Prologue
“Yeina ye? Yaan nete officegu ready avondulle! Eer mare, aaramudu, maps tuvondullar…. (What is this? I am getting ready to office and you are looking at maps cozily….)” I couldn’t respond anything else apart from bursting out with laugh J.
Ravi left to work and I got fresh and had Idli Chutney unlimited again J. It was around 9:00 AM when I said by to Priyanka and loaded my bike with my backpack. Kick started my bull after 2 days of complete rest to it. Reached NH-4 towards Satara following Ravi’s instruction. Crossed Pune city and reached Nasripur with melodious music on ears dealing with moderate traffic.
“Bhayya Bhor????” I asked a local who responded that I should ride ahead still to reach the cross road.
Continued a little further and once again,
“Bhayya Bhor????” I asked a local on bike wearing shining sun glass.
He starred at my alien getup and said,
“Mera peecha karo! Uss taraf jaana hain! (Pointing to cross road on other side of NH-4)”
The road to Bhor was narrow but was in good condition for smooth ride. Reached Bhor crossing Bhatghar Dam and enquired the route to Mahad.
Plan for the day was just the local sightseeing and this made me take my own time to get out of bed in spite of room, boy knocking the door screaming,
“Garam paani….”
Got fresh and was on bike with camera by 9:00 AM.
“Bhayya, kya hain naasthe main?” I asked the servant of same vegetarian restaurant.
“Misal Pav milega abhi!”
‘Wow! Back to Misal Pav’ I said and ordered one. After stuffing in few extra Pav’s inside in appetite, was all set to explore the local places and first in the list was Suvarnadurg Fort. Riding adjacent to ocean listening to its waves was very refreshing to mind and soul.
Days plan was just local sightseeing and hence we extended our sleep and were out of bed by 8:45 AM. Had breakfast which included Misal Pav by default as menu and were on towards Ganapatipule seeking directions from locals. KP was desperate to take riding seat and I was pretty happy to get rid of it for some time J. After few Kms, came across a place from where we can take our bike directly to the shore and there we go without second thought. It was an amazing feeling to ride the bike in beach and with couple of photo shoots, we were back on track.
“Don’t worry! You are super safe when am riding….” I said laughing inside my helmet and took off J.
Had breakfast in town and
“Pawas kaise jaana hain?” We asked few locals on the way.
We got confirmed about the route only when we saw huge Finolex industries on our right in SH-4. Since it was still early morning, Sun was not harsh on us but I had to ride very carefully due to the heavy load on bike which was resulting in mild wobbling. Road was smooth and neither we were in hurry for anything. Taking our own time for natures call and photos, we stopped for Tea after about 40 odd Kms in some isolated place.
‘Yahoo…. It’s Goa today….’ This is what my mind and heart was shouting even before I could open my eyes. Since Goa was very important for us, we started our day pretty early so that we can reach Goa well before dark. First place in list was Devbagh which is around 10 Kms from Malvan township. Reached Sangam point when the shipping village was still asleep. First look of beach looked peaceful but as we went on, it turned out be pathetic in its cleanliness. Without second thought, got back on wheels and back to simple, beautiful town of Malvan.
“Neeuv Shrinath tamma va? (Are you shrinath’s brother?)” He asked with a smiling face.
“Ha! Haudu…. (Yes….)” I said with a smile back.
Tour Map
It usually so happens that I tend to plan out my long rides well in
advance. Konkan was my destination for last December 2012 itself but it somehow
got cancelled and we (me along with my friends) had an exciting bike trip to
Himachal and Uttarkhand. Initial few months of 2013 was more of daily routine
to office with few weekend visit to home town. Later on, I got myself
completely occupied with cycle since I had to do Bangalore-Udupi on cycle. Cycling
was kind of fun at one side of the coin but on other side, was pretty desperate
for the 3 weeks long vacation in December to zoom in. Plan was already
finalized and it was to accomplish the unaccomplished! Konkan it was.
KP called me up sometime in November
and expressed his desire to join in from somewhere middle. I told him he can
join me from Pune. But at the last moment, he had to re-plan his trip since he
wanted some time for his personal commitment. We finally decided that he would
join me from Ratnagiri and would join me till Gokarna. Next came my cousins
wedding in Bangalore for which my entire family would come in. I had decided to
start the ride on 7th December and my cousins wedding was on 6th
December. Parents came a week earlier later on joined by my brothers. Now I
don’t have to say much about how things goes in wedding and it all ended up in
my getting back to home with my family at around 12 midnight on wedding day. I
realized that my plan to start the ride on next day morning at 4:00 AM is
surely impossible and since my parents would depart to Udupi on 7th
December night, thought I will start the ride on 8th December once
my parents leave.
Woke up at 3:30 AM, got fresh and I was all set for the ride. Looked at
mirror only to find my left eye had swollen due to big heat ball and it looked
double the size L. Damn shit! What’s actually happening I thought cancelling my ride for
yet another day. Deciding not to neglect it, went to eye hospital accompanied
by my brother and doctor said it’s majorly due to heat. With a smile he handed
me list of tablets and an ointment. Very much frustrated me, decided that I would just
start the ride tomorrow no matter what the case is. Because due to these last
moment postponing, I had already cancelled few places that I had planned to
visit. Finally, it was on 9th December, I loaded my bike and was on
towards…….. JJJJ
Day-1
| 09-December-2013 | Bangalore-Peth Vadgaon (Kolhapur) | 634 Kms | 634 Kms
Alarm rang at 3:15 and I was out of bed in no time.
After brushing teeth, first thing that I did was to stand in front of mirror
and have a close look on my left eye. Thankfully swelling was less but heat
ball had grown in size L.
At any cost, I didn't want to postpone the ride for at another day since I was
already fed up of postponing it from last 2 days.
Had green tea, loaded the
bag, rechecked important things that had to be switched off like gas regulator,
TV plugs etc and locked the door. It was 4:25 AM when I was out of my street
towards my 21 days freedom. It was freezing cold in spite of my wearing 3
layers of clothes. After exiting the city, I was literally shivering but I
realized that there is hardly any way out. Maintained a decent speed for till I
crossed Sira after which I stopped to capture sunrise in my lens. The reason I
captured it was that I knew I may not get to see such a sunrise for 3 weeks now
as my ride was completely on west coast J. Soon after photo break, took a tea break and was
back on cruise mode with songs engaging my mind and ears.
Gorgeous Sunrise near Sira
All set to vrrroooommmm....
Huge wind mills on either
side of the road made me realize that I was close to Chitradurga and it was
around 8:15 AM by then. From here on, I was little doubtful about the 4-lane
road since, last time when I had rode here, still the road work was in
progress. But thankfully, there was no road work and it was all smooth 4-lane
to cruise. Crossed Davanagere and the hunt began for restaurant to fill my
appetite. Crossed Davanagere and Harihara but no sign of any good restaurant.
Finally gave up and stopped for tender coconut because I had to keep body cool
too due to the fear of heat ball L.
"Olle hotel idiya
breakfast ge? (Is there an good hotel for breakfast?)" I asked an old
tender coconut seller.
"Ondu mooru kilometer
hodre, olle hotel aithe. Estandard hotel aithe adu (If you go ahead for about 3
Kms, there is a good hotel. Standard hotel it is)" Was his response.
"Hege yelneeru? (How
much does a tender coconut cost?)"
"Hadnaidu rupaai (15
Rs)"
Grabbed one with no second
thought and rode ahead in search of my dear friend’s estandard hotel. I rode
more than 10kms but no signs of any hotel at all. Came across a toll and I ask
another person.
"Sir, illi olle hotel
idiya breakfast madoke? (Sir, is there any good hotel for breakfast?)" I
asked curiously.
"Ille ondu km hodre,
Kamath sigutte nodi (If you go ahead for a Km, you will get Kamath)" He
replied with a smile.
Thanked him and I stopped
in Kamath. Had Set Dosa, tea and took tablets proscribed by the doctor.
By 10:45 AM, I was back on road and next break came after about 80 Kms
since it was too sunny and I didn't want to over stress myself.
Cotton plantations beside NH-4
Continued ahead after
pouring in water and clicking few photos, crossed Dharwad and stopped for lunch
in Ghar Dhaba which was right beside BP filling station.
"Bhayya, do Roti aur
Daal lake aana"
After having them, ordered
another Roti followed by sweet Lassi. Paid the bill with my leather jacket on
my shoulder and that’s when,
“Yeh jacket leather ki
hain?” Cashier asked curiously.
“Haan! Kyon?”
“Kaha
se kareeda aapne?”
“Bangalore
se! Leather ke dukaan main order deke
banvaya hain.”
“Ek kaam karo! Yeh jacket
aap muje dedo. Aap doosra banvao. Mujhe aise hi ek leather jacket chahiye tha.”
Expressing his to buy a leather jacket.
Got back on bike denying his offer with a smile and was on smooth concrete
road which was a pleasure to ride on but they were emitting too much of heat
too L.
He signed me to take his photo and gave this pose :)
Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belgaum
Smooth concrete roads!
Barren Ghataprabha river
Crossed Sankeshwar and stopped for tea and local crowd
gathered around my bike and me in no time. Sipped sweet tea answering their
curious questions, meanwhile called my cousin in Kolhapur. He forced me to stay
in his house which declined and road ahead and it was only when I saw everything
written in Marathi, I realized that I was out of my state.
