Short round trip in the South

I'm just back from a few days travelling in the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Still tired but it was great!







The first stop was Tirupathi, a lovely town in its own right but much more well known for being the base for trips to Tirumala.


















From Tirupathi, there's a great footpath with 4000 steps (some pilgrims put red and orange paint on each step on their way up) climbing up the hill.

After three hours on the footpath (during which I met some very friendly guys who had been to Tirumala before and could explain me many things), I reached Tirumala where the temple devoted to Lord Venkateshwara is located. The atmospere there is very intense with pilgrims chanting, buying coconuts, flowers and other puja (offering) items. Many have their heads shaved bald which symbolises the renouncement of their ego. Even by Indian standards, the area around the temple gets extremely crowded. However, as everything is very well organised, things go relatively smoothly. Inside the temple, though, the going gets rougher as one approaches the inner sanctuary with the statue. I was glad I'm taller than the average person in the crowd so I could at least breathe more or less freely while I waited in the queue inside the temple for about two or three hours. I had not realised it would take this long but once I was inside, the only way out was through the temple and forward. The atmosphere inside was incredible, people screaming "Govinda, Govinda" and pressing even harder as we moved towards the statue (actually, I only got a glimpse on the statue before I was pushed out again). After getting out safely, I was given two big holy Laddus (a very rich sweet with nuts, butter and lots of sugar) before returning, tired and happy, to Tirupathi.

The next destination on my trip was Mysore. I had heard a lot about the city, many people claim it's the most beautiful city of the whole country. And it is nice (even Amritsar remains my favorite city in India)! I wasn't really in the mood for sightseeing so I spent the first day strolling through the roads of the old city.

There's beautiful old houses...













... a great fruit market..

















... and nice cars.















And then, there's the famous Maharaja Palace. Built in the early 20th century after the old palace burnt down. A bit kitschy for my taste but still really nice, especially from the outside.