Road To Mysore

Last Saturday night was "Crepe Night" at Tina's. I missed the last "Crepe Night" because I was stuck at the Dasara Parade so I didn't want to miss it. I love eating at Tina's because of the food and the atmosphere. I should actually say I love eating...period. "Crepe Night" is just an excuse to eat. Anyway, Tina made some really good banana chocolate crepes and lime crepes. I obviously had one of each and was tempted to have a third one. I'm so proud of myself for resisting the temptation(maybe I am evolving or maybe not). She also have vegetable crepes but the banana chocolate was the best. I can't wait for the next crepe night.

After Tina's I headed home at around 8PM. When I got home I got a call from Fiona. She was leaving Mysore the following day and was having drinks at the Metropole Hotel. It was a little too late for me but Fiona and Katie have a very special place in my heart so I had to go. Katie was the first western I met here in Mysore. I had dinner with her on my first night at the Green Hotel. The following evening I met Fiona. I hardly see them because they practice with another yoga teacher(Vinkatesh) them so I didn't want to miss the opportunity. I got to the hotel at around 8:30PM. I met other Vinkatesh's student but I spent most of my time talking to Fiona because I know she'll be leaving. Although I haven't spent very much time with her, I know that our paths will one day cross. Katie is here for another month and I hope to hangout with her more often. I don't know if she realizes it but I love her to death. In the short amount of time I've spent with her, she seems to know more about me than the other people here. She's so easy to talk and it's so easy to be me with her. Katie plans to come to the Philippines when I'm there next year and I hope to visit her in Australia one of these days. I got home a little pass 10PM and didn't get to bed until almost 11PM(way past my bedtime). I knew that my practice would suffer the following day but it was worth.

The good thing about having a bad practice day is that it's followed with an amazing practice day. That seems to be my trend. Sunday's practice was terrible but today's practice was great. I got to bed late Saturday night and didn't sleep well that night so I arrived at the shala grouchie and tired(not a good combination). It was a led class and it started at 5AM. I normally practice at the 6AM slot and the extra hour of sleep seems to make a difference. I should get used to waking up earlier though. It's only a question of time before they move me to the 5AM slot. I will hold on this slot for as long as I can because waking up at 4AM doesn't seem that exciting.

After practice yesterday, Sharath told us that he had an awkward announcement. He said that on Saturday afternoon the police came and visited the shala. There has been complains from the locals that western couples were kissing in public. That's apparently a no no in India. The police said that the next time it happens, the couple will be fined. Sharath encouraged the couples to do it in closed doors. The police also told him that the westerns should drive within speed limit(I forgot what that was). I happened to be practicing beside Rich and I asked him if he was guilty. He said that he did kiss Sara in public the other day and noticed everyone staring...bad man. He said that they were not the only couple who did it.

We were supposed to have our weekly conference with Guruji yesterday. We were all in the shala at 4:30PM when Sharath comes up and announced that Guruji's brother had just past away an hour ago and that there will be no conference today. I think we won't have any conference the next 13 days which is the grieving period.

Last night we had a Halloween dinner at Simon and Anthea's house. They both had taken Tina's cooking class so they prepared some of the things they learned. There landlady also cooked some curry and chapati's for us. It was a nice small intimate group of Rhonda, Vincent, Christine, Shannon(all from LA), Jane(New York critic), Debbi(either Australian or English) and our two hosts. Simon had the great idea of using banana leaves as plates. I think he got the idea when he ate at the RRR Hotel last week. Vincent was given the credit for finding the banana leaves. The food was fanastic and the company was even better. I brought some kick ass chocolate cake and claimed that I made it. Nobody believed me. Rhonda and Shannon practiced and presented to us the Simon Automatic song and dance routine. They are now officially the Simon Automatic dancers. Shannon has the best facial expressions and Rhonda is just crazy. I think they need to expand the lyrics of the Simon Automatic song though. We had such a great night. I'm sure we'll have more nights like this.

