Blistered Feet (Oh My!)

I always know when I am truly traveling by the two big blisters that develop on the balls of my feet. Today, my first day in Mysore, a few friends and I decided to venture into KR Circle, the shopping mecca of this town. It was overwhelming enough to make me not want to shop...although I managed. I ended up getting fitted for my first traditional Indian outfit. I was pleasantly surprised at the market, we didn't get hassled too badly for a group of about ten women and one male. I think my brown skin might have helped and so did the male student who came along too. He's of Indian descent and has traveled to India before so he helped us out tremendously! It is interesting because a good number of the people that I've encountered always make eye contact with me but not necessarily with the rest of the women in my group.

We got lost leaving KR Circle when our rickshaw driver didn't understand our directions. However, he refused to listen to two of the passengers. He would only listen and maintain eye contact with me. I find that very interesting and don't know what to make of that yet. Surprisingly, I wasn't stressed out when we got lost because we had plenty of daylight hours left. If it had been dark, then I would have been a little more scared. While the walk may have been two miles at most, my feet felt like they'd been through a marathon with the uneven surfaces of red dirt and rocks. It is clear in Mysore that pedestrians do not have the right away. If you do not run, you will get hit. You might as well be another car, another moped getting honked at.

The most popular mode of transportation here seems to be the moped. I've seen several people, mainly men but a surprisingly good number of women too, riding the moped. I saw my first monkey today too. It looked like a little old man in a woman's hand. The woman in her green sari was a beggar. I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to the begging. I say no but instinctively I want to give.

Anyways, off to bed.