Claire and Morten Travel Blog in India 2012: 09/02/2011

Ok, so we were warned about noise levels emanating from the main road outside the Green Hotel from a number of reviews on Trip Adviser - and it turns out that they were right. It would seem that "core" sleeping hours, i.e. the least beeping and noise from big trucks outside, is to be had between 23:00 and 6:30. There's just no way that you could sleep past 6:30, apart from Claire of course - who has no such issues...
Anyway, at 7:00 I started researching Mysore using WikiTravel.Org and the Lonely Planet Guide.
Claire woke up after 8:00, we had showers and went down for breakfast.
At around 10:00 we were on our way to the Mysore Zoo by rickshaw where we spent 4.5 hours trotting around - and I took countless pictures. The zoo here is pretty impressive - there are plenty of exotic species from a Westerner's perspective, including plenty of birds like Macaws, Flamingos, various types of storks - and fearsome beasts like tigers, jackals, wolfs and lions. There were also elephants, hippos, rhinoceros and giraffes. They layout is also very well done with a "path" that you follow throughout the zoo and end up at the exit having seen everything - really surprisingly well organised for an Indian setting - and it's clean! ;-) Well worth a visit indeed.
At around 16:00 we walked to the Mysore Palace where we spent just over an hour - a lot of time was spent on handing in cameras (you're not allowed to photograph, or even bring your camera inside - but you can take as many pictures as you wish of the outside), shoes, getting tickets, audio guides, security checked including x-ray and sensor sweeps. A bit much really. But anyway, the Palace is magnificent - if somewhat over-the-top at times with gold, pearls etc. Also well worth a visit. As usual there was also a small scam involved - when we finished the main Palace, we were directed by some tout down (but this time Indians were included) to "the other palace", which had its own separate entrance and separate ticket counter. We were not too sure what it was they wanted to show us in this other Palace but as soon as we saw a new ticket queue we turned around, walked back and picked up our belongings. I took a few more pictures of the exterior and then we proceeded to walk down to the West entrance and exited out into Mysore again.
We decided then to walk around in town, found the City bus station (from where we can catch the 201 bus to Chamundi Hill in the morning) and had a look at the markets, bought some fruit and then decided to walk back to the Green Hotel - a bit daunting given the fact that the GPS on the phone didn't want to pick up a location. But with a reasonably good sense of direction I managed to guide us back to the hotel without incident.
At 18:00 we went down for a meal in the outside area in the hotel again, just like last night, and had a bottle of wine and a Kingfisher beer to follow. The hotel's meals are very nice and the staff courteous. I also read in the Lonely Planet that the Green Hotel has a coffee&cake shop, which apparently has quite a reputation; so we must go there some afternoon, now that we actually stay there ;-)
Anyway at around 20:30 we walked back up and watch a few episodes of Big Bang Theory - I then stuff my ears with cotton wool to reduce the noise levels and we went to sleep.

A very impressive peacock

Can't remember the name of this one but it sure was colourful

Lazy or shy Toucan sitting in the back of its enclosure, near impossible for anyone to spot

The Gorilla was not feeling particularly bothered today and opted for a snooze

An Orangutan feigning a moment of contemplation

We had a lot of Indian visitors asking for pictures of us - we were definitely the most popular primates while there - not sure what species the specimen to the far left is...

This elephant had a thing for tyres - constantly playing with and kicking them around

A not particularly bothered Cheetah

Simples - an inquisitive meerkat staring back

I love Mysore zoo if for nothing else than its graphically explicit warnings: you're foolish enough to fall into the lion's enclosure, you get eaten, the lion gets sick and then you get punished ;-)