Note: the actual travelogue starts from 4th paragraph. The first 3 are “preface” :-D
Another long weekend was coming up, and we had 2 destinations in mind: South Coorg (again!!) or Ooty. Needless to say, South Coorg was unanimous. So I dialed the Irpu Home Stay number and confirmed our place. That’s a month in advance. Two weeks later, that uncle called back asking whether our plan was confirmed. Indeed, it was!!!
Ragz, Shiv, Ashith, Sudheer and I planned go for the trip. Initially we thought of taking my Palio that could take all the guys’ luggage, while all the other guys would ride freely. Nah, I won’t get to ride, which I prefer to do in South Coorg. Moreover, I was sure that none would be in the car with me, because everyone would want to ride his bike. Later, Guru too confirmed that he’d join. All the guys got their bikes serviced just in time for the trip. Ashith and Shiv (and their Pulsar 180 and 150) hadn’t been to Irpu since January 2007 (I was with them during that trip, obviously). Ragz had been there twice last year (once during the same time and once again during rainy season with his colleagues). It was the first trip to Irpu for Sudheer (and his new Unicorn) and Guru (and his Splendor on which I learnt to ride a motorbike while in Manipal. And it still has the scar it got when I crashed it).
A day before the trip day, I cooked some fried rice for the guys, packed my bags, went to Koramangala and exchanged my car with Dawson’s Pulsar 180, then went to Hotel Ashoka (a bar in Domlur), met up with Sudheer, Shiv and Ragz who had already downed a few beers, and I downed a pint too. Once we were done, we headed to the GM house in RT Nagar. And after some timepass till midnight, we went to sleep, for the next 5 hours.
Although we had planned to hit the road by 6 AM, we managed to do so only by 7. That’s quite an improvement compared to last year!!! Guru met us near Hebbal police station, and we were on our way through West of Chord road to Mysore Road. Our plan was to stop for breakfast at Kamat Lokaruchi after Ramanagara. But looking at the traffic on Mysore road at 7.30 AM, and the crowd at every restaurant by the roadside, it seemed unlikely that we would be able to. Truly, Kamat Lokaruchi’s security guard was really struggling to manage the cars there. Well, big deal. We headed to Kamat Upachar 16 kms further. Shivanand had trailed behind, and he didn’t notice us entering the restaurant, and so he went ahead. When we didn’t see him even when we were half way through our buffet breakfast (for 70 Rs only), we tried calling him. No response. And he called back after some time to tell us that he had reached Mandya!! So we told him to wait, and started the next leg of our journey.
The traffic was dense throughout. Add to that, poor management by Ramanagara district police. They didn’t bother to remove the barricades they had put on the road (which is good at nights, to stop people from overspeeding) even though there was slow-moving traffic for kms and kms. Looking at the dirt around those barricades, it looked as if they hadn’t been moved for at least a few years.
By this time, Ashith had exchanged his Pulsar 180 with Ragz’s Karizma. All the days before our trip, Ashith was dreaming about this opportunity to test the top speed of Karizma. And his dream had come true. Later he said he reached 130 kmph on it!!!
More woes at Mandya. This time, can’t blame Mandya district police force. Poor chaps were just bystanders because they could do nothing about narrow roads which were populated by vacation-goers and city motorists.
After Mandya, there was free-flow of traffic, marred occasionally by the slow-moving three-wheelers or trucks that occupied the rightmost lane, forcing the cars to slowdown and overtake from left. Unfortunately, the rearview mirrors of my bike (actually, Dawson’s) were in bad condition, so I too had to slow down quite a lot before overtaking or changing lanes.
And all this while, I was hoping that we would find lesser traffic on the route from Srirangapatna to Hunsur. We were kinda lucky. There was less traffic once we took that right turn into rural road from Srirangapatna towards Hunsur, but it wasn’t as less as it was last year. And while we waited for all the guys to arrive at that junction, 3 cars stopped and asked directions. Lucky for them, I knew whatever places they mentioned and so I was able to direct them. And that prompted other guys to suggest that I put a table and chair under a tree there and sit and wait for travelers asking for directions and charge them for my service too.
Once we hit the BM road at Ilawala, Ashith went ahead and disappeared from us, and we ourselves were riding at 80+ kmph!! Unfortunately, he missed the turn to Gonikoppa and went towards Piriyapatna. We all met up at that turn and tried calling him. No use. So I sent him an SMS to find his way to Gonikoppa and we’d wait for him. As we went ahead, he called back, and I told him how to reach Gonikoppa from Piriyapatna (I knew the way because we also had got lost and taken this route last year). The ride on this road is a wonderful experience. The road goes through the protected forest. And the weather is pretty cool even during midsummer. I can’t imagine how cold it would be during winter nights! We rode without our helmets or jackets, just to experience this climate.
And Ashith managed to reach Gonikoppa before us and there was more confusion. Sudheer, Ragz and I had some beer at Gonikoppa and while waiting for other guys to come. And finally we all managed to get back together and headed towards Irpu. Four of us (Guru, Ashith, Sudheer and I) went ahead and reached Irpu Home Stay. Ragz and Shiv somehow missed their way and managed to reach some half an hour later.
Uncle and aunty greeted us. And after the exchange of usual wishes, we were ready for lunch. As the saying goes, ‘hunger is the best sauce’, we gobbled up our lunch in no time. Then we spent some time on the benches (made of bamboo) and sways which the Timmaiahs (uncle and aunty) have installed in their front yard, under the trees. When you sit here and gaze at the world, to the extent that your eye can see, you see only green (except one small patch downhill where you see the roof of a godown). As you look up, the green ends and the blue starts. It’s so wonderful.
Later, we played shuttle and basketball in their front yard. The gentle breeze was tingling us once in a while, and also spoiling the game by giving unexpected twists to the shuttlecock. As darkness approached, it was time to play rummy. Sudheer is the punter in this game. But we did manage to get fewer points than him in some games. And of course, beer was there to accompany us. We had decided not to drink any hard liquor. We had no intention of getting drunk and ruining such a nice vacation. And KF Premium can never get us drunk. Jai Vijay Mallya!!!
Aunty served onion pakoda as we played. And it was so tasty that we had to pause our play to empty the plates. Even the dinner, complete with pork cooked in Coorgi style, was exemplary.
In between Rummy, we also played Donkey and Bluff. Guru, who had detached himself from us to sit under the trees because he didn’t know to play Rummy, also joined to play Donkey and Bluff. As the night went on, we got bored of card games, so we just sat there and chatted. Uncle also joined us and shared his stories with us. Finally, it was curtains down for the day by midnight.
When I woke up the next morning, Guru had already gotten up and visited the Irpu Rameshwara temple and had had his breakfast too. Once Ashith woke up, we 2 had our breakfast of dosa with a wonderful coconut chutney, lemon rice and sambar. By then, even the other 3 guys joined us. After breakfast, we played more shuttle. We cancelled our plan to go to Wayanad, that disappointed Guru. Not sure if it disappointed him because he also expressed a shock when we told him that going to View Point south of Wayanad, and coming back, would come to around 220 kms in one day. But in the end, it was a good idea not to go. We had our lunch there, which was totally vegetarian. They had assumed that we would not be having lunch, so they hadn’t had much stock of food. And we emptied every vessel in which food was served, and that pleased the old couple, who said they want the same “performance” from us during other meals too.
After evening tea, we finally decided to take a short ride through the tea estate of Tata. We headed to their Glen-Lorna estate. I felt that the tea estate region was colder than other parts of Coorg. Was it because of higher elevation, or was it the influence of some 2000 acres of tea plants? Anyway, one gate of the tea estate was open, so we entered the estate. Yeah, we trespassed into Tata’s property. After spending some time there, we headed back home for more Rummy/Donkey/Bluff and more food. Uncle prepared barbeque for us, and we had that along with onion pakoda, egg pakoda and beer. I slept pretty early after dinner, while the rest of the guys continued to play cards.
When I woke up the next morning, Guru had woken up again. The rest of the guys were still sleeping. We had nothing to do, so we plucked some chikku fruits from the tree and ate them. It is so thrilling to eat fruits directly from the tree!! Uncle saw us and called one of the guys (Bollu) working in his estate to pluck a few chikkus and that guy plucked a big bag full. By then, Guru had gone to Irpu falls, and the other guys were also up. Ragz and Sudheer too headed to the falls. And suddenly we realized that had not enough cash to pay for the expenses!!! Once Guru came back, we went to Kutta and found no ATM there and came back empty handed. That was some 30 kms of journey. Then we reluctantly asked uncle about the closest ATM and he told us that it is in Ponnampet, which is near Gonikoppa. So Guru and I went to Ponnampet and got the cash. By then we had traveled 80 kms already!!
When we reached back home, the other guys had had their breakfast and uncle and aunty were ready to go for some function that they had to attend. Aunty served the two of us the last few remaining KADUBUs with coconut chutney. By the time we had packed our bags, they had already left. So we handed over the room keys to their servant Gopi and we hit the road.
Guru stopped for some time to check his bike. That’s again at Ponnampet. But he joined the rest of us soon. Our return journey seemed quicker than forward journey. We had left from Irpu at 12.30 in the afternoon and had reached the BM road in about 2 hours. Ragz stopped to buy mangoes while Sudheer stopped by a garage to get his bike checked (as his bike had fallen to its left while going back to the road from the side, after a short break). The rest of us also stopped a little ahead to drink tender coconut water, at Ilawala. This is the place where the shortcut to Srirangapatna begins. As we were drinking the coconut water, we saw Ragz speeding by. He had missed the turn, but he realized it as he approached the outskirts of Mysore. We told him to come and meet us at that junction outside Srirangapatna. Actually, he took almost the same time as us, because the road he had taken is far better than the rural road. I think we will not take this shortcut anymore.
Once we were back together, we rode to Mandya and stopped there for lunch. After lunch, the trip continued. The road was as crowded with cars as it was when we had left. We were so desperate to get back home that we didn’t stop many times. Our butts were aching, and we all had the same complaint, that the elastic of the underwear was giving more pains. I think I will design underwear that is best suited for bikers and market it with a cruiser bike brand name.
Guru had gone far ahead of us. Ragz, Shiv and Ashith took the diversion at Kengeri to go to RT Nagar. Sudheer and I continued to his house at Domlur and have a few beers. Then I went to Koramangala and exchanged the bike with the car and went back home, and slept for an hour in the hot water in the bath tub. Today, my body still aches, but I like it….
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Bike ride to Chikmagalur
This year, the way to welcome the new year had to be different. We, the GM house fraternity, wanted to be away from the celebrations of the city. So Shiv found out this place called Koffee Woods in the Western Ghats. And we had our place for vacation. I spoke to the lady Kavya (whose husband owns the place) over the phone, and visited her at her house in Koramangala. Payment done, rules noted...
