Feb 12–18

Feb 12 — Slept ok then fat cleaner guy woke me up talking loud at 7:50, told him to shut up twice. Rise 9am, make café using mug in room + hot water dispenser, first hot coffee in awhile. Head to terrace for handstand, nice clotheslines + sun, wash 10 articles should dry in 2hr, handstand on terrace 2 holds. 11:30 banana leaf spot 70rs omelets w/ parathas. Chill in room, collect laundry. Checkout Semmeen Lodge 1:50, nicer solid place. Walk to junction, pay 90rs ticket to Madurai. Same place for lunch fried chk w/ parathas 95rs. 2:30 train on time, sit beside AC car not too busy, jaw ex, TTE checked ticket didn’t say anything. Arrive Madurai Junc 4:50. Walk ~5 lodges all full, find Hotel International 900rs single fan room not amazing. More lodges full, go back, pay 900rs cash (card failed). 6pm temple complex pedestrian street, long lines. Walk around temple streets, not much food, find chicken spot half chk 160rs w/ parathas 200rs solid place seemingly the only real food spot. Walk old city, bad traffic, more raw India compared to kerala. Clean up, bed early.

Feb 13 — Slept decent despite mosquitos, room no soundproofing, woken by car alarm at dawn. Rise 9:10, make instacafe w/ small metal cup + filtered water. 10:30 veg place onion dosa 95rs. Checkout International Hotel 12pm, dumpy place in chaotic religious city. Walk to station, ticket to Dindigul 45rs. 12:15 train on time, all 2nd class cars. Reach Dindigul 1:50 behind schedule, no ticket check. Walk bus stand area, lodges full again: one 1980inr smelly room, another 500inr total dive no wifi. Hate TN state. Consider leaving. Walk north, find Venkat Lodge: 1000inr AC, 630inr top floor fan no wifi, get main floor fan 730rs card, solid wifi + water, lucky. 3:15 food + Rock Fort: small spot chk biryani 50rs. Walk 2km Rock Fort, closing 4:20, ticket 250inr vs 20inr for Indians bs tier pricing. Walk back, healthy snack store. Shower, comfy bed. 8:15 corner chk biryani spot fried chk w/ parathas 200rs card. Bus station area dessert spot, cheesecake 100rs card. Dindigul more card friendly. Fix QT edge issue (system clock sync), sell limit order on dlr.u. Chat Gemini + Copilot about travel/accounts.

Feb 14 — Old guys loud upstairs woke me, smashed door 3× told them shut up. Cheap places not soundproof. Slept in to 10:20. Try to pay another night, lodge full due to festival. Use Agoda book Sethu in Dindigul. Issue with tomorrow peak festival, no cheap rooms. 12:20 bus stand food 70rs pina juice ng. New chk spot beside fried chk, chk biryani 250rs ripped. Checkout Venkat 2:30, walk to Sethu, already paid but wont give me wifi pw, yell at guy, threaten bad review, get ground floor room. Walk west search room for tomorrow, nothing. Local spot chk noodles 130rs. No AC mall. Walk bus stand, drunk Indians chat. Venkat use wifi, kid says full tomorrow. Book CM Residency Salem 495rs private room shared bath on Agoda. Back to Sethu, show guy Agoda “free wifi,” got PW, works. Shower, flexibility on bed: fwd bends ×3, cobra/dog, hip swivel, cross pigeon, pancake, kneeling quads, tib raises, side splits, frog. Solid flex session 6.5/10. Rest, decent room. Chat w Gemini fix system clock. 8:10 Burgerman chk wrap 274rs, slow, too much sauce. Overhaul rail plans → bus adventure.

