On the bus to Hassan (week of Oct 8)

We missed the express bus to Hassan, so we caught a bus that stopped at every little town between Madikeri and Hassan. There was a town every few kms so the 80 km trip took us four hours and more and more people squeezed in. I thought the bus would fall apart! The luggage rack actually did, but not on my side. I got acquainted with two boys, their mother and the mother's sister. The boys were on their way to a military academy (those who attend often end up as the country's leaders). When I told one of the boys how old I was his jaw dropped. His mom asked me if I still had my original teeth!