roadway (some goats)

some of these auto rickshaws were adapted for transport and seemed a bit overloaded

--things we didn't see:  pigs, cats; no idea why

--glimpses of farming from the road

----- what looked like one-piece tillage equipment behind a bullock - could imagine middle ages (or US even into the 20th century!)

-----rice paddies

-----in one place we saw sugar cane harvest by hand (if we were interpreting correctly what was going on), here one could imagine a place like Barbados in say 1700

-----various ag activities whether weeding or whatever
-----lots of laborers in the fields (compare Iowa where sightings of humans in the fields has become very rare)

sari-wearer riding side-saddle

--speed bumps to control speed - even on the main roads

--constant difficult passing, many two-wheelers, auto rickshaws nearer the towns

--drive through small towns - vendors set up

flower vendors; auto rickshaw used for coconut transport

miscellany

--hawkers - every temple; KRS Dam (postcards)(toys) (irrepressible!)

--beer market under-developed - CPG and I (occasionally joined by Sreedhar) pretty much stick to the Kingfisher; Bangalore Brew Works making a good effort; Bira 91 working in the direction of US styles

--between OJ Plex and the relatively modern quality of the houses - and timing to some extent - we didn't run into what I'll call traditional India bathroom situations (traditional giving way to modern anyway, per what we read)

Bangalore streets

Indians and pretty much no one else

--in the areas where we spent time (though we didn't visit areas of Bangalore with foreigner workers):  more selfies with Indians than seeing non-Indians

--the places we saw seemed thoroughly "Indian" - some Western-type stores and malls definitely moving in, but apparently no great need to cater to Western tastes

--from our perspective - this made the trip more compelling if not a bit exotic

--the street scenes were just amazing to us - no doubt plenty of similar markets around the world but it all was new to us (other than movies)

--women in saris etc but men more likely to be in what often was similar to Western dress; still, plenty of men in what I'd consider traditional Indian

the colorful outfits!  (roast corn was popular)

broad impressions - risky to make these but:  

--depth of courtesy to guests/family - clearly a highest priority

--seem to know how to be happy, less stressed - perhaps less perfectionist than US/Europe?  hotel pool, street maintenance, traffic mayhem, etc.; a little "off" by US standards but so what

--can-do/make-do approach - auto rickshaws on their side; fix rather than replace

--but high stress in education system perhaps?  posters of "toppers"; a sense that one's opportunities are highly dependent on school performance (including getting that government job)?  not sure, that part does seem pressure-filled

--and plenty politicized - "breaking news" on the cable channels seem at least as sensational as US version - recent elections - photos of candidate groups everywhere - don't know

--and stress as country modernizes; also like everywhere a divide between left/right

--anyway none of that interfered with hospitality!

--perhaps imagined, but seem to feel the history - 1000s of years perhaps - longstanding traditions of courtesy, worship; sense the depth

--Hindu religion very evident; though some areas with quite a few Islamic

--fertile/fecund - "everything grows" - at least in this part of southern India

--caveats - we are visiting successful/intact families, not in areas where foreigners work; local family smooths the way for us in every respect/zero stress; so no idea of how "representative" - but isn't that the case on relatively short trips to anywhere?

we much enjoyed watching the vendors chase business

Visiting southern India - final days (back in Bangalore; 2 June - 5 June) (post #5 of several)

[This post - and a few previous posts - cover day-by-day activities during our India visit.]  [Properly-spelled names of folks we visited "to come."]

[As always - click on any photo to enlarge all.]

Saturday 2 June 2018

Now we are spending our final days at OJ Plex in Bangalore.  We got off to a leisurely start on Saturday (after the preceding day’s high activity level).  Enjoyed hanging out and doing projects with Vihaan.

This kid had high energy!  Adults wisely kept up in shifts.

Sreedhar, Dharma, and Janu also did some local errands and trips.  CPG, PJ, and I were trusted to navigate via Uber on our own (well sort of trusted, our hosts kept checking on us!) to a lunch stop and then to Bangalore’s botanical gardens.  We navigated just fine to our lunch stop – the Bangalore Brew Works – this is on the 10th floor of a building in the same general area where we had previously stopped for lunch – and we think they are doing a quite nice job.  Their space is indoor/outdoor – and a heavy rainstorm arrived, causing us to move into shelter – also causing us to stay put while the rain continued, eventually causing us to abandon the botanical garden visit (which we had much looked forward to; next time).