Practice today and yesterday has been great. They were both easy practices. My knee is slowly healing and I got back some of my range. I think it will be another couple of weeks before I can bind Mari B on my right side. I've been binding on my left side consistently though. I've been really taking the extra effort in moving much slower and taking longer breaths. I've been holding postures longer than usual too.

A lot of people have left since I arrived but there are more people arriving than leaving. There are a lot of new faces this week. I'm definitely no longer a newbie. Normally, by 6:45 there are "no more, one more?". I think this weeks "no more, one more?" was around 7:15. I'm still hoping that Sharath keeps me on the 6AM slot. It's only a question of time before he moves me to the 5AM slot. I haven't been sleeping very well this week so if he moves me this week I'll be screwed. The thing about practicing so early is that I'll have to sleep much earlier to get up at 4AM and therefore I also have to have dinner by 4PM. I normally finish dinner here by 6PM. If I eat any later, I end up tasting dinner again the following morning during practice. Practice here is so intense that your food has to be fully digested before practice. Another problem here is that most restaurants don't serve dinner until 6PM and the only restaurant that serves dinner anytime is closed for 2 weeks.

These are the issues I'm confronted with everyday. I have 4 major decision to make each day...Where am I going for breakfast? Where am I going for lunch? What am I going to do today? Where am I going for dinner? I feel like a Beverly Hills housewife.

Last night we had dinner for Stephanie(from Germany) at the Greenleaf. She arrived a month ago and was taking the 8PM train to Bangalore. Tonight we have another goodbye dinner for Shannon at the Parklane Hotel. Shannon is part of the LA crew(2 gone 5 to go). She leaves tomorrow for Bangalore. She's taking an extra 10 days to visit Varnasi, New Delhi and other cities. I've been often tempted to take so time off to see the rest of India but I don't want to take away from my ashtanga practice. I figure, one of these days I'll come to India specifically for travelling. This trip is all about ashtanga and Mysore.

I spoke to Saskia a week ago about renting a house here in Mysore for a whole year. Saskia has been living in Mysore for the past 2 years. She told me that if I'm only coming to Mysore for 3 to 4 months in a year, it's not worth it to get a place for the whole year. She said I'm better off storing my things with my present landlord or with Shiva. I know I'm coming back here next year but I may not lock into a place here for a year.

The shala population here is closely following the US Presidential Elections. I don't know of any American here who voted for Bush. I'm not a Democratic. I just don't like Bush. All the non-Americans here(mostly Europeans and Australians) can't figure out why anyone would vote for Bush after all what's happened. We are constantly in the defensive. If Bush wins in the next few days we're definitely going to hear about it from all of them. This morning during breakfast a Finnish guy said that he should be entitled to vote because the outcome of this election affects the whole world. Even my landlord and the local population is hoping for Kerry to win. I really wish Kerry wins because it would be difficult to face everybody if he doesn't.

I got an email from one of my high school friends today. My favorite high school teacher just passed away. I thought he would live a little longer but Mr. Teofilo Lutao passed away yesterday. I won't be there for his burial so I'm glad I was able to say goodbye to him when I was home a couple of months ago. I'm lucky to have known him and I'm going miss him very much. Rest in Peace Mr. Lutz.

My time in Mysore has drastically slowed down since my Thai massage class with Enzo. I've been having long social meals and just kicking back. I think that's going change. I wasn't planning on doing massages here since I've saved enough when I was preparing for my trip. Last week a few people asked me to give them a massage and since I was having a slow week, I said "Why not". I did 4 massages last week and I'm already booked for 5 massages this week and it's only Sunday. I may get busy the coming week. I'm not charging a lot here but for Mysore standards it's enough to pay for rent and maybe even for Guruji. The extra cashflow is great coz I won't have to touch my savings while I'm in here. If things turn out well, I won't have save that much to get back to Mysore next year.