Welcome Maharastra :)
Crossed Kolhapur bypass
and called my cousin again. But this time, his mom took the phone and
"We all are waiting
for you. What’s your problem? I don’t know anything. You are coming now that’s
it!"
‘Oh boy! Did I have to hear it?’ Eventually I had to bend down after
couple of negotiations. Reached Peth Vadgaon where my cousin stays, unloaded
the bike and had yummy Misal Pav. Got fresh, and had few general talks about
the life in Bangalore, my home town and the ride. My cousin fully excited
seeing me on road, told he would like to join me in his Honda Shine till Satara
if I had no objections. I agreed only
after he assured me that he would ride completely safe and slow. With my tummy
completely packed by yummy food prepared by sis, crashed in hardly any time.
Day-2 | 10-December-2013 | Peth Vadgaon (Kolhapur)-Umbraj-Chafal-Patan-Mandure-Jalu-Tarale-Satara
| 204 Kms | 838 Kms
Woke up at 6:15 AM pulling cousins blanket making sure
he is ready on time. Got fresh and went to Mahalakshmi Talav with camera which
was prime source of water to Peth Vadgaon some time back. Lake was very calm
and peaceful with hardly any crowd and partially covered by fog. Talav
exhibited its own beauty with few chirping birds around. Had a small walk on
the lake bed capturing wonderful lake from all angles while my cousin was
explaining me about the usage of this Talav and at the same time expressing his
excitement for the days ride J.
Wonderful Mahalakshmi Talav!
Taking a sun bath early morning?
Came back and stuffed in unlimited Dosa. Being a very
rare visitor to sister’s place, I had to stuff in additional Dosa due to her
force. Due to place constraint, I had parked my bike on previous day at my
cousin’s aunt’s place nearby. Got bike from there sipping tea and briefing them
about my ride.
Finally loading my bike and bidding bye to sister, we
were out of Peth Vadgaon by 9:50 AM and rode nonstop till Umbraj filling our
bikes on the way. Quit NH-4 in Umbraj and rode few miles inside and only then
confusions regarding the route to Chalkewadi started to kick our mind L. But thankfully, my cousin was a localite and took
the initiative of asking locals about the route in Marathi. But the strange
part being my cousin would take a long time to get simple information about the
route. With a little attention to what he was speaking with locals, I could
hear he saying ‘Kolhapur’ to locals and that’s when I got to know locals were
asking where did he come from? Damn! Why would they want to know the details of
us when we are already short of time L? After a couple of enquiries, crossed Chafal and rode ahead enjoying
the beauty of Sahyadri’s. View around was simply mind-blowing with wind mills
all around on hill top. Reached Patan and we were off towards Chalkewadi after
getting the route details from localities.
Mighty one standing alone.
Breath taking Sahyadri :)
The route to Chalkewadi
was pretty narrow but it offered scenic landscape. After about 15 Kms dealing
couple of hair-pin bends, we came across a turn after which I could see hardly
any route. What the hell! I started to think completely confused. But to our
luck there were few daily wage workers with whom my cousin started to get the
information probably for the Nth time since morning J. They suggested us to go ahead but road is very bad for next 25
Kms. Time was ticking pretty fast and it was already around 3:00 PM. Deciding
not to risk ahead, we rode back to Patan and this time, we decided to rely on
the maps in my cousins Android set. Maps showed that we should take Mandure route
to reach Chalkewadi. Hoping that this time, we are on right track, we rode
dealing with bad patches that came on the way. After negotiating with couple of
hair-pin bends crossed Mandure and reached a hill top with plain lands.
“Bhayya!
Uper ja sakte hain na?” I asked a wind mill worker
who was passing by while my cousin was trying his luck to get the information
from other workers.
Climbed few steps and all that I could see was breathtaking views and
few hundreds of wind mills. The place was so calm that we could even hear the
sound of wind mill wings. That’s the moment when I realized its worth to get
lost at times J.
Windmills all over :)
Suzlon standing firm on edge of a hill
Got down from the hilltop and enquired the route to
Chalkewadi only to find that route is full of mud road with loose gravels and
has to pass through uphill L. Gosh! After all this effort, did I have to hear this? I really cannot
deal with my heavy bull on such a track I thought and we decided to head back
to Satara without second thought. Finding the route to Satara wasn’t any easy
job since there were no sign boards at all. I was wondering what would have
happened if my cousin wasn’t with me on this track. With few photo breaks,
crossed Jalu, Tarale and finally touched NH-4 in Nagtane passing few tiny
villages.
Mind blowing Tarali Dam backwater
It was around 10 Kms to
Satara and took a break to fill our hungry stomach which had skipped the day’s
lunch L. Done with a quick bite, we entered Satara city and
hunt for the lodge began. After few look around, got one in our budget range
and checked in unloading the bike. Got fresh, took rest for some time thinking
about the day’s adventure and headed out for dinner but this walking.
Amarapalli restaurant looked great for our hungry appetite and ordered Naan,
Veg Kadai and Butter milk. While chatting with cousin, I could hear restaurant
guys speaking Kannada and in no time I got to know that they belong to Kundapur
which is close to my native Udupi. Reached back to lodge after a yummy dinner
and closed eye shutter thinking what’s in the box for tomorrow J.
Day-3 | 11-December-2013 | Satara-Kaas Lake-Satara-Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani-Wai-Satara
| 224 Kms | 1062 Kms
Wake up call came at 6:00 AM from my mobile. Got fresh and were out
towards Kaas Lake in no time. I had fair idea about the route since I had done
the same track earlier as part of Incredible India trip. Initial few Kms were
more of riding on hills with mist. Stopped for a photo break and I could see
that Satara was still sleeping under a layer of mist J.
Satara town just waking up :)
Continued ahead and reached Kaas with couple of photo
breaks of Kanher Dam and Urmodi Dam. Kaas plateau was completely barren and dry
but the area was very huge. It was completely fenced and I realized it might be
due to the tourist crowd in the season and spoiling the nature. We decided to
stop while coming back and rode ahead towards Kaas Lake. Parked the bike and
walked few meters towards Lake. Lake was very calm and peaceful with hardly any
crowd around. I was mesmerized with the dark Blue color of the lake and
cleanliness of surroundings. Had our
share of photos, relaxed for a while and walked back to parking.
Peaceful Kaas lake
I told my cousin to
enquire to eat something in a shop at parking. After enquiring, he came back
saying only tea is available.
“Teek hain! Do chai
dena….” I said the shopkeeper thinking tea is better than nothing.
“Kitna hua?” I asked
taking out my wallet to pay the money. Shopkeeper said something in Marathi
which went over my head and I looked towards my cousin to translate it to me.
“It’s free! On the
occasion of Datta Jayanti and the procession had gone just few Mins back!”
It was 8:30 AM by now and started our backward journey and stopped in
Kaas plateau. Crossed over fencing which was open at one place and walked till
end of the hill to get glimpse of beauty around.
Dried up Kaas pleatue
Since we had lot to cover for the day, rode back to
Satara with no breaks and without wasting any time in hunt for restaurant, we
hit Mahabaleshwar road with a few route queries with locals. Stopped on the way
for breakfast and had Vada Pav followed by Misal Pav and Tea. Continued riding
beside Kanher Dam and soon we were on climb towards Mahabaleshwar dealing with
twisties. Road was smooth with beautiful vista around forcing us to stop every
now and then but we couldn’t take much photo breaks due to time constraint.
Getting on twisties enroute Mahabaleshwar :)
It was around 8 Kms to
Mahabaleshwar when I read a board pointing to Bagdad Point to left.
“Shall we check this out?”
I asked my cousin for which he nodded his head.
Bagdad point offered great vista of adjacent hills but had to compromise
a lot with respect to road condition L.
Magnificent Bagdad point
Came back to main road and
entered Mahabaleshwar paying an entry fee of 20 Rs per bike.
“Bhayya, yeh Kate’s point
aur Arthur Seat kaise jaana hain?” I asked ticket collector while he handing
over our entry tickets.
Since Kate’s point comes
in Panchgani route, we decided to finish off Arthur Seat first and got into
narrow thick green track. Few Kms before the spot, traffic cops stopped us at a
junction and it was about document verification. He checked my cousins
documents and I asked him,
“Mera documents bhi dikana
hain kya?” As I was little lazy to pull them out from my tool box.
“Ha! Aapka gaadi bahut
purana hain na! Iss liye dekna hain….” He replied looking at my odo meter which
had crossed 91k.
While I was taking out my
documents, cop asked pointing to my panniers,
"Yeh kya food like
Jane ke liye?"
Answering his question with a smile, he verified my bike documents.
While I was keeping my documents back in place, cop was talking to my cousin
and later my cousin told me that cop was interested to ride my bike J. Reached Arthur Seat and it was packed with tourist
crowd. It was so crowded that we had tough time finding a place for bike
parking L. With quick photos of the marvelous hills standing
firm in front of us, we got back and stopped at Savitri Point from where one can
get gorgeous views of Arthur Seat. Thankfully this point was absolutely
isolated with tourist crowd and we got our share of photos with hills on the
back J.
Deadly valley!
