Lodging in India - Guesthouse in Mysore

In January 2015, I visited my company's Mysore office for 2 weeks. During my time in Mysore, I stayed at my company's owned lodging called the "Guesthouse."

Ramanagara Marathon in India

My most memorable experience while in India was running the Ramanagara Marathon (11K distance) on February 1, 2015.
The purpose of the Ramanagara Marathon was to  promote organ donation and child abuse awareness in India. My friend Sunaina Ravindra suggested the run to me since we both enjoy running.
The race organizers offered online registration, bib pickup, and charter bus transportation from Bangalore. Online registration was a challenge (as their online payment system did not accept credit cards from outside of India). We made special arrangements with the race organizers to pay at bib pick up. To further complicate things, we made arrangements for Sunaina's friend to pick up our bibs. The admission fee was approximately the equivalent of $7 USD.
On race day, we woke up at 4:30 am and took a Rickshaw to the bus station to meet the charter bus to the race. The bus picked us up at 5:15 am and we arrived at Ramanagara at around 6 am.

 

We found Sunaina and Balaji who gave us our bibs and packets which included a small drawstring backpack and a race shirt. Balaji is wearing the race shirt in the above photo.

It was cold, dark and foggy before the sunrise. Once the sun started to rise, the start line was a band of drum performers symbolizing the start of the race.

Start Line

We enjoyed a beautiful run that included the beautiful countryside of Ramanagara

Family of Spectators

 

Water stop along the race course

At the finish line, we received our medals and certificates of participation.

 

Although there were water stops along the race course, as outsiders, we were advised to only drink bottled water. We brought 1 bottle of water each to the race which we drank while on the race course. In the US, we usually receive granola bars and bananas at the finish line. In India, curry and/or other traditional Indian dishes were served. We needed to get back to our hotel, but the charter bus we took wasn't scheduled to leave for another 2-3 hours. We hitchhiked our way back to our hotel with a wonderful, kind, and generous family. We will always be thankful for this act of kindness.

On a very sad note, while we were leaving the race, we saw an ambulance behind us at one point. The next day we found out that one of the participants died of massive cardiac arrest. He was only 27-years-old. Read the entire article here.

Train Station in Bangalore

Train travel is probably the most common method of transportation between cities in India. Here are some scenes from the Bangalore main train station. Hosted by Paul Dunn.



There is a front entrance and back exit from this train station. When we arrived in Bangalore, we followed the crowd to the back exit and jumped into a cab. We should have walked to the front entrance and booked our return train ticket. At the time of the shooting of this video (February 2015), online train ticket reservations were not available to us.

Indian Visa approved!

My visa for India was approved by the Consulate General of India yesterday.  It's official, I'm headed to India.
Tourist Visa on Arrival in India is now available for US Citizens traveling on Holiday, but I applied for a business visa since I'm going for work.

My next International trip

I'm making preparations for my next international trip to Mysore, India in late January.  This will be my 1st trip to India, and I expect it to be quite an adventure.  This trip is for my job at Software Paradigms International (SPI) for 2 weeks.  My husband, Paul, will travel with me.  I'm looking forward to posting pictures and thoughts from my trip.

Pre-trip Tasks

1. Buy plane tickets.
2. Ground transportation & hotel - working on.
3. Visa for India - $175 for a tourist visa for my husband, business visa for me paid for by my company.  7 - 15 days processing time at the consulate.
4. Purchasing small gifts for the people I will be meeting with in India.
5. Packing list for India.
6. Buying audiobooks, movies, music - Entertainment options for the plane ride.
7. Research India - Reading India Unveiled by Robert Arnett.

My Personal Amazing Race - Boboil Gardens, Florence, Italy

In Season 12, Leg 7 (original airdate: 12/23/2007) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams end the leg at the Pit Stop in Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy.  Boboli Gardens, a popular tourist attraction, was also a scene in Dan Brown's novel, Inferno, where Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks attempt to escape their pursuers.
We visited Boboli Gardens during a week long trip to Italy in March 2004.

