Abby and I met up in Bangalore. The westernization of this city famous for its computer programming freaked us out and we almost immediately hopped on a bus to Mysore. I was feeling ill the night before, and I arrived with a delirious fever. The two of us stayed at Deepak Lodge near the central bus terminal. It was close, moderately priced (about 4 bucks a night), and as an added bonus had cable TV. Sicker than I can ever remember being, I watched the cartoon network while mildly hallucinating. I feel asleep probably around 6PM. In the middle of the night I woke up to a loud and high pitched chirping noise. Abby in the other bed woke up too. Zoinked out of my mind on cold medication I assured her that it was either a monkey outside the window or perhaps a mouse that was stuck in the TV.

I woke up the next morning to find that a rat had burrowed into my mattress and expelled half of the stuffing.

If you're planning to stay in Mysore, I recommend steering clear of Deepak Lodge. The Mysore Youth Hostel is a very plesant and rodent-free option. Plus if you're a student, it'll only run you about forty cents a night. Tell the warden Dr. Sirohi that Ryan says hi.