When we first met Phil, we all thought he was crazy. Phil from Jersey(not New Jersey but Jersey in the Channel Islands) is 24 years old and naturally flexible. He is also such a driven yogi that he practices twice a day everyday. We all told him to slow down coz he might get hurt. He just would smile and ignore us. After awhile we decided to let him do his thing and maybe he'll slow down eventually. Phil happens to also be my flatmate. He took Sara's room when she moved to another place. I thought since we live in the same house I might rub off on him. The irony is I think the opposite is happening. Vivian my other flatmate and I are now looking to do two practices a day too. We have the time and if we're tired we can always take a nap. We even did a full practice last Saturday.

This morning was a led primary at 5AM. Since it's a led practice, we only do 5 A's and 3 B's so it's harder to warm up. The pace is much faster too. Phil and I decided to wake up at 3:30AM to warm up before class. Never in my wildest dream did I imagine waking up at such an unholy hour to practice yoga. By 4AM, we started our mini-practice starting with 5 A's and 5 B's. I did a few random standing and seated poses. By 4:30, we prepared to go to the shala and were in the shala by 4:50. The warm up really help our practice this morning and I think we're going to warm up at home before every led class.

This morning our cocky friend Vincent was promoted to the intermediate led class. His been bragging about this all week so we were giving him a hard time about it. This morning, we all tried to tease him about being promoted. Mr. Cocky was actually very nervous and refused to talk to anyone of us. The thought of practicing with the very advanced student intimidated him. He even didn't place his mat down until the other students placed there mats. There's this whole seniority space thing going on here so he didn't want to offend anyone. We all love Vincent so a lot of us stayed to give him moral support. Vincent did well today. He's got a great practice and I expect him to be back to his cocky self this week.

Last week, Sharath told me to come to the Friday 5AM led class because the 6:30 led class is pretty full. Today he told me that I should come to the 5AM class everyday. I am now officially an "old student". I no longer have to wait for a slot to open before I can practice. I dreaded being moved to the 5AM slot but I've been waking up really early these days it doesn't really matter.

Today's practice started pretty good but I lost steam midway through practice. I started pacing myself and was just looking forward to getting it over with. I'm really looking forward to two days of rest(Friday is a moonday) from yoga. Practicing last Saturday and all the massages I've been doing has really drained me.

Since Friday is a moonday, tomorrow is a led class at 5AM for me. Phil and I agreed that on led classes we would wake up at 3:30 AM so we can warm up at 4AM before going to class. The led class moves pretty quickly and it's hard to get the body warm. It worked for us last Sunday so we'll keep doing. I'm glad that Phil is my flatmate because his also my alarm clock.

Yesterday, Sharath was adjusting me in Mari C and he noticed that I was able to go deeper into the posture. He looked at me excited and said, "reduced?" I said, "yes!!!" In such a big class its surprising that Sharath notices everything. I know Mari C for me has nothing to do with my flexibility. It has more to do with my waistline. I see progress in that department so I know it's just a question of time.

Since we have Friday and Saturday off, Simon, Anthea, Vincent, Rhonda, Tomas and I are going to Coorg. We leave right after practice tomorrow. Coorg region is known for the coffee plantations and a nice forest. We're going trekking on Friday and Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting out of Mysore and seeing other parts of India.

On Friday there is a shala party 20 kilometers from Mysore. It's going to be held in a big house in the countryside by the river. A bus is going to shuttle everybody from the shala to the party at 4PM and shuttle them back to Mysore by 10PM or 12AM. I would have wanted to go but I think I'd rather be in Coorg.

We left Mysore last Thursday right after practice. It was Simon, Anthea, Rhonda, Vincent, Tomas(Frenchie), Shobha(Simon and Anthea's landlady) and I. We stayed at the Place Estate, which is a small traditional farm on the edge of a forest that rises to the summits of the Western Ghats. It was about 128 kilometers from Mysore but it took about 4 1/2 hours to get there. The roads are filled with potholes so it took time to get there. Unlike Mysore which is really flat, Coorg is filled with mountains. We arrived at our little bed and breakfast farm house at around 2:30PM. The place was so secluded that we had to stop and turn back a gazellion times before we finally found it. We're very lucky to have Shobha with us because she is originally from Coorg and moved to Mysore over 20 years ago when she got married. She spoke the Coorg dialect which made it easier for us to get directions. We had lunch around 3PM and was served a home cooked traditional Codava meal. The food was to die for and we all ate like pigs(what's new).

