Farewell India – Off the beaten track

My Indian adventure is finally coming to an end after 7 months. I secured a seat on an Air France repatriation flight for London via Paris leaving on Monday 20th July. I’d hoped to continue my travels across Asia but most countries are still in lockdown or not issuing tourist visas. Hopefully I will return to India next year so I can continue my journey north up into the Himalayas and across into Nepal.

I’m looking forward to seeing family and friends back home after 9 months away. My final week in India has been fairly hectic as I did not expect to get a flight so quickly. Most of the week has been spent sorting out my bike which is now in safe storage in Mysore until it can be transported back to Chennai (thank you David at Royal Enfield for all your help!). I also sold my bike accessories as I will not be needing them for a while.

Mysore was put under a partial lockdown this week due to a rise of local covid cases. The nearby city of Bangalore went into complete lockdown on Monday as cases within the city have rapidly risen over the past two weeks. Many people left the city to stay with nearby relatives which will potentially lead to the virus spreading further to the surrounding towns and villages. My flight leaves from Bangalore airport which is a 4 hour drive from Mysore. Arranging a taxi to the airport has been the most challenging aspect of my return trip as I require permit from the police to Sunday evening during the lockdown. This involved many phone calls but with help from the hostel owners I finally managed to get everything in place.

It has been great staying at the Laika Heritage Stay and I have made some new friends during my brief stay. It was interesting to chat with a couple who own an architect practice in Bangalore. They helped me understand why many of the old building in Mysore are neglected or being pulled down.

Indian society does not have the same affinity with heritage as in the west. Property is only seen in terms of land value rather than the buildings themselves. It was interesting to hear that very few Indians would want to stay at a heritage stay property. If they are going to pay money to stay somewhere they would prefer to stay in a new build hotel with all the modern facilities. This is why very few of the old buildings have been turned into tourist accommodation. This is a shame as the old heritage is being rapidly lost and replaced with modern apartments which are usually of low quality construction compared to the old buildings.

One of my favourite aspects of my stay at the Laika has been the food. The food is traditional home cooked recipes and really tasty. I love the breakfasts in particular which consists of a fruit bowl, a traditional Indian breakfast dish, masala omelette with toast and a cup of tea.

Everyday Parvati serves a different breakfast dish such as dosas, rice pancakes, idlis, pohaa and pongal.

The lunch and evening meals are also as varied with rice dishes such as biryani or different types of subji with rotis served with a variety of pickles including drum stick and a ginger pickle.

Parvati it was interesting to watch Parvati make her own pickles which were left out in the sun to ferment.

During the early mornings I’ve been watch the ground squirrels foraging in the garden along with Mynha birds, parakeets and sun birds.

The mid morning sun and clouds caused an interesting effect on the floor of my room. A ‘camera obscura’ was created by a gap in the roof tiles which projected a perfect image of the sky and passing clouds on to the floor. It would have been a perfect way to have watched the recent solar eclipse.

My bags are all packed and I’m sad to leaving the tropical wildlife and weather but at least I am returning to the British summer and so the climate should not be too much of a shock to the system.