Monday, January 4, 2010

Me, ma bike and ride to horizon

Annual Christmas holidays was about to began and my mind was swinging in between the yes and no of going on a ride. Whole of my being was aching for a ride, but logical mind was interrupting it with ‘going alone’ question. Honestly, the prospect of going alone to a unknown land kept me baffled for around a week and it was finally the 23rd of Dec tht the final decision was made to go for it. Well it was to be a solo ride for “i dont know how many days” and “I dont know all the destinations” with Kanyakumari being the foremost objective. Got the bike serviced on 24th and the day finished with packing and preparing mentally for the ride.

Alarm went off at 3 am on 25th morning and it was the day. Had already checked the route for to and fro journey on Google maps. By 5, I was ready. The weather was less col as compared to the other night or it was the euphoria making me warm. Well started towards Hosur road, which is just at hands distance from my place. Entered the service road as was not keen to chase the trucks early morning. And what a pleasant surprise. Hosur road can be quoted as the best road in Bangalore now. I drove till Narayana Hirudalya(around 18 kms) without a bump,without braking.. Hell, am i dreaming or it is real, occurred in my thoughts. So a good start to the ride. Encountered a small traffic pile up in Hosur and after that I was maintaining 80. Was baffled by car traffic on the highway as being a long weekend, I guess most ppl were heading towards finding peace.

Crossed Salem and headed towards Karur-Nammkal Highway. The roads were excellent till Salem and I hoped the same next also. Luckily roads didn’t disappoint me. Just before Karur, had the first meal of day at a roadside small shop serving traditional Tamil-nadu Sambhar with other things. I simply love the taste of sambhar in TN as opposed to Karnataka.

And the smooth journey continued till Madurai, with not a single piece of bad roads yet. NH-7 is smoothest highway i have rode yet. I have reached Madurai in less than 8 hours. Upon reaching  Madurai checked into Hotel Taj, just opposite to bus stand. A very basic hotel indeed. Plan was to visit Meenakshi temple in the evening so had whole afternoon to kill. What can substitute a siesta after a long ride of 450 kms. Woke up at around 5 and headed to the temple. As expected there was gr8 rush at the temple with long queues. However manged to reach the first stage after a wait of around 1 hour. Then was the daunting task of darshan. There again was a long queue of ppl wishful of taking blessing of the devi. However got to have darshan with the idol being at a miles distance from the pace of darshan. I don’t sometimes understand the concept in South Indian temples. Why is the deity kept so far away and poorly lit?

Anyways the plan for next day was to go to Kanyakumari. But as this was not going to be a planned  trip, after talking to my mother decided to detour to Rameshwaram which is about 170 Kms from Madurai on NH-42. The next day morning started after days break and my path ventured towards Rameshwaram . Initially road was ok, but later was cruising at good speed. The only problems in TN interior roads are that although roads are good, but they are also crowded by number of cattels left by ppl to graze on road sided. So its btr to be careful both at day as well as night.

Rameshwaram is an island connected to main land by a bridge over the sea. There is a separate bridge for railway as well. The bridge was crowded with curious onlookers who had jammed the traffic. However sneaked my way way through the jam and entered Rameshwaram. Straightaway went to temple to get darshan, which was done after standing in long queue for special darshan as well. Left Rameshwaram immediately as too much ppl make me dizzy and headed towards Dhanushkodi, which is supposed to be the starting point of the now non-existent bridge Lord Ram made to go to Lanka. If going to Dhanuskodi, dont miss the fish fry and the beautiful white sand beach. I think the area has a lot of potential for development as it has very beautiful natural long beaches. Left Dhanushkodi and had no plan for the day ahead. Riding all the way to Kanyakumari was out of question as it was around 350 kms and it was evening. With lot of thought came to Ramad, a place in between Rameshwaram and Madurai in hope of finding an internet cafe. Luckily found one and planed to go to Tuticorn(Thottukudi) which was midway to Kanyakumari. The important thing was to notice the small Tuticorn 120kms direction board just at the exit of Ramanad. If I had missed it, wud have to spend the night in Madurai. Being a state highway, the road was too gud. I think Karnataka can take one or two examples from TN atleast in maintaining the roads. Reached Tuticorn and checked into Hotel John. Was a very bad hotel in contrast to being almost a 3-star.