Bangalore Brew Works

We three tourists do manage to line up an Uber and get back to OJ Plex.  Where by coincidence one of the cousins –we had met her at house #3 in the village though she lives near OJ Plex here in Bangalore – saw CPG and me standing on the street – for some reason we were recognizable – so she invites us to visit their nearby home (and wouldn’t take “no” for an answer per usual hospitality!)  Lovely home, good conversation with several family members, great coffee, we stock up on mangoes (from one of their farms), and we learn about the next day’s grand opening at the “Carzspa” right up the street from OJ Plex (a business venture of one of the family members).   

We so appreciated the opportunity to go through the wedding album.

In the evening we spend some time taking a first pass through Sreedhar’s photo album from his wedding (which he was kind enough to bring over at our request) – wonderful pictures, but the bittersweet element is there as well.  We order in dinner and have a fine evening of 5 Crowns, etc.

Sunday 3 June 2018

In the morning our group spends time together at OJ Plex; breakfast; further review of the wedding album; conversation; building projects with Vihaan; etc.

Lots of lovely moments together at OJ Plex.

Next up, we have a lunch invitation with a family group that turns out to be just delightful – another round of great conversation, great food (so many dishes, all quite excellent), three generations there, an observance of C&D’s wedding, the little gifts for PJ (including a couple of her hostess’s bangles that PJ admired perhaps a bit too fervently).   Rain has resumed; we Uber back to OJ Plex where we spend what’s left of the afternoon.

these ceremonies!

fun visit, incredible hospitality

PJ's haul; "Uncle" with granddaughter; great food here

The weather settles down, so our group of seven takes a walk in the neighborhood, with a couple destinations in mind (in addition to just wandering a bit).  First destination:  the Carzspa grand opening – we see our new friends from yesterday and wish them well.

Carzspa has launched.

Second destination:  Vihaan starts first grade in the morning and needs a pair of shoes; CPG leads our strolling group via what may have been the scenic route (though we enjoy seeing something of the local neighborhood); we are reinforced with a mango lassi and coffee; then we get to the shoe store and do our business there.  Temperatures had dropped (due to the rain) so it was quite lovely during all this; we walk back to OJ Plex.

two pals waiting for CPG 'n me to get a mango lassi

now Vihaan is officially ready for school to start

We have supper there – a mixture of leftovers and ordered-in Asian food.  Then visitors – Sweetie and her husband (Bhaskar, who had missed the big party on 27 May due to a conflicting obligation) and their daughter arrived well into the evening.  We appreciated that they made a long cross-town drive to come by, because it was a highly enjoyable get-together.  Sreedhar’s sister also came along, though eventually Sreedhar and she headed out.  We chatted about all sorts of things, very nice, they depart around 11:30p.

we were glad these folks made the effort to stop by

Monday 4 June 2018

Limbering up with "uncle Chris"seems
like a fine way to prepare for school's first day

We are sorry that it’s our last day in India.  Vihaan looks very official and grown-up in his school uniform, and we see him off.  Sreedhar did some errands in the morning.  The remaining five of us had a pretty quiet morning; PJ and I started packing for tomorrow’s (early) flight.  Then we all headed out for a bit of shopping (PJ had a couple things in mind) and lunch – this was fun to do together.



We’re back at OJ Plex by mid-afternoon, and soon enough we have our full group-of-seven.

PJ and I focus on packing – a bit of a challenge to work in the gifts etc. even though we had an extra bag expressly for that purpose – Sreedhar brings the bubble wrap, which helps!

sisters at lunch

Just a very pleasant final evening at OJ Plex.  We work on building projects and play games with Vihaan; we have a final 5 Crowns game (dominated by Sreedhar after a slow start); we order in another round of the Asian food and sip some tea, maybe even a Kingfisher.  The rhythm here:  consistently homey and nice.