We were told that dinner would be served at seven so the logical thing to do was go for a walk around the estate so we can digest lunch and prepare ourselves for dinner. First stop was the fifty foot waterfalls about a 15 minute walk from the farmhouse. We hung out in the waterfalls area and took a lot of dorky pictures. We eventually had to leave the waterfalls area because we were attacked by leeches. The sneaky blood suckers somehow would just jump on us and latch onto our skin. I had one jump on my leg but I just flicked it. I think they preferred the women because it seemed like Rhonda and Anthea were frequently attacked.

From there we walked down to the 17th century Nalnad Palace which was the summer home and hunting lodge of the Kings of Coorg. The structure was old and abandoned. We went in the building and one of the locals walked us through the building and gave us the lowdown. Shobha was our interpreter. We then decided to do a mini hike and walked up the hill to facilitate the digestion of lunch. Rhonda and Vincent kept complaining on the way up(what do you expect, they're both from LA) and Tomas sang all the way up and down. Rhonda told me that her friends couldn't figure out why she didn't bring any make-up and high heels with her. The mountains were filled with coffee. I didn't know that coffee grew under trees. I was later told that coffee likes to grow under the shade. At around 5PM we started on our way back to the farmhouse. We were served coffee and masala chai when we arrived and took hot bucket baths before dinner.

Dinner was even better than lunch. I don't remember what we ate but we ate a lot. Our excuse for the evening was that we needed energy for our long trek the following day. We were told that getting to the highest peak of Coorg was a steep 6 kilometer hike. If it is one thing I've learned here is that you'll never starve when your with an Indian family. Everytime we finish a plate full of food, another plate full is placed on the table. The word "saku"(enough)is your best friend because it you don't say that, they won't stop serving you food. After dinner we just hung out on our veranda singing and talking. Frenchie is our official entertainer and sexpert. He is constantly singing and/or talking about sex(lets not go into details).

I had a decent nights sleep on the first night but like always woke up around 3:30AM. I think my body has decided that I should be awake by that time. I stayed in bed until 5:30AM but couldn't get back to sleep. I got out of the room around 6AM and decided to take a walk with Shobha. We had a nice liesurely walk. Shobha would pick up various leaves and tell me, "Good for health, eat" or "medicated, eat". I was constantly eating raw leaves in our walk. Shobha is a wealth of information. She pointed out the cinnamon tree and cardamom plant. It was nice to know how all these things looked in it's natural form.

After breakfast, we headed for the trail. They packed lunch for us since we didn't expect to be back much later in the afternoon(God forbid we missed a meal). Simon had the map so he led the way. Simon and I picked up the pace and were a good 20 to 30 minutes ahead of the rest of the crew. Rhonda forgot her high heels so that slowed her down. The trail was beautiful but treacherous, steep and rocky. The girls were ambushed a couple of times by the leeches again. Anthea has battle scars to show for. After crossing every river they would check for leeches. It's hard to know if a leech latches on you because they do it very gracefully and it only hurts when you try to get them off you. Part of the trail required us to go through a dense forest where we expected the leeches to be waiting for us. Simon and I made the highest peak of Coorg in about 2 1/2 hours and the rest of the crew got in 30 minutes later. Unfortunately the girls had lunch and most of the provisions so it was imperative that they made it to the top too. The view from the peak was breath taking. There was nothing man-made in site. The hike and making it to the top made our whole trip worthwhile. We were all so tired when we reached the top that we just laid on the ground and ate lunch. We hung out on the top of the mountain for a couple of hours and then slowly made our way down. Simon left ahead of us because he wanted to find the long way back. The rest of us was just happy to get to the farmhouse as quickly as we can. I thought the hike down would be a piece of cake. I was wrong. It was almost as hard as coming up because of the rocky terrain. I normally just zip my way down a hill but it just wasn't happening.

