We were heading to Hassan today to check out what is supposed to be two really cool temples. Little did we know that getting there would be such a herculean task. No buses to Hassan, so we jumped on a local’s bus to the nearby town of Sagar, thinking we could get a train there.
No trains or buses to Hassan there, but we could take the express bus to Shimoga where we could catch to get a third bus to Hassan. We took bus #2 to Shimoga and decided we needed a lunch break before any of us could face boarding another Indian bus ride.
After lunch, it was to the bus station and when I inquired if the bus leaving at 3:45 under the Hassan sign was actually going to Hassan. I was told that that particular bus was leaving at 3:45 for Mysore, another 120 kilometers farther south from Hassan. The bus was about to leave and we were sick of waiting, so the three of us just boarded the bus and headed off to Mysore.
We have been on so many buses that day that we were a bit delirious. So, about the sixth hour into our third bus ride, Kate, Rich, and I just started singing anything and everything that came to mind, children’s rhymes, musicals, Christmas carols. We were bored silly and upon our arrival in Mysore at 10:30 p.m. that night, we figured out we have been riding buses for something like 10 to 11 hours that day. No wonder we were deserving of those nice white jackets with the funny sleeves that tie in the back.
We checked into the first hotel we could find, called the Ritz and had a real colonial time. We all really relaxed in our nice room with a shower that had real hot water. I did note that I had not had a hot shower since Christmas Eve. After a nice dinner and a few rums, we all retired to bed exhausted from the day’s travel.