What to say about this? (Arthur Seat point)
Had lemon juice to beat the thirst and next in the
list was Lodwick Point which was around 8 Kms from Savitri Point. Parked our
bike in parking of Lodwick Point and walked a while to reach the point. The
vista it offered was nothing great when compared to Arthur Seat and we decided
to visit Kate's Point without wasting much of a time since it was already close
to 4:00 PM. Had lunch on the way and then rode to Kate's Point to click its
breath taking views. Walked beside Kate's point to see Needles Hole and we over
heard a guide saying many bollywood movies like Dabaang, Gangajal, and Chennai Express
were shot at a place on other side of the valley beside Balakwadi Dam.
Balakwadi Dam from Kates view point
With Kate’s Point, we were
done with Mahabaleshwar and next in the list was Panchgani Table Land. Rode
nonstop to Panchgani and took our bike to Table Land paying the entry fee and
parked our machines at parking place.
“Saab!
Gode pe jaana hain?” A local horse rider came
with his gigantic horse.
“Nahin bhayya! Nahin
chahiye…. Hum paidal jayenge” I said while taking the camera out.
“Hum aapko saare point
dikayenge! Ganpati Visarjan, Raja Hindustani shooting Point, Parsi Point
vagera! Yeh table land 6.5 Kms lamba hain! Aapko paidal jaane main time lage
ga….” Were his convincing words to get his business.
“Nahin chahiye! Hum paanch
minute main nikal jayenge” I said as final statement to get rid of him.
Table land was crowded with
tourists engaged with various activities. I could see a lot of happy couples
holding each other’s hand and walking in their own world. We walked for a while
till one end of the hill and got back on our machines towards Satara since sun
was closing his account for the day quickly and we had lot to ride.
Panchgani Table Lands
Reached Wai and my cousin had a quick visit to temple
after which we started our final leg of ride for the day. Riding in NH-4 in
dark without helmet was very painful to the eyes and adding to the pain was
horrible traffic. At last, by around 8:00 PM, we reached our nest with complete
dust on our clothes. Got fresh and went out in search of some chats since I was
eager to taste one. Chats was followed by quick dinner in previous days
Amarapalli restaurant. Got back to lodge, crashed into bed with my brother
little disappointed since he would be heading back home tomorrow and I was
pretty excited since I would hit Konkan tomorrow.
Day-4 | 12-December-2013 | Satara-Lonavala-Khopoli-Pen-Alibaug-Murud
| 324 Kms | 1386 Kms
Woke up at 6:45 AM and was on road with the loaded bike
by 8:40 AM. Bid bye to cousin who headed to Kolhapur and I continued towards Pune.
Road was butter smooth since it was part of golden quadrilateral J. Stopped at Vittal Kamath around 40 Kms before Pune
and had Misal Pav and Tea as part of morning breakfast. Continued tanking up
fuel and entered Pune crossing new Katraj tunnel.
New Katraj Tunnel welcoming me towards Pune!
Exit from Pune was easy
since this metro city doesn't fall in NH-4.
Bid bye to Pune saying ‘I
would see you again tomorrow’ and reached crowded Lonavala.
"Bhaiyya, Tiger Point
kaise jana hain?" I enquired the route with traffic cop on duty.
"Yaha se left aur aage se right marna" Was his short &
sweet reply.
Enroute Lonavala Lion Point
Reached Tiger Point crossing INS and riding through small
Ghat section. Tiger Point offered breath taking views of the valley ahead but
unlike my previous visit, this time, entire view point was fully fenced. As I
got busy with my camera, I also observed that few nasty tourists were crossing
over the fence in a desire to take photos posing in the edge of the cliff.
After taking my share of clicks, got back to Lonavala and stuffed in 2 Dosa's
in Hotel Rama Krishna.
Breathtaking views of Lion Point....
Is this Lion of Lion Point?
With enough breaks for
lunch and drinking in lot of water to hydrate myself, geared up and continued
my journey towards Konkan riding through express ay for small stretch and later
on taking left turn in Khopoli. This connecting road to Konkan from NH-4 had
more speed breakers than anything else. I was already behind schedule and
applying break on every speed breaker was more irritating than anything else.
Finally it was around 4:10 AM when I touched the famous NH-17. As soon as I got
into sea level, I was virtually boiling inside with 2 layers of shirt & a
leather jacket to top it. ‘Damn! When will I get rid of this setup?’ I was
thinking while on the way to Alibaug.
"Bhaiyya, Alibaug?"
I asked a passerby in bike.
"Tees minute lagega.
Yaha seeda jao" He responded with his preoccupied mind.
Reached Alibaug dealing with the traffic of JSW production plant trucks
and enquired the route to beach. On reaching the beach, first thing I did was
to remove the layer of shirt I was wearing. ‘OMG! What a relief’ I said to
myself tying other belongings like Helmet, Knee Pads etc to bike. Beach was
very calm with few Tanga guys waiting for customers and few oldies busy in
their talks. Had my share of clicks with good break and am off towards Murud to
close my days account.
Silent Alibaug beach!
It was already past 5:00 PM by the time I headed to
Murud and initial 20 Kms was just horrible with full of potholes. But best part
being riding adjacent to beach with awesome greenish seascape on other side. With
sunset click near Kashid, I rode pretty fast to make sure I don’t ride in dark.
Wonderful sunset on the way....
Hurray! Am on Konkan :D
Mind blowing isn't it?
Reached Murud and hunt
began for a day’s shelter. Saw a board ‘Hotel Janjira’ on ride side of the road
just before Murud town and enquired about the room. After checking out the room
& a little of negotiation, closed the deal for 400 Rs.
Got fresh, informed loved ones about
my safe arrival and went out for dinner. Since my stay was a little prior to Murud
town, I had to ride in pitch dark in search of restaurant to grab my dinner.
Finally got a restaurant which served vegetarian food and ordered one without
second thought. Meanwhile restaurant guy started casual conversation with me
and gave details about visiting Janjira Fort, timing of the boat to Janjira
Fort, how much time it takes, Padmadurg Fort, taking bike in ferry to Dighi
etc.
“Yaha season main bahut log Mumbai aur
kahi alag jagah se aate hain! Fishing karne. Fishing ek hobby hain yaha ke logo
ke liye….” he said proudly.
“Aap kaha se aaye
hain?” I was expecting this in short time from him J.
“Bangalore….” I replied concentrating
more on food.
“Kitna din laga aapko yaha aane main?”
he fired it again looking at my bike.
I explained him in short about my
journey so far and what lies ahead in plan.
“Bangalore bahut achhi jagah hain!
Maine suna hain. Hamara pados ka ladka vaha rehta hain. Who bata raha tha….”
And I ended up burping hard. I was wondering is it because of his thoughts
about Bangalore or cause of his delicious food J.
Continuing
the casual talk, he also said biggest port in India is being built in Dighi
now. After dinner handed him exact change and went to Murud beach as suggested
by restaurant guy in search of Vada Pav only to find that it was closed. With
little disappointment, came back, took some rest and crashed planning things
for tomorrow.
Day-5
| 13-December-2013 | Murud-Dighi-Shrivardhan-Harihareshwar-Mangaon-Tahmini Ghat-Mulshi
dam-Pune | 294 Kms | 1680 Kms
From my previous days talk with restaurant guy, I knew
that boat to Janjira Fort would start by 7:30 AM and in an effort to make sure
I am not late, woke up at 6:00 AM sharp and got ready in no time. Since had
some extra time, clicked the Arabian Sea from my room balcony.
Padmadurg Fort as seen from my room Balcony
King's palace with HDR processing....
By 7:15 AM came down to
parking place only to see that lodge shutter was still closed. Woke up the
owner with a phone call to open the shutter, and rode to Rajapuri Jetty from
where I had to take boat to Janjira Fort but found that boat won't go till it
has 30 odd people on it and guess what? I was the first customer for the day L. With no other option left, got into a casual talk with ticket
counter guy who was in his 70’s I guess. He was a very nice chap with good
spoken English and looked disciplined. He spoke about the boat service, hiring personal
boat to the Fort, ferry to Dighi and its timing etc.
“Aap
kaha se aaye ho?”
“Bangalore….”
“Main bhi Bangalore gaya
hoon! Bahut achhi jagah hain! Log bahut ache hain….”
Since I was very sure that this will take a lot of time, I had tea while
waiting and bunch of 8 guys came in 4 bikes. After they stuffed in a little of
smoke from cigarette, one of them asked me if I would like to join them to Fort
as they would hire personal boat to the fort. That’s a great option I thought
and agreed in no time and finally we all were on boat towards great and
gigantic Janjira Fort.
Gigantic Murud-Janjira Fort
Guide in the boat explained a lot while walking us
through the Fort like, 3 sweet water tanks, big cannon which has firing range
of 12 Kms and how it doesn’t get heated up in-spite of constant sun rays
falling over it, a secret exit of the fort, a hidden underground channel which
connects Fort to the main land, Marathi and Urdu schools inside the Fort, Kings
Palace, locals living in the Fort till 1970, design of Fort entrance which is
very difficult to figure out for enemies, Padmadurg Fort and difficulty to go there
since it is banned for public visit etc. I had tough time in listening to his
explanations and also to capture the Fort in my lens.
The young group that took me along....