5 of us (Bala, Raghu, Shiv, Sachin and I) left from Bangalore on 31st at 7 AM. I got my Caliber for the trip. I had no idea how I was going to keep up with the speeds of Bala's CBZ Extreme, Shiv's Pulsar 150 and Raghu's Karizma. Yet, I wanted to try. Gummy (real name lost somewhere in the history of mankind) was supposed to come to Chikmagalur directly from his hometown Gangolli.
After riding for some 30 km on one of the worst stretches of Bangalore (Yashwantpur to Nelamangala), which is full of trucks, road widening and flyover construction, potholes and uneven roads, we regrouped at Nelamangala junction, the one end of NH 48 (the other end is in Mangalore, close my house there). The bikes needed fuel, but for next 15 km or so, there was no petrol pump. The road is good, and will be better in future as it is being widened to 4 lanes.
We continued after refuelling the motorbikes, and stopped at Kunigal for breakfast. This place is some 50 km from Nelamangala. Here we all had 2 rounds of breakfast and tea too. All for a meagre 110 Rs. After breakfast, we continued through many small towns, stopping occasionally to relieve ourselves or for smoking breaks and once for tender coconuts. I did not find it difficult to keep up with the other bikes thus far.
We entered the chaotic city of Hassan, off the NH48, by noon. It is one really bad city in Karnataka. For more information, drive in this city once. You'll surely feel that Bangalore is at least a thousand times better!!! From Hassan, we took the SH57 to Belur. This is one AWESOME road. Nicely paved, and well painted. Less traffic too. This stretch is close to 40 km and you can cover it in half an hour or so. The road is that good!!
Belur is a small town, and yet, chaotic!! Luckily, it is easy to find your way to Mudigere. The road from Belur to Mudigere is not so smooth. Not many potholes, but the pothole-fillings make the road uneven. Somewhat a bumpy ride for 30 km. But because I have driven on that road by car (while coming from Mangalore to Bangalore on 29th Dec) also, I can confidently say that it isn't as bumpy as the road from Yashwantpur to Nelamangala!!!
Once you cross the Hassan district and enter Chikmagalur district, the road quality improves considerably. Although the road is curvy, you can still maintain about 60 kmph. You will not feel like riding fast here anyway, because you would want to look at the paddy fields or huge trees on both sides of the road, plus the distant peaks of the Western Ghats where probably no human ever has set foot!!
At Banakal, Ramesh (the son of the caretaker of the estate house Seetamma) was waiting for us. After we bought a few bottles of beer, he led us on a dilapidated road towards the estate. This is some 2 km stretch I think. But it feels much longer because of its condition. But once you reach the house, all your tiredness goes away. The house is pretty big. It has 3 bedrooms and is fully furnished. It was about 2 in the afternoon then. Seetamma greeted us with refreshing lime water. As Gummy was still on his way to Shivamogga, it meant he would need another 3 hours to reach here. So we had our lunch that consisted of chicken biryani, chicken curry, fried chicken, raita, curd, rasam and rice. More than enough to satisfy 5 hungry stomachs.
Then we found a carrom board and its coins, so 4 of us started playing in the verandah while Raghu went to sleep. The problem there is, Vodafone has connectivity but Airtel doesn't. Strange, isn't it? Gummy called up on Raghu's cell to inform us that he will be further delayed as the bus from Shivamogga to Chikmagalur is going at a snail's pace.
We shifted the carrom board to the hut outside the house, opened a bottle of beer, and started playing and drinking. It was fun to stand and play, that too while drinking beer. At around 6, Gummy called up saying he had managed to reach Banakal. So Bala and I went to pick him up. It was dark and cold. very dark and very cold.
We found Gummy smoking at a shop in Banakal. We bought a case of beer and returned to the estate. After drinking more beer, we sat around the bonfire, while Seetamma and Ramesh served us with pork cooked in coorgi style, and fried chicken. We sat there till almost midnight. Once the new year arrived, we greeted each other and then had our dinner. The first meal of the year was similar to the lunch we had. After a sumptuous meal, we all retired to sleep.
By the time I woke up on Thursday, it was already 9 AM. The other guys too were just waking up. Soon we gathered around the dining table to have our breakfast. It consisted of akki rotti (kinda chapati made from rice), chicken curry and tea. It was good, but the chicken was already getting too much.
After breakfast, we walked to a small stream some 10 minutes away. Ramesh showed us the place and left. The water was cold and initial few minutes were achy. We spent some 2 hours in that place and then went back home. Then we played cricket in the frontyard of the house. Initially we played individual batting for 2 rounds, and then made teams. One team consisted of Raghu, Shiv and Bala. The other consisted of Gummy, Sachin and me. I was surprised to know that Sachin knew a few rules of cricket. All these years I used to think he had no idea how a cricket bat looked like!! Shiv started singing his favourite song "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me" to Raghu. We really had trouble restraining Raghu from breaking Shiv's neck.
There was one incomplete well (may be 10m deep) in the compound, and our pitch was such that the well was exactly at the mid on position. And one of us managed to hit the ball into that. But we had a spare ball. So the game continued.
We decided to have a 5 match series, each of 10 overs per innings. In the first match, the other team made some 32 runs, and we chased it successfully even though only Gummy knew batting. Sachin managed to bat well. My only 4 in the series came in this match. After this match, it was time to lunch.
The lunch had chapati this time. But the chicken was already too much so we asked Seetamma to prepare some vegetarian dish for dinner. After lunch, we played cards for some time: Bluff and Donkey. Later we resumed our cricket series. 2nd and 3rd matches went the other team's way. We batted first and didn't manage to gather a double digit total in both. And they chased easily. Throughout the series, beer kept us fresh.
Meanwhile, the 2nd ball too had managed to find its way into the well. We had to find a way to get the balls out. There was a rope to get into the well, tied firmly to the trees around. Plus, there were steps carved on the well wall. Initially Ragz decided to get into the well. But we felt that he would be too heavy for the rope ;-).. Finally Bala got down into the well and got the balls out and came out of the well, all within 60 seconds.. I think Bala should join the defence forces..
Time for coffee break. Seetamma made delicious coffee from local beans. It was awesome!!! Then we played more card games, in the hut, and with beer. By this time, bonfire was ready. Upon my request, Ramesh had brought a whole chicken. He also had readied an iron rod with a big handle. We tied the marinated chicken to the rod using thin wires, and held it over the fire. After some 40 minutes, our delicious barbequed chicken was ready. It took less than 10 minutes to consume it!!!
The dinner consisted of kadubu (or pundi) and chicken curry and, for a change, beans curry. More card games followed, with beer. I learnt how to play Rummy. Gummy taught us Rummy. Gummy is expert in Rummy.
Next morning, time for cricket. More cricket and more beer. Only then, breakfast. After breakfast, more cricket and more beer. Then lunch. Then Rummy and beer. In the evening, time for a short bike ride to a waterfall nearby. It is by the main road to Mangalore. So it is dirty. I could smell human waste and so I did not feel like entering the water at all. Even the other guys did not spend much time there. We came back and played more cricket and drank more beer.
After dinner, which had more vegetarian dishes this time (upon request, of course) and mackerel curry, we went to sleep.
The next morning was a boring one. We woke up a bit earlier than usual (by 8), packed our bags, had our breakfast, bid adieu to Seetamma and Ramesh, and left for Bangalore. On the way, we saw one KSRTC bus crashed into a tree by the road. Then a BMW 5 Series overtook us some 200 km before Bangalore. Later I saw the same car stuck in the traffic jam in Yashwantpur and I overtook it. Muahahahahaha!!!!
Monday, May 5, 2008
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.
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!!).
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.
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!!!!
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.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Goa!!!!
Spending the long weekend (of 4 days holidays) in Goa was really exciting. Thomas too liked the idea. He asked a few of his friends, and from among them, Diana joined us. I called my brother Roshan, and he too agreed. Through a friend of mine, I arranged an apartment for us at Calangute.
So we 4 left in Thomas' Scorpio from Bangalore at 5.30 AM to beat the possible traffic jam near Peenya.
Indeed, we managed to beat the jam and we continued on to Tumkur road. After paying the toll of 22 Rs (single payment for both the toll booths at the two sides of Tumkur) at Tumkur toll booth, we continued to Tiptur and reached Arsikere. The Tumkur road is really good, but the road from Tiptur to Arsikere has a few bad stretches. But in a Scorpio, you don't feel it much.
After having breakfast at Arsikere at around 9.30 AM (that consisted of masala dosa, rava masala dosa and tea), and buying some fruits, we headed towards Shimoga. I tried to drive the Scorpio, but realised that I was in no position to control this beast. I felt that should have tried driving on the broader roads, as the roads here are narrow, and you have to go slightly off the road when a similar sized vehicle comes from the opposite direction.
So Thomas had to take the wheel again, though he was already tired. Then we reached Jog through Sagar. Again, this part of the road reminds you that you are in Karnataka. But when you get closer to Jog, the road is good. It is full of sharp curves though.
When I saw the Job Falls, I was awestruck. It was my first time at Jog. The Sharavathi river fell from about 250 meters, giving us this magnificiant view (and also electricity!!!). The glory was not at its best though. Still the Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket didn’t fail to awe us. From the top, you can look at the people near the bottom of the falls, and they don’t look much bigger than ants.
We parked the car (for 20 Rs parking fee), and decided to go at least half way down. The time was already 3, and we had to hurry up. So we trekked down on the steps created using big stones. The path is really nice. It is well decorated with the wrappers of all the brands of biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks and gutkha. So if any of you or your friends are doing some survey/research on consumables, this is a place to visit.
While going down, I saw some green thing moving near my legs. I leapt in fear, because it was a snake. Green in colour, perfectly camouflaged between the green leaves. I was just thinking how lucky I was, until a man there told me that it is not venomous and it just hits you like a whip. Whew, that's gotta be painful!!!
We didn’t go much further. We came back to the top, had some tea at a hotel there, and continued towards Karwar. This road is also good, until you hit the national highway NH 17 (that goes from Kerala to Mumbai, via Mangalore, Karwar and Goa). And once you are on this NH, your worst nightmare comes true. The road is virtually out of existence. And the movement of heavy trucks further worsens the driving condition.
After continuing on this road for what seemed eternity, we came to Gokarna Cross road. By this time it was already dark. We went into Gokarna, and when we reached the beach, it was 8 PM (no no, not the whisky... The time..).
There were many people here still. We walked along the shore towards our right side, after seeing a few lights and what looked like a celebration at a distance. It was some locals celebrating Deepavali, so they were bursting crackers and having a pooja. We spent some time there, where Diana successfully lit a cigarette after a 3 or 4 failed attempts. It must say, that's an achievement. Once a friend of mine and I had spent more than 20 matches on the shores of Someshwara beach (in Mangalore) to light a cigarette, that too while hiding behind rocks!! And she did it while standing on the shore, facing the sea!!!