Halfway down the mountain we stopped at the huge rock about 15 feet high. It's surface was flat and about 10 by 20 feet. It was a nice place to just rest and chill. It was one of those moments when you just realize that this is what life is all about. I wish I could freeze that moment in time. I think there was something very special about that rock. It was like the universe placed it there just for us and nobody else. We stayed there for about an hour and realize that it was getting dark. Slowly but unwillingly we headed back.

When we got back, we were serve our usual fruit juice, masala chai and Coorg coffee. Dinner was served at 7 and was even better than the night before. I particularly liked the tomato rice with raita and the tempura looking cauliflower and pepper. I think this was the first time in our trip wherein we actually deserve and/or earned dinner. We all went to bed a few hours after dinner.

The following morning most of us were complaining our leg and butt muscles were all sore. As usual, I had my early morning stroll with Shobha. I learn something new every day when I'm with her. She is such a lovely lady and has been a mother to us throughout the trip.

During breakfast, Rhonda, Anthea, Tomas and I decided that this is where we want to spend Christmas. Simon and Vincent will be gone so they were not invited. We settled our billed and made reservation for the 24th to the 26th of December. Our total bill per person for 3 days and 2 nights plus all the meals came to be about 850 ruppees(about $20). We decided to just round it off to 1,000 ruppees because the service was just exceptional. Our transportation cost us 600 ruppees each and that included a generous tip for the driver.

On our way home, we past by Madekeri, the capital of Coorg. We had a few stops around the area but decided that we all just wanted to go home. Vincent was car sick and Simon did not sleep well the past two nights. Shobha was more that willing to show us more places but we were all too beat up and tired. We just wanted to get back to Mysore. We got to Mysore late Saturday afternoon. Ironically, we arrived on the last day of the Diwali Festival. We were greeted with a lot of fireworks, fire crackers and pollution. It was a shock to the system to come from a peaceful and quiet place. It was back to reality.

This mornings practice was just flat out painful. My muscles were so tight from the hike, I was just going through the motions. Everything was difficult. We all felt the same way.

The shala will be closed from Monday to Wednesday for the death anniversary of Saraswati's husband and Sharath's father. A lot of people are going out of town the next three days. We've decided to stay home and practice together.

Yesterday was the grand opening of the marbled floor Sri K. Joey-Phil Yoga Shala. Since the main shala is closed from Monday to Wednesday, we decided to open our shala to the public(public being Vincent, Rhonda, Heather and Tomas). Master Phil is the main teacher and I am shala manager/public relations officer. We run a very tight shala and require our students to abide by our rules and regulations. Here is a quick run-down of our rules and regulations:

1. When you are told to stop your practice, you must immediately stop and wrap up with the closing sequence. There are no ifs, wheres and buts. We don't want to hear about it.

2. We are not responsible for any opennings, shifting of the body and pain inflicted. It is a blessing that you got any attention.

3. The shala door opens at exactly at 5AM and closes at 5:10AM. If you come late, come back another day.

4. Payments for shala fees must be fully paid before starting practice. We accept cash only.

5. Prostrating to your gurus is a priviledge. Don't forget to prostrate on your way out. Penalities will be assessed for failure to prostrate.

6. We require that you do not practice in any other shala while your practicing with us.

7. If all the above was followed, you are invited to breakfast imediately after practice.

The first day of in the shala was a huge success. We all had great practices. We were initially suppose to practice in the foyer but we were worried that we might wake up the rest of the the house when we did the invocation. So we decided to move the practice in Phil's room. We fit quite comfortably in Phil's room and could have easily accomodated 2 to 3 more people.