My Personal Amazing Race - Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Batu Caves

In Season 11, Leg 9 (original airdate: 4/8/2007) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by train or bus to Batu Caves, 8 miles (13 Km) outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In this episode, teams travel to Batu Cave, ascend a portion of the steps, and obtain a clue from a clue box.
Amazing Race returns to Batu Caves in Season 24, Leg 4 (original airdate: 3/16/2014) for another Pit Stop.


In my previous post regarding Season 3, Leg 10, I discussed my visit to Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.  During this same visit in November 2005, I took a cab from the heart of Kuala Lumpur to Batu Caves (public transportation via train was not completed at this time).


Batu Caves is a religious Hindu site with the main attraction climbing 272 steps to the top.  I'll admit I was a bit out of shape during my visit in 2005 and climbing the 272 steps was challenging for me.  I stopped several times during my climb to catch my breath, and I'm sure I was completely out of breath when I finally reached the top.  Batu Caves is one of the most popular and iconic tourist attractions of Malaysia and not to be missed during any visit to KL.  Since my visit in 2005, public transportation by train has been extended to take visitors to Batu Caves, making this Hindu religious site even more accessible.

Monkeys at Batu Caves

My Personal Amazing Race - Barcelona, Spain & Paris

Las Ramblas

In Season 10, Leg 11 & 12 (original airdate: 12/3 & 12/10/2006) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by plane to Barcelona, Spain.  In Leg 11's Detour, teams have a choice between Lug It or Lob It.  In the "Lug It" side of the Detour, teams carry large heavy characters along Las Ramblas.  Last Ramblas is the most popular pedestrian street in in Barcelona.

The first task in Leg 12 is to find a clue box outside of La Sagrada Familia, the most popular tourist attraction in Barcelona.

I visited Barcelona in December 2009 with my husband, Paul Dunn.  On day 1 of our trip, we visited La Sagrada Familia which is truly an amazing structure from the exterior.  We visited on a clear, bright day and enjoyed gorgeous views of the church.  I found it baffling that this church has been under construction since 1882 and has a completion date of 2026.  The designs are extremely intricate.

La Sagrada Familia

At the end of Leg 12, teams travel to Paris, France and ascend to level 3 of the Eiffel Tower.  I've visited Paris 3 times (1997, 2006, and 2007), and the Eiffel Tower twice (1997 and 2007).

Eiffel Tower 1997

La Sagrada Familia

Las Ramblas

My Personal Amazing Race - Rome, Italy

Trevi Fountain

In Season 9, Leg 6 (original airdate: 4/12/2006) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by train to Rome, Italy and visit Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Later in the same episode, teams travel to Athens and visit the Agora.

Amazing Race returns to the Spanish Steps in Rome in Season 24, Leg 7 where the teams must count the number of steps and solve an equation to get their next clue.  In the same episode, one team (Caroline & Jennifer) completes a Speed Bump in which they pick up a typewriter outside the Pantheon.

Spanish Steps

We visited Rome in March 2004 on a one week trip to Italy.  These photos and video were taken with a 1.3 Megapixel camera (HA!) which was the latest technology at the time.
If you haven't visited Rome, it is truly an amazing city and definitely worth the trip.  Rome has everything...art, culture, history, food, wine, and coffee.  I especially loved the cappuccinos in Italy.

My Personal Amazing Race - Costa Rica

In Season 8 (Family Edition), Leg 6 of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel from Panama to Costa Rica by bus and then drive themselves to Poas Volcanoes National Park.
In 2007, my husband, Paul took a two week work trip to Costa Rica.  I joined him for a short portion of the trip. Paul's Costa Rican co-workers took us for a day trip to Poas Volcanes National Park.  We had a blast!
Costa Rica is well known for their coffee.  Coffee plants are grown near the Poas volcano area, and harvested into Cafe Brit Poas Volcanic Earth Coffee.  I have had this coffee in this past, and it is one of my favorites.