This temple was largish. This structure is just the gate into the inner yard the temple was in the middle of. You take your shoes off, and then go thru that door and wait in line to pay to get in.

And attempt to show the detail of the gate.

More detail.

Proof I was actually there and didn't just get all these photos off the internet.

I'm standing in the middle yard. The gate is to my right, and the structure behind me is the actual temple.

These old temples, I forget when this was build, but it was about 1000 years old (I think that's what my driver said). I couldn't take photos inside, but that was no loss because inside it was a dungeon. Dark, dirty, the only well-lit and clean areas were where the idols were.

Now we move onto Mysore Palace. Build in the early 1900's by English architects, because the previous wooden palace burned down.

It is incredible. The art inside is done by local Mysore artisans. Again, no shoes or photos inside.

The grounds were nice. Just at the beginning of monsoon season really isn't the best time to take photos of anything, and it was raining lightly at this point.

The low gallery to the left is where you leave your shoes and the tours start. They will try to charge you the equivalent of almost $100 for a tour, but I talked them down to about half that, on advise from the Indians I was working with that tours weren't worth more than 100 rupees.

Inside the palace were all these paintings where the tour guide would insist you walk across in front of them so you could see that all the people in them were looking at you and would follow you as you moved across. He did this on seemingly every painting, and there were 40-something of them. I started busting on him after a while, and he finally just said "and this one is like those others, are you sure you won't stand here?"

Proof of visit.

The arches and the area behind them, are designed for public audiences of the king of Mysore. Indeed, if you know what you are looking for, you can see where the king would be in this photo, from clear out here.

The golden dome is over one of the rooms inside. I forget which one, and couldn't take photos of it anyway so I don't really care now.

For pubic audiences, the king would be in the center up on the balcony at the back, in the center. The two balconies to the sides were for the kings advisers and retainers. The wives of the king and advisers sat way at the sides, at the far ends on either side. Bleachers would be erected in front of the lower balcony, sloping down to the crowd so as not to block anyone's view, for other dignitaries. Then the general population would stand on the ground. Everyone can see the king.

In 1947 when India asked Britain for its independence, India abolished the kings. The son of the last king still lives here though, way back in the residential section. One of the Brits I was here with seemed to think the dude was actually living in London right now while the residential quarters were being renovated.