The weekend just before Christmas was surprisingly quiet; somehow all the Sillyporeans (in my company) were away for leave. Suddenly, I was "alone" in the City of Parks (not to say that I wasn't before). I figured that work can probably be arranged (which also means drop everything and go) and thus I should go Mysore during the weekend. There was a minor hiccup though - the only piece of garment that for my lower body was a pair of dirty (unwashed for 3 weeks) bermudas - my GAP jeans were with Mr. Laundry. Nevermind, I was going to hit the road as a backpacker, not a spineless corporate executive that only knows how to send "save-my-ass" emails.

Woke up next morning and left my apartment at 10am. The plan was to get to Kempegowda Bus Terminal for the 3-hour bus to Mysore. When I reached the Bangalore-Mysore bus platform, there was a long queue for the Volvo Class (i.e. deluxe model with air-conditioning) bus. As I was running late (it was already 11am), I boarded the regular bus (Rs 91 or S$3.50) that was waiting nearby. As the bus slowly makes its way towards Mysore, it was certainly nice to know that I was finally on my way. The journey took 4 hours in total (including a 20min break at Channapatna) - the first hour was spent getting out of traffic-clogged streets of Bangalore.

Flipped through my LP India (finally its put into good use) while I was on the bus and had decided on the accommodation. Alighted from the bus and was initially lost (it doesn't help when I forgot to bring my compass). Used my gut feeling (while making assumptions based on the map in LP) and soon I found my first landmark (the Silver Jubilee Clock Tower) after 30 mins. Had taken a longer route actually; but once I found my sense of direction, Mysore is officially under "my" control.

Check-in into my Rs260 (or S$10) room at Hotel Dasaprakash and had a cold shower immediately - Mysore is certainly not as chilly as Bangalore!