Huge complex's inside Janjira Fort
Mighty walls protecting the Fort from massive ocean
Lake inside the Fort. How clean it is :P
“Woh is kile ka top point
hain! Agar kisi ko jaana hain to jaa sakta hain! Dus minute hain aap ke paas” He
said after explaining everything inside the Fort.
I and another few guys started to climb the steps with no second thought
but other followed us soon. Tip of the Fort gave bird’s eye view of the
surrounding around with magnificent Ocean on one side.
View from watch tower of the Fort.
Came down with few photos and we were on boat back to
main land in no time. Boat hardly took about 15 Mins to sail back to main land
and it was just close to 10:00 AM. Ticket counter person had told me that first
ferry to Dighi leaves at 10:30 AM and next is at 12:30 PM. As I had very less
time to be back to Rajapuri Jetty checking out from lodge, I rushed back to
lodge paying my share of expense for the boat and guide. Packed my luggage in
hurry and reached back to Rajapuri Jetty at 10:25 AM but ferry was already full
by then L. Disappointed me decided to go by road instead of
wasting time for the next ferry and reached Agardanda Jetty by 10:50 AM to find
there is a ferry to Dighi at 12:30 PM which would take both of us to Dighi in
15 Mins. Instead of going by road as usual, decided to go in ferry.
Here I move on....
Waiting in Agardanda Jetty
As I had plenty of time in
hand, went to a nearby local shop and spoke to shopkeeper about the ferry, Dighi
Port etc.
“Kaane ke liye kuch milega
kya? Subah se kuch nahin kaya hain maine.” I asked him as I was damn hungry L.
“Sirf
Vada Pav milega. Du kya?”
“Ek leke aana bhai” I said
picking up water bottle to wash my face.
While I was busy stuffing
in Vada Pav, he got excited about my trip and started firing questions one by
one.
“Main bhi Bangalore main
paanch saal tha! Main Bangalore ko Jaanta
hoon” ‘Man! Every individual I meet has been to Bangalore is it?’ I
started to think as he was explaining me about his visit to IT Capital.
He suggested me to unload
the luggage from bike else it will be difficult to take the bike into the ferry.
I unloaded the bike and requested him for another Vada Pav but this time with
Chili.
“Abhi laata hoon. Tum
ruko!” He said handing over second Vada Pav in my hand.
He bought Chili in some time and guess what? I had 2 more Vada Pav’s
followed by tea as I had nothing else to do. While taking photos of the Ocean,
a Coastal security guard officer came to me requesting to show the photos I had
clicked just few minutes back. There again I repeat the same story about my
journey and my work, he checked the photos I had taken and said no issues.
After relaxing nicely for 1.5 hours, ferry came at last and loaded my bike and
even I got into the ferry paying 36 Rs for 4 Vada Pav’s and Tea J.
Loading the heavy bike isn't an easy job :(
Cargo carriers in Dighi Port
Reached Dighi in about 15 Mins, tied back my luggage
to bike while locals were curiously looking at what I am doing and headed straight
to Shrivardhan asking route wit many locals who came across on the way. Road
was in bad shape with lot of pot holes and it was very narrow. But good part
being most part of the stretch was thick with greens around. Learning from the
mistake of previous day, I had just worn a thin jacket over a cotton shirt and
it was much better this time J.
Horrible Konkan roads :(
Reached Shrivardhan and had to stand still behind a
bus which was stuck up taking a turn in narrow streets of Shrivardhan. ‘Boy!
Will you ever move ahead? I am already late’ I wanted to yell out loudly but I
knew no one would ever bother about it. Finally after spending couple of Mins,
the bus moved ahead and I headed straight to Shrivardhan beach which was very
nice and calm. It was so silent that I could here only the sound of waves and
nothing else. Clicked my share and was on my way to Harihareshwar.
Calm Shrivardhan Beach!
“Bhaiyya,
Harihareshwar???” I asked a localite while on the move.
“Har main road pe right
maarna. Seeda Harihareshwar jao ge….”
Reached Harihareshwar which
offered smooth roads with typical coastal vista and parked the bike paying 10
Rs as parking fee. Walked till the shore to get my share of clicks of the beach
and next in the list was stepped Canyon which was right behind Harihareshwar
temple.
Harihareshwar Beach!
Isn't this Beach wonderful?
Climbed a small hill to get in there and it was very
peaceful, calm and isolated. Just to my bad luck, I had no time to enjoy it L. This place gave me an idea about how much ocean has
caused the corrosion of these gigantic rocks over the period of time. Capturing
all the surroundings in my lens walked back to parking grabbing Misal Pav and lemon
juice.
Corrosion over the decades or more....
Can you imagine the amount of corrosion taken place?
It was already past 4:00
PM and I still had close to 200 Kms for the day L. Geared up and made my
mind to do speed run. Rode nonstop to Mangaon seeking directions from locals
with music on ears. Road to Mangaon was mostly in bad shape making me ride slow
adding to the delay L.
Reached Mangaon by 5:20 PM
and got into Pune route asking direction. Mile stone said Pune is 120 Kms and there
I get my first shock since it was already getting dark and I knew for sure I
will have to cross Sahyadri’s in dark. Reached Nizampur and enquired for fuel.
“Yaha aapko petrol nahin
milega. Kum
se kum pachaas kilometer jaana padega aapko….” He said while his mind was searching for the nearest fuel station.
‘Shit! Damn shit. What the
hell shall I do now?’ I was scolding myself inside me.
“Aap
ek kaam karo. Bhees kilometer seeda jao! Waha pooch lena. Shayad
waha hoga….” He said not being sure about it.
His ‘Shayad’ made me not
to take the risk and I questioned him back,
“Mangaon me milega kya
petrol?”
“Ha. Waha zaroor milega aapko….”
Without second thought and
wasting no time, rode back 10 Kms to Mangaon and filled up fuel in a petrol
station adjacent to NH-17. It was 5:50 PM by the time I hit SH-97 to Pune again
and I decide to cover as much as possible soon before dark. Rode pretty fast
overtaking every possible vehicle and got into Tahmini Ghats. Ghat was really
breath taking with steep curves and complete silence around. Adding to that was
road condition which was too bumpy and horrible. It was complete dark by now
and I had hardly any vehicles to accompany me on road. Frightened me, rode as
if my ass is lit with fire and crossed Mulshi Dam. My initial plan was to reach
Mulshi Dam backwater early and spend some quality time there but to my bad luck
couldn’t make out when I crossed it since it was too dark. It was around 30 Kms
before Pune I took a break since I was pretty confident of reaching my
destination now and informed my loved ones about the status. While near in Pune,
2 guys in bullet came close to me and
“Where are you from?”
“Bangalore”
“Which group you are
riding in?”
“I am doing a solo trip” I
said concentrating more on the road.
“Which is the route to
Hinjewadi Bridge?” I asked them this time.
Pillion signaled me to
follow him and he would show me the route. Reached NH-4 and they gave direction
to Hinjewadi Bridge. Bidding bye them, rode ahead and called up Ravi and he
directed me to his house and I told him am damn hungry. I made him clear about
my state saying,
“Since morning, I am
surviving from 4 Vada Pav’s and Misal Pav”
Ravi assured me not to
worry and I reached his house in about 30 Mins time. It was close to 10:00 PM
by then and hungry me got fresh and had 2 Chapati's till Ravi's beloved wife Priyanka
prepared dinner.
“You know from morning I
am just having something related to Pav. I just want to have nice home food” I
said to Priyanka without knowing what’s in the dinner box for me.
“Oh Shit! I have prepared Pav
Bhaji again” was the loud response from her.
“That’s perfectly Ok with
me! I just said I need some home food.” I said and we were soon on dinner table
with Bhaji and lot of Pav’s in front of me.
Had yummy dinner
discussing about my journey so far, plans ahead, plan for tomorrow and what
not. Post dinner, we had small chit chat session and crashed for the day with
everyone set to conquer Shivaji’s capital Raigad Fort tomorrow and we would
start ASAP when we get up.
Day-6 | 14-December-2013 | Pune-Mulshi
Dam-Mangaon-Raigad-Mangaon-Mulshi Dam-Pune (in car)
It was around 6:30 AM when
Ravi kept a small pretty flower on small Ganesha idol inside his car and opened
the boot space for us to load the luggage. It took hardly any time for us to
get out of Wakad and we were cruising in NH-4 towards Chandni Chowk. After few
calls to Ravi’s cousin Vivek, finally he was in and we would pick him up on the
way. Vivek’s dad had come to drop him and we 4 nomads were on for day’s
adventure after bidding bye to Uncle. Since I had taken the same route
yesterday to reach Pune, I had latest update on the road condition and was
constantly updating Ravi on the same while on the move. We were already much
behind the schedule and took our first break for breakfast near Mulshi Dam
after filling the fuel. Stuffing in Poha and Misal Pav followed by Tea, got
back on wheels with the mindset of reaching the destination ASAP.
“Krishna, if you don’t
mind, can I take front seat?” Priyanka asked while were gearing go move ahead.
“Sure! No issues” I said
while opening the back door.
“Because I have vomiting
sensation” She replied.
“Oh! Even I have the same
problem but I am perfectly fine right now.” I replied with a smile J.