Feb 15 — Kid ringing doorbell 7:15 for tea, pissed. Dog barking. Rise 9 cranky, tell staff off. Checkout Sethu 10:45. Main bus stop, local gov bus to Karur 11am sharp, 50rs cheap, decent bus. Arrive Karur 1:05, bus station not on OSM map. Catch bus to Namakkal 33rs, packed, arrive 2:35. Egg biryani w/ chk 150rs at station, brush teeth in restaurant. 3rd bus to Salem 35rs, packed. Arrive Salem new bus park 4:20, bus to town too packed, walk 3.5km to CM Residency, checkin 5:30, small room no bath, desk dirty. Walk south temple festival, indoor burger spot chk pizza 149rs card decent. Market grim. Shower, rest. Book another night 524rs inc breakfast. 9pm CM restaurant paneer dosa 110rs, no int cards. Meditate in bed.

Feb 16 — Slept ok, temple horn 7:40 loud chanting. Reception noise. Pay 525rs cash for tonight w/ breakfast, guy said 650inr at desk. Order café 25rs mix instacafe. Wash 11 articles sink upstairs, terrace clotheslines. HS hold 2 sets, tough w many fails. 10:30 walk outside, parade, no food. Back to lodge order veg meal 115rs. Chill in room, collect laundry. Reception accused me of not paying, told them check camera. Walk to old bus park, told go to new bus park. Bus back to new bus park 7rs. Find bus to Yercaud 26rs, ride up 1000m via 20 hairpins. Arrive Yercaud 2:30, walk lake, food park chk noodles 250rs meh. Parks entry fees 20–40rs. Dark chocolate 200rs. Island lake park 20rs, speed WO on quiet path: 10 drills (marching A’s, C’s, crossovers, backward skip, high kicks, skips, wall push, side knees, external knee rot). Helped couple stuck in boat. 2 accels ×9s, 2 sprints ×13s. Monkey bars hang 2min, deadhang 65s. Decent session 7/10. Catch bus back to salem after 3min wait 26rs. Try fried rice 80rs. Dog on terrace playful. Shower, rest. Markets closed. 9:10 burger pizza joint again, crispy chk burger 149rs too much sauce. Wash 3 more articles. Female dog rowdy, had to cage it. Meditate bed half lotus.

Feb 17 — Firecrackers before dawn, temple horn. Rise 9:20. Checkout day. Wash blue tank, café. Breakfast paneer sandwich + pina juice 102p, tip 22rs. Checkout CM Residency 11:15. Bus old stand → new stand again 7rs. Bus to Erode 43rs, smooth. Arrive 1:28. Walk Premier Rd, lodges full or no wifi. 1 place 700inr no wifi. Restaurant chk biryani 140rs, wifi no signal. Finally Premier Residency non‑AC 770rs card checkin at 3:15. Chill room, chat GPT. 4:30 juice spot pom 65rs. Stadium track best in India, mobility + hurdle drills. Found bus to Mysore, papaya juice 35rs. Shower, rest. 8:20 south station chk chowmein big plate 80rs win. Relax room, meditate on bed.

Feb 18 — Quiet place, good rest. Rise 8:30. Café metal cup + RO water. Checkout PR Lodge 9:45, good stay right place. 2min walk bus stand, bus to Sathy 10am, pina juice 50rs. Arrive 11:25. Food parathas + omelet + sambar 100rs. Bus to Mysore 160inr, pay 85rs to Chamarajanagara. 27 hairpins. Rest stop samosa + fried cauliflower 60rs. Arrive Chathy 2:20. Walk town, fruit mix papaya + pina 40rs. Bus to Mysore 85rs, nap. Arrive Mysore 4:50. VRS Luxury Dorm by bus stop, checkin 315rs cash non‑AC dorm, decent but no shelf space. Brush teeth terrace, wifi slow. 5:20 walk palace closed. Take tuk driver offers against judgement to weird stored, weed + CBD oil wanted 8k inr total scam.. Pay 30rs ride. Walk 1.5km, street stall veg chowmein 60rs. Flower/incense market, small mall, Decathlon store: buy basic skipping rope 99rs, massage ball 199rs. Skip on terrace 3×3min, 1 HS hold after several fails. 8:45 street meat chk curry + parathas 150rs, rats running around. Park by palace gate, guy locked me in w attitude. Walk mallwalk further to mall area again dead at night. chat w gpt n copilot, sell 1811 dlr.u at 10.16.