Relatively early-to-bed, with alarms set for 3:45am.

hanging out with Vihaan.  our feet are up off the floor, I mean lake,
because it was infested with horrible crocodiles

Tuesday 5 June 2018

We were a little worried about lining up an Uber for the early, and lengthy, trip to the airport – but “worry” was entirely unnecessary as Sreedhar made arrangements with a driver, and he and Chris traveled with us to the airport even with our so-early start time – incredibly thoughtful.  But first:  our goodbyes to Janu and Dharma at OJ Plex (Vihaan’s was last night).  We were surprised to see how quiet the Bangalore streets could be – seemed like even less activity than one would see in Phoenix at 4am to 5am.  At the airport:  goodbyes to CPG and Sreedhar.

one last photo - 5am at Bangalore airport

No issues making it through Bangalore security; British Airways offers us a fine deal to upgrade to business class so we take it (though not quite as fine as we expected); this also gets us into a nice/quiet lounge area.  Flight leaves right on time, no issues, the service and accommodations are great, we get some sleep during our 10-hour flight to London (also plenty to eat/drink).  We had a pretty short layover at Heathrow but the transfers and security lines were no problem at all.  Premium economy from London to Phoenix – everything right on time, we slept more on this leg than on any of the other flights; the 10 hours went by pretty quickly.  Didn’t watch anything other than the flight map.  The “global entry” system was a breeze in Phoenix; luggage pretty much on time; fortunately, PJ and I are feeling pretty much rested and back on Phoenix schedule already.  At the house – we unpack and get things organized, then head out for supper around 8:30p Phoenix time (Bootlegger’s).

I’ll separately write more about trip impressions, just will repeat here:  we do not know how this trip could have been nicer.

Visiting southern India - Mysore; three temples (30 May - 1 June) (post #4 of several)

Hotel breakfast:  dosa, idli, sambar,
spicy donut (and more), yum.

[This post - and a few others (posted or "to come") - cover day-by-day activities during our India visit.]  [Properly-spelled names of folks we visited also "to come."]

[As always - click on any photo to enlarge all.]

Wednesday 30 May 2018

Oh wow that Indian-focused breakfast buffet at Le Ruchi!  What a great way to start the day (seriously outperforming the U.S. free-breakfast hotels).

First order of business – after days of fun-but-busy – was a drive out to a lovely spa – a place Dharma and Janu had visited previously – our group included four customers excited for the two-person massage-plus treatment, while Sreedhar, Vihaan and I instead walked the beautiful grounds and then waited a bit in a nice patio area.  The massagees, if that’s a word, reported complete satisfaction.

L: jackfruit (on spa grounds) looks kind of amazing; top R, those who were not massaged; bottom R, those who were.

This was our first driving-around (passengering-around?) in Mysore – not nearly as hectic as Bangalore (city is approximately 1/10th the size).  We stop by JSS Hospital – where Dharma learned her profession – it was nice to walk into the older section, now largely unused, where she had trained – certainly lots of memories for her.  We had really wanted to see these kinds of places.

JSS Hospital buildings (upper L = new; upper R and lower L are from the "old" section where Dharma attended); quite
the fancy rangoli here (in addition to seeing lovely versions at many of the houses we visited, we also learn that
Dharma and Janu had participated in a rangoli competition way back when (held in a Bangalore park)).

Back to Le Ruchi; Janu and Vihaan remain there and the rest of us head into Mysore proper.

Interior view at Mysore Palace:

via GIPHY

We had very much wanted to tour the Mysore Palace – Mysore seems a place with an older, longer, and imperial, history – at least relative to the more upstart Bangalore – and much of this history is centered on the palace (even if most of the current building is relatively newer construction following a 19th century fire).  The grounds, the palace – highly interesting throughout – we also encountered a huge crowd of visitors, more than our planners had expected for a mid-week visit.  But that rather added to the effect!

Mysore Palace impressed us.

I’m not much of a barefoot-walker – but this is another place where we were learning to leave our shoes with the concessionaire and get used to lots of barefoot walking – guess what, it wasn’t a problem at all.  When we paused to look at things, we occasionally were (very politely) asked to pose in selfies or other photos.  We much enjoyed the Palace tour, and had plans to return in the evening.

Mysore Palace scenes . . . 

. . . we felt kind of popular, or something, at the Palace

We stop in St. Philomena’s Cathedral – quite interesting to see the dual-inscriptions in English and Hindi (or was it Kannada?); but they were pretty diligent about preventing folks from taking photos inside; big renovation of exterior; thought of Grandma Philomena Kohlhaas Bormann.

Sreedhar next had the idea to take us to a large downtown market – it shows up on the map as Devaraja Market – we loved this place and would happily have spent lots more time had it been available.  The sights and sounds of these markets – the variety of vendors and goods – see the photos, it’s hard to describe.  Little moments like watching folks string tiny jasmine blossoms.  Sampled yet another variety of those marvelous small bananas.  Seemed like it wanted to rain, but it held off.

market scenes (photos generally courtesy PJ) . . .

. . . vendor . . .

. . . flower section = unbelievably colorful . . .

