Short weekend trip from Bangalore to Mysore (Bangalore_Mysore) and back via the newly opened Bangalore-Mysore Expressway.
Date: 28th July to 30th July 2023.
Vehicle: MG Hector Plus
Total Distance: ~340kms
Toll: Rs.520 (one way)
Due to the extended weekend for Muharram, and the dullness of our daily grind ever since our Kashmir trip in April-May 2023, we decided to take a short weekend trip to Mysore via the spanking new Bangalore-Mysore Expressway. I had read a lot of negative comments/ reviews from local Kannadigas since the day the expressway was inaugurated and wanted to check out if things were indeed that bad. Since Friday was a working day for me and wife, we decided to start late from Bangalore by around 7 PM. Usual office rush hour delayed us by 1 hour to reach Nice road via the Electronics City elevated expressway. Once we reached Nice road, set into cruise mode at 80 kmph with a cool breeze blowing through the half open sunroof which prompted us to switch off the ac. Reached the Mysore road exit after 15 mins and was greeted by the Bangalore-Mysore expressway entry gate immediately upon exiting Nice road. Few taxis and private cars being the usual culprit were trying to avoid the expressway at the last minute and this created a small bottleneck at the entry point. Entered the expressway and settled into a steady cruising speed of 100 kmph. The butter smooth tarmac and the hypnotic humming of the tyres on smooth asphalt was like music to my ears hence did not feel the urge to start any songs which is the usual practice. Since it was evening, dark and cold my entire family was asleep while I kept driving along. Never have I enjoy such a lovely eventless drive at 100+ speeds without feeling any safety lapse as I did on this expressway (don't know why people complain so much).
Only drawback was that exits are far apart and may pose a challenge if one runs out of fuel or needs to eat. Since we did not have either of those requirements, we never exited the expressway and kept driving when something scary happened with me. I had heard of highway hypnosis and experienced it for the first time in my life. The moment I reallised I was dozing off, parked on the shoulder and got down for a little water splash on the face and bio break. After the much needed break, kept on driving and reached Mysore by 10 PM (exactly 1 hr 45 mins since getting on the new expressway) early by atleast 1.5 hours compared to the old highway.
Checked into our hotel Souther Star Mysore, which was gonna be our rest house for the next 2 nights. All we did was sleep, eat, swim, workout, eat, sleep and repeat.
On the 30th we checked out by 12 noon and headed towards Nexus mall in Mysore because we had some work there as well as to pickup some food. Spent about an hour there while my kids enjoyed in the play area. Left the mall by 2 PM and geaded straight for the expressway. Since it was Sunday and like us many people were heading back to Bangalore after the weekend entry to the expressway was pretty much crowded. By the time we reached Srirangapatna most of the local traffic as well as buses exited the expressway and we got an empty stretch of road all the way. Usual traffic all the way and was surprised to see Bangalore streets empty on a Sunday afternoon which is unusual. Reached home by 5 PM feeling refreshed but still left wanting for more.
Drivelog credit: Bangalore resident, IT professional, Indian Roadie cum Bengal Roadie Abhijit Chatterjee.