As we moved ahead driving adjacent to Mulshi backwater, I enjoyed the
mesmerizing vista which I had missed yesterday. It was only now I realized how
much I had missed on my previous day L. The group was pretty excited about conquering Shivaji’s capital Fort
and this excitement took us to lot of discussions. Since we were running behind
time a lot, we decided to take rope way to reach top of the Fort since it would
save a lot of time for us. In middle of nowhere Ravi got official call to
attend and I took this opportunity to capture the eye catching hills of Tahmini
Ghats J.
Mighty hill at Tamhini Ghat!
Thats Ravi's loved car :)
After dealing with few
steep twisties, reached Mangaon and then asked direction to Raigad wit localities.
Took a left turn to Raigad
few Kms before Mangaon and this stretch offered narrow roads with few tourist
vehicles plying around. After dealing with few twisties, we reached Raigad base
and soon, me and Vivek went to enquire about rope way.
“Kum
se kum char ganta lagega. Poora waiting hain!”
Ticket counter person said literally laughing at us.
‘Oh man! Did I hear him
properly? Did he say 4 Hrs?’ it was kind of bomb being exploded on our mind.
Came back to parking place
to discuss what to do and meanwhile, a local bus driver said,
“Rope way se jaldi pauch jao ge! Magar Raigad ka asli nazara dekna hain
toh paidal jaana! Tab pata chalega Raigad kya hain….” Cutting our discussion.
Scary cable car will take you to the fort in 10 Mins!
After few Mins, we all decided to trek and it was
around 12:45 PM when we started to climb up after having lemon juice. I was all
excited and climbed little fast but they 3 took it little easy making sure they
don't get exhausted soon. Though I was fast and ahead, I had to take frequent
breaks to capture majestic Sahyadri hills standing firm right in front of my
eyes.
First view of Shivaji's Capital - RAIGAD
Takmak Tok point!
After about 45 Mins, we stopped
for juice and again continued walking ahead.
“Kitna door hain abhi???”
I asked a local juice seller panting like a dog.
“Adha ganta lagega….” She
replied politely.
‘Jai Shivaji’ I said in myself and continued further only to stop after
a while to grab 2 more lemon juice and Cucumber. While taking rest under a
shade with Cucumber in hand, shopkeeper said it takes more than 2 days to explore
it completely and Fort is spread over 100 acres and it has 1500 steps
altogether till the top.
Walking all the way to top :)
What shall I say for his courage?
View of Shayadri midway to the Fort
My gang cheering below :)
Finally by 2:45 PM, we were inside the Fort taking
entry ticket. Although we were pooped out completely, beautiful views around
gave us the much needed energy to explore the Fort. As we entered the colossal
Fort, we came across 7 Queen’s room, minister’s quarters, secret chamber, King’s
palace, secretariat, market place etc. Priyanka and Vivek did explain whatever they
knew about the Fort to amateurs like me. Fort had already accumulated good
amount of tourist crowd majorly school trips.
I guess it was a watch tower of the Fort!
Kings palace I believe!
The Legend looking strong even in statue!
That's the Fort's market place :)
Place from where Legend went to heaven!
There were many of juice
shops inside the Fort and Marathi known member of the group (Vivek and
Priyanka) took the initiative of speaking to a shop keeper about lunch and
booked our lunch after visiting Jagadamba temple.
Shopkeeper had told us to
visit her house on the back yard and she would keep the lunch ready by then. We
entered her small hut which had her family and also few cats and hens. After
waiting for a while, we got served with delicious Dal and Roti which was nothing
less than heaven for our ultra hungry stomach.
“Lassi milega kya???” We
asked without any hesitation.
After burping hard, we were back on the Fort paying her bill. Next in
the list was most important spot of the Fort! Takmak Tok Point. It was the place
from where Shivaji would throw his enemies and as you would have guessed by
now, it was a dead end of a hill. It was already close to sunset by now but
that just couldn’t stop us from walking through a narrow path and reaching to
the tip of the hill. Takmak Tok Point was simply out of the world with its
views around.
The beauty of nature :)
Grand Canyon of India? ;)
Sunset from Takmak Tok!
With satisfactory clicks
and resting for a while watching the sunset and enjoying the beauty around, we
decided to climb down with as less breaks as possible. We didn’t take the
ropeway since we were sure that there will be a huge queue to get down. As soon
as we came to the entrance of the Fort, it got almost dark and we hardly had
any torch too L. Only torch was the one on our mobile and the natural
moon light. I switched on my mobile torch and lead the way constantly informing
about rocks, stones etc which came on our way to my group who were walking
right behind me. Somewhere midway,
“Krishna, actually you
don’t need to rely on torch. Moon light is more than enough to identify the
path!” Priyanka said from behind.
I switched off my torch
and yeah! I could make out from moon light itself. Damn! I wasted so much
battery I thought and continued further. With a small break we reached base in
around 75 Mins and directly entered a shop and ordered Lemon juice. With juice
getting inside us, we geared up for the backward journey and since it was a
night drive, we had to be very cautious and ride slow. Journey back home began
with me sitting beside Ravi and we all made sure some or the other discussion
was on so that no one feels sleepy and we all are alert. Reached NH-17 and then
to some random restaurant in Goregaon. Had dinner and back on our respective
seats. Tahmini Ghat looked scarier this time might be due to the pitch darkness
and absolute silence it provided. Ravi had a great task of concentrating very
much on the road and my job was to make sure I chat with him constantly so that
he may not feel sleepy. Priyanka and Vivek too joined with me making sure no
one sleeps and we were discussing about verity of issues like road safety,
politics etc. Somewhere on the Ghats, Priyanka couldn’t control and puked out
whatever she had eaten. Without second thought, I took the back seat leaving
the front one to her and journey continued only to be stopped at Mulshi for
tea. Priyanka and Vivek had already been on a small nap by now and me and Ravi
stepped out for tea to freshen ourselves.
“Good you told me to stop
for tea. I was feeling damn sleepy!” Ravi told rubbing his eyes and as soon as
heard that, my sleep went away.
After a tea break,
continued our journey ahead and finally at 1:30 AM, reached our nest and
crashed on bed just like over worked donkeys.
Day-7 | 15-December-2013 | In
Pune
However late I sleep on
previous day, I just can’t sleep till late morning. Opened my eyes by 8:00 AM
but dint want to get up so soon. Effort to catch up some sleep went in vein and
was out of bed by 8:30 AM and occupied myself reading paper and arranging my
valuables.
“Good morning!” Ravi told
with his eyes half open by 10:00 AM.
In some time, everyone
else woke up and had tea chit chatting with no plans for rest of the day.
Everyone looked pretty stressed from yesterdays adventure and till NOON, it was
more of relaxing around with nothing much to do. Ravi and Priyanka had some
personal work and me and Vivek accompanied the couple. Came back home and had
lunch by around 4:00 PM. Post lunch, me, Ravi and Vivek headed to Shanivar Wada
which is on the prime commercial location of Pune. Since it is a crammed place,
Vivek suggested Ravi to park the car at a distance and walk further. Security
stopped us on the entrance to inform that it is closed. With nothing else to
do, gave a quick visit to Lal Mahal adjacent to Shanivar Wada. Lal Mahal
offered us few important stories of Shivaji’s life depicted in drawings. Came
out and had Vada Pav followed by Jahangir and Lassi in Dagduseth. Vivek’s house
was pretty close from there and he left to his home bidding bye and we drove
back to home. Had dinner and again we three went out to have Cold Coffee in
Durga Coffee House. Came back and crashed thinking of Konkan on cards for
tomorrow J.
Day-8 | 16-December-2013 | Pune-Bhor-Poladpur-Khed-Dapoli
| 244 Kms | 1924 Kms
Day started with Ravi opened the
galley door and said ‘Good Morning’ with complete dressed up for work. They
were back on their normal routine life and it was time for me to move ahead on
my journey. Ravi was getting ready for work and I was busy looking at Eicher
maps for the day’s route. And that’s when Ravi delivered a kick ass dislogue,“Yeina ye? Yaan nete officegu ready avondulle! Eer mare, aaramudu, maps tuvondullar…. (What is this? I am getting ready to office and you are looking at maps cozily….)” I couldn’t respond anything else apart from bursting out with laugh J.
Ravi left to work and I got fresh and had Idli Chutney unlimited again J. It was around 9:00 AM when I said by to Priyanka and loaded my bike with my backpack. Kick started my bull after 2 days of complete rest to it. Reached NH-4 towards Satara following Ravi’s instruction. Crossed Pune city and reached Nasripur with melodious music on ears dealing with moderate traffic.
“Bhayya Bhor????” I asked a local who responded that I should ride ahead still to reach the cross road.
Continued a little further and once again,
“Bhayya Bhor????” I asked a local on bike wearing shining sun glass.
He starred at my alien getup and said,
“Mera peecha karo! Uss taraf jaana hain! (Pointing to cross road on other side of NH-4)”
The road to Bhor was narrow but was in good condition for smooth ride. Reached Bhor crossing Bhatghar Dam and enquired the route to Mahad.
Bhatghar Dam somewhere on Sahyadri's....
Soon after I exited Bhor, I was warmly welcomed again
by wonderful Sahyadri. Riding on those twists with narrow roads and hardly any
traffic around was out of the world feeling for me and my bike. Adding to that
was breath taking vista all around. Rode ahead only to realize that I was
riding adjacent to Bhambatmal dam back water and guess what? This backwater was
very huge and I was riding beside it for about 20 odd Kms.