After Gokarna, we hit the NH again. We stopped at a fuel station for refueling and the guy told us that the road continues to be in this state for the next 60 KM or so. But he was wrong. The road improved after some 45 KM. He had cheated us by giving us wrong figures X-)))))
The road was good once we reached Karwar. So we could continue without much delay. I called up Mr Puntu (who, being a neighbour, would help us in finding the apartment). It was already dark and we were getting desperate to reach our destination. Tiredness was obvious from Thomas' face. It isn't easy driving some 700 km in one day!!!
At the Karnataka-Goa border, the Karnataka police demanded 100 Rs 'entry fee' though we weren't entering Karnataka. Little further, the Goa police also stopped and asked for Thomas' passport and the car's documents. It was obvious from his face that he wanted money, but he didn’t ask. So we didn’t give. And finally we were on Goan soil. We entered Canacona district. Here also the roads are bad. Until then I had thought that all the roads in Goa are good.
We continued towards Panjim, but lost our way somewhere. The problem was that it was too dark, and there were no signboards. The national highway itself wasn't any broader than the town roads, so it was almost impossible to make out the correct way. Clock showed something like 11 PM. And there were no other vehicles that we could follow.
But luckily, a man helped us in finding our way. We were back on NH and we continued further. Once we came close to Panjim, there were enough signboards to tell us where to go. We had no problem in finding the diversion to Calangute after Panjim. But once we reached the road to Calangute, we had to find St. Anthony's Chapel. But even after driving for 7 or 8 km, I could not find it. Even Mr Puntu could not figure out where we were. Just as we thought we were lost, we found the chapel. Mr Puntu was waiting for us near the chapel, clad only in a blue coloured lungi. He showed us our apartment and went to his apartment to sleep. It was beyond midnight already. So we went to sleep without wasting much time.
Next morning, we were ready by around 9. As Diana wanted to go to Panjim, we drove to Panjim, parked the car in a parking lot in the market area (at 5 Rs per hour) and had breakfast at a small hotel there. Even though we ate a lot, the bill was very less. After breakfast, we walked to the place where Diana wanted to go, and found it with less difficulty.
After Panjim, we drove to Old Goa. The road is very straight, with the river (I think Mandovi river) on the left side. The roads in Goa, especially around Panjim and other tourist places, are maintained very well. They are narrow, but there are no junctions to cause traffic jams. And signboards are all around helping you to simply look at them and drive.
So at Old Goa, we first went to the Bom Jesus Basilica where St Francis Xavier's body is kept. St Francis Xavier is considered as the patron saint of Goa. The body is kept at a height and so it is not visible. It is kept for public display only once in ten years and the next such display is in 2014. the basilica itself is really beautiful. It is built using red stones, something that has been very common in buildings along the coast since centuries. The interiors look somewhat like the Chapel of St Aloysius in Mangalore (the chapel is in the school where I had my primary education). But I think St Aloysius chapel is more decorated (with paintings on Jesus' life) than Bom Jesus basilica.
Then we crossed the road and went to Se Cathedral. When we crossed the road, Diana remarked that the road looked like some road in Europe. Quite true. The lines on the road are clearly marked and the footpaths are very good. After seeing the old bishop's house (which is an art gallery now), we went to St Cajetan's church, which is a little further from Se Cathedral. St Cajetan is the patron saint for workers and the unemployed. But this church does not seem to be as popular as the other churches around. There were very few visitors.
It was noon by the time we left Old Goa and headed towards Fort Aguada. Diana was getting more and more restless to jump into the sea. And we disappointed her further by going to see the fort at Aguada. We trekked for about 20 minutes to see the different parts of the fort. As it was already 3 in the afternoon, we decided not to go further (though we could go for another 2 KM at least, from what we could see). So we headed towards Coco beach. A beach of glory once, now this is ruined. It seems that the level of sea increased and destroyed whatever was at the shores. Now there are only red stones on the shores; those from the destroyed walls and those dumped there to stop sea erosion.
We walked into the sea towards a sand island created by the sea water. The water was below knee level. Here we dumped our stuff, and the three of us except me went into the sea. I was feeling very hungry, so I packed all the expensive stuff in my bag, left the clothes behind, crossed the sea and came to a restaurant that is named after me (seriously!! It was called Rohan restaurant!!!). Here I ordered seer fish fry and prawn fry. By the time my mates returned from the sea, I had almost finished my dishes. We ordered more of sea food, including prawns, squid and fish.
After this, we headed back to our apartment. We stopped on the way to pick up some water, fenny and some orange juice. I also bought some bebinca. Later at home we had fenny, with me drinking the most. Diana didn’t seem to like the taste, especially because it was coconut fenny. But then, unlike most coconut fennies that I have had, this one was not pungent. It wasn't much crude, and it was smooth. And when we mixed it with orange juice, it didn’t taste much different from screwdriver. Probably because it cost us 3 times the normal cost. We paid 150 Rs for this bottle.
Later we decided to walk to Calangute beach. While walking, we didn’t take the deviation towards Calangute, and instead we walked straight. We could see restaurants on both the sides of the road, but not the beach. We were actually walking parallel to the beach (something which we realised the next day when we took a look at the map) without realizing it. Finally we stopped at restaurant where a band was playing. I had my usual prawns curry with rice while the rest had little food. The band was interesting. They were playing some jazz and blues kinda music, but using only guitars, drums and keyboards.
Later we took a taxi to Calangute beach. After spending some time sitting on the shores and chatting (we didn’t want to get into the water as we had already had bath), we took another taxi to return to our apartment. Taxis are somewhat compareable to the autorickshaws of Bangalore. They demand excess fares easily (but unlike autorickshaws of Bangalore, they don't refuse to come).
The next morning, Saturday, we headed towards Anjuna after having breakfast at a Spanish-looking bakery at Calangute called Infantaria. The food was good, but they took lot of time to serve us. There were lots of customers, so we could excuse them.
While driving to Anjuna, we saw the Ingo's Saturday Night Bazaar getting ready for the night. We already had plans to visit this place in the night. As we drove on, I could remember the roads on which we (few friends) had ridden bikes on our last visit to Goa about 2 years ago.
As you know, the beach at Anjuna is rocky. So once we reached the beach, we went towards the right side of the beach (towards Vagathor), walking on the rocks and on the path created by earlier visitors on the edge of the hill. After some 10 minutes walk, we reached a place which was somewhat hidden from the main part of the beach. It was kinda secluded. We could see the boats at a distance, and one or two men at a distance on the rocks searching for crabs.
I decided to stay on the shore while the rest of us went into the water. I was too scared to go into the water because I don’t know swimming. And I know at least 3 guys (2 of them from our neighbourhood in Mangalore) who got drowned after slipping from the rocks. After spending some time on the rocks taking pictures of the three, I decided to take a nap under a small tree. I just put my floaters under my head, covered my eyes with my arms and slept. I don’t know for how long I slept. I forgot to check the time before I went to sleep.
I was woken up suddenly by some heavy thing on my stomach and some giggles. When I opened my eyes, the three were standing in front of me and laughing. Diana had kept some pieces of a big wild fruit (that looked like a pineapple, and grew on a tree whose leaves looked exactly like pineapple leaves) and a few small, round stones on my stomach and taken a photograph of me. It looked really funny :-)
After spending some more time, we headed back. Time was something like 4.30 PM, so we stopped for food at Anjuna itself, at a place called Biryani Palace. Indeed the fish biryani Roshan ordered was so tasty that I finished it off, forcing him to order a chicken biryani. Thomas also ordered a fish biryani after tasting some. Even the tea there was excellent. That was the best tea I had had in Goa.
Then we headed towards Vagathor, going in front of the house where I had stayed during my previous visit to Goa. Vagathor is just about 3 km from Anjuna. When we reached Vagathor, the sun was just setting. And we could see the fort at a distance. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go there. And I cursed myself for not going to Vagathor fort the last time!!! Guys (those who were with me the last time), if you are reading this, let us curse the guy who planned the trip!!!!
When we went to the beach, the sun had already set and it was getting dark. People were leaving, and so we got a chance to go into the water again. While I waited on the shores guarding our stuff, the rest of us went into the water again. I was just soaking my legs when I noticed a 1 litre Dettol bottle. So I threw it into the sea. And it came back to me. I kept on throwing it (taking care to throw it away from the swimmers) and it kept on coming back to me. But when it slipped from my hands and fell close to Thomas, I decided it was too risky to play around.
Later we went back to our apartment for a good night's sleep. We had to get up earlier than usual on the morrow because we had to leave for Bangalore. Though we wanted to visit the Panolim beach, we decided to take a different route, through Hubli, for a better ride. So we could not visit this beach.
And by 8 the next morning, we were back on the road. We went on NH4A through Old Goa and Ponda. After a short stop at an average hotel for breakfast at Ponda, we continued towards Karnataka. The Goan roads were still good, even when we reached the ghat section. But once we crossed the 'Welcome to Karnataka' sign, expectedly, the road condition was really bad. But then, after a few tens of kilometres, the road was good again. The same road, NH4A, continues to Belgaum. Though I was aware of a shorter route (through Dharwad) to Hubli, we decided to go to Belgaum and then to Hubli. Because, from what I have heard, the road through Dharwad is really bad.
We took a short break at Belgaum. Diana was not feeling well at all, so she slept on the 2nd row of the car. So I sat in the last row, and Roshan sat next to Thomas, who was driving. For the first time during our whole trip, the positions were changed!!! All the while, Thomas was driving, I was sitting next to him, Roshan was sitting behind me and Diana was sitting behind Thomas.
We reached Hubli and then the road to Bangalore, the NH206 (I think). This road is excellent most of the time. But there are bad stretches. They are bad mostly because of abandoned road construction. There are so many pillars and structures built for flyovers, but then the work seems to have stopped completely. At one particular stretch, about 1 meter of the road had gone down. And this is almost impossible to make out until it is too late. And it was too late for us. I was listening to the music with my laptop on my lap. And it went flying and hit the roof and its display got shattered. Boo hoo, my new laptop :-(
We missed out a detour before Harihar. Instead of taking the right part of the Y, we took the left and entered Harihar. From there we had to go through Davanagere also. But finally we managed to reach Peenya at around 10. And there was a huge traffic jam in which we were stuck for about an hour. And by the time I reached home, it was almost midnight. Thomas would have taken another half an hour more to reach his house.
So we 4 left in Thomas' Scorpio from Bangalore at 5.30 AM to beat the possible traffic jam near Peenya.
Indeed, we managed to beat the jam and we continued on to Tumkur road. After paying the toll of 22 Rs (single payment for both the toll booths at the two sides of Tumkur) at Tumkur toll booth, we continued to Tiptur and reached Arsikere. The Tumkur road is really good, but the road from Tiptur to Arsikere has a few bad stretches. But in a Scorpio, you don't feel it much.
After having breakfast at Arsikere at around 9.30 AM (that consisted of masala dosa, rava masala dosa and tea), and buying some fruits, we headed towards Shimoga. I tried to drive the Scorpio, but realised that I was in no position to control this beast. I felt that should have tried driving on the broader roads, as the roads here are narrow, and you have to go slightly off the road when a similar sized vehicle comes from the opposite direction.
