We are in Mysore, now known as Mysuru, India, in the state of Karnataka, which is central south-west of the country. We flew to Bengaluru (Bangalore), landed at 4.15am and settled in for the four-hour drive to the first stop on our itinerary.

Bengaluru is a young city, centre of India’s technology industry and the early morning glimpse we got was through a mist of pollution. Even at this unearthly hour, the streets were full of traffic and the noise levels are an immediate reminder of where we’ve landed - India!

We watched the sun rise over a mostly built up environment and drove through one small town after another with very little agriculture to be seen. As we got closer to Mysuru, it was school bus time and even though it’s Saturday, small groups of smartly uniformed schoolchildren were standing waiting in every village.

This being India, the traffic was an assortment of richly decorated lorries and an ever-increasing number of private cars.

In the small towns we passed through, the auto-rickshaws were the local transport, painted the same black and yellow as the cabs in Mumbai.

Driving on roads like these is interesting, for who knows what we might see?!

A four hour car journey after a nine hour flight is a stretch whatever the time of day and arriving at our hotel at around 10am came as somewhat of a relief. For the next couple of days, we’re here in a former Maharaja’s guesthouse, earmarked.blending.topples surrounded by heritage in the form of black and white photographs, grand furnishings and peeling wallpaper!

Off out to explore - see you later!