June 20th, 2000

9:00 I've never slept so much in my life - Its crazy!

9:30 We meet up with our tour guide - I can't remember his name. First, he takes us to the Mysore Fort where the British finally defeated Tipu Sultan in 1799. Then the mosque within the fort, the Water Gate (which the British snuck through to comprimise the fort,) the Elephant Gate, a huge Catholic cathedral, the Sultan's Summer Palace (which our guide seems to believe was never actually a palace at all,) and the Maharajah's Palace which looks more European than Mughal in my opinion. The palace seems to go on forever and is filled with the coolest 3-D paintings (murals really) I've ever seen. In the last painting we are shown the guards and the elephants literally turn to follow us as we walk from one side to the other. Its all very cool.

13:30 We have our driver take us to the same restaurant that we ate at the night before. The food is even spicier this time around. 16:30 On the walk back to the hotel we spot a sign directing us to a palm reader. Ember is curious so we follow the sign back to a small shack (smaller than most elevators,) dimly lit, and lined with skulls. The reader himself looks like he's been hitting the opium a little too much. He barely speaks any English so not much information is exchanged. The words we are able to make out tell us that he is about as good as any other palm reader out there.

15:30 Hotel - we all head out to the pool. The water is filled to the rim and its freezing cold. Its somewhat overcast so we don't stay out too long. This is probably the coldest it has been since we have been in the country. Apparently there was some kind of drought previous to our arrival in the country. Ember told us about it before we flew over and everybody here keeps reminding us. They also have told us that we are a blessing to them because it began raining the day we arrived. Ah shucks! They probably say that to all of the visitors.

18:00 Emma wants to grab an Orange Fanta as a souvenir for one of her friends so we head back to town. Buying chocolate has also become a favorite occasion of ours. I find some more souvenirs for some of my friends as well. While crossing the town square we see how "in control" the cows are: In the middle of the busiest street we see a cow stroll out into the center without any thought of all of the cars and pedestrians racing around her. Its really quite amusing.

22:30 Back to the hotel. Scripture reading, prayer, and bed.



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