So Thomas had to take the wheel again, though he was already tired. Then we reached Jog through Sagar. Again, this part of the road reminds you that you are in Karnataka. But when you get closer to Jog, the road is good. It is full of sharp curves though.
When I saw the Job Falls, I was awestruck. It was my first time at Jog. The Sharavathi river fell from about 250 meters, giving us this magnificiant view (and also electricity!!!). The glory was not at its best though. Still the Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket didn’t fail to awe us. From the top, you can look at the people near the bottom of the falls, and they don’t look much bigger than ants.
We parked the car (for 20 Rs parking fee), and decided to go at least half way down. The time was already 3, and we had to hurry up. So we trekked down on the steps created using big stones. The path is really nice. It is well decorated with the wrappers of all the brands of biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks and gutkha. So if any of you or your friends are doing some survey/research on consumables, this is a place to visit.
While going down, I saw some green thing moving near my legs. I leapt in fear, because it was a snake. Green in colour, perfectly camouflaged between the green leaves. I was just thinking how lucky I was, until a man there told me that it is not venomous and it just hits you like a whip. Whew, that's gotta be painful!!!
We didn’t go much further. We came back to the top, had some tea at a hotel there, and continued towards Karwar. This road is also good, until you hit the national highway NH 17 (that goes from Kerala to Mumbai, via Mangalore, Karwar and Goa). And once you are on this NH, your worst nightmare comes true. The road is virtually out of existence. And the movement of heavy trucks further worsens the driving condition.
After continuing on this road for what seemed eternity, we came to Gokarna Cross road. By this time it was already dark. We went into Gokarna, and when we reached the beach, it was 8 PM (no no, not the whisky... The time..).
There were many people here still. We walked along the shore towards our right side, after seeing a few lights and what looked like a celebration at a distance. It was some locals celebrating Deepavali, so they were bursting crackers and having a pooja. We spent some time there, where Diana successfully lit a cigarette after a 3 or 4 failed attempts. It must say, that's an achievement. Once a friend of mine and I had spent more than 20 matches on the shores of Someshwara beach (in Mangalore) to light a cigarette, that too while hiding behind rocks!! And she did it while standing on the shore, facing the sea!!!
After Gokarna, we hit the NH again. We stopped at a fuel station for refueling and the guy told us that the road continues to be in this state for the next 60 KM or so. But he was wrong. The road improved after some 45 KM. He had cheated us by giving us wrong figures X-)))))
The road was good once we reached Karwar. So we could continue without much delay. I called up Mr Puntu (who, being a neighbour, would help us in finding the apartment). It was already dark and we were getting desperate to reach our destination. Tiredness was obvious from Thomas' face. It isn't easy driving some 700 km in one day!!!
At the Karnataka-Goa border, the Karnataka police demanded 100 Rs 'entry fee' though we weren't entering Karnataka. Little further, the Goa police also stopped and asked for Thomas' passport and the car's documents. It was obvious from his face that he wanted money, but he didn’t ask. So we didn’t give. And finally we were on Goan soil. We entered Canacona district. Here also the roads are bad. Until then I had thought that all the roads in Goa are good.
We continued towards Panjim, but lost our way somewhere. The problem was that it was too dark, and there were no signboards. The national highway itself wasn't any broader than the town roads, so it was almost impossible to make out the correct way. Clock showed something like 11 PM. And there were no other vehicles that we could follow.
But luckily, a man helped us in finding our way. We were back on NH and we continued further. Once we came close to Panjim, there were enough signboards to tell us where to go. We had no problem in finding the diversion to Calangute after Panjim. But once we reached the road to Calangute, we had to find St. Anthony's Chapel. But even after driving for 7 or 8 km, I could not find it. Even Mr Puntu could not figure out where we were. Just as we thought we were lost, we found the chapel. Mr Puntu was waiting for us near the chapel, clad only in a blue coloured lungi. He showed us our apartment and went to his apartment to sleep. It was beyond midnight already. So we went to sleep without wasting much time.
Next morning, we were ready by around 9. As Diana wanted to go to Panjim, we drove to Panjim, parked the car in a parking lot in the market area (at 5 Rs per hour) and had breakfast at a small hotel there. Even though we ate a lot, the bill was very less. After breakfast, we walked to the place where Diana wanted to go, and found it with less difficulty.
After Panjim, we drove to Old Goa. The road is very straight, with the river (I think Mandovi river) on the left side. The roads in Goa, especially around Panjim and other tourist places, are maintained very well. They are narrow, but there are no junctions to cause traffic jams. And signboards are all around helping you to simply look at them and drive.
So at Old Goa, we first went to the Bom Jesus Basilica where St Francis Xavier's body is kept. St Francis Xavier is considered as the patron saint of Goa. The body is kept at a height and so it is not visible. It is kept for public display only once in ten years and the next such display is in 2014. the basilica itself is really beautiful. It is built using red stones, something that has been very common in buildings along the coast since centuries. The interiors look somewhat like the Chapel of St Aloysius in Mangalore (the chapel is in the school where I had my primary education). But I think St Aloysius chapel is more decorated (with paintings on Jesus' life) than Bom Jesus basilica.
Then we crossed the road and went to Se Cathedral. When we crossed the road, Diana remarked that the road looked like some road in Europe. Quite true. The lines on the road are clearly marked and the footpaths are very good. After seeing the old bishop's house (which is an art gallery now), we went to St Cajetan's church, which is a little further from Se Cathedral. St Cajetan is the patron saint for workers and the unemployed. But this church does not seem to be as popular as the other churches around. There were very few visitors.
It was noon by the time we left Old Goa and headed towards Fort Aguada. Diana was getting more and more restless to jump into the sea. And we disappointed her further by going to see the fort at Aguada. We trekked for about 20 minutes to see the different parts of the fort. As it was already 3 in the afternoon, we decided not to go further (though we could go for another 2 KM at least, from what we could see). So we headed towards Coco beach. A beach of glory once, now this is ruined. It seems that the level of sea increased and destroyed whatever was at the shores. Now there are only red stones on the shores; those from the destroyed walls and those dumped there to stop sea erosion.
We walked into the sea towards a sand island created by the sea water. The water was below knee level. Here we dumped our stuff, and the three of us except me went into the sea. I was feeling very hungry, so I packed all the expensive stuff in my bag, left the clothes behind, crossed the sea and came to a restaurant that is named after me (seriously!! It was called Rohan restaurant!!!). Here I ordered seer fish fry and prawn fry. By the time my mates returned from the sea, I had almost finished my dishes. We ordered more of sea food, including prawns, squid and fish.
After this, we headed back to our apartment. We stopped on the way to pick up some water, fenny and some orange juice. I also bought some bebinca. Later at home we had fenny, with me drinking the most. Diana didn’t seem to like the taste, especially because it was coconut fenny. But then, unlike most coconut fennies that I have had, this one was not pungent. It wasn't much crude, and it was smooth. And when we mixed it with orange juice, it didn’t taste much different from screwdriver. Probably because it cost us 3 times the normal cost. We paid 150 Rs for this bottle.
Later we decided to walk to Calangute beach. While walking, we didn’t take the deviation towards Calangute, and instead we walked straight. We could see restaurants on both the sides of the road, but not the beach. We were actually walking parallel to the beach (something which we realised the next day when we took a look at the map) without realizing it. Finally we stopped at restaurant where a band was playing. I had my usual prawns curry with rice while the rest had little food. The band was interesting. They were playing some jazz and blues kinda music, but using only guitars, drums and keyboards.
Later we took a taxi to Calangute beach. After spending some time sitting on the shores and chatting (we didn’t want to get into the water as we had already had bath), we took another taxi to return to our apartment. Taxis are somewhat compareable to the autorickshaws of Bangalore. They demand excess fares easily (but unlike autorickshaws of Bangalore, they don't refuse to come).
The next morning, Saturday, we headed towards Anjuna after having breakfast at a Spanish-looking bakery at Calangute called Infantaria. The food was good, but they took lot of time to serve us. There were lots of customers, so we could excuse them.
While driving to Anjuna, we saw the Ingo's Saturday Night Bazaar getting ready for the night. We already had plans to visit this place in the night. As we drove on, I could remember the roads on which we (few friends) had ridden bikes on our last visit to Goa about 2 years ago.
As you know, the beach at Anjuna is rocky. So once we reached the beach, we went towards the right side of the beach (towards Vagathor), walking on the rocks and on the path created by earlier visitors on the edge of the hill. After some 10 minutes walk, we reached a place which was somewhat hidden from the main part of the beach. It was kinda secluded. We could see the boats at a distance, and one or two men at a distance on the rocks searching for crabs.
I decided to stay on the shore while the rest of us went into the water. I was too scared to go into the water because I don’t know swimming. And I know at least 3 guys (2 of them from our neighbourhood in Mangalore) who got drowned after slipping from the rocks. After spending some time on the rocks taking pictures of the three, I decided to take a nap under a small tree. I just put my floaters under my head, covered my eyes with my arms and slept. I don’t know for how long I slept. I forgot to check the time before I went to sleep.
I was woken up suddenly by some heavy thing on my stomach and some giggles. When I opened my eyes, the three were standing in front of me and laughing. Diana had kept some pieces of a big wild fruit (that looked like a pineapple, and grew on a tree whose leaves looked exactly like pineapple leaves) and a few small, round stones on my stomach and taken a photograph of me. It looked really funny :-)
After spending some more time, we headed back. Time was something like 4.30 PM, so we stopped for food at Anjuna itself, at a place called Biryani Palace. Indeed the fish biryani Roshan ordered was so tasty that I finished it off, forcing him to order a chicken biryani. Thomas also ordered a fish biryani after tasting some. Even the tea there was excellent. That was the best tea I had had in Goa.
Then we headed towards Vagathor, going in front of the house where I had stayed during my previous visit to Goa. Vagathor is just about 3 km from Anjuna. When we reached Vagathor, the sun was just setting. And we could see the fort at a distance. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go there. And I cursed myself for not going to Vagathor fort the last time!!! Guys (those who were with me the last time), if you are reading this, let us curse the guy who planned the trip!!!!
When we went to the beach, the sun had already set and it was getting dark. People were leaving, and so we got a chance to go into the water again. While I waited on the shores guarding our stuff, the rest of us went into the water again. I was just soaking my legs when I noticed a 1 litre Dettol bottle. So I threw it into the sea. And it came back to me. I kept on throwing it (taking care to throw it away from the swimmers) and it kept on coming back to me. But when it slipped from my hands and fell close to Thomas, I decided it was too risky to play around.
Later we went back to our apartment for a good night's sleep. We had to get up earlier than usual on the morrow because we had to leave for Bangalore. Though we wanted to visit the Panolim beach, we decided to take a different route, through Hubli, for a better ride. So we could not visit this beach.
