I somewhat reluctantly accompanied Sunny to the other major Tibetan exile settlement in Karnataka, Bylakuppe, near Mysore. When we were able to secure overnight train seats that made it more palatable to me at least compared with taking the state run bus overnight. We met up with Sunny’s classmate from Taiwan John in Mysore, who was also studying at Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. Again there were no particular festivities going on for Losar in fact it was a bit deserted as even the normal day to day activities of the monastic universities were on hold for the Losar holiday as many monks went back to visit there families. Nevertheless it was interesting walking around the grounds and watching the young monks entertain themselves with various games of table tennis, volleyball, and soccer (football). While Sera is the largest Monastery located in Bylakuppe, the Golden Temple, as it is known, with its towering gold covered tower and impressively decorated prayer hall is probably the most famous. We spent a day wondering the grounds, John and I at a more leisurely pace, while Sunny made an effort to see every one of the many monasteries and nunneries that dot the settlements. The following morning we made our way back to Mysore and visited Somnathpur in route to catch our train to Hyderabad which left from Bangalore.
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