The third day was gong to be ride to Kanyakumari and was delighted as will be riding NH-7 again. From Tuticorn, the route is first to Thirunaveli which is a state highway and then NH-7 from there. Had the cheapest breakfast of my life after Thirnaveli. 2-appams and a cup of coffee for Rs 9 only. Bangalore sucks man..

As the distance reduced, my heart beat was increasing. There is a diversion which separates the road for Kanyakumari for main district Nagarcoil. The whole route after that was filled with wind farm on both sides of the road. I was amazed to see such a big wind farm in India. Finally reached Kanyakumari and after a long and frustrating search for hotels came to Vivekanand Kendra. It was also full, but when i told them that i am traveling alone, they were surprised and offered me to have (free)lunch at the kendra and then gave me a dormitory shared by two other ppl. The cost of one day stay was Rs 15 only. Wow man, what one can expect for Rs 15 in India. The ambiance inside the kendra was exhilarating. I planned to go nowhere tht afternoon and just explore the kendra and enjoy the serenity of the place.

The next morning got up at 5 and joined the queue to go to Vivekanand rock memorial. Luckily the first batch saw me visiting the place. The place if beyond description. But was marred by the ppl flocking it and making it feel like fish market. I intend to visit it again in some month when tourist is a rarity and plan to spend a full day at the place. Came back to kendra and after having breakfast planned to visit Kollam and Ponmudi near Trivendram.

The journey to Trivendrum was hell. So much traffic that I decided to cancel Kollam and Ponmudi for some future time and head towards Cochin. After crossing Trivendrum visited a beach called Varkala. Its a beautiful beach and was thronged by lot of foreigners. Headed towards Kollam and visit to the kollam beach which was  disappointing.  Decided to head towards Alleppy. The NH-47 was proving to be a nightmare for me. The journey from Kanyakumari till Kollam was bad but what was about to come was the worst ride i have ever done. The first problem is that NH-47 is single lane and touches the major cities of Kerla. Majority of Kerla’s population lives by this highway. You don’t get a stretch of road where there are no houses or devoid of population. Every single bit of the road side is occupied. Adding to this problem is the fanatic driving by the people on this road. Traffic coming from front, was all with their beams high, giving no way or space upon overtaking. My frustration level had reached its peak by the time I entered Alleeppy. Thought of staying here instead of Cochin and planned for some sight seeing the next day.

Luckily for me the next day was a strike day in Kerla. But I didn’t realized it till morning that petrol bunks were also shut down owing to the strike. Canceled my sight seeing in allepy as I had only half tank of fuel left. Thought of trying my luck and head towards Bangalore. Plan was that if I get no petrol bunk open, would stay in the first hotel in sight within 50 kms range after bike comes into reserve. Luckily got a petrol bunk open in Cochin and tanked up the bike and was sure to reach Tamil Nadu without any problem.

While planning the trip, had thought of visiting Athirapally water falls which are on the way to Thrissur from Cochin. While crossing a small place Chalakudi, saw a small board for deviation to the falls. It was a small 32 km drive one way to the falls. Was thrilled at the view of mountains after seeing the sea for so many days. The area is abundant with natural beauty. And man, the first view of the falls was breath taking. Had never seen waterfalls like this. Upon reaching athirapply, got the help of a very humble policeman who agreed to watch my bike and bag while i visited the waterfalls. There was a about 1 km climb-down to the falls. The view of the falls only reminded of the power of mother nature. After a trying climb back, the police man suggested to visit another falls which was just 5 km away from there. It was vazachal waterfall which was also worth visitng. On my way back saw a small detour road which was pointing to Munnar. However dropped the idea of going to Munnar and head towards Bangalore. The detour road was the most beautiful road i have ever seen . Wish to ride on it some day.

By the time I was hitting the main highway again it was 3 and I was badly hungry.Luckily someone pointed me to an open restaurant and be it the hunger i felt or something else has the best Chicken Biryani.