I wish today was anything like yesterday or any other day. Today, my body has betrayed me. I slept well last night but I woke up exhausted. I feel so tired and weak. I don't have a fever or anything like that. I woke up at the usual time and prepared for practice this morning. I was debating on whether I should practice or not but Rhonda convinced me to go through Surya A and B and see how far I could go. I did the first 3 A's and decided to stop and go back to my room to rest. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't. After practice, I joined the rest of the crew for breakfast at Rhonda's. I was hoping that maybe after breakfast I may feel better. It didn't work so I asked Vincent to drop me home because I was too tired to walk. When I got home, I just crashed and slept until 2PM.

When I woke up this afternoon, I still felt weak and tired. It was one of those "I WANT MY MOMMY DAYS". I was desperate and confused so I called Reema, my homeopathic doctor. Reema was kind enough to come over and check me out. She did her usual inquiry and drilled me with a gazellion questions. She did not think that it was anything physical but more emotional. She thinks it had a lot to do with the fact that Sara(my former flatmate) had just left for Goa and will not be coming back. I was sad to see Sara leave but I didn't think that it would have that much impact on me. Sara has been a big part of my life in Mysore. She was one of my first few friends here and I would always talk to her when I had to deal with the "enemy". I do miss Sara already but it's hard to believe that saying goodbye to her could have such a physical impact. It was almost 3 and I was getting really hungry so Reema joined me for lunch. Reema gave me one of her magical potions and we just talked. Maybe Reema was right about it being emotional because after lunch I felt much better. I still feel tired and I hope I get my body back tomorrow.

Yesterday, Shobha took Simon, Vincent and I to the sandal wood and silk factory. I was really interested in the sandal wood factory because I wanted to get some sandal wood oil to mix with my regular massage oil. Sandal wood oil is one of my favorite scents but a small bottle of that in the US is about $35 so I rarely use it. Anyway, Shobha has been so eager to take us to the factory so we left Gokulam around 10AM.

Our first stop was the sandal wood factory. Shobha proudly knew the person in-charge of the factory. He is originally from Coorg and is a personal friend of Shobha. I was happy she was well connected because he personally gave us a tour of the factory. I've always enjoyed touring factories and seeing how everything is made. We had a blow by blow tour on how the oil is extracted from the wood. It was very interesting and I learned the following facts:

1. The sandalwood tree has to be at least 50 years old before it can be harvested. The older the tree, the better the yield. The roots has the most oil content so the tree has to be dug out at least 6 feet deep. The whole tree is used.

2. India has the best quality sandalwood tree(there was a lot of pride in his face when he told us that) with a 90% yeild compared to those from other countries which only has a 20% yeild. Karnataka has the best sandal wood trees in India(Mysore is in Karnataka).

3. I think he said that India is the only country that produces sandal wood oil but they receive sandal wood trees from Australia, Africa and some other countries.

4. There are about 10 sandal wood factories in India, all run and managed by the government. They are very protective with the sandal wood oil that an individual can only buy a maximum of 3 bottles of oil. When I leave for the US, I will have to present the bill to the custom agent or they may take the oil away from me.

5. Sandal wood is a parasite tree and needs to grow beside another tree where it gets there nutrients.

6. The wood is first cut into small pieces and then powdered. It is then placed in large metal containers which have capacity of 2 tons. The oil is extracted by applying steam on the wood. The vapors go up the tubes and is cooled in large water containers. The oil just floats on the water and is transfered to large bins. It then goes into a filtering system. One 5 gram bottle of sandal wood oil cost 450 ruppees(about $10).

The tour ended in the factory store where I did some major shopping. I only got one 10 gram bottle of oil because I wanted to try it out first. Shobha told us that we can always come back to get more. I bought a lot of soaps and incense to give away when I go home.

