First Impressions

So today was the first day of practice for me in Mysore at KPJAYI, Saraswathi's Shala. A later post on this.

But before the yoga bit, a little summary of life so far in India.....

Arrived after 19.5 hours of travel and very little sleep to stand at the carousel waiting, waiting, waiting, yep, more waiting....UK Claire was starting to get in panic mode, India Claire thinks, well, if the carousel is still moving it's not over yet...there is hope - and with that thought, out it popped!
I was so tired and shocked that I watched it sail past me until I realised - it's here!!!
Poor Teresa was stuck in the main airport waiting for me to arrive, thinking where is she??
So we hot footed it to our taxi, which Kes has organised, a really comfortable large vehicle with a/c - fab.

On first impressions I couldn't get over how modern Bangalore was, the airport seemed gleaming and sparkly and the roads near the airport seemed new (and orderly? wait? is this India?) after about 15 minutes though that familiar frenzy of mayhem that is the Indian driving system kicked in, and after 2 hours of honking, squeezing in unearthly gaps, almost being driven into on all sides and just chatting to Teresa to keep our mind off it, we reached the city limits and started to pick up some speed. After another hour and 3/4 we make it to Mysore (only stopping for a 5 minute leg stretch/chai)

Amusingly, Kes is staying in Kino and Tim's house - so I recognised it from watching her Periscope's whilst she was here in December and January. Claim to fame!!! My yogi friends back home will be impressed!

After a refreshing shower the guys brought me to my new home, the beautiful house of Meena Gupta, above her famous Silver Nest shop.
My room is HUGE!! with the biggest bed and lots of shiny new marble floor space. We also have a massive kitchen and an outdoor balcony/lounge area.

my new home

We then had time for a quick lunch (scrambled tofu and spinach for me) before we made our way to the main shala for registration. Excited and nervous to be at this mecca for Yogi's/Ashtangi's but so jet lagged that even saying my own name was difficult...I finally managed to register and we were given the times of 9am daily practice, 7am led class (Sunday's) and 12.30pm chanting three times per week.

Now, the practice times are a big topic of conversation here in Mysore, as it is regarded the earlier your practice the better, the ideal 'spiritual' time to practice being the 4.30am slot....so we were thinking 9am is late! 7am would be the perfect time for us, but we get what we are given and that is that.

So now I'm thinking I'm ready for bed, so tired I can barely speak and at this point but Kes invites me to eat with them that night with a bunch of his friends. I have a little chill and then get picked up by my trusty steed, Kyle, one of Kes's housemates, on his motorbike, and we bike across town to a place called Cornucopia. This place is beautiful and in any other country would be a top class restaurant with the prices to match, we have a lovely meal (BBQ'd paneer with rice and vegetables) and a lime fizz drink and pay just 400 rps (about £4!) I love this country!

After a fantastic sleep, of almost 9 hours, I get collected again by my trusty steed (people are so nice here) and whizzed on the bike for breakfast at the fabulous Anokhi, ran by Marie, a lovely friend of Kes and Teresa's (yet more names to remember). After a scrummy omelette and large cup of tea they inform me we are heading to the pool....hallelujah, what a beautiful way to relax and ease myself into the life here.
The Hotel Regalis has a lovely pool area, full of yogi's relaxing on their day off - and we while away a few hours here in the sun...perfect.

In the early evening we grab a tuk-tuk to go and see one of the most famous sights in Mysore, the lighting up of the Palace (yes people visit here not just for Yoga!)
The crowds to get in are manic, but we finally get in and just in time to see the lights go on (although I was looking in the other direction at the time)
They only light it for half an hour once a week, as as you can see from the photos it's a LOT of bulbs. But it does make for a very pretty picture.

So, that's it for the first two days, off to bed for a sleep before the real reason I'm here, my first practice with Saraswathi in the morning.

namaste