. . . and how about these colors! (among other things, these can be used for rangoli I think)

We then work our way back to the Palace area – in the evening there is a light show with a description of Mysore’s history.  We arrive and first visit the temple on or adjacent to the Palace grounds.

The temple on the Mysore Palace grounds.

lovely setting as evening falls (Mysore Palace grounds)

Evening weather is perfect.  The presentation (due to Dharma’s translation) is informative for us – we learn the connection with the Chamundi Hills, for example (mythical demon killed by the goddess for which the hills (and temple there) are named).

via GIPHY

gifts, recognitions, smiles

Now it’s getting rather late, but we have the good fortune to have another wondrous family dinner – the warm hospitality, so much great food; one of the aunties gently chided PJ (who was doing her best but simply wasn’t able to eat in the quantities desired by our hosts) by matter-of-factly stating that PJ “was a very poor eater” – this was a funny moment.

these folks (lotsa personality)!

They kept bringing seconds; when Sreedhar joined us at table (after we were largely finished), he became the sole target of their largesse and it was funny to watch his fending-off techniques.  Thoughtful ceremonies and gifts for us; these gatherings couldn’t have been nicer.

Then back to Le Ruchi.

Thursday 31 May 2018

We began the day by visiting the neighborhood where Dharma’s family had lived for some period of years; one of their neighbors (and a close friend of Dharma’s mom, and the entire family) had invited us for breakfast.  Great food and conversation with these folks; her husband an Indian “folklorist” so that was also interesting.

visiting in the old neighborhood . . . 

We pick up Janu and Vihaan and head to the Chamundi Hills – this is the setting where one can take 1000 steps up the hill to the main temple; we opt to drive to the top and walk down.  Weather good but it could feel a little warm when out of the breeze, so the downhill idea was wise.  Sreedhar arranged for us to bypass the main line into the temple – a big crowd here as well – we understand this to be a famous Hindu temple, shrine portion dates back to 12th century perhaps, I read that the tower portion (impressive in its own right) was added quite a bit later.

L:  Chamundi Hills steps (some pilgrims dab color on each of the 1000 steps (visible with zoom);
top R: fine views including trees-in-bloom; bottom R, monkeys await at bottom

Vihaan in front of Nandi statue (supposedly carved from single piece of granite)

200 steps down from the top there is a separate temple for Nandi – huge granite statue – from here Chris, Dharma, Janu and I continued walking the remaining 800 steps while the others found our driver and met us.  At the bottom of the stairs – the monkeys gather!  So we finally get to see them up-close.  Which was fun though I can’t say that I entirely trust them.  Dharma says they are aggressive banana-snatchers which seems about right.

Monkey business:

via GIPHY

Back to the hotel for another tremendous lunch; CPG and I and Sreedhar sample a bit of Kingfisher with our meal after the heat of the day.  We are continuously impressed by both the staff and the food quality.

Brindavan Gardens were absolutely gorgeous on this evening.

In late afternoon Sreedhar has lined up an outing to the KRS Dam and adjacent Brindavan Gardens.  He explains background of this project (noted in Chapter 33 of this book).  Heavy rainfall as we drive over – which threatened our little outing (and we debate buying umbrellas from the vendors upon arrival).  But instead the rain moves away, leaving in its wake a pretty amazing sky as the sun sets.  As we stroll in the gardens, the light is pretty much perfectly lovely.  And the rain had dropped the temps a bit – felt like room temperature, just right.

clockwise from top R:  KRS dam; Brindavan Gardens; CD cover for would-be band (or something)

We settle in on the patio portion of the Elephant Bar at the Royal Orchid Hotel – right on the grounds – giving us a glorious view of the gardens and the sunset and the dam.  Tea and Kingfisher and conversation – and just enjoying the view and being together here – it was a great spot.  We didn’t make it to what we understand is a pretty impressive evening light show on the dam itself – but that attraction drew most of the crowd away from the hotel area, allowing us to pretty much have the place to ourselves.

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We walk the area a bit more; the vendors with postcards and whatnot are persistent as we get to the parking area (certainly we looked like promising marks) but PJ has mastered the Kannada word to rebuff ‘em; then we are driven back to the hotel.  En route:  a quick stop at a drug store – CPG complaining about needing allergy medication or something.

"drugstore" looked a little different than US-style

Then:  an entirely enjoyable late dinner at our favorite restaurant, complete with the amazing service to which we’ve become accustomed or addicted.

Friday 1 June 2018

PJ's doorman-buddy with daily flower decoration; final Le Ruchi meal,
including pose with that amazing wait-staff.

One last go-round with Le Ruchi’s wonderful breakfast; then we check out and get organized for a pretty full day:  visiting three separate temples, then driving back to Bangalore and our OJ Plex.

One of the best parts of this fine day:  just looking around as we drove.  Will write more about that separately.

this figure was pretty amazing . . .

Temple #1 was the Gommateshwara statue dedicated to Bahubali – Jain imagery – we get there (in the town of Shravanbelagola) after about two hours of driving pretty much straight north from Mysore (so we now were about straight west of Bangalore).  We leave our shoes with the concessionaire and walk barefoot up the 600 steps (carved out of the rock) (but well-smoothed after over 1,000 years of steady use by pilgrims) to the hilltop – we enter the temple with no idea of what we’ve come to see – and I can report that the statue (57 feet tall) is pretty stunning.  (Wikipedia tells me it was voted #1 of the “seven wonders of India” in a 2007 online poll, for whatever that’s worth.)  It was interesting to see Jain worshippers in their yellow dress; also interesting to watch as they pour different colors down from atop the statue.  Great views from the hilltop; then we descend back to the staging area.  Sreedhar treats us to coconut water from the onsite vendor; he and PJ also try some jackfruit.  Pilgrims arrive here from around India, for example a family from Rajasthan asked us to pose for a picture with them.

scenes from temple #1 . . . 

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Now we travel west for about an hour to a very nice restaurant just outside Hassan (Hoysala Village Resort) – this was a good find, very good lunch plus location and timing worked for our somewhat crowded itinerary.

temple #2 as we approach main entrance

Next we proceed pretty much north for a half hour or so – to reach the entirely amazing Hoysaleshwara Temple in Halebidu.  Sreedhar arranges a guide – he does a very nice job of explaining the background – and we need to read more about all this – here is a 12th century temple that was damaged by Muslim raiders in its first couple hundred years – it’s interesting to see where some of the exterior carving was hacked at in those days – but overall this looked largely intact.

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The amount of detailed carving is rather unbelievable – exterior almost moreso than the interior (though it was pretty dark inside, especially as clouds gathered).  Raindrops started falling as our tour continued, and eventually it was a full downpour – which was rather interesting, quite atmospheric, to watch from the interior of the temple.  This spot was lovely throughout and we would happily spend more time here.

CPG gets this interior image while the rain falls outside and we visitors wait inside
(is this the best (most artistic) image of the entire trip?)

Rain continues.  A group of Indian visitors, or pilgrims, had a tarp; they had asked PJ to pose with them; then they invite our group to run with them to the parking lot beneath the tarp (we grab shoes but no reason to put them back on!) – folks on the outside hold the tarp taut – this works pretty well and seemed like a so-friendly, quintessentially Indian way of handling a small challenge – a delightful moment, nonstop laughing and chatter as we hurry to the parking area.

Janu captured this delightful image of the flight-beneath-the-tarp

We next drive through a full-fledged rainstorm to the final temple for the day – about a half hour to the west – this is the Belur Chennakeshava Temple – perhaps most impressive of all for the day, which is saying a lot.  Our driver does a nice job of dealing with the rain amidst the variety of vehicles on the road.

and how about this image (courtesy PJ) as our driver navigates through the rain en route to temple #3

We wait in the car for about 15 minutes or so, hoping for a break in the downpour.  That doesn’t happen so we (all but Sreedhar and Vihaan and the driver) jump out of the car and run for it – never had bothered with shoes when leaving Halebidu so could skip that process here as well.  The rain does let up a bit, but we don’t have a good opportunity to explore the temple’s exterior.  The carving on the interior is even more delicate than the work at Halebidu.  Also built in 12th century; also damaged in wars; dedicated to Shiva.

temple #3 was dramatic from any angle

interior carving was ridiculously fine

inside temple #3

Final segments of our journey have been westward, or away from Bangalore – meaning the return drive is 3.5 or four hours – off we go.  Back seat crew even more heroic than before – during the downpour our driver had the presence of mind to move the luggage from the roof rack into the rear of the vehicle – good for our bags, not so good for those who were further cramped by them.  Occasional rain in the early going – but we make very good time – one stop for a snack – we are happy to be back at OJ Plex!  We settle in; order carry-in food; and much enjoy eating and talking-talking about all we’ve seen during an amazing day.