Why do only fools and horses work?

We survived the bus ride to Mysore. Barely.

Truth be told, it wasn't actually too bad. As you all know, Lydia makes the BFG look like a grasshopper. And she still had plenty of legroom when she reclined her chair. So not too bad, although I couldn't sleep for some reason.

So we're in Mysore. It's great! I wasn't expecting much, both of our travel books said not to get your hopes up. Many travellers who arrive have a preconceived idea of what Mysore is like - and are often bitterly disappointed. Fortunately Lydia and I arrived really early in the morning - so not much traffic around. Only the sweet smell of jasmine, and fresh fruit being cut - a great sight for tired eyes.

Our hotel is great! It's reasonably cheap and we have HOT WATER! I repeat. HOT WATER! We do wash everyday, I'll have you know, but most of the places we've stayed at we've had to grit our teeth and inhale sharply as we poured a bucket of ice-cold water over our heads.

We've been for a walk around Mysore - found the market - which is fantastic! Coloured powders everywhere - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple; bananas, apples, custard apples, mangos, coconuts, every vegetable imaginable, jewellery, kitchenware, honey, flowers - you name it! It's just how I imagined India to be. We wandered down the lanes, taking photographs when we were approached by a young boy. He asked us to come to his shop to watch them roll incense, so we toddled along behind him.

The incense/perfume shop was a surreal experience - the young boy showed us how incense was rolled, and then proceeded to display all the different scents that were available; pouring perfumed oils on any exposed skin. Both Lydia and I smell like the Boot's perfume counter! They brought us countless cups of chai and were really patient - taking us through all the oils and what their properties were. We ended up buying 10 bottles (5 each) for the bargain price of 1,000Rs each, including a small wooden box to keep the oils in and literally thousands of joss sticks!

Mysore is reowned for it's touts - people regularly approach you and try to get you to visit their friends shops. Often half of what you pay is passed on to the tout as commission, so anything you buy will be double the price! Additionally there are a lot of fake oils around, oils that have been filtered down with almond oil, and the price doubled. Lydia and I now know the best place to go - so if you're headed in that direction let me know and I'll pass on the information. The guy in the shop requested that I didn't put his name up on my blog. It's a lovely place, a family business ran by a man and his nephew who is only 15, but a fantastic salesman. He is the Del Boy of India!

Sorry so short, I'm really tired at the moment!

Off to Bangalore tomorrow.

Caroline xx