Monday, November 2nd, was a major travel day. We got a 4:30 wake-up call, 5:00 bags out and breakfast, on the bus at 5:30.
We drove about an hour out to the airport, where things went pretty smoothly. We flew a Jet Airways turboprop to Bangalore in a little over an hour, got on an unfamiliar bus with a new driver and driver's assistant and headed for Mysore, a long drive.
Along the way, Sudha stopped us at a government silk cocoon market,
where we saw a man put a 200-pound cocoon sacks on the back of his bicycle (a normal pedal bike), then pick up another 200-pound sack, steady it on top of his head and ride off as fast as he could. 
Where was he going? We went to a silk factory, where cocoons were boiled, to kill the larvae inside, then the silk thread was spun out by women operating spinning machines. 
Once a silkworm finishes its cocoon, you have 24-36 hours to collect, weigh, sell, deliver and boil it, or else the butterfly inside will mature and break out of the cocoon, spoiling it. If one cocoon opens, the others around it will sense that fact and start to break out as well. Thus, it is a race against time, with every party along the way on the hook for the loss, until the point where the cocoon is boiled.
We finally arrived in Mysore and, after settling into our hotel, went for a walk in the old town. The market there was the most colorful yet on this trip. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera. We stopped at a pharmacy, since several people on the tour have colds (I'm afraid I'll probably be next). Then Sudha got us into three white Morris Ambassador taxis. The Ambassador was the first car made in India, and for a while was a status symbol. The one we were in was made in 1988 and the driver had been driving it for 24 years. We stopped for evening pictures of the Maharajah's Palace, then went back to the hotel.
We drove about an hour out to the airport, where things went pretty smoothly. We flew a Jet Airways turboprop to Bangalore in a little over an hour, got on an unfamiliar bus with a new driver and driver's assistant and headed for Mysore, a long drive.
Along the way, Sudha stopped us at a government silk cocoon market,
We finally arrived in Mysore and, after settling into our hotel, went for a walk in the old town. The market there was the most colorful yet on this trip. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera. We stopped at a pharmacy, since several people on the tour have colds (I'm afraid I'll probably be next). Then Sudha got us into three white Morris Ambassador taxis. The Ambassador was the first car made in India, and for a while was a status symbol. The one we were in was made in 1988 and the driver had been driving it for 24 years. We stopped for evening pictures of the Maharajah's Palace, then went back to the hotel.
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