Now was the trying time. A very long distance to cover till Bangalore. However I was determined to reach Bangalore by tonight itself. Passed thrissur, Palakad and finally reached Coimbatore. Encountered some very rash driving on Kerla-TN border. It was a relief to reach Coimbatore. Stopped for a tea break here and started for Salem. The initial 30 kms was again the replica of the Kerla roads I have encountered from kollam to Aleeppy. However after that road becomes 4 -lane ( a delightful feeling) with small bad stretches, single lanes and traffic jams in between. Reached Salem at 9:30 pm. Had dinner at a roadside hotel. The distance remaining was 200 kms. Only fear was of dozing away while driving. But I reminded myself of my bed waiting for me at the home and shooed away towards Bangalore. The ride to Bangalore got completed in 4 hours with one single break and largely uneventful with roads being excellent. The only uneventful thing was the loss of one of my mobile. I dont remember where I lost it.

However reached Bangalore at 2 am and crashed for a full day of sleep.

Summary:

Route:

Bangalore-Salem-Madurai-Rameshwaram-Tuticorn-Kanyakumari-Trivendram-Kollam-Alleeppy-Cochin-Chalakudi-Athirapally-Vazachal-Chalakudi-Coimbture-Salem-Bangalore

No of Days : 5

Duration : 25 Dec 2009 to 29 Dec 2009

Distance covered : 1885 Kms

Ride : Me alone

Hotel Expense :

Madurai : Rs 500

Tuticorn : Rs 850

Kanyakumari : Rs 15

Alleppey : Rs 650

Precautions:

(i) Ride carefully on state highways in TN esp at night, as the roads are good but ppl and their cattle do not head to a vehical. Even on NHs in TN ppl dont care for a fast approaching vehical. Its advisable to slow down if encountered with somebody crossing the road.

(ii) Avoid going to southern TN and Kerla during Sabrimala Aaiyyppa season. This season begins in mid Dec and ends somewhere on 15 Jan.

(iii) Avoid NH-47 at all cost during night.

(iv) For Kanyakumari, if planning to stay in a Hotel, advance booking is a must. Otherwise they will charge you as per their wish.

Here is the link for photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/gautamsharma24/Kanyakumari09#

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Peace.. the constant dilemma

For centuries, the greatest quest for human being after being civilized(are we??) was quest for peace. Peace among nations, peace among societies, peace among families, and more importantly self peace or inner peace as the great saints and sages of all times have attributed it.

Sadly the truth might be different. Simply put to logic, two of the important branches of science viz Physics and Chemistry deals in laws of entropy. This law works at the very basic level of the matter i.e atoms. And according to this law of entropy the “Potential of Disorder” always tends to increase. We as humans often tend to think “matter” as everything other than us and mostly this every other thing is non-living. But actually we are also constituted of the same matter which surrounds us. So the disorder that exists is the very basic nature of that matter which constitutes us and the search of an equilibrium is almost a mirage. Peace is thus conspicuous by absence  to our sole nature. The search for it thus seems to be a great disillusion. And this struggle to achieve peace becomes a cause of the other fallacies of life. If we can choose to end the struggle to get to peace, we might be able to achieve the true sense of ourselves which is nothing but the “true nature of matter.”  This might be  the beginning of getting to know one selves..

Posted by gomsi in 20:27:26 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Waynad trip - IV & My love for Riding

Of-lately the frequencies of my bike rides had reduced a lot. In contrast to around 10-15 rides a year in 2007, it has come down to, only 2 rides till now,  in 2009. But the recent one, gave lot of time for, as Robert . M. Pirsog quotes in “Zen and the art of motorcycling maintenance” — THE CHAUTAUQUA.

So what this Chau-tau-qua is? As Robert explains it - in literal meaning were the old traveling tent shows which used to go around in America showcasing culture through series of popular talks. In the book, Robert experiences similar Chautauquas between him and his mind, as he analyzes different behaviours of people.

Well to talk more about the author and his book will be like a layman trying to explain contemporary art. The point of bringing in Chau-tau-qua was to give a different kind of word to the usual silent chit-chat which happens constantly in mind. Normally This chit-chat happens all the time, but it becomes meaningful when it is listened to or observed.

My recent bike trip was to Waynad in Kerla. It was not a preplanned trip. It was just that me and Gaurav(The Dude) were thinkin of busting our stress by going on a bike ride, that we singled out Waynad, as most of other options seemed unfeasable due to monsoon, and Waynad seemed like our only hope. We started in the morning and soon the weather Gods made their intentions clear, that there was no respite from rain, except for one might stay in Bangalore and keep dry.

Upon entering Waynad, we realised that as usual, one cant rely on the (dubious) weather forecasts. It was rainy, flooded, roads blocked with uprooted trees and electricity poles. After checking in into a nice hotel, the information we got was that every spot we planned to visit was closed due to flood or the chances of flood. So there it was, two days with lot of time to spare, no hurry to go any where, no fixed plans or schedules. Such a situation may seem like a waste of time and efforts, but since we were on a stress buster trip, it does’nt seemed to bother us at all. We has a nice nap and in the evening I and Gaurav decided to ride across the Tea plantations in Waynad.

As we started, I felt somehow different. Since initially the plan was to visit some fixed places, the case now was different. We were just going no where special or significant. The ride was free from thinking or planning anything. This was the moment when I was witnessing whats really going on in my mind. As I was riding through the tea plantations I felt a unusual serenity descending upon me which I have never felt before. It was as if for a moment I was in sync with my thoughts and my mind was at peace. Perhaps the thoughts were peaceful or without moments of conflicts and perturbance. Only when the thoughts are peaceful, mind is conflict free. And when mind is conflict free, it is then when one is really communicating with once mind. Its not a communication but more of a conversation with one-self, to which sometimes words can be attributed and sometimes not. Interestingly my mind asked me (or may be vice-versa) why I loved riding a bike after so much that has happened that day? The answer was not immediately ready but gradually as the evening sat-in, became more evident. I and my mind decided that lets feel it by riding the bike itself. So this was it. I was riding and me and my mind were witnessing, the pleasure we got by riding.

First it was the road that I was loving. Although the good roads are always preferred over bad ones. Mind hates bad roads and so as I. The roads, smoother ones, having curves, slopes are always a ride to please. To add to it, the weather plays a big role. The kind of scenery around the road   plays a vital role on the mood of ride. What I was watching around me at that point of time was a beautiful road, curved around small hills, embedded with Tea plants on them. The Tea plants gave hill a look of smoothed surface which eyes directly translate into a smoothier feeling. These hills were at the top surrounded by beautiful clouds having different colours and peaks far off visible in their mystical mistyness. What more can the heaven offer? I was pleasently smiling at all this.  But is it all? I have seen much better roads to ride upon. How can just all this satisy the criterion of giving wholesome pleasure..

One more thing I happen to observe around me were the people. I generally like isolated places or places lesser flocked with people during rides. As i go along, i tend to ignore persons on the way. But this time it was different. I was looking at people on the way. I could see a lot of new faces with some paying attention to two idlers riding their bikes and some just ignoring or paying no attention at all. Well not talking of the ones who ignored us, I just paid attention to the people who looked at us as we passed through. Some had a look of admiration in their eyes, some just laughed at us, some gave a look as if we were looking as idiots. But  the thing which appeased me a lot was the smile, I saw on some faces as we passed through. Although I cant exactly decode the purpose of that but seeing people smile that way automatically intiates a reflex action, wherein me also tends to have the same smile. So it was that smile which gives a pleasent feeling and always gives. If I now consider my other rides also, there would have been moments where I have encontered such smiling faces giving a “Life is beautiful” feeling inside. This uncalled for happiness is one of the greatest feeling of riding a bike.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

India in July 08

Well it has been hell of a month for India. I think never ever in history of my country has anything like this ever occurred. A government trying to save it stake, two most industrial cities reeling under threat of terror and row over land allotment to a religious shrine. I think given the diversity of our country it will soon become a synonym for instability. Before looking into who is to blame for, what I have to share is something which I experienced for the first time.
Bangalore, the city am presently living in, proudly called the silicon city of India, was shaken by low intensity bomb blasts. I was in the office when all this happened and got the news from one of my friend and roommate. It was like watching 20-20 cricket. 1 blast, 2 blast… oh my god 8 blasts. Fortunately the number of causality was very less. Till the time I was in office I didn’t feel the impact of these blasts. It was around 9 in the night I left in the office in a cab since my boss advised me to take a cab instead of going by my own vehicle. As I reached the ring road, the real impact such an incedance places on the psychology of people can be seen. The road empty was more than usual. I could feel slightly tensed atmosphere and the fear invoked in people due to these blasts. I myself was feeling little uncertain about things. In a way it was like more of confusion that what is going to be next. Will everything be alright or there will be more surprises? I for the first time thought about people in parts of world who are under constant threat of such terror strikes or living in war-like situations. Everything seems so vulnerable and the confusion of what next add to a mugged up psychological state that is hard to explain. As i entered the road that lead to the place where i live, it is the main road to the place where the one of the blast happened and it was undoubtedly empty. I was much relaxed when i reached home and talked to all those who were concerned about my reaching home safe and sound.

In India lately one or more incedance are happening which shows that country is really in a bad state. If only we take last two months, the increasing naxal threat in AP, Orrisa, Bihar. The unrest in north-east states, Bangaldeshi terrorist, Amarnath land row in J&K, Blast in Bangalore & Ahemdabad. Theses issues are only related to society and security. This is not enough. On political front, left withdrawing support, cash-gate scandal, blame games. On economic front, rising inflation, diesel crisis in southerly states. All these adds up to one thing and one question. What is happening? Is this the theory of India shining? Is this the atmosphere we are preparing for our future generation to come? Well i think there is no answer to all these, at least as of now.Is the government to blame? I think there are many things to blame. But rather than blaming any government or system, I think each and every Indian holds an equal responsibility to all this. The growing complacency for each other, lesser feeling of responsibility for every act, feeling of unequalness among individuals, and what not. If our political parties are to blame, why blame them? They have people from among us. They are part of our society and given a chance any individual is ready to outperform our netas if given a chance. The need arises is that each individual instead of playing a blame game should be ready to take responsibility. How this can happen I dont know. I only remeber word by Swami Vivekanand that ” To change the world, change yourself.”

I think the situation can only improve if today we have among us at least a crore Budha who can teach harmony to people and bring peace to everybody’s heart. I bestow upon the great souls which had come in this country time and now, that this country is in despairs. We really need a revolution not of politics/economics but of minds and souls of individuals. Oh god, please help us. Let the revolution come.

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Life now-days

Well it has been months altogether since I blogged anything. The reason are quite a few but the blame can be singled out on the office schedule. It has been quite busy since I joined the current project. I joined somewhere in the middle and was expected to perform like a geek. To add to the woes this is my first project of this domain. So it took a while before i started getting feel of things. Ok, now i am tasting things but they are very sour. The problems and issues I faced in past couple of days literally had taken everything of my time of the day. I was juggled up by these issues and they were like tall mountain standing before me. The only limitation was my limited knowledge on the subject. But then this is what life is. You either have too much information or very less information, in both cases dangers of failures loom around. In my case challange was to overcome the later part. But to aid me were a couple of my colleugues who never disgusted by my foolish querries and helped me all the way up. Heartly thanks to them . Now seems like am in an little eased pace and things look smooth, plus i feel like i have gained a lot. Letse hope for the best all the way ahead.
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

My sister’s Wedding

The tag line seems like a movie’s title but no it is real here. Yes my childhood mischief pal finally got somebody whom she considers now the secong best part of her life. Yes my sister’s married now.
It happened so early that all now seems to be a dream .It started with finalising the boy in december and marrige being fixed for 9th of March. Luckily for my sister & my parent’s satisfaction boy comes from same caste & is quite handsome. I had taken leaves from 29th of feb till 13th of Mar. Most of the shopping for cloths, jwellery and other things was taken care of by papa so that when I went there I had to work on marriage arrangements only. Time seem to fly by quickly and the day arrived when I was accompanying my sister clad in red lehnga and looking very beautiful little bride to the place of Jaymala. And in the morning she was gone. I felt very sad on the first day, and even was not able to talk to her. But the other day I felt really happy for her and my parents were really satisfied on getting their daughter married without any hitches.
I really wish her a great life ahead.

But the real motto of my writing here was to find my feeling for this moment. What I came to understand is I cant translate them into words..
I miss my childhood pal cause she is a woman now…….

Posted by gomsi in 09:55:56 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

10 gr8 tips for Valentine’s day - if u r single

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/feb/04vday.htm
Posted by gomsi in 06:10:10 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Some Nostalgic moments

Remember the doordarshan songs..
here a link
http://www.esnips.com/web/DoordarshanSongs/
Posted by gomsi in 07:55:48 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

An evening with Indian Classical music

It was Thursday, I was checking my mails and had got a notification about Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia performing in Bangalore on Sunday. The event was him getting the Sangeet Ratnakar award from Surbharti Sanskrit & cultural Foundation, Bangalore.
I love listening to the flute played by Pandit ji. I bought the ticket immediately and asked none of my friends to accompany me, coz I knew the answers(A Indian classical musical concert.. Uhh!!)
The day came and I reached there at around 4:30 pm. The concert was scheduled at 6:15 but I thought of enjoying other events also. Since it was a Sunday and I had nothing to do at home also.
The program started with some prayers and classical dances. All the recitation was in Sanskrit and I understood nothing. But I was enjoying the flow. Then the main attraction of this section was a dance drama performed on the theme of different avtaars of Lord Vishnu. It was performed by a total of 85 students and was real nice to watch. The amount of preparation the children have put up was amazing.
Then there were award giving ceremony, but I was desperately waiting for the event I had gone for. I started at 7:00 pm and from then on I was completely lost and mesmerized. Pandit ji started with a Raaga which is played in joyful mood(I have forgotten the name), then he played Raaga Hari-priya invented by him followed finally by Pahadi. The ambiance was magical. Sangat of Bansuri with Tabla and tanpura was what made it extraordinary.
Time passed by so quickly that it was the end of the show. I was left with a feeling of “yeh dil maange more.”
Hope to watch him performing again.
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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Trip to the west coast

My annual days start from 22nd Dec. This thought began flashing in my mind after I came from home on Diwali. So there should be a really grand ride. My initial plans were to go to Kanyakumari exploring east coast. But Nipin Changed it to Goa(Bugger canceled his plan). His plan was to celebrate New-year in Goa. So I had around 10 days before New-year at my disposal. Lets do Coastal Karnataka was what came to my mind. But had no ideas as how to start. So at this point thought of Chamoli Bhai who had done this trip earlier. He told me a nice plan and then after tits-bits of planning myself started to plan for the ride.

22nd & 23rd Dec: Got the bike serviced and test rided. Got few modifications in the tuning done. Also needed cramsters for ride. Thought of buying new ones but did’nt got. At this point Venkath Sir came to help. I heartily thank him for the cramsters and his guys Mr.Sanjay and Mahesh Babu for the excellent service of bike. Since it was the longest and smoothest ride of my life.

Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing
25th Dec: Ist Day of ride
Bangalore - Hassan - Halebidu - Belur - Sringeri

Two of us me and Abhishek(pillion), left Bangalore at around 6 and reached Neelamangla at 7:30(Got some heavy traffic on the way). Was out of Bangalore by this time and clocked the next 100 Kms in 1 hr 10 min to reach the Kamat near Hassan. Had breakfast of Puri-sagu and left for Hassan. Started directly for Halebidu and reached Halebidu at around 10:30. Clocked a distance of 200 kms till there. Halebide has a famous temple dating back to Hoysala Kingdom. It a Shiva temple with wall-carvings based on Kamasutra and other epics. There is another Jain temple nearby having large monolith of Mahavira and other tirthankars. From Halebidu we headed to Belur which is a small town near to Chikmangalur and has got a similar temple as Halebidu except it is big in size and contains temples of different Gods.
After Belur, next destination was Sringeri. From Belur, got to Chikmangalur and then to Sringeri. In Belur met an German lady who was also on Avenger going to Mysore.

From Chikmangalur the Ghat section begins and the roads are average to bad. But the curves & the scenery lets one forget the atrocities of the road. After a decent ride , hit a coffee shop on the way. Surrounded by coffee & black pepper plantations, one can easily adjudge this place as one of the most beautiful coffee shop in the world. After a ride of about 2 more hours due to a wrong turn and driving around 60 kms more than stipulated, reached Sringeri. After spending couple of hours for sightseeing and a nice dinner crashed in the hotel room for a blissful sleep.

26th Dec : 2nd day of ride.

Sringeri - Udupi(Malpe)

Woke up quite early in the morning, went to Sringeri temple again and started after a breakfast of Kesari bath for Udupi. We ventured through a stretch of about 30 kms which is a naxalite area and with dense forest. The curves around Agumbe present a beautiful scenery except for really bad roads. However reached Udupi at around 11. The first stop was at Krishna Math. However the long queue deterred our plans to go inside and instead we headed for Malpe. This was the first time in my life that I was to see the sea. So I was obviously excited. Entry to Malpe is greeted by smell of fishes owing to big fishing harbor there. We went to fishing harbor first and tried to take some snaps of fishing boats but the people were not happy on seeing us clicking our lenses. Decided to stop the adventure there, and headed to Malpe beach.
So this was it. A vast stretch of water before my eyes with introduction from a a small sand beach. I have no word for the experience to witness this glory of mother nature except my heart was thrilled to see the sea.I intended to spent a day there. We got a pretty cheap and beautiful cottage facing sea in Udupi and rest is a story. Bathing in the sea for 3 hrs and then seeing a beautiful sunset and walking along the beach in the dark of the night. I was obviously having the time of my life.

27th Dec : 3rd day of the ride

Udupi(Malpe) - Marvante - Murdeshwar - Honnavar - Jog-falls(Sagar)

Next day started with a visit to St. Mary’s island. At around 12 left from Udupi and headed for Marvante. Marvante was a quick affair. After having drink and spending some time there, headed for Murdeshwar. In Murdeshwar, I was quite impressed bu the structure of temple and size of Lord Shiva idol. Beach is also pretty ok in Murdeshwar. But our stay was not long in Murdeshwar and since we had planned to cover Jog-falls, headed for Sagar. The route was through Honnavar and thr road from Murdeshwar till Honnavar is not termed right to be called a road.
From honnavour the ride till Sagar was totally through ghats. Karnataka alwaya amazes me with the diversity of its landscape. Within just 10 kms, I was away from the sea into the mountains and negotiating curves once again. The whole area is densely forested with sparse population. The route is awesome and any bikers delight. It was already dark by the time I reached sagar and badly tired. Went directly to KSTDC resort in sagar and after a tummy delighting dinner, crashed for sleep.

28th Dec : 4 th day of ride.

Jog-falls(Sagar) - Gokarna

The plan was to visit Jog-falls and head to Gokarna. Jog-falls is around 22 kms from sagar, so it did’nt took much time to reach there. Met some other bikers on the way. Here I was truly witnessing the lush green beauty of nature which I had missed during night. At jog-falls, spent a little time as the water was very less and there was no point in getting down. So tightened my gears and headed to Gokarna. I had heard a lot about OM beach in Gokarna, so was kinda desperate to get their early. Reached Gokarna by around 12 with only a single break in between. Directly headed fot the beach for accommodation. Found a simple , with amenities et nice hut for night stay. The charge was only 150. However the bathroom and toilet were open to sky. Gokarna had a great chunk of foreign tourist. The sight of babes in bikinis was really welcoming. Had a complete chill-out kinga day at gokarna. The remaing day was filled with, sea-bath, lot of beers and chiily chicken. During the night enjoyed really nice music with some foreigners playing guitar and bongo.

29th Dec : 5th day of ride.

Gokarna - Karvar

This was a extra day for us since our reservation in Goa was from 30th. So decided to check out Karvar. Reached karvar at around 11. At Karvar, Devabagh beach resort is a really nice place to stay. Its located on an island cutoff from the main land by the sea. Got tent for accommodation with price Rs 1600 per person per night. Decided to give it a try. The place is really cool to be away from the usual crowd and enjoy the serenity of nature. Its a jungle lodge on the beach. The rest of the day was spent doing couple of water sports(Banana ride, jet-ski and kayaking). in the evening the hotel people arranged for a Bon-fire followed by the dinner. This happened out to be one of the best days of the ride.

30th Dec : 6th Day of the ride

Karvar -Goa(Panji)

Day started with Dolphin-spot ride. We were unfortunate enough not to spot even a single Dolphin.
After coming from the ride, checked out from the hotel and waited for Bob, who was the third guy to join us on the trip and was coming all alone from Bangalore on his Avvy. He met us in Karvar and we all headed for Goa.
Wow! at-last I am heading to Goa was what i was saying to myself.Singing the Dil Chahta hai song(Kaisa ajab ye safar hai) entered Goa. Bob was exhausted andtoo much Hungary, so stooped for meal at Margoa. Our hotel was at Panji, so after lunch headed for Panji. Checked into Hotel and after resting for about an hour headed for Calangute beach. Goa was crowded like hell. It was kinda disappointing for me as the things totally changed as compared to last 6 days. Anyways we enjoyed at Calangute till 11 and headed for the hotel.

31st Dec : 7th Day of the ride

Goa

I spent 31st morning in Panaji market, buying stuff for me and others. Till afternoon we were in Panaji only and after lunch at about 3 headed for Agvara fort. From Agvara went to Baga beach and were there till midnight. Time filled with lots of drinks, dances and a marvelous fireworks show on the calangute and Baga on the strike on 12.

1st Jan 2008 : New year day - 8th day of ride

Goa - Karvar - Hubli

What a great way to start New-year. A ride of-course. Started from Goa at around 2 in the afternoon as others did some shopping. Got information from a cab driver that Belgaum route is really bad and its better to do Karvar-Hubli. The target was to reach Hubli and stay there. Ride till Karvar was smooth. From Karvar till Hubli(136 Kms), lot of truck traffic slowed us down and covered us with red dust. Badly tired we reached Hubly. Got a place at Ayodhya lodge and crashed for the night.

2nd Jan : 9th and last day of ride.

Hubli - Chitradurga - Bangalore

This was the last day of the ride. Had to cover around 450 kms till Banglaore and plan was to reach Bangalore by 5. Left Hubli at 9. Roads were pretty decent for first 150 kms and then till Chitradurga had to struggle a lot to keep our momentum. From Chitradurga it was a smooth ride. Reached home by 6:30(2 hours from Neelamangla).

I had a really great feeling of completing this ride without any hick-ups. Rode safely and bikes performance was really great.
As of now whenever I think of this ride, I say ” Ride of a lifetime”. Want to visit Goa again in off-season

Itinerary

Date : 25th Dec 2007 to 2nd Jan 2008

Route:

Bangalore - Hassan - Halebidu - Belur - Sringeri - Udupi(Malpe) - Marvante - Murdeshwar - Honnavar - -
Jog-falls – Gokarna - Karvar - Goa - Karvar - Hubli - Chitradurga - Bangalore

Total distance covered : 1800 kms

Bikes : Avenger

Riders : Gautam and Bob(Last three days)

Night Stay:

Ist Night : Sringeri - Rs 500(Good)
2nd night : Udupi - Rs 500(Good)
3rd night : Sagar - Rs 400(good)
4th night : Gokarna - Rs 150(OK)
5th night : Karvar - Rs 1600 per person(Very good)
Stay at goa : Rs 5000 for two days(Good)
7th night : Rs 450(Good)

Note: If going to Malpe(Udupi), food can be a problem. Better drive down to Mangalore highway(4 kms). As one reaches the crossing, there is a excellent restaurant on left hand side(coming from Malpe).

Pics - http://www.flickr.com/photos/33482969@N00/sets/72157603720577455/
Posted by gomsi in 09:41:41 | Permalink | Comments (2)