Riding in between the hills!
Nira-Deoghar Dam backwater on the way!
The beauty of Sahyadri forced me to take frequent
photo breaks which were worth wallpaper. After riding for a while and getting
down in altitude, bid bye to gorgeous Sahyadri with a flying kiss and rode
towards NH-17. As I was riding ahead, Sahyadri was moving far from my RVM’s.
Eye catching views all around :)
Riding in the edge with last view of Sahyadri's!
‘There it comes again!’ I said to myself when I saw
NH-17 running right in front me. I was thinking that I will have to compromise
a lot on road conditions but NH-17 proved me wrong with butter smooth roads and
I took my lunch break in Poladpur. The plan for the day was to reach Mahad and
settle but since I had plenty of time running for the day still, I quickly made
up my mind to reach Dapoli right away. Post lunch, rode across wonderful
Kashedi Ghat and reached Khed.
At last in NH-17/66 :)
Kashedi Ghat in Konkan
Scenic Kashedi Ghat
“Bhayya, Dapoli kaise
jaana hain?” I asked in petrol station while filling fuel.
“Seeda jao! Shivaji ka
putla milega. Waha se right maarna….”
Road to Dapoli was smooth
with lush green typical Konkan landscape.
“Room milega????” I asked
receptionist of Usi Lodge which was on the entrance of Dapoli.
After a little
negotiation, got into the room, got fresh and enquired the route to beach with
lodge receptionist.
“Seeda
jaana! Aat kilometer ke baad left mudna. Murud Beach milega. Aapko
Dolphin bhi dekne ko milega beach main….” He said virtually planning a small
itinerary for me.
Since I had plenty of time
at hand, took a small nap and woke up with a shock looking at time which was
beyond 5:45 PM. I was already late for the sunset and headed to Murud Beach
with an intension to reach as soon as possible. As per lodge receptionist’s
directions, I reached Murud Beach but a little late since sunset was over a
little before L.
‘Damn!’ I said to myself and took a small walk on the shore of Murud
Beach. Beach was very calm and peaceful with relaxing sound of waves kissing
the mainland continuously.
Into the greens! Towards the coast :)
Sunset in Murud Beach!
Thought to try out some
local chat and had Sev Puri followed by Bhel Puri.
“Yeh Suvarnadurg kila kaise
jaana hain?” I asked another local guy sitting next to me while grabbing my
quick bite.
“Woh
aapko Harnai se jaana hoga! Kitne log hain aap?”
“Akela hoon” I replied.
“Toh who aapko mehanga
hoga! Paanch sou mangega woh boat wale….”
In Subsequent conversations, he said the route to Anjarle Beach and
details about Dolphin spotting. With the day ending, rode back to Dapoli, had
dinner in a vegetarian restaurant that I found luckily on the way back and
crashed in bed with a quick plan for tomorrow in mind J.
Day-9 | 17-December-2013 | Dapoli-Harnai
Beach-Kelshi Beach-Murud Beach-Dapoli | 91 Kms | 2015 KmsPlan for the day was just the local sightseeing and this made me take my own time to get out of bed in spite of room, boy knocking the door screaming,
“Garam paani….”
Got fresh and was on bike with camera by 9:00 AM.
“Bhayya, kya hain naasthe main?” I asked the servant of same vegetarian restaurant.
“Misal Pav milega abhi!”
‘Wow! Back to Misal Pav’ I said and ordered one. After stuffing in few extra Pav’s inside in appetite, was all set to explore the local places and first in the list was Suvarnadurg Fort. Riding adjacent to ocean listening to its waves was very refreshing to mind and soul.
My trusted partner
Harnai Port
“Bhayya, Survarnadurg
kaise jaana hain?” I questioned local guy.
He took out his right hand
and pointed to a direction and started speaking nonstop for few Mins in
Marathi. None of his words entered my brain and I was only relying on his hand
direction. He could have as well shown the direction and said ‘Saral’ and
finished his job I thought to myself and rode straight only to come across road
work for which I had to take a diversion and get on the beach directly. As soon
as I got into beach, I realized how clean it is and started thinking if it is
actually a beach or a drainage stream! It was just in a pathetic shape with
polythene covers spread all over the beach L. Thought my destination would not be so dirty and
rode ahead.
“Bhayya Suvarnadurg kaise
jaana hain?” I ask another young guy on bike.
“Kila?” He confirms.
“Haan” I confirmed when
locals where gazing at my bull.
“Kitne log hain?”
“Akela” I reply.
“Phir bahut mehanga
hojayega. Paanch so lete hain boat main” And he gave directions to the boat.
As I went head, it turned out to be more horrible in terms of
cleanliness and I said ‘I QUIT’ and rode back quickly to be out of that dirty mess.
‘Oh Gosh! What I relief’ I said when I was out of Harnai.
Enroute Angarle and Kelshi Beach
Next in the list was Anjarle and again I had to ride
beside ocean but this stretch offered me a little twisty road too. At one view
point after riding up the hill, I stopped for a photo break since I could get
aerial view of Suvarnadurg Fort. After clicking photos, when I was about to get
back on bike, I saw some animal crossing the road and I could firmly make out that
it’s not dog for sure. Quickly took my camera out, fixed telephoto lens and
clicked as many snaps as possible of d animal and when I previewed the photos I
came to know it’s an Jackle. ‘OMG! Did I actually see it?’ I said to myself.
He was quick but thankfully caught him in my lens :)
Taking a sun bath?
Suvarnadurg Fort aerial view
Satisfied me, when I was
about to start off, two guys in bike came close to me and asked something in Marathi.
“Hindi main bataon bhai.”
I said with confused expression.
“Aap
idhar ke nahin ho?” One of the guy fired back
looking as much confused as I am.
“Nahin.”
“Acha! Main ek gaon ka
raasta pooch raha tha.”
‘Dumb idiot! Couldn’t you
make out from my number plate that I am not a localite?’ I scolded him in
myself and rode ahead. When I was about to cross Anjarle bridge, a white i10
was honking continuously from back. I stopped with frustration and they came
close to me,
“Kaha se aaye ho?” Young
guy asked me with 2 others in car.
“Bangalore.”
“Akele?
Koi saat nahin?”
“Kal mera dost aayega Ratnagiri
main.”
“Aage
kahan?”
“Kelshi
jaana hain!”
“Achha! Tees minute main
pauch jao ge….”
They went ahead with thumps up wave and I rode ahead crossing Anjarle
Bridge.
Angarle Beach distant view!
For some reason, I decided
to skip Anjarle Beach and rode ahead towards Kelshi Beach. Road after Anjarle
was in very bad shape. Reached Kelshi and asked d route to beach with a guy
sitting relaxed in auto. He spoke something for 2 Mins and ended with ‘Saral’
and that’s when I came to know he was speaking in Marathi J.
“Hindi main batana bhai.”
I requested.
Rode as per his directions and I was in Kelshi Beach in no time. It was
very peaceful with absolutely no crowd and cleanly maintained too.
Kelshi Beach
Powerful waves :)
With no more riding ahead and Misal Pav being vanished
from tummy, did a speed run back to Dapoli after a photo break in Murud beach.
Head was aching a lot might be due to riding in hot sun and being hungry I
thought and had full meals in same vegetarian restaurant.
In Murud Beach
Filling my stomach, reached
back room and decided to take rest for a while. Was watching movie in my tab
and didn’t come to know when I went asleep. I opened eyes only when my watch
showed 6:15 PM. ‘Damn! I can't get sunset in Murud Beach today too L’ I cursed myself for sleeping like buffalo. Head ache was still
refusing to leave my head and decided to take a small walk in town and have
something to stomach. Had Vada Pav and tea as part of evening snacks and bought
fruits while coming back. My friend KP called saying he is in bus to Kolhapur. With
nothing much to do for the day, continued watching the movie which I had left
midway while having fruits and then crashed packing my belongings.
Day-10 | 18-December-2013 | Dapoli-Dabhol-Valneshwar-Jaigad-Ratnagiri
| 168 Kms | 2183 Kms
“Bhayya garam paani abhi milega?”
I asked room boy since I heard him walking in corridor at 6:00 AM. Had quick
bath and got on bike to Murud Beach for Dolphin sighting.
“Abhi check out karoge?”
Room boy asked and I replied
“Nahi! Baad main karoonga.”
Reached Murud Beach and found
hardly any crowd there except one family. Inquired about Dolphin sighting and that
family’s driver said counter has to open yet. In the mean time we had small casual
talk and,
“Aap
kaha se aaye ho?”
“Bangalore.”
“Kaise? Matlab train,
bus...”
“Bike
se aaya hoon.”
“Bike
se?????” With his eyes and mouth open to
their threshold.
Mean time counter opened
and I took ticket and was all set to spot Dolphins. Slowly few more tourists
poured in and now boat was full. In an effort to get good view, I took the
front seat and it was little scary since all I could see front was deep blue ocean
and nothing else.
“Camera leke jaa sakte
hain na?” I confirmed with boat guy just to be safe.
Our boat sailed for miles but no sign of dolphin at all. I could see
that every tourist’s eye was wide open and all were deeply lost in searching
for a sight of Dolphin.
