Our second week in India seemed to be spent mostly on a bus. Our first stop was Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Yoga and Nature Cure Hospital (what a mouth full). Here we would be experiencing Naturopathy, we were each interviewed and given a series of treatments a some of which included a massage and a strict diet while we were there. My treatment was for my allergies and it was simply called “Arm and Leg Bath”, who knew that all I needed to do was soak in water to cure my allergies. Needless to say the treatment didn’t cure me but it’s my understanding that over time following the treatments guidelines I could greatly reduce my sensitivity to allergens. It had something to do with alternating the cold and hot water in the bath as well as the amount of time I spent soaking. I’m not to sure if Naturopathy is for me but I will say that they made the most delicious juices, probably because they made them from scratch with completely organic fruits. Mmmmhmmm, yummy.
I was excited to depart from the Naturopathy Hospital only because our next destination was to a Tibetan Monastery. The drive there was long but well worth it, the Western Ghats that we drove through were definitely a sight worth seeing. The road took through a mountain range that was covered in dense jungles and dotted with tiny farms and villages. Every once and a while we would come across a waterfall or a pack of monkey’s. We even saw some elephants just off the side of the road! It was incredible! When we finally arrived at the monastery they led us through this exquisite gate that was decorated from top to bottom in paintings and figures. Once inside we made a bee line for the temple which was decorated in a similar fashion: reds, gold’s, blues, and greens all working together to bring the creatures and paintings to life. I had never seen such beautiful craftsmanship. There was simply no corner of each temple that wasn’t used to tell some kind of story.
After spending a few hours there we jumped back on the bus and made our way to Mysor, the silk capital of India. We were all very excited because here was the place to by all your silk and sandalwood needs, so we couldn’t wait to go shopping. The next day, we made our first Mysor outing to INFOSYS, which is the largest IT training facility in the world. Here they were trying very hard to integrate wellness programs, such as yoga, within the company. It was a very innovating company. Here we all broke our Indian food streak and had dominos pizza for lunch, now while it was an American Pizza place they have they own way of making a pizza. They use both cheese and another cheese called panier, which is very thick and creamy but boy is it good.
That night we hit the town for shopping, our guide taking us to all the great shops for Saree’s and tunics as well as homeopathic places that sell tonics and ointments. It was interesting to interact with other Indians who love to haggle which I found out that I’m not too bad at.