Annig - just realized that these were not your pics. Thank you for sharing nevertheless.

Thursday - link finally opened but I need log on name and password.

Oh no - the palace is amazing - I do hope you both feel better.

Don't understand the problem with my pix, you shouldn't need any kind of password.

BTW, I suspect the sugar product you saw was jaggery.

I agree that the south in some areas seems more prosperous than the north, but it varies a lot. Kerala in general seems more prosperous, but the more rural parts of Karnataka are literally dirt poor.

Day 4 and I'm still bedridden with fever. On top of that, my husband has been suffering from intestinal issues for the last two days. We continue to take our meds and suffer. I feel entitled to whine at this point.

dgunbug,
I truly hope you both feel better soon. It's awful to be sick when you are away.

Have you consulted -- or considered consulting -- a doctor? Several days of fever would make me want to see or speak with someone.

I do hope what is affecting you both passes soon!

Paule

dgunbug - whine away.

I too would be wanting a doc at this stage.

hope you both feel better very soon.

A x

My daughter-in-law and family had similar symptoms which lasted for five days. Thought my fever had broken, but it was elevated again. I'm hoping that day five will be the magical number.

Oh no! I've been sick on the road and I know how miserable it is.

If the meds you brought with you aren't helping your husband I highly recommend a visit to a local pharmacy. They will have something that works with the local bugs.

I also recommend seeing a doctor if your fever doesn't go away, although I would probably look for one in Mysore or Kochi rather than Ooty. I'm sure it will be pretty cheap and your hotel should be able to make a recommendation - or check the US embassy website.

drink tons of safe liquids

Thank you all for your words of encouragement. Finally we are both feeling better and will be able to see a bit of Mysore today before moving on to Ooty. Report to follow.

Glad you are both feeling brighter and thanks for the pricing info you gave earlier.

that's great, dgunbug.

I hope that you are able to enjoy Mysore and your journey to Ooty.

Good to hear you're both feeling better, dgunbug! Enjoy the rest of your trip. I'm looking forward to your wonderful reports!

Thank you dgunbug for starting this post. All the participants of your post, as well as yourself have added greatly to my understanding of your Southern India journey. I especially like annhig and thursdaysd's links along the way. Glad you are gradually feeling better. Looking forward to reading your next posting and wishing you a full recovery so you can totally enjoy your journey!

Feeling frustrated after losing a rather lengthy post that never went through. I am now going to copy and paste it to forum after writing it so I won't lose it again. The Internet connection in Ooty is awful. Oh well...here I go again.

Our driver picked us up at the hotel at 10:30 and we proceeded to the splendid Mysore Palace. We learned that the original palace which he been made of wood, burned down during a wedding celebration. The rebuilt palace was constructed in 1912 and is truly an amazing site. We were disappointed that no pictures were permitted inside the palace, given how spectacular it was, but we were able to take photos of the beautiful exterior.

Worth noting is the fact that a free audio guide was available provided one leaves a photo ID as deposit. We didn't think a guide was necessary. Shoes are not permitted in the palace.

In addition to the palace there are several temples on the grounds along with an area for elephant and camel rides.

Our visit took about two hours, after which we met our driver and proceeded on to Ooty.

The drive to Ooty took approximately 4 1/2 hours, with the first half on rather poor roads which alternated between gravel, dirt, and highway, with huge congestion. We traveled through roads interspersed with poor villages and small towns, and passed the usual variety of animals, people, and vehicles of every sort going in every which direction.

During the second portion of the drive, we ascended switch back roads and drove through a national animal preserve where we learned, live elephants, tigers, bears and an assortment of other animals. While normally they tend to stay away from the road until after dark, we did spot an elephant, some wild boar and monkeys.

Traveling further we passed pretty terraced terrain and learned the major crops in this area are watermelon, radishes and carrots. We were told that security guards must be posted at night to keep the elephants away from the crops as they tend to come out of the forest in search of the watermelon.

Ooty is not what we had imagined it would be. Expecting a mountainside resort town, instead we found a sprawling city with many restaurants and stores...not very touristy, but rather a bustling town.

After dropping off luggage, we spent some time wandering around the town, but didn't find it particularly exciting. We returned to our mountain retreat, a rather picturesque hotel which is charming.

Tomorrow will will take the toy train between Ooty and Conoor.