Our next stop was the silk factory. Since all of us were men, we were mostly interested in the process and not the silk itself. None of us was really interested in buying material for a sari. Our tour in the silk factory was the complete opposite of the earlier tour. Shobha registered us in the gate and then we were allowed to go in the factory. We had no tour guide so we just walked around the factory like we owned it. I think the workers are used to people going into the factory because they just ignored us while we watched them work. I was hoping to see some silk worms but the factory recieved bundles of threads in the raw form. The whole silk worm process is all done in the farms. Anyway, we saw them process the silk threads, weave the silk, dye the silk and dry them up. The whole process was interesting but the weaving machines where very loud. We could hardly hear ourselves. I told Simon that it felt weird walking around the factory because it seemed like we could walk into any room without being stopped. Just when I finished my sentence, we were about to enter another room and the security guard told us that the room was restricted. That was the end of the tour so we went to the display room to check out the silk. None of us really cared about actually buying silk because it was really expensive. Since I was already there, I decided to buy some slightly damaged white silk material and had a shirt made.

There's been talk the past few days that the shala will be closed for two weeks in January. Nobody really knows why but we think it has to do with Guruji's wife death anniversary. I asked Sharath this morning before practice started and he said that he doesn't really know. He told me he would ask Guruji and an announcement will be posted.

I'm supposed to be here living in the present but I can't help but think about January. I was expecting to leave on January 31, 2005 and now I may leave a week or two earlier. Phil and I have talked about going to Goa and practice in Purple Valley or maybe in Bangalore with Guruji's nephew but we have to know for sure before we can make any plans. I also found out that my driver's license will expire on January 28 so getting in the US a week earlier might be necessary. I know that the moment I land in the LA, it's going to be all about work, work and work. I'm definitely coming back here in September next year for another 3 to 5 months so the sooner I can get may ass back on the work force the sooner I can get back here. Phil and a few other people I've talked to said they expect to be back about the same time next year so I'm already looking forward to that. My gut feeling tells me that the shala will be closed but until we get the official notice we can't make any contingent plans.

Last night, Julie(from Oregon) and I went to Chamundi Hills. I've never been to Chamundi Hills so I was looking forward to seeing the city lights and the Mysore Palace all lite up. We got to the bottom of the hill at around 6:30PM and started our way up the stairs. They say there are 1,000 steps to the top of the hill but it felt more like 2,000. The steps were pretty steep and humbling. I think we took about 3 or 4 breathers and 25 minutes before we finally made it to the top. There weren't very many people along the steps up but when we got up it was complete chaos. There was a lot of people, vendors, cars and buses. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to get a scenic view of the city. Julie suggested that we walk back down the stairs and find a spot where can get a view of the whole city. I'm glad we did that because on our way down we found a short detour, huge rocks to sit on and a breath taking view of city lights and the Mysore Palace. We just sat there, talked and soaked it in. It was nice to be away from the chaos of Mysore for a moment. I would have wanted to say longer but it was getting late and I have a 4AM wake up call. We slowly walked back down and decided to come back another day.

Get your motor running, get out on the highway, looking for adventure...

For some reason, I did not sleep very well last night. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that the shala will most probably be closed on January. We're all hanging here and we can't make plans unless we get the official announcement. When I spoke to Sharath it felt like the family will either travel out of the country or that Guruji will not be in the shala and that Sharath will keep the shala open.

Anyway, I woke up at around 2:45AM and could not go back to sleep. I had just gotten my scooter from Shiva yesterday afternoon so I decided to take my scooter for a spin at 3AM. The whole scooter thing is a big deal for me because as an adult, I can barely ride a bicycle. In Coorg, Rhonda encouraged me to learn to ride the scooter because she too did not ride a bicycle well and that the scooter was much easier to ride. The past week, Vincent has been giving me scooter lessons and I've been surprising a pretty good student. Practice, practice, practice...all is coming.

I figured that since I was wide a wake and the streets of Gokulam were practically empty, it would be a good way to hone my skills. I love driving at night. I've actually been missing my car so the scooter was a good replacement. I first decided to go to the Gokulam main road and then head for Kalidasa Road. It was nice to have the streets all to myself. When I told Rhonda yesterday that I was getting my scooter that day she started singing the "Born to be Wild" song so I had that song in my mind while I was riding.