And by 8 the next morning, we were back on the road. We went on NH4A through Old Goa and Ponda. After a short stop at an average hotel for breakfast at Ponda, we continued towards Karnataka. The Goan roads were still good, even when we reached the ghat section. But once we crossed the 'Welcome to Karnataka' sign, expectedly, the road condition was really bad. But then, after a few tens of kilometres, the road was good again. The same road, NH4A, continues to Belgaum. Though I was aware of a shorter route (through Dharwad) to Hubli, we decided to go to Belgaum and then to Hubli. Because, from what I have heard, the road through Dharwad is really bad.
We took a short break at Belgaum. Diana was not feeling well at all, so she slept on the 2nd row of the car. So I sat in the last row, and Roshan sat next to Thomas, who was driving. For the first time during our whole trip, the positions were changed!!! All the while, Thomas was driving, I was sitting next to him, Roshan was sitting behind me and Diana was sitting behind Thomas.
We reached Hubli and then the road to Bangalore, the NH206 (I think). This road is excellent most of the time. But there are bad stretches. They are bad mostly because of abandoned road construction. There are so many pillars and structures built for flyovers, but then the work seems to have stopped completely. At one particular stretch, about 1 meter of the road had gone down. And this is almost impossible to make out until it is too late. And it was too late for us. I was listening to the music with my laptop on my lap. And it went flying and hit the roof and its display got shattered. Boo hoo, my new laptop :-(
We missed out a detour before Harihar. Instead of taking the right part of the Y, we took the left and entered Harihar. From there we had to go through Davanagere also. But finally we managed to reach Peenya at around 10. And there was a huge traffic jam in which we were stuck for about an hour. And by the time I reached home, it was almost midnight. Thomas would have taken another half an hour more to reach his house.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Midnight Trek to Kalavara Betta
A trek after a long time. And my first trek at a place so close to Bangalore. This time I went to Kalavara Betta, close to Nandi Hills. The uniqueness about this trek was that the upward trek was completely at night!!!
It was organized by KMA, and so there were over 40 people. Many of my friends and colleagues had joined me, because I got the information well in advance, and so I was able to inform all the interested ones.
So, after parking our bikes at one of my friends' house near Hebbal, we (Rachana, Ashith, Gurunandan, Murugesh, Suraj and I) went to the meeting point in Hebbal. Many of the trekkers were already there, some I knew from earlier treks and some new. Thomas was already there, wearing full trousers (after we told him about the leeches earlier that week). A bus took us to the bottom of Kalavara Betta. It took about an hour. After some food at the temple there, and taking further food (Frooti, chikkis and Parle-G biscuits), we started our trek. Everyone was excited because in a country far far away, Indian cricket team had almost triumphed over the ODI world champions. Within five minutes of our trek's start, Indian cricketers had eliminated the Australians from Twenty20 championship.
The black night was all over us. The moon and the stars were hiding behind the black clouds. We could see the lights of the city at a distance. We could see a few flickers of lights of the small houses nearby. They were of no use to us to show us the way. We had our own torches and headlamps. Or at least, a few of us. There were many who, despite knowing that it was a night trek, had failed to bring their own torches. Pretty surprising!!!
One of the guides led the way. I think it was Laxminarayan. He is a man in his 40s, but still has the energy and enthusiasm of a young trekker. This was my third trek with him. No matter how the terrain is, he always wears a t-shirt, either shorts and full track pants, and slippers. There were other guides at the end of the line, to make sure that people don’t get left behind or lose their way.
After crossing the fields, we started our jorney through the huge rocks and boulders. The guides showed us the way. After an initial journey on the flat rocks, the climb began. All of us slowly climbed through the rocks in a long line, a few of us struggling, some even slipping and falling. Some parts were really steep. And there were parts where we had to climb straight up on the artificial steps (very small, just enough to keep half your foot over them). And I was wondering how to trek on these treacherous rocks while going back. One false step, irrespective of whether you are going up or going down, would push you a few tens of feet down. That would surely give you a fracture or two!!!
After the long climb, we came across an almost flat land. We probably had covered about three-fourth of the distance. And at that place, we were shocked to see a tent. We got further shocks when a small black head popped out of the tent and said, "omlette, tea, coffee...". Who on Earth would expect a tea shop at that height??? Those who didn’t see this small boy thought that someone among us trekkers was shouting like this.
From there, we trekked further to reach the fort there. It is not sure who built this fort. Some say that Hyder Ali started building it and it was completed during Tipu Sultan's reign. Some say that it was built by Kempegowda himself. However, one of our guides told us (with an initial warning that he himself isn't sure of it) that it was built by a local ruler called Mahadeva Nayaka to protect himself and his people from Hyder Ali and later Tipu Sultan. May be this is true. There was a temple at the top of the hill and a lifesize statue of Nandi.
I think the time was around 4 AM at this time. From this place, we went to the campsite where we would stay till the dawn. This place had big flat rocks on which we could rest. And the wall of the fort protected us from wind. How fast the wind was, we would discover only the next morning. But for now, we were not bothered about exploring. It was too dark, and thus it was too risky. And it was really cold. I hadn't worn my jacket yet. But many of us had curled ourselves like prawns (hmmmmm!!!! My favourite food!!!!) to protect ourselves from cold. Some of us were sleeping on each other, at least partially, with the intention of sharing the body heat. I could see Thomas sitting with his chin on his knees. He was fully covered up, and only his fingers and a small part of his face could be seen. Gurunandan was sleeping on a rock. Suraj was sleeping with his head between two sitting guys. Rachana was sitting between Ashith and Shivnanad. Murugesh had covered himself in his leather jacket. Within half an hour, I too wore my jacket, the same one that has been my companion in every trip since four years or so. It is thick and gives perfect protection from cold. But this day I was wearing three-fourths, and so my legs were still exposed. Somehow I managed to survive the few hours there.
After about three hours, the sun could finally be felt. We could see the light, but the clouds were still thick, so we couldn’t see the light giver. A few us now decided to explore the place. We climbed on to the wall of the fort that protected us from the wind. And now we realised how strong the wind was. It was hard to stand straight. Wind was probably strong enough sweep a child off its feet.
By this time, someone had lit some wood and made a "campfire". Though we had wished for the fire during the night itself, it was not unwelcome now. We gathered around it and warmed ourselves up. And soon we left that place to go to the top of the peak. Though we had already visited this place the last night, now we could clearly see what all was there. The small temple, the statue of Nandi. I found a nice, almost flat rock and I slept on it. Within seconds I was asleep. But within minutes someone woke me up to tell me that we had to leave. So disappointing. It is so much fun to sleep on a rock with your backpack under your head!!!!
Our initial journey was through the bushes that have grown around there. And I was still thinking about the huge rocks we had climbed while coming. Ascending part was easy, but descending wouldn’t be. Then we reached the place of that small tea tent (or tea shop). The right turn at this point would take us on the path that we took while coming. But our guides turned left. We were taking totally different way, and I was happy about it. The path was good, and under full sunlight, we had no trouble in trekking. As we trekked, we could see the Kalavara Halli (Halli = village in Kannada) lying at the bottom of the hill. We could see vast land filled with rocks, and beyond that the Bangalore city. And soon we were back at the temple from where we had started our trek. Pongal and tea were waiting for us. Though I didn’t eat anything, I had a tumbler of tea. So refreshing it was!!! After all the trekkers reached, we boarded the bus and our return journey to Bangalore had begun.
And throughout the trek, not a single leech bothered us!!!
And we were already thinking of what to do after going back. Thomas suggested that we go to Coffee House on MG Road for our midday snack. I immediately agreed. Where else on MG Road would you get snacks that you can eat to your heart's, mind's, soul's and stomach's content and still pay a bill in 2 figures? I convinced Murugesh and Suraj to join us. Thomas decided to ride pillion with Murugesh, which would be his first bike ride in India.
So we went to Raghavendra's apartment where we had parked our bikes, and went to Coffee House, filled our bellies and went to our homes.
It was organized by KMA, and so there were over 40 people. Many of my friends and colleagues had joined me, because I got the information well in advance, and so I was able to inform all the interested ones.
So, after parking our bikes at one of my friends' house near Hebbal, we (Rachana, Ashith, Gurunandan, Murugesh, Suraj and I) went to the meeting point in Hebbal. Many of the trekkers were already there, some I knew from earlier treks and some new. Thomas was already there, wearing full trousers (after we told him about the leeches earlier that week). A bus took us to the bottom of Kalavara Betta. It took about an hour. After some food at the temple there, and taking further food (Frooti, chikkis and Parle-G biscuits), we started our trek. Everyone was excited because in a country far far away, Indian cricket team had almost triumphed over the ODI world champions. Within five minutes of our trek's start, Indian cricketers had eliminated the Australians from Twenty20 championship.
The black night was all over us. The moon and the stars were hiding behind the black clouds. We could see the lights of the city at a distance. We could see a few flickers of lights of the small houses nearby. They were of no use to us to show us the way. We had our own torches and headlamps. Or at least, a few of us. There were many who, despite knowing that it was a night trek, had failed to bring their own torches. Pretty surprising!!!
One of the guides led the way. I think it was Laxminarayan. He is a man in his 40s, but still has the energy and enthusiasm of a young trekker. This was my third trek with him. No matter how the terrain is, he always wears a t-shirt, either shorts and full track pants, and slippers. There were other guides at the end of the line, to make sure that people don’t get left behind or lose their way.
After crossing the fields, we started our jorney through the huge rocks and boulders. The guides showed us the way. After an initial journey on the flat rocks, the climb began. All of us slowly climbed through the rocks in a long line, a few of us struggling, some even slipping and falling. Some parts were really steep. And there were parts where we had to climb straight up on the artificial steps (very small, just enough to keep half your foot over them). And I was wondering how to trek on these treacherous rocks while going back. One false step, irrespective of whether you are going up or going down, would push you a few tens of feet down. That would surely give you a fracture or two!!!
After the long climb, we came across an almost flat land. We probably had covered about three-fourth of the distance. And at that place, we were shocked to see a tent. We got further shocks when a small black head popped out of the tent and said, "omlette, tea, coffee...". Who on Earth would expect a tea shop at that height??? Those who didn’t see this small boy thought that someone among us trekkers was shouting like this.
From there, we trekked further to reach the fort there. It is not sure who built this fort. Some say that Hyder Ali started building it and it was completed during Tipu Sultan's reign. Some say that it was built by Kempegowda himself. However, one of our guides told us (with an initial warning that he himself isn't sure of it) that it was built by a local ruler called Mahadeva Nayaka to protect himself and his people from Hyder Ali and later Tipu Sultan. May be this is true. There was a temple at the top of the hill and a lifesize statue of Nandi.