More to follow.

sounds as if you managed Mysore and the trip to Ooty without too many alarums, dgunbug - thank goodness.

Reading the link below, it sounds as if Ooty [which my laptop keeps correcting to Oozy] is the gateway to the Hill Country and is indeed very touristy - glad that's not your experience.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Ooty

Enjoy the train! I look forward to reading what you thought about it.

dgunbug - just returned from slightly short of a month in India - not the same area as you, but just wanted to sympathize regarding the illness. My husband brought along antibiotics, but not me (the one who never gets sick!) - well, I was glad he did. While he escaped any issues at all, I was struck down with severe intestinal problems, including the real possibility of acute dehydration. The antibiotics were a lifesaver, I was back on my feet within 36 hours of the first dose.

Tried to be so careful after that experience. At one juncture, as I was walking through a particularly congested street market in Kolkata, reaching up to adjust my scarf, and my hand was jostled and pushed into my mouth. Seriously - how does THAT happen? I sucked it up (literally) and took a swig of alcohol-based hand sanitizer that I had in my pocket. That's how paranoid I had become.

It's so distressful to be sick when you're in places you know you will probably never see again. I hope you're on the mend!

Glad you're both functional again! I didn't get to ride that toy train (did ride the one to Darjeeling) and will be interested to hear your report.

@scdreamer - I travel to Asia with rehydration salts (bought at REI) as well as antibiotics and Imodium. Have never needed the salts, but... http://www.rei.com/product/407272/ad...ydration-salts

Happy to hear that you and your husband are on the mend and getting to enjoy India again.

Annhig - perhaps I misspoke - Ooty is indeed a place where people come to holiday and to get away from the pollution and noise which is everywhere. The air is refreshing and the parks a delight. The tourists are generally Indian...we saw fee westerners here.

SCdreamer - I laughed picturing your hand shoved into your mouth...such a funny sight!

I continue to be worn out, but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the day. Starting out early, we headed for the toy train, only to discover after having boarded that are tickets were for the wrong day. Luck would have it that for an additional fee, we were able to buy tickets for today's train in the first class compartment. We learned later that the genera seating is superior as each seat has a window view. Nevertheless, we were lucky to get a window and we enjoyed the one hour train ride with our fellow passengers who were all very friendly and on holiday from different parts of India. The train was not luxurious to say the least, but for the short trip it was perfectly acceptable. The scenery out the window was picturesque winding through tea plantations and forest.

Our driver met us at the Conoor train station and took us first to the Sim Park, known for its wide variety of trees and plants from around the world. While the park was pleasant, had we been there during flowering season, we imagine it would be far nicer.

Following some time in the park, we drove to a tea production factory to see how tea is produced. We were disappointed by the disorganization as we found that there was no guide to explain what was being done. Upon entering the factory, we stepped through various rooms and noted much sophisticated equipment for the drying and processing the tea leaves. We were surprised by the difference in the process here from that which we had seen in Thailand where there were few machines. Afterward we did the obligatory tea tasting, but left without purchasing anything other than chocolates for our driver.

Completing our tour in Conoor, we headed back to Ooty, a 1/2 hour drive. Fading quickly as my cold is still wearing me down, we returned to the room for a nap.

The highlight of our day would come later when we set out again at 3:30. Our driver wanted to take us to the botanical gardens, but first we requested a stop at the produce market. It turns out that behind the main street of shops, there are alleys filled with vendors selling flowers, fruit, vegetables, clothing and other merchandise. This was the Indian market that we had sought yesterday...and we were not disappointed. What a great photo opportunity. The people were so friendly and were happy to pose. The Indian children are beautiful with their gorgeous and the parents were happy to have their pictures taken. In addition to the people watching, we found fruits and vegetables which we had never seen and we found our time here very interesting.

Leaving the market, we set out to Ooty government garden which was filled with throngs of people enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. Groups of school children enjoyed their time away from studies. We had learned earlier that Ooty is home to many boarding schools for children sent away for a better education. Taking what we thought would be a short rest in the park turned out to be the highlight of the day. A large groups of schoolgirls sat nearby and only need a little encouragement before coming over to talk to us. Surrounded by approximately 20 children, my husband began to play games with them, quizzing them on indian and world history as well as math. By the time we left them we were "uncle" and "auntie" to them. They were very bright girls and made our afternoon a delight.

It is the interaction with people that makes traveling such a joy and today was truly special.