While I was riding along Kalidasa Road, four local policemen walking down the street pulled me over. I almost freaked out and actually thought of not stopping. One policeman asked me where I was going. I told him I lived in Gokulam and I was practicing my scooter. He gave me this look like, "Why the fuck are you practicing at 3 in the morning...crazy western". He asked me for my DL and since I was really nervous I showed him the insurance papers. Then he repeated DL and then I realized he meant driver's license. For awhile, I thought they would throw me in jail and throw away the keys. He looked at my driver's license and let me go my way(close call). I continued to take Kalidasa Road for another 5 minutes and decided to head back to Gokulam. I decided to wake up the neighbor and continued to drive all around Gokulam for another 30 minutes. By 4AM, I decide to head home and prepare for my yoga class. When I got home I realized that the keys in the ignition switch had popped out and the scooter engine was still running. I had just lost the keys of the scooter and it could have been anywhere in Gokulam or Kalidasa Road. Theorethically, you would think that this would never happen without the motor shutting off but I remember Janet telling me that it's happened to her. I sat for a couple of minutes trying to figure out how I can shut the engine off. I stuck my finger and then my house key. With my house key I was able to flick the switch off. I don't know how it happened but it did. I parked the scooter and just ran up the house. I knocked on Phil's room(he was already awake) and told him I had just been riding the scooter all around Mysore. He could see the excitement on my face. I was literally jumping up and down like a little child.

We both got ready and headed to the shala by 4:30AM. Mentally, I was all warmed up for practice this morning. My adrenaline was just pumping. During practice I had to calm myself by doing 10 A's and 7 B's. It was only 5:30 and I have been awake for almost 3 hours already. I had a great practice and I think I was smiling throughout practice. It's nice to feel like a child.

When I got home I told Taresh(my landlord) what happened. He told me that I shouldn't be in the streets between 2AM to 5AM. If they see anyone in the streets, they will definitely stop you. He said sometimes they would put you in jail and let you go at 6AM. Generally, if they see anyone in the streets at that time, they assume you are a burglar. I guess I won't be doing anymore 3AM rides.

Last Wednesday marked my second month here in Mysore. I can't believe it's already been two months. I paid Guruji last Thurday for my third month at the shala. There's a lot of confusion on how much it is. Sharath told me its 17,600 ruppees but Guruji says it's 17,900 ruppees. I'm not going to worry about 300 ruppees.

Since Friday was a moonday and Thursday was Thanksgiving, there has been a lot of parties. There was a huge Thankgiving lunch at the Southern Star which was pretty sweet. It was hosted by a longtime yoga student. They say he does this every year. On Friday, I attended a concert and two parties in the evening. It's hard to go to parties in the evenings since we're so used to sleeping by 8 or 9PM. Last night I was in bed at 12AM and I woke up around 7AM still exhausted. I don't know if it's because I'm just getting older or that Mysore has a way of slowing you down. I've been taking naps in the mornings too.

This morning I followed John(from the UK) with my scooter to the city. John told me that I should just get it over with and drive to the city. I've been dreading this day but John seems to have a lot of confidence in me so I took the plunge. John promised he would go slow but I think he lied because I was passing cars and buses. The city was just flat out chaotic. There were so many scooters, cars and buses going in every direction. It was systematic chaos. There seems to be a natural flow to the chaos. Driving through the city is nerve wrecking. You have to be aware of everything around you. My right hand was completely numb by the time I got back to Gokulam. For my first trip to the city, I made it back in one piece. I'm actually very proud of myself. A few weeks ago, I could be described as a person who could barely ride a bicycle and today I drove a scooter in an Indian city. I don't think I'm going to be driving back to the city anytime soon.

Sara once told me, "Life is like an Indian intersection. If you hesitate, life will pass you by"