Another trip to South Coorg

Ever since I visited South Coorg in January 2007, I wanted to go there again. Finally I got this opportunity during the first week of May (2008). Sachin, Raghavendra and my brother Roshan agreed to come, but none of the guys from the previous trip to the same place. I found out that the Poonachas' High falls Holiday Home had become too expensive for us, with 1200 Rs per person per day (though it included all meals, it still was expensive!!). So I got this place called Irpu Home Stay (Belonging to Timmaiahs), just about 300 meters far from High Falls, but at about one-third of the cost.
A day before our trip, Thomas and Kunal said they too would join. So we met these guys (both with their own Bullets) near City Market and soon we hit the Mysore Road. We already were nearly an hour later than our scheduled time of 7 AM. And we had to wait for nearly half an hour at Kadumane, just to get a place to sit and have our breakfast. Then we decided that we would meet next only at the turn from Mysore road towards Hunsur. Thomas and Kunal went ahead, while Sachin, Raghavendra, Roshan and I moved on slowly, as we were 2 guys on each bike: Pulsar 150 (which I had borrowed from Shivanand, as my Caliber wasn't suited for two riders for such a journey) and Karizma (Raghavendra's new bike that had done only 140 KM before this journey).
We stopped in between for tender coconuts (and in the case of Sachin, cigarettes too), and fought about who would ride the Karizma. After we crossed Mandya city (or town, whatever), Kunal called to tell us that Thomas and he had already taken the right turn after Srirangapatna, and were relaxing in a field. We too reached that spot soon, to find them sitting under a coconut tree, with sugarcane field on their side. By then our (the pillion riders') a$$es had taken enough pounding, so we desperately needed a break.
After the break, Thomas and Kunal decided to exchange their bikes, so they started adjusting something on Kunal's bike, while the other 4 continued towards Hunsur. We crossed the power grid area, and reached the BM road (the wide 4 lane road that goes on the outskirts of Mysore). After stopping at one place for tender coconut, we continued. Though the 3 of us were sure that Thomas and Kunal were behind us, Sachin firmly told us that they had gone ahead. So I told him, if at all they are behind us, I am going to break a tender coconut on his head. Soon Kunal called and told us to wait for him at some place, so that we could get together and go for lunch. So I still owe Sachin's head a tender coconut.
We waited for the Bulleteers at the bypass to Hunsur. Once they came, we entered the Hunsur town, and stopped at a veg restaurant for lunch. It was already 1.30 PM then. After ordering food, Kunal, Sachin and I went into the bar next door. Good old KF was really really really refreshing!!! And it was a perfect appetizer too.
After lunch, our next town was Gonikoppalu. We came out of Hunsur town and hit the BM road again. Meanwhile, Mrs Timmaiah called me up to check whether we are coming or not. I had told her earlier that we would be reaching at around 2.30 or 3, but now we had covered only about 70% distance by 3 PM.
Unfortunately, all of us missed that left turn from BM road towards Gonikoppalu, and ended going through Piriyapattana. The road was bad, and I could not remember going through this town last time. Still we continued, and after about 6 km, finally decided to ask someone (typical men, always hesitating to ask for directions). And there we got to know that we had to go back to Piriyapattana and take a right turn. So we went back on the bad road, and took that turn. This stretch of road was not very good either. Finally we came to the junction of this road and the road which we should actually have taken. Right at this junction is a checkpost and a board that welcomes you to Rajiv Gandhi Sanctuary.

And once you are on this part of the road, you don't feel like wearing helmet anymore. You ride through the forest, and feel the wind flowing through your hair. The road is straight, and gets your mind lost. But within a few kilometres, you are back into civilization. And so we continued, from Hudikeri to T.Shettigeri, stopping in between only to give rest to our aching rear-ends. At T.Shettigeri, we stopped for tea. It was already 5.30 PM then, and we had about 20 km more to go. And here the roads are not so good. They look good because they are tarred newly. However, while putting a new layer of tar, these repair people don't fill up the potholes, so the road gives you a bumpy ride.

By the time we reached Irpu, it was beyond 6 PM, and the Timmaiahs were waiting for us. They have only 2 guest rooms, and as we had booked both these, we had no worry of getting disturbed by other tourists/travellers. Though our original plan was to go to Irpu falls that day itself, it was already late. The entry to Irpu falls is controlled by the forest department, and you have to pay Rs 10 to enter. And it is shared equally by the temple there and the forest department. No free access to that beautiful falls.

Finally we managed to Reach Mr Timmaiah's house. And the moment we we saw the house, and the surroundings, all our pain vanished. Mr Timmaiah showed us our rooms, and other things we could use: a hammock (which, he said, is made of the same rope that is used to tie ships to the port, and so will not break even for my weight) and a swing (which is tied to the trees that are so strong that the tree will not break, even for my weight). The rooms had attached bathrooms, 2 beds each, and quite a few chairs, including two easy-chairs. PERFECT!!!!

Kunal, who preferred being closer to the nature than the rest of us, pitched his tent in one corner of the open ground in front of the house. I took a bath in the cold water, and it was as refreshing as drinking beer!!! The water was so soft, that I didn’t need to use much soap, and it didn’t affect my hair at all.

That night, the dinner consisted of pork and chicken curries, chapatis, sambar and rice. But before dinner, we guys had to have our usual tonic. So came out from my bag a full bottle of Black&White, 1/3rd Jack Daniel's, 1/3rd Teacher's Highland Cream and 1/4th Bacardi Reserva. Mr Timmaiah, who we had started already calling 'uncle', gave us the KF strong beer he had, plus ice cubes.After all the plates were wiped clean, we went to sleep. Kunal went to his tent, Thomas and Roshan went into one room, and Raghu, Sachin and I went into another. We 3 guys were thinking of chatting until late night. But the moment we hit the bed, we wanted to stop all other activities. Next morning Sachin told me that I was telling them something about my previous trip to Irpu, and just as I was telling, I stopped abruptly, and started snoring moments later.

Next morning we were up at 8, to finish off the poori bhaji that Mrs Timmaiah ("aunty") had made for us. Thomas and Kunal studied the map of South India and decided to enter to Kerala through Wayanad (about 7 KM from Irpu) and go to Calicut. The rest of us headed for Irpu falls, about half a KM from where we stayed.But we were shocked to see the number of vehicles already there. There were 2 tourist buses, and at least 10 cars. We entered the gates, and went through the cement pathway (perfect to spoil your mood if you are looking for a natural path to the falls). There was a bridge to cross the stream (that comes from the falls) but we guys went through the rocks of the stream, to get some feel of the nature. And when we reached the falls, all we could see was people. And the authorities have even put a platform made from bamboo, all the way to the bottom of the falls. It was so disgusting, that I decided not to get under the falling water. I would hate to stand in a queue to get under the water!!!! Once the other guys finished their bath (Raghu and Sachin hadn't taken bath the previous night), we sat there for a while, looking at all the silly things the people there were doing. Someone had put a fire in one of the wastebins, and the smell of burning plastic was all around.We came back to our house, and gulped some cold beer. And we went to sleep after lunch, at around 1.30 PM, hoping to get up by 3, and go to Kuruva island in Kerala. But when we got up (after great difficulty) at around 3.30, Mrs Timmaiah informed us that Thomas and Kunal were coming back and would have lunch there, as there was some strike in Kerala. FOILED!!!! Even we had no chance to go to Kerala then. Thomas and Kunal were back, and they said they had been to the island, and it looked very boring. So no island. What to do? Kunal said they saw a stream in Irpu and we could try spending time there. So we 4 went to that stream. It looked pretty dirty, and deep too. There was no possibility of going up the stream.

The shores were full of plants, and the stream was deep. So we tried going down the stream. As we were exploring, two young girls came with buckets filled with clothes. Hmmmm, it was the washing place for them, and there was no point for us to spend time there. So we went back to the house. Mr Timmaiah suggested that we could actually trek through his brother's estate, on the hill behind. This is Brahmagiri. And if you really want to trek, you need to take permission from the forest department, and you have to take a guide along (of course, you have to pay for the guide too!!).

Soon we had started our trek. After the coffee estate ended, it was a path through thorny bushes. And I felt really tired. So Sachin, Roshan and I decided to go back, while Thomas and Kunal continued trekking, as if they were walking on a tar road. Raghu went with them.

As we were walking towards our house, we could see the shiny yellow t-shirt of Raghu (If you look closely, you can actually spot him in the photo). After looking at him closely, we could see Thomas and Kunal (who weren't wearing "attractive" clothes) as well. From that distance, Raghu looked just as small as the nail of my pinkie. Those who know him also know his size. Now imagine how far up they were!!!

But it was getting dark, so we 3 went back to the house. After waiting for a long long time, the trekkers finally came back. By then it was pitch dark outside. They hadn't gone much further from where they were when we had seen them earlier. It is illegal to enter the area without permission and these guys didn't want to risk getting caught for trespassing into a wildlife sanctuary.

Soon we started our 2nd day's drinks. Jack Daniel's and Bacardi Reserva were finished, and Black&White was opened.

Mr Timmaiah had lit a fire with some wood, so make coal to prepare barbeque for us. Soon we had barbequed chicken, and some potato and onion that Kunal put under the coal.

After another sumptuous meal, it was time to end another day. We wanted to celebrate Roshan's birthday, but had no energy to wait until midnight. Next day Thomas and Kunal would continue to Calicut early in the morning, and the others had plans to go to Phookode lake and see the surrounding area.By the time we got up at 8, Kunal and Thomas had finished their breakfast of Akkirotti with some kind of spinach curry. We celebrated Roshan's birthday then. We left about an hour after they left, and headed towards Kerala. We had to go through the bad roads of Kutta. The moment we crossed the border, the condition of the road was completely different. There is one place with board that says it is the Karnataka-Kerala border. One side of the road has a road that hasn't been tarred for ages, while the other side has perfectly tarred road. Now we had entered the Wayanad district. We continued through the forest, and went on for about 70 km from the border, passing Mananthavady (the first town you get in Kerala on this road), Vythiri and Kalpetta on the way. We saw many roadsigns that gave directions to Edakal caves, and different waterfalls. We also saw tea estates for the first time during this trip.We reached the Phookode lake, and it was rather boring. There was a few peddle boats, and there were enough people in queue to use them. So we went 3 km further, to a place called Viewpoint. This is the beginning of the Ghat road that goes down, down and down and apparently we can even see Calicut from there. Well well well, when we went we could hardly see anything. The whole area was covered in fog. The fog seemed to rise rapidly from the bottom of the mountain, so it hadn't occupied the road. But the road seemed so maginficent and irresistible that we gave up all our other plans and continued on the road. It is a narrow road (a national highway, I guess), but well maintained. Riding on it is a pleasure, as long as you stay away from the monstrous KSRTC (Kerala SRTC) buses whose drivers seem to have problem spotting smaller vehicles on the road. May be their government should conduct eye-tests for them.

After a long long long journey, we reached the bottom of the hill, a town called Adivaram. We had tea there. Sachin had a cigarette too. There was a board there that said the Calicut beach was only 45 km from there. That's an hour's ride. But Sachin wasn't too interested, so we headed back, upwards. Raghu and Roshan went far ahead and Sachin and I went slowly. Half way through our journey, it started raining. As we got closer to Viewpoint, it was pouring cats and dogs. We could not see beyond 20 meters or so. Still some irreponsible drivers hadn't switched on their headlamps. We stopped at Viewpoint, and the rain got heavier. It was one awesome experience. Sachin could smoke without the fear of being caught (public smoking draws 500 Rs fine, we heard).We continued on our journey back, and when we reached Kalpetta, it was 3 PM. Mr Timmaiah had suggested that we lunch at Hotel Woodlands there. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed. Fortunately, the food court was open. And the food there is awesome. The place is unbelievably clean and economical. In the food court, the food is cooked in front of you, so you know the quality. Raghu and I weren't satisfied with one round of food, so we asked the cook what food could he cook. The restaurant was long closed for others. But for us, the cook agreed to prepare food, so we bought more food. When we were finally done, it was 4 PM, and they were sticking the evening snack menus to the wall. But we were too filled up to have tea and snacks. So we continued our journey back to Irpu. We crossed Mananthavady and continued further. We stopped at a shack for tea. We asked the boy there whether the road led to Karnataka, and he said yes. All in broken English and Malayalam. As we went on, to my surprise I could see lot of tea estates. But I could not remember seeing them while going to Phookode. The first tea estate we had seen then were very close to Phookode. It was obvious that we had lost our way. Luckily we found a few men who had parked their car on the roadside, probably for a smoke. They told us that we had come quite a distance on the wrong road (which led to Talassery), after missing a right turn at Mananthavady. So we begain our 11 km journey back to Mananthavady.It is easy for a traveller to get lost in Mananthavady. There are many one-ways, but and very few roadsigns. But this time we managed to find the right road. We picked up some snacks at Kutta and headed back home. It was probably about 7 PM when we reached back home. By the time I finished my bath and came out, Sachin and Raghu had already emptied the Teacher's, and now only Black&White was left. Mr Timmaiah joined us with his bottle, Mansion house brandy. We sat and shared a lot of stories. Mr Timmaiah said that we were the best group who had been there, since the time they started homestay in January 2007 (DAMN! That's the first time I went to Irpu!!!). We were the cleanest, and least fighting. He said he really liked our way of putting all waste in one plastic bag, instead of throwing into their garden. And he shared with us their experiences while running he homestay: some tourists of one room stealing cigarette packets of a britisher staying in the next room, 2 people of a group fighting over the girl both were interested in (but luckily, the girl wasn't there with them then), some people fighting over the bill etc.

Sunday morning was a sad time. We had rice idlis with sambar and chutney, and after settling our bill (which was nowhere close to what we had expected, with beer and cigarettes costing only a few rupees more than MRP, and non-veg food costing very cheap too), we left from there at 8.45 AM. We knew the way, and we had no intention to stop often, except to let the blood flow into certain parts of the body that are deprived of blood while riding. We stopped for lunch at Kamat Lokaruchi, and by 4.30 PM, we were back breathing the polluted air.