Sailing in search of Dolphin's
“Itna Door hum nahi aate hain.
Kal wahi pe
dika tha.” Boat guy said with little
disappointment but not losing the hope. After travelling ahead a lot and with
no sighting of Dolphin’s, we started our backward ride and I was desperately
looking around in sear h of Dolphin’s. Suddenly, some black object moved in at
a distance to my left. I concentrated over that point hard and there it goes. I
finally got to see Dolphins wings and screamed,
“Ek minute. Waha hain.
Maine abhi dekha.” Pointing my hand to left.
Boat was stopped immediately
hoping we all get to see it again. Lady sitting back screams again in Marathi saying
she spotted it. Curious now, we wait for some more time and but didn’t get it
again and it was sailing back to mainland. However I was pretty satisfied that
I could spot it J.
Reached mainland and it
was already 10:00 AM. Had quick breakfast of famous and regular Misal Pav and
reached back to lodge in hurry. Settled lodge bill, loaded the bike and took
off to Dabhol from where I had take my bike in ferry. Road was pretty scenic
with green around but the climate was very humid making me sweat in spite of
wearing a thin jacket. Rode pretty fast asking directions to Dabhol Jetty and
when I reached there, thankfully, ferry was ready to depart. Took ticket and
loaded my bike in ferry. It took off in no time towards Veldur Jetty. As I was
pretty excited, got busy clicking photos and guy next to me asked,
“Yeh
kaha ka registration hain?”
“Karnataka.”
“Aap
vaha se aaye ho?”
“Ha.”
“Ab aage kaha jaana hain?”
“Goa hoke Mangalore. Vaha
se Bangalore.”
Conversation continued for a while and he gave me timing details of Jaigad
jetty.
My first experience of getting into Jetty (Dabhol Jetty)
Ferry reached its
destination but I still had lot to cover to reach my destination for the day. I
took off again asking the route to Valneshwar.
'Saral' was the constant reply I got from whomever I asked the route on
my way. Road to Valneshwar was pretty isolated but was between lush green
forest. Enjoyed riding immensely and even road was pretty smooth. Reached Valneshwar
and the route to beach which was hardly 100 mtrs away.
Wonderful, calm Konkan :)
Isn't this scary a little?
Valneshwar Beach
Got my share of clicks of
calm and clean Valneshwar Beach and took off towards Hedavi.
“Bhayya yeh Jaigad kaise
jaana hain?” I asked at a T junction which had very confusing directions with
no sign boards to a guy in bike with his lady as pillion.
He himself was not sure
and mean while an old lady started telling something in Marathi.
“Aap unki
baasha samaj payenge?” Guy asked getting down
from bike.
“Nahin bhayyya! Muje marathi
nahi aatha hain.”
He spoke to old lady and
explained me the route and I continue again thanking him for all his humanity.
Reached Thosal Jetty and ferry
was waiting. Went to ticket counter only to know that it will leave at 2:00 PM.
‘Gosh!’ I said since it was just 1:35 PM. Hungry me and nothing else to do, had
Cocum Juice and an Apple that I was carrying to keep up with my hunger temporarily.
Ferry took off after a bus got into it with great effort. A car driver started
talking to me regarding the same things about my trip etc.
“Yeh bhi alag experience hain ki aap apna bike ferry main leke jao. Road
main jaana toh roz ka kaam hain! Lekin ferry main jaane ka andaaz kuch alag
hain.”
He had tough time getting into Jetty!
Got down in Jaigad jetty and
took off towards Ratnagiri asking directions as I was already short of time. SH-4
was pretty dry but road was butter smooth and it was bliss cruising on this
road. Crossed Ganapatipule and reached Ratnagiri at 4:00 PM riding adjacent to
beach for miles with mesmerizing views all around.
Ganpatipule Beach at backdrop
Ocean! Ocean and Ocean :)
Will this end at Ocean?
Mesmerizing view on the way to Ratnagiri!
Called up KP and he directed me to lodge which he had
booked close to bus stand. Got fresh and straight away for food hunt as even he
was waiting for me to have lunch together. KP wanted to try out some special
item of Maharashtra and I suggested Misal Pav without taking a second to think.
Had yummy Misal Pav and Onion Uttapam and then we headed to Ratnadurg Fort with
me taking pillion seat. Ratnadurg Fort was small peaceful cherishing Fort and
after taking the walk around it, we climbed adjacent small hill for sunset and
what a view of ocean we got I must say. It was just worth the effort for us as
it offered wonderful nature and absolute silence.
View from Bhagwati/Ratnadurg Fort!
Reflection of super power!
Bhagwati temple inside Ratnadurg Fort!
Cave beneath the Fort
Sunset view in Ratnagiri :)
Spent time relaxing there till sunset chatting about
our college days, friends, plan for tomorrow etc and then got back to lodge.
After a while, had dinner in nearby Rajasthani restaurant and closed the account
with tomorrows plan.
Day-11 | 19-December-2013 | Ratnagiri-Ganapatipule-Jaigad-Ratnagiri
| 98 Kms | 2281 KmsDays plan was just local sightseeing and hence we extended our sleep and were out of bed by 8:45 AM. Had breakfast which included Misal Pav by default as menu and were on towards Ganapatipule seeking directions from locals. KP was desperate to take riding seat and I was pretty happy to get rid of it for some time J. After few Kms, came across a place from where we can take our bike directly to the shore and there we go without second thought. It was an amazing feeling to ride the bike in beach and with couple of photo shoots, we were back on track.
Beauty all around
It was amazing feeling I must say :D
Just before entering Ganapatipule,
security stopped us tearing a receipt and handing it over to me.
“Kitna?”
“Dus….” He replied eagerly
looking forward to the next vehicle behind us.
Entered crowded Ganapatipule and directly off to beach parking our
trusted machine. It was fully hot with Sun dancing over our head by now and we
decided to walk for a while and relax under the shade. With no much option to
relax, we eventually ended up in Tender Coconut shop beside beach and settled
firmly there on plastic chairs with a Tender Coconut in hand.
Calm waves kissing the shore at Ganpatipule Beach
Ocean till the end
It was around 1:30 PM when
shopkeeper started to remove the plastic chairs beside us indirectly hinting us
to leave badly since we had already spend more than 90 Mins and we had just
bought 2 Tender Coconut’s and nothing else from him. Considering the
shopkeepers frustration, we decided to detach ourselves from plastic chairs and
headed straight for lunch.
“Kaha jaana hain aapko?”
Security guard stopped on the entrance of MTDC Ganapatipule.
“Restaurant hain kya yaha
pe?” We responded.
“Yaha se seedha jao….”
Had vegetarian Thali which was not value for money and headed to Jaigad
Fort bidding bye to Ganapatipule.
Fishermen's trusted machines
Road to Jaigad was pretty smooth but very isolated
with hardly any crowd around. Negotiating with narrow road, we entered badly
maintained Jaigad Fort and took a walk along Fort walls enjoying the beautiful
views the Fort offered.
Entry to Jaigad Fort
Only complex remaining inside the Fort
Can you see how tree roots have taken over the complex?
Jaigad watch tower
Waves in its own style
Ratnagiri light house
By evening, we started our
journey back and stopped for a tea midway.
“Karnataka ka passing hain?”
Fired a local guy while waiting for the bus.
“Ha”
“Kasa
se aaye ho?”
“Bangalore.”
“Kitna mileage detra hain?”
“35.”
While riding ahead KP gave
a brilliant idea.
“Next time if anyone asks
the mileage, tell them it gives 120. They will surely hold their heart and die
on the spot.”
Reached back Ratnagiri and
straight to lighthouse since I had missed it during my previous visit. KP went
in to check the entry while I was parking my bike in super narrow road on the
Fort walls. While I was entering the gate, KP came back saying ‘It’s closed! It
is open only from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM’ and I checked my watch only to see that
it was close to 6:00 PM. Disappointed me, reached back to lodge with nothing
else to do. Relaxing for a while, had dinner in nearby restaurant and crashed
with tomorrows long ride plan in pipeline.
Day-12 | 20-December-2013 | Ratnagiri-Vijaydurg-Kunkeshwar-Malvan
| 194 Kms | 2475 Kms
My mobile has been very punctual in giving me wakeup call and it
happened the same today. My bike looks heavily stuffed with 2 huge bags on
panniers and a pillion, we took off for the day’s journey.
“Careful! Go slowly. My
wedding is on the cards….” KP said little worried over how I would handle the
bike.“Don’t worry! You are super safe when am riding….” I said laughing inside my helmet and took off J.
Had breakfast in town and
“Pawas kaise jaana hain?” We asked few locals on the way.
We got confirmed about the route only when we saw huge Finolex industries on our right in SH-4. Since it was still early morning, Sun was not harsh on us but I had to ride very carefully due to the heavy load on bike which was resulting in mild wobbling. Road was smooth and neither we were in hurry for anything. Taking our own time for natures call and photos, we stopped for Tea after about 40 odd Kms in some isolated place.
Loaded bike waiting to munch miles ahead
“Bhai, Chai laana by 2!”
KP ordered unloading his gear onto a table.
Tea hawker got curious on
my LS-2 helmet and fired his bunch of questions in whatever English he knew. I
was wondering ‘How come its helmet this time for a change and not my bike?’