I think the time was around 4 AM at this time. From this place, we went to the campsite where we would stay till the dawn. This place had big flat rocks on which we could rest. And the wall of the fort protected us from wind. How fast the wind was, we would discover only the next morning. But for now, we were not bothered about exploring. It was too dark, and thus it was too risky. And it was really cold. I hadn't worn my jacket yet. But many of us had curled ourselves like prawns (hmmmmm!!!! My favourite food!!!!) to protect ourselves from cold. Some of us were sleeping on each other, at least partially, with the intention of sharing the body heat. I could see Thomas sitting with his chin on his knees. He was fully covered up, and only his fingers and a small part of his face could be seen. Gurunandan was sleeping on a rock. Suraj was sleeping with his head between two sitting guys. Rachana was sitting between Ashith and Shivnanad. Murugesh had covered himself in his leather jacket. Within half an hour, I too wore my jacket, the same one that has been my companion in every trip since four years or so. It is thick and gives perfect protection from cold. But this day I was wearing three-fourths, and so my legs were still exposed. Somehow I managed to survive the few hours there.
After about three hours, the sun could finally be felt. We could see the light, but the clouds were still thick, so we couldn’t see the light giver. A few us now decided to explore the place. We climbed on to the wall of the fort that protected us from the wind. And now we realised how strong the wind was. It was hard to stand straight. Wind was probably strong enough sweep a child off its feet.
By this time, someone had lit some wood and made a "campfire". Though we had wished for the fire during the night itself, it was not unwelcome now. We gathered around it and warmed ourselves up. And soon we left that place to go to the top of the peak. Though we had already visited this place the last night, now we could clearly see what all was there. The small temple, the statue of Nandi. I found a nice, almost flat rock and I slept on it. Within seconds I was asleep. But within minutes someone woke me up to tell me that we had to leave. So disappointing. It is so much fun to sleep on a rock with your backpack under your head!!!!
Our initial journey was through the bushes that have grown around there. And I was still thinking about the huge rocks we had climbed while coming. Ascending part was easy, but descending wouldn’t be. Then we reached the place of that small tea tent (or tea shop). The right turn at this point would take us on the path that we took while coming. But our guides turned left. We were taking totally different way, and I was happy about it. The path was good, and under full sunlight, we had no trouble in trekking. As we trekked, we could see the Kalavara Halli (Halli = village in Kannada) lying at the bottom of the hill. We could see vast land filled with rocks, and beyond that the Bangalore city. And soon we were back at the temple from where we had started our trek. Pongal and tea were waiting for us. Though I didn’t eat anything, I had a tumbler of tea. So refreshing it was!!! After all the trekkers reached, we boarded the bus and our return journey to Bangalore had begun.
And throughout the trek, not a single leech bothered us!!!
And we were already thinking of what to do after going back. Thomas suggested that we go to Coffee House on MG Road for our midday snack. I immediately agreed. Where else on MG Road would you get snacks that you can eat to your heart's, mind's, soul's and stomach's content and still pay a bill in 2 figures? I convinced Murugesh and Suraj to join us. Thomas decided to ride pillion with Murugesh, which would be his first bike ride in India.
So we went to Raghavendra's apartment where we had parked our bikes, and went to Coffee House, filled our bellies and went to our homes.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Kemmannugundi
6th August 2007
Another month, another journey. This time to Kemmannugundi, in our own Karnataka. And this one was without Ramesh and Shivanand, who are usually there on the road with me. It was with a totally different bunch of people. We were seven guys this time, Praveen Madhukar, Conrad, Allen, Nithesh, Bejoy, my brother Roshan and guess who? ME!!!!
Conrad, Allen, Nithesh and Bejoy were so excited about this trip that Conrad would call me everyday to ask about the arrangements. Bejoy had already applied for leave for Saturday. Never before have I seen such an enthusiasm!!!
I had contacted Babu from Kemmannugundi (whose contact I got through another friend, Prathibha). Babu had made arrangements for a jeep to roam around (his own) and a big room in a guest house.
So on Friday morning, these four guys came to my place soon after the clock struck 6. As Roshan and I had woken up just five minutes before, it took us some time to get ready. As usual, I never pack things until five minutes before leaving!!! After much getting cursed by these guys (obviously!! They had to wait for some twenty minutes!!!), we left my place at 6.30 AM, had breakfast at Domlur (obviously, at Shanti Sagar) while waiting for Praveen, and once he came, we were on the road.
Through MG road, Minsk Square, Mekhri circle, Kavery Theatre and Sadashiv Nagar, we reached Yashwantpur. Thence it is a straight road (Bangalore to Pune road) to Tumkur. We stopped for tea at Arsikere. Praveen saw a rooster and a buffalo and somehow managed to go very close to them and get their snaps. Both these animals, though initially shy, posed for the photographs. Then we headed towards Birur, stopping occasionally. Allen had brought a box of chicken curry which we finished within two minutes, somewhere on the way.
From Birur, we took the diversion to Lingadahalli. It is a narrow road, with fields of corn and sunflowers on both sides of the road. Though the road is bad, the scenary is really eye-catching. At a distance, on one of the hills, we could see a falls. Though I am not sure, I think it is one of the earliest steps of Kalhatti Falls (coincidentally, last Sunday's Times of India had an article on this!!). I have been told that this Falls falls in ten steps. Anyway this place was pretty far from where were. We stopped and went into a sunflower field. Ugh, the farmers had put big branches of thorny plants. After crossing this barrier somehow, we went into the fields. Luckily the people working in those fields didn’t chase us away. We also found a tamarind tree and ate a few too. So after a photo session, we were back on our bikes.
Soon we were climbing the ghats towards Kemmannugundi. We took a diversion (1 km only) to Kalhatti temple, to see a part of the falls. A badly maintained place, with people making money in the name of God. You have to pay for bike parking (2 Rs) and even for keeping your footwear (1 Re). It is pretty disgusting to see plastic bags, Coke/Pepsi bottles and paper cups stuck between the rocks. I wonder what these people do with all the money they get!!!
We were still 20 km from Kemmannugundi, and we were about two hours behind schedule. So we were off towards Kemmannugundi. We reached there at 2 PM, met Babu, had our meal at the canteen in the guest house which he showed us and went into our room. It was a decent one. With eight cots and two toilets, it was worth its rent. That is 600 Rs a night. Then Babu came with his jeep and we headed towards Hebbe Falls.
Babu had no problem in driving to Hebbe, though it was raining heavily, visibility was about 10 metres (at 4 PM!!!) and the road was, well, non-existent. Babu said the temperature was 4 degree C, but I don’t think it was that low. But I am sure it was below 10 degrees. When the rain reduced, we stopped, had a photography session and continued towards Hebbe. The ride itself was mindblowing, with misty greenery all around and some faint tall figures that looked like trees, it was a perfect horror movie setting, said Praveen. At one place, Babu took the jeep to extreme left to make way for an oncoming jeep and our jeep's left tires got stuck in the muck. Though we volunteered to get out of the jeep, Babu said it is not required. Then he put the gearbox in 4-wheel mode and accelerated. The jeep moved as if it was a normal road!!! It was the first time I was actually seeing the power of a jeep. Loaded with eight people, it came out so easily from that ditch!!!!
At a certain place, Babu stopped and told us how to trek towards the Falls. Within a few minutes of our foot journey, we came across an overflowing stream. Though initially skeptic, we crossed it. The water was thigh-high. Within a few ten metres, another part of the same stream. Cross that and in few moments, another part of the stream!!! Deciding that we would turn back if we had to cross the stream again, we crossed this section too. I felt this was the toughest part of the stream to cross. By the time we crossed this, many of us had fallen into water. Bejoy fell at least five times I think!!! But we could not afford to let Conrad fall. In his bag were all our cameras, mobiles and wallets!!!
And now we could hear the deafening sound of the falls. Soon it was in our sight. HOLY $#%&!!!! I had never seen such a magnificent falls before!!!! Water was falling from about 50 metres, and after hitting the rocks, the water droplets would fly horizontally for quite a distance. We stood with our backs to the falls and spat. And our spits were flying for at least three seconds before falling!!!! There was no way I could take photographs using my camera. However, Nithesh the brave man took out his mobile and recorded a video of the falls.
After some time, were heading back to the jeep. Crossing the stream sections, we reached the place where Babu was waiting for us. Got rid of the leeches using salt, and now we were climbing up towards Kemmannugundi. It was getting dark and clouds were closing in. the fog was thick and visibility was reducing. But no rain. So another photo session. And we reached our guest house at around 6.30. Babu said it ok to go to Z-point, but we weren't really interested. We were tired. Babu said he can arrange for non-veg food and drinks (both of which aren't available in Kemmannugundi). So we asked him to get some chicken curry, chapatis, vegetable curry, rasam and of course, whisky (Royal Challenge).
While waiting for the food and drink to arrive, Praveen took out his Gudang Garam (for those who don’t know: an Indonesian cigarette made not just from tobacco, but also from other spices, such as cinnamon, cardomom, cloves etc. Available in Manipal for pretty less price) and we warmed up with that. Then Allen took out his half bottle of Signature (whisky) and soon we were warming ourselves up pretty well. Then our food and whisky came. By this time Bejoy was fast asleep. And we were troubling Allen all the while (as usual).
After a decent meal, we were off to sleep at around midnight. The meal was a candlelight one. The power was there only for a couple of hours or so. So most of our mobiles were off. It seems that the power comes there only for a couple of hours everyday. So little power for a place that is so close to Karnataka's first hydroeletric power station!!!
Sunday morning, it was time for us to pack our bags. After finishing packing by 9, we had breakfast (pulav and poori). And after settling the dues, we headed towards Chikmagalur. This is one of the best rides in my life. Not a very bad road, mist all around, visibility getting lesser with time, cold that is determined to make you numb, raindrops that are slashing on your face like needles, water that is shrinking your skin and still it was a fun to ride. It is risky too, with a green hill on one side of the road and a green cliff on the other. For about twenty km, hardly any humans could be seen.
After a climb, we came to the junction of the Kemmannugundi main road and Bababudangiri road. We had no intention to go to Bababudangiri, as we had no time. So we went through the ghats and entered the Chikmagalur district, had some tea. Praveen said tea was never so much welcome in his life. Quite true was it for all of us!!! We held the glasses tighly in our hands, hoping to get rid of the shrinks on our palms. Continuing, we came to another junction. We took the road that went up towards Mullayyanagiri. This road goes almost to the peak of Mullayyanagiri. The peak is 1925 metres above sea level. When we were riding, two guys followed us on their bike. When we came to the end of the tarred road, we stopped our bikes. It was raining heavily and the cold was unbearable. All of us were shivering from top to bottom and we had no way to warm up ourselves. Water had seeped through our jackets long ago and more and more water was flowing inside our jackets. If I had squeezed my jacket, I am sure at least ten litres of water would come out!!
The two guys also had stopped with us and they were discussing among themselves whether to go to the peak or not. Their conversation seemed very artificial, as Praveen pointed out. Also, they were telling us to climb the peak giving the reason that it was the first time we were coming there and that they've been going there for twenty years. And also that no one would steal or harm our bikes. All these words of theirs made us realise that they had sinister intentions. So we decided to go back. And in a few minutes, we were back on the road to Chikmagalur.
We entered Chikmagalur, and the road to Hassan took us right through the busy area. We could not find a non-veg hotel, so we continued towards Hassan. Do you know, even Chikmagalur has a Nilgiri's supermarket!!!! And we saw plenty big brand names on the shop boards.. My oh my!! I didn’t know Chikmagalur was this improved!!!! The only time I had been there was more than ten years ago!!! I had always thought that it is one hilly place full of estates.
The road to Hassan is very good. Neatly tarred and well maintained. We reached Hassan at around 2.30. through out our trip, rain gave us company. In Hassan, we stopped at a hotel for snacks. By this time we were totally drenched. The place where we sat in the hotel was filled with water, as if it had rained inside the hotel.
The rest of the trip was eventless. And we all guys drifted apart. By now the rain had stopped completely, and it was getting dark. Allen and Conrad had gone way ahead. Then I stopped once for refuelling. When I got back on the road, I met Praveen riding alone on his CD 100. then I caught up with Bejoy and Nithesh. Once I reached Yashwantpur, I had lost contact with all the other guys. I reached home at about 9, had a quick bath and then slept until today morning.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Bike ride to Yercaud
Hi folks.
I am back again, from another road trip.
Let me begin. Ramesh and I decided a few days ago to go on another roadtrip, as it had been a whole five months since our last trip (Coorg one). So we called all friends. Ultimately, when the Saturday of the trip arrived, only four guys were ready: Shivanand, Gurunandan, Ramesh and I. What stops us? Not even heavy rains.
Though we guys had decided to leave Bangalore by 6 AM, as usual, it got delayed by a few hours. So we guys met up at Silkboard junction at almost 8 AM. Ramesh on his Pulsar, Guru on his Splendor, Shiv and myself on Shiv's Pulsar. It was cold and slightly drizzling. Perfect weather that we wanted. There was already enough traffic on Hosur road towards ITPL. Plenty trucks. I had already got some warnings from friends/colleagues about the number of trucks that ply on that road. We had to be extra careful in those slippery conditions.
Soon we entered the TN border and we were at Hosur within an hour. It was raining and the water was brown, probably because of the pollutants thrown into the atmosphere by all those industries there. Our jackets, clothes and bikes turned brown, thanks to this rain.
As Ramesh and Shiv had not yet had the pleasure of having breakfast, we decided to stop. We couldn’t find any decent hotel on the Hosur main road. We didn’t want to go into the town, so we stopped at a roadside hotel. After three rounds of breakfast (consisting of vada, dosa and bulls-eye; again reminding me of the phrase "I love vada"), we were off again, towards Krishnagiri.
This stretch of the road is the 2nd best road I have ever seen. No junctions, and no way to take U-turns. On the way, we found a monkey lying in the middle of the road, probably hit by a vehicle. Guru decided to help it. He lifted it and brought to the side of the road. However, he couldn’t save its life. Something tragic here.
We continued, and crossed the toll-booth at Krishnagiri. 2 wheelers need not pay any fee here. After riding over an hour, we reached Dharmapuri. This is another small town through which the main road goes. But by this time, the 4-lane road had reduced to 2 lanes. And the traffic was a bit heavy too. The process of widening the road to 4 lanes is still under progress, and might take a few years for completion (few years because it is not a short span of road that is being widened. Widening is going on right from Dharmapuri till Salem - that's 100 km!!!!).
After getting over a traffic jam in Dharmapuri, we continued further towards Salem. This part of the road goes through the ghats. Somewhere here, Shivanand asked me to ride, as he was tired. And I rode the bike for the rest of the day. The view from these ghats is mindblowing. You can feel a change in the climate. However, the menacing buses (that connect Bangalore, Hosur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Salem) soon bring you to reality. Over the ghats, roads aren't in good condition for a few small stretches, and repair work is going on. You gotta go slow. This rule doesn’t seem to be applicable to these buses though!!! Not much different from Bangalore, isn't it?
By this time, the 3 bikes were in 3 different locations and no one had any idea of where other two were. Ramesh was riding very cautiously (hardly exceeding 60kmph!!!) and was far behind us. So we waited at a police checkpost over the ghats. Here we shared biscuits and water. And then we continued towards Salem.
Soon we were at Salem. A small city, you can say. We had our lunch at a vegetarian restaurant there. After spending some time relaxing, we continued towards Yercaud, which is about 30km from there. After we found the milestone that said '21km to Yercaud', the climb towards the hill station began. It reminded me of Agumbe in Karnataka. Salem's weather was hot, and now we could feel the sudden change in the temperature as we climbed. The road is narrow, but well maintained. There are quite a few hairpin bends. But hardly any places to pull over and relax. And as you keep climbing, you find a few boards showing you the altitude of that location.
At one of the hairpin bends, Ramesh skidded and got slightly injured. The bike got injured more. So when we reached, we found out one place where the guy repaired the bike to some extent. We couldn’t find any fullfledged garages there. There are quite a few fuel stations though. And yes, petrol is about 3 Rs per litre cheaper in TN compared to Karnataka!!!
The hour hand was approaching 5, and we had to find a place to rest our heads at night. After all this riding, we deserved a pleasant sleep. There are quite a few good resorts there. We started enquiring in all these places. We were hoping to find a cottage for ourselves. Cottages are so cheap there. Before taxes, a cottage rent starts with 1000 Rs per day!!! I felt it was pretty cheap. Sadly, luck had played a villainous role on us here. We couldn’t find any cottage. Leave alone cottage, we couldn’t even find a single room in these resorts. There is a 3 star hotel there, called The Grand Palace, at the top of a hill. But we didn’t want to try our luck there. We are poor bike riders you see.
Finally, we found a spacious room in a place called KONGU RESORT. No no, it is not a resort at all. It doesn’t look like the businessmen here really know the meaning of 'resort' and 'cottage'. The real resorts have real cottages, so even these small hotels (there are at least 30 such hotels!!!!!) call themselves resorts and cottages!!!!! The Kongu guy turned out to be a very stingy one. He refused to give us more than 2 towels. He didn’t even give us soap and drinking water.
Time was ticking. But it wasn't dark yet. So we thought we'd explore this place as much as possible, leaving as less as possible for the next day. We had already spent quite a time looking for a room. There are quite a few 'tourist spots' around, and none are far off, if you have a vehicle. Again it depends on the resort you are staying in. there are resorts that are quite far off from the centre of Yercaud.
So we decided to visit Pagoda Point first. It is at the top of a hill. And it gives a scenic view of the whole Salem city. The winds were pretty strong and it was drizzling. We had some butta (corn ears) and some fruits here. No warm items (bajji or tea) available here. After spending some time here, we decided to go to Lady's Seat. This is in another direction. On the way we found a board that read 'ornamental lake'. Curious, we went to see what it is. Huh!!! Just another lake!!!!
I must say, no point in going to see different lakes here. Nothing great about any of these lakes. We have plenty lakes in Bangalore right!!! The difference is, Yercaud lakes ain't that polluted yet... There is one lake at the centre of Yercaud where you can hire boats or go on a boat ride.
Anyway, we were least interested in boats, so we went towards Lady's Seat. It is another high point from where you can see the Salem city. The view is not much different from the view of Pagoda Point. However, here some roadside shops sell hot snacks like bajji. So we had a few rounds of banana bajji, chilli bajji and onion bajji. Guru went further to check out the Gent's seat, that is a few metres higher than lady's seat. He said the view is almost the same as from Lady's Seat.
By now it was dark, and we had to return to our hotels. Guru went ahead. Rest of went together. And when we reached the centre of Yercaud, we realised that we had lost our way and had taken a different route!!! No sign of Guru. After waiting for a few minutes, he appeared, from a totally different direction!!!! He had drifted too much farther from our original route, and taken a completely different route!!! Luckily we were all safe...
After packing up some food and water, we went back to our room. I wanted to take bath. The hotel owner said the geyser is on. Ramesh told me which is the tap for hot water. I kept the tap on and waited till eternity. Hot water never came. Cursing the hotel owner, I took bath in that cold cold water.
Then we had our usual chat, while sipping Black Dog (no points for guessing what it is!!!). Then supper. Luckily the hotel owner hadn't missed out to give an extra bed. Soon the other three guys were snoring. But these folks didn’t allow me to switch on the fan. I didn’t feel that it was very cold outside. I actually was feeling pretty warm. It was around 11 PM then.
When I woke up at 8.30 AM, Guru and Ramesh were already awake. And they had discovered that the hot water tap was not the one Ramesh had told me about the previous day. So Guru got a chance to bathe in warm water. And I was cursing Ramesh all the while.
Then Guru left to visit Shevaroy Temple, which is at the top of another hill. Meanwhile, we 3 guys finished our breakfast of poori and vada (again vada, huh!!!) and were ready to leave. After Guru returned, we packed our bags. Then we went towards Kiliyur falls. WHAT A BAD IDEA!!!! First of all, after parking the bikes, there is a trek for half an hour. The path is pretty bad. On one part of the way there is a fence. And the fence has not only barb wires, but also a strip of iron with sharp teeth on it (like a hacksaw). The path is steep and if you fall, the first thing that comes to your mind is to grab whatever is available. And what is available, the hacksaw teeth!!!! Luckily we managed to stay away from the fence (fulfilling the intention of the fence-builder, who owns the other part of the land). As we continued, we found a few huge trees across the steep path. I somehow managed to climb over the trees and cross them while the other guys used the small gap under the trees to go to the other side. Before crossing the trees, we even had the idea of returning, because the steep path was too irritating. But then Guru had already thrown his slippers to the other side before going under the tree. So he had to go to the other side anyway. We too went. And after going down further, we reached the falls. It was a major disappointment. I think my pet dog can pee more than that water.
HAHAHAHAHA, I am just kidding. I don’t have a pet dog.
Immediately we decided to return. And now it was a steep climb. A very tiring one, as we guys, except Ramesh, aren't used to exercising :-D.
Somehow managed to reach the top. Immediately all of us lied down on the road for ten minutes, trying to get our breath back. Then we returned to our "resort", took our luggage, and said good-bye to Yercaud. Time for 20km downhill ride. Guru and I (I was riding Shiv's bike all the while you see) switched off our engines. Ramesh didn’t. soon the gravity helped us cruise at more than 40 kmph, FREE OF COST!!!! I had to start the engine in two places, to overtake a bus and a Tata Sumo filled with a few drunks. We didn’t want to take any risk while overtaking.
And we were at Salem again. Back to the hot climate. The dust in Salem is strange. The particles are really huge, and you can feel them hitting agaist you when there is a wind. They make real noise when they hit the helmet!!!!
We stopped at Hotel Green Park (really good hotel) for our lunch. We had not done anything great with our food so far. So we (except Guru, who is a vegetarian) ordered all types of non-veg available there (sea-food in the form of crabs and prawns, pork, chicken and mutton). The quantity was really huge. Quite different from the general custom of serving less quantity and charging less. Here the charge was more and quantity was more. And the table (actually meant for six people) was filled with food. There was no more space. But soon the contents of the plates disappeared. Though we couldn’t finish all, we actually managed to eat almost twice of our usual quantity!!!
Now the ride back. As usual, Guru led the way. Just before Dharmapuri, we saw Guru waving at us. He said he asked a police officer there and found a new route to Bangalore that would save us 20km. So we returned via Palacode and Rayakkottai. But we missed the fun of that Krishnagiri-Hosur highway. After a pleasant ride through the villages and small towns of TN, we reached Hosur at dusk. Guru went off ahead to his house. We 3 guys dined at Bommasandra and went to our respective houses for a hot hot hot water bath and a pleasant sleep.
I am back again, from another road trip.
Let me begin. Ramesh and I decided a few days ago to go on another roadtrip, as it had been a whole five months since our last trip (Coorg one). So we called all friends. Ultimately, when the Saturday of the trip arrived, only four guys were ready: Shivanand, Gurunandan, Ramesh and I. What stops us? Not even heavy rains.
Though we guys had decided to leave Bangalore by 6 AM, as usual, it got delayed by a few hours. So we guys met up at Silkboard junction at almost 8 AM. Ramesh on his Pulsar, Guru on his Splendor, Shiv and myself on Shiv's Pulsar. It was cold and slightly drizzling. Perfect weather that we wanted. There was already enough traffic on Hosur road towards ITPL. Plenty trucks. I had already got some warnings from friends/colleagues about the number of trucks that ply on that road. We had to be extra careful in those slippery conditions.
Soon we entered the TN border and we were at Hosur within an hour. It was raining and the water was brown, probably because of the pollutants thrown into the atmosphere by all those industries there. Our jackets, clothes and bikes turned brown, thanks to this rain.
As Ramesh and Shiv had not yet had the pleasure of having breakfast, we decided to stop. We couldn’t find any decent hotel on the Hosur main road. We didn’t want to go into the town, so we stopped at a roadside hotel. After three rounds of breakfast (consisting of vada, dosa and bulls-eye; again reminding me of the phrase "I love vada"), we were off again, towards Krishnagiri.
This stretch of the road is the 2nd best road I have ever seen. No junctions, and no way to take U-turns. On the way, we found a monkey lying in the middle of the road, probably hit by a vehicle. Guru decided to help it. He lifted it and brought to the side of the road. However, he couldn’t save its life. Something tragic here.
We continued, and crossed the toll-booth at Krishnagiri. 2 wheelers need not pay any fee here. After riding over an hour, we reached Dharmapuri. This is another small town through which the main road goes. But by this time, the 4-lane road had reduced to 2 lanes. And the traffic was a bit heavy too. The process of widening the road to 4 lanes is still under progress, and might take a few years for completion (few years because it is not a short span of road that is being widened. Widening is going on right from Dharmapuri till Salem - that's 100 km!!!!).
After getting over a traffic jam in Dharmapuri, we continued further towards Salem. This part of the road goes through the ghats. Somewhere here, Shivanand asked me to ride, as he was tired. And I rode the bike for the rest of the day. The view from these ghats is mindblowing. You can feel a change in the climate. However, the menacing buses (that connect Bangalore, Hosur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Salem) soon bring you to reality. Over the ghats, roads aren't in good condition for a few small stretches, and repair work is going on. You gotta go slow. This rule doesn’t seem to be applicable to these buses though!!! Not much different from Bangalore, isn't it?
By this time, the 3 bikes were in 3 different locations and no one had any idea of where other two were. Ramesh was riding very cautiously (hardly exceeding 60kmph!!!) and was far behind us. So we waited at a police checkpost over the ghats. Here we shared biscuits and water. And then we continued towards Salem.
Soon we were at Salem. A small city, you can say. We had our lunch at a vegetarian restaurant there. After spending some time relaxing, we continued towards Yercaud, which is about 30km from there. After we found the milestone that said '21km to Yercaud', the climb towards the hill station began. It reminded me of Agumbe in Karnataka. Salem's weather was hot, and now we could feel the sudden change in the temperature as we climbed. The road is narrow, but well maintained. There are quite a few hairpin bends. But hardly any places to pull over and relax. And as you keep climbing, you find a few boards showing you the altitude of that location.
At one of the hairpin bends, Ramesh skidded and got slightly injured. The bike got injured more. So when we reached, we found out one place where the guy repaired the bike to some extent. We couldn’t find any fullfledged garages there. There are quite a few fuel stations though. And yes, petrol is about 3 Rs per litre cheaper in TN compared to Karnataka!!!
The hour hand was approaching 5, and we had to find a place to rest our heads at night. After all this riding, we deserved a pleasant sleep. There are quite a few good resorts there. We started enquiring in all these places. We were hoping to find a cottage for ourselves. Cottages are so cheap there. Before taxes, a cottage rent starts with 1000 Rs per day!!! I felt it was pretty cheap. Sadly, luck had played a villainous role on us here. We couldn’t find any cottage. Leave alone cottage, we couldn’t even find a single room in these resorts. There is a 3 star hotel there, called The Grand Palace, at the top of a hill. But we didn’t want to try our luck there. We are poor bike riders you see.
Finally, we found a spacious room in a place called KONGU RESORT. No no, it is not a resort at all. It doesn’t look like the businessmen here really know the meaning of 'resort' and 'cottage'. The real resorts have real cottages, so even these small hotels (there are at least 30 such hotels!!!!!) call themselves resorts and cottages!!!!! The Kongu guy turned out to be a very stingy one. He refused to give us more than 2 towels. He didn’t even give us soap and drinking water.
Time was ticking. But it wasn't dark yet. So we thought we'd explore this place as much as possible, leaving as less as possible for the next day. We had already spent quite a time looking for a room. There are quite a few 'tourist spots' around, and none are far off, if you have a vehicle. Again it depends on the resort you are staying in. there are resorts that are quite far off from the centre of Yercaud.
So we decided to visit Pagoda Point first. It is at the top of a hill. And it gives a scenic view of the whole Salem city. The winds were pretty strong and it was drizzling. We had some butta (corn ears) and some fruits here. No warm items (bajji or tea) available here. After spending some time here, we decided to go to Lady's Seat. This is in another direction. On the way we found a board that read 'ornamental lake'. Curious, we went to see what it is. Huh!!! Just another lake!!!!
I must say, no point in going to see different lakes here. Nothing great about any of these lakes. We have plenty lakes in Bangalore right!!! The difference is, Yercaud lakes ain't that polluted yet... There is one lake at the centre of Yercaud where you can hire boats or go on a boat ride.
Anyway, we were least interested in boats, so we went towards Lady's Seat. It is another high point from where you can see the Salem city. The view is not much different from the view of Pagoda Point. However, here some roadside shops sell hot snacks like bajji. So we had a few rounds of banana bajji, chilli bajji and onion bajji. Guru went further to check out the Gent's seat, that is a few metres higher than lady's seat. He said the view is almost the same as from Lady's Seat.
By now it was dark, and we had to return to our hotels. Guru went ahead. Rest of went together. And when we reached the centre of Yercaud, we realised that we had lost our way and had taken a different route!!! No sign of Guru. After waiting for a few minutes, he appeared, from a totally different direction!!!! He had drifted too much farther from our original route, and taken a completely different route!!! Luckily we were all safe...
After packing up some food and water, we went back to our room. I wanted to take bath. The hotel owner said the geyser is on. Ramesh told me which is the tap for hot water. I kept the tap on and waited till eternity. Hot water never came. Cursing the hotel owner, I took bath in that cold cold water.
Then we had our usual chat, while sipping Black Dog (no points for guessing what it is!!!). Then supper. Luckily the hotel owner hadn't missed out to give an extra bed. Soon the other three guys were snoring. But these folks didn’t allow me to switch on the fan. I didn’t feel that it was very cold outside. I actually was feeling pretty warm. It was around 11 PM then.
When I woke up at 8.30 AM, Guru and Ramesh were already awake. And they had discovered that the hot water tap was not the one Ramesh had told me about the previous day. So Guru got a chance to bathe in warm water. And I was cursing Ramesh all the while.
Then Guru left to visit Shevaroy Temple, which is at the top of another hill. Meanwhile, we 3 guys finished our breakfast of poori and vada (again vada, huh!!!) and were ready to leave. After Guru returned, we packed our bags. Then we went towards Kiliyur falls. WHAT A BAD IDEA!!!! First of all, after parking the bikes, there is a trek for half an hour. The path is pretty bad. On one part of the way there is a fence. And the fence has not only barb wires, but also a strip of iron with sharp teeth on it (like a hacksaw). The path is steep and if you fall, the first thing that comes to your mind is to grab whatever is available. And what is available, the hacksaw teeth!!!! Luckily we managed to stay away from the fence (fulfilling the intention of the fence-builder, who owns the other part of the land). As we continued, we found a few huge trees across the steep path. I somehow managed to climb over the trees and cross them while the other guys used the small gap under the trees to go to the other side. Before crossing the trees, we even had the idea of returning, because the steep path was too irritating. But then Guru had already thrown his slippers to the other side before going under the tree. So he had to go to the other side anyway. We too went. And after going down further, we reached the falls. It was a major disappointment. I think my pet dog can pee more than that water.
HAHAHAHAHA, I am just kidding. I don’t have a pet dog.
Immediately we decided to return. And now it was a steep climb. A very tiring one, as we guys, except Ramesh, aren't used to exercising :-D.
Somehow managed to reach the top. Immediately all of us lied down on the road for ten minutes, trying to get our breath back. Then we returned to our "resort", took our luggage, and said good-bye to Yercaud. Time for 20km downhill ride. Guru and I (I was riding Shiv's bike all the while you see) switched off our engines. Ramesh didn’t. soon the gravity helped us cruise at more than 40 kmph, FREE OF COST!!!! I had to start the engine in two places, to overtake a bus and a Tata Sumo filled with a few drunks. We didn’t want to take any risk while overtaking.
And we were at Salem again. Back to the hot climate. The dust in Salem is strange. The particles are really huge, and you can feel them hitting agaist you when there is a wind. They make real noise when they hit the helmet!!!!
We stopped at Hotel Green Park (really good hotel) for our lunch. We had not done anything great with our food so far. So we (except Guru, who is a vegetarian) ordered all types of non-veg available there (sea-food in the form of crabs and prawns, pork, chicken and mutton). The quantity was really huge. Quite different from the general custom of serving less quantity and charging less. Here the charge was more and quantity was more. And the table (actually meant for six people) was filled with food. There was no more space. But soon the contents of the plates disappeared. Though we couldn’t finish all, we actually managed to eat almost twice of our usual quantity!!!
Now the ride back. As usual, Guru led the way. Just before Dharmapuri, we saw Guru waving at us. He said he asked a police officer there and found a new route to Bangalore that would save us 20km. So we returned via Palacode and Rayakkottai. But we missed the fun of that Krishnagiri-Hosur highway. After a pleasant ride through the villages and small towns of TN, we reached Hosur at dusk. Guru went off ahead to his house. We 3 guys dined at Bommasandra and went to our respective houses for a hot hot hot water bath and a pleasant sleep.
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