Road To Mysore

I finally got my new "do" yesterday morning. I really wanted it the other day but the barbershop was closed so when I found out it was open early in the morning, I jumped at the oportunity. There were 3 barbers at the place and 30 minute wait. I watched the three barbers work and could tell that it won't matter which one I got. I could tell they were good at what they do. Waiting was the hardest part because I have attachment issues. Once we got started, I was cool and felt safe. My barber was good. I never felt like he would cut me. I paid 20 ruppees and walked out a happy camper. Now I don't have to comb my hair and shampoo it(ha ha ha, hari hari, boom boom) but I have to put sunblock. I never knew my head could be so pale.

After the haircut, I met up with the Simon, Stephanie and the LA crew at the Chandra House. Simon our English friend look the time to stoop down and hang-out with his Angelino friends. We were all so honored. I asked the girls if I now look like a "stud" with my new "do". They all said "yes" and then started laughing. Nobody takes me seriously.

We hired a van to bring the 8 of us to the Tibetan settlement in Bylakuppe. We had yesterday and today off so we were planning to sleep there overnight. The 2 hour ride there was terrible. The rode was bumpy and there was way too many people squashed in the van(8 of us plus the driver and Krishna our guide). I think we would have been more comfortable if we were only 6 since it didn't cost much to rent the van. Anyway we got there a little after one and visited a settlement. We walked around and checked out the university and the temple. I was tempted to get one of those red robes since with my new do, I could easily blend. I bet I could enter restricted places and not get caught with a red robe and my new do. I felt one with my brothers. The details in the temples were beautiful. We took a lot of pictures, listened to some chanting and took a moment to meditate and feel the energy.

As we left the temple, Stephanie's sandals were stolen. At first she blamed me for hiding it but it was actually stolen. She talked to one of the monks and he told her it happens frequently. We thought it was a little ironic that people would be stealing sandals in a Tibetan Monestary. So Stephanie had to walk around the grounds barefoot. There are parts of the grounds which was muddy so Stephanie jumped on my back and I had to carry her across. She's not exactly a tooth pick like Lara Flynn-Boyle. She's 6 feet tall and I had to manuever her through a narrow pathway. I'm was glad that part was over.

Once we got to the van, we drove around and got Stephanie sandals. We then checked out the hotel we were supposed to check-in. I think the Lonely Planet guide was designed for hardcore backpackers because none of us wanted to stay there. At that point, we all decided that we would go home that night. It was around 3PM when we checked out the guest house so most of us were cranky and starving(not a very good combination). We then grabbed a quick lunch of vegetable noodles in the nearby canteen. When your hungry anything tasted good.

After lunch, we all agreed we wanted to go shopping. The women went wild like they always do and I got a cool Tibetan shirt. The highlight of the trip was the debate. At around 5:15PM, we headed back to the another temple(the Sara Mey temple) to watch the debate. We weren't sure where it would be held so we walked around a bit and asked a couple of monks who didn't speak any English. We later found out that the debates started at 6 in the courtyard. We took a lot of pictures in the courtyard and waited. At around 5:45 droves of monks started entering the courtyard. It was a sight to see all these monks dressed in marroon robes carrying square pillow walk into the courtyard. By 6PM the whole courtyard was a sea of monks. We saw two western monks. The debates were really interesting. Some of them where going at it one on one and the others were in groups. The person asking the questions would stand up and as he ends his question he would do a dance-like clap. The person answering was seated on the pillow. I took some really good pictures. At around 7PM we headed back to Mysore, stopped by for some dinner and got home by 10PM. It was a long and tiring day but witnessing the debate was worth the whole trip.

Today was just a chill day. Went to Nigrilis Supermarket to get some basmati brown rice. I decided to cook my own rice since all they serve here is white rice. I got one of those scrubbing rocks for my nasty feet, special feet lotion and other supplies. I haven't worn shoes here since I've arrived so my heels are all cracked up and nasty. I soaked my feet on warm water for 20 minutes, washed it and then scrubbed my heels with the rock. I dried it up and applied the special lotion. My feet are better now but I will do it again tomorrow. Tomorrow I have a scheduled massage with the famous Harini of the 3 Sisters. I'm looking forward to that.