“How much for this helmet
sir?”
“Teen hazaar hain.” I
replied while sipping my tea in tiny steal cup.
He took up my helmet and
again,
“Raat
ko dikta hain kya isme?” Pointing to the tinted
shield I had in my helmet.
“Haan! Dikta hain….”
His curiosity came down
after I answered all his questions with a smile on my face. KP got engaged on a
call with one of our friend who was about to get married in few days. After his
set of questions, it was our turn to question him in detail about the route.
After a good break for
about 30 Mins, we got on the road and KP wanted to try his hand over heavy bull
this time. Me little worried about how he would handle, took pillion seat with
a worry L. Next stop came in Vijaydurg Fort riding across
moderately maintained road. Parked the bike under shade, and we entered a Fort
leaving our entire luggage on bike against our wish but with no other option.
“Ticket lelo use….” An old
man said pointing to the young chap at a distance.
“Kitna hain ticket ka?” I
asked young guy.
“Dus rupeeya” He replied
taking ticket book out.
I paid him 20 Rs and he handed my 10 tickets of 2 Rs each saying he
doesn’t have ticket of 10 Rs. Fort was huge from inside with few locals living
there taking care of the Fort.
Vijayadurg Fort
Vijaydurg village as seen from Fort
Walls were made of massive Rock Stones and it was very
thick too. After about 70 Mins, we managed to complete one round to the Fort
with frequent breaks for Photo and witnessing the view of ocean.
Ruins inside huge Fort
Thick walls protecting the fort from nature
Nearby vista
As it was close to 2:00
PM, we decided to have lunch in Vijaydurg and head further. Had lunch in a
restaurant which had opened today itself and geared up for the next leg of
ride. Sun was too harsh on us by now and I was with thin layer of clothes on
myself.
Devgad was another 30 odd Kms of pleasant ride across abandoned Konkan
track with lush green farms on either side of the road. I could see that
majority of farms were of Mango and that’s when I realized might be here is
where famous Ratnagiri Hapus is grown. As I was just thinking of Mango’s, my
mouth was already filled with water since it is one of my favorite fruit.
Reached Devgad Fort negotiating with congested Devgad small town. KP got down
from pillion seat and went inside without turning back. After removing my
riding gear, I got inside the Fort only to find that this stupid is taking a
pleasant nap in shade. Devgad Fort offered very scenic views of ocean compared
to Vijaydurg but nothing special in terms of Fort ruins. It consisted of small
lighthouse.
Devgad light house
Dead end?
Eye catching colors
Beauty as seen from Devgad Fort
Random Beach on the way
After clicking my share of
snaps, I too took a small nap. Even though it was for short duration, it made
us super fresh for the ride ahead.
In about 30 Mins, we landed in Kunkeshwar which is well known for Shiva
temple attached to the beach. But the beauty which caught my eyes was colorful
temple walls. After a quick round to the beach, got into a small restaurant.
Colorful Kunkeshwar temple complex
Calm Kunkeshwar Beach
Wave art on sand :)
“Khane me kya hain?”
“Misal Pav milega….”
“Do Misal Pav leke aana
jaldi….” I said as I was damn hungry L.
First look of Misal Pav
looked very different and it didn’t taste as good as previous ones. On enquiry,
hotel guy said,
“Yeh Malvan style ka Misal
Pav hain….” With a smile and dignity.
While enquiring about our trip, he said people speak Malvani in this
region and gave a little more information about local life style. With all said
and done, we geared up for last leg of the ride for the day and I took pillion
seat to enjoy Konkan while on wheels. Reached Malvan riding cautiously and first
look of this town made me feel it’s very nice coastal town and looked like Goa
of Maharashtra. We had reached our destination safe but were on road still and
hence badly were in look of shelter. Enquired few lodges only to find that
either that were full or they were completely out of our budget. At last, after
couple of search, got into a Sonchafa Motel after a little of negotiation.
Lodge owner was an old man and looked like he was desperate to speak to someone.
He started to speak in partial English he knew about Malvan and it didn’t seem
to stop for long. He gave us detail of Sindhudurg Fort, Devbagh, state level
swimming competition on next day, snorkeling and other water activities in
Malvan and what not. Finally after about 20 Mins, we managed to escape from his
talks and got fresh checking into our room. Had dinner in a small Bhojayanala
nearby and walked to Malvan jetty and relaxed for a while before crashing for
the day.
Day-13 | 21-December-2013 | Malvan-Devbagh-Malvan-Nivati
Beach-Calangute | 168 Kms | 2643 Kms‘Yahoo…. It’s Goa today….’ This is what my mind and heart was shouting even before I could open my eyes. Since Goa was very important for us, we started our day pretty early so that we can reach Goa well before dark. First place in list was Devbagh which is around 10 Kms from Malvan township. Reached Sangam point when the shipping village was still asleep. First look of beach looked peaceful but as we went on, it turned out be pathetic in its cleanliness. Without second thought, got back on wheels and back to simple, beautiful town of Malvan.
Devbhag Sangam near Malvan
Had breakfast of Misal Pav again on some small hotel
and directly to Malvan jetty to catch a boat to Sindhudurg Fort. Fort seemed to
be wonderful one from the shore and I was just waiting to get there to explore
it. After waiting for a while in queue to collect tickets, got one for us and
directly on boat. Boat guy poured customers till threshold and finally it
started to move towards the fort. The water wasn’t deep since I could see some
rocks clearly hidden in water.
Massive Sindhudurg Fort in middle of Ocean
While the boat was heading
to Fort entrance, few stupid local tourists in the boat started to move around
in an effort to take photos. As a result, huge boat which was carrying around
50 tourists started to quiver a little. Scared me and KP looked at each other
signaling to be ready for jump in case of any accident J. They were careless in spite of warning from boat guy. After
about 20 Mins of scary boat ride, we landed in Sindhudurg Fort entrance.
“Ek
ganta milega kila dekne ko. Teek ek gante ke baad boat niklega….” Boat guy said making us clear about the time we had in
our hand to explore the Fort.
As soon as we entered the Fort, I realized that 1 hour is very less to
explore the massive Fort built by the legend Shivaji on tiny Kurte Island.
View of mainland from the Fort
Taking a sunbath?
Quickly made up our mind to walk on the fort walls so
that we can cover as much as we can on time we had. Also we guessed there may
not be much of ruins in the Fort and hence not worth going in middle etc. Fort
was simply huge and beautiful built by huge rock stones. Its thick walls have
been protecting the Fort from massive waves of ocean for few hundreds of years.
There was snorkeling activity being conducted just outside the Fort walls. The
point which caught my heart was the color of ocean and white rock stones. There
was something special in them that combination of both was very striking I must
say. Walking along the Fort walls clicking snaps from every possible angle, we
reached back side of the Fort where there was a small hidden door and an
artificial beach. I heard someone saying that Shivaji had built this small
beach for his queens to enjoy playing in beach. Lucky queens we concluded and
moved straight to entrance looking at time.
Gigantic Fort walls spreading vast (Can you spot private beach of Queens?)....
Standing firm against the nature
Shivaji Temple inside the Fort
Lodge manager had told
that only this Fort has temple of Shivaji where Shivaji’s idol doesn’t have
beard. But due to time constraint, we gave it a miss and reached the boarding
point of our boat.
“Abhi time hain! Who
dekliya aapne? Waha Shivaji Maharaj ka haat aur pair ka nishan hain….” Boat guy
told with smile on his face.
After seeing the legends
palm and foot prints, boarded the boat for thrilling backward ride. Boat
started after waiting for some time for other passengers and we reached back to
main land in no time.
Reached lodge after Lemon Juice, loaded the bike and took off to Goa
bidding bye to friendly lodge manager. Witnessing lush green landscape of
narrow SH-4 as a pillion was simply awesome which I enjoyed to the full. After
about 40 odd Kms, saw a sign board which read Nivati Beach on right and I
insisted KP to visit that beach against his wish. Nivati beach offered absolute
seclusion with clean and deep beach. After thinking for a while I realized that
this was the first deep water beach in this ride so far.
Isolated and deep Nivati Beach
Got back on the saddle
without wasting much a time and I took riding seat now. With a quick break for
Tea near Vengurla, stopped for lunch crossing Shiroda at a junction.
“Kaane main kya hain?”
Asked two hungry souls.
“Misal
Pav aur Vada Pav milega abhi….”
“Do Misal Pav leke aana
bhai….” We placed the order.
It was around 4:00 PM when
we started our last leg of ride for the day and after riding across smooth
country side road; at last we kissed NH-17. ‘Wow man! It feels so great and am
in Goa. Yahoo’ I said to myself with complete excitement. As Goa was nearing,
my excitement was taking control over me which reflected in speeding the bike.
I realized the same only after warning from KP to ride carefully J. Crossed Mapusa and,
“Calangute???” We asked
few locals who said we have to go straight.
KP called lodge people after reaching Calangute KFC junction and they
directed us to lodge. After completing the check-in process displaying our ID
cards etc, got fresh and headed straight to Baga Beach which is one of the most
happening place in Goa. As expected, Baga was packed with tourists of all age
groups. After a small walk along the shore, settled in a shack with drinks and
snacks.
Illuminated Shacks of Baga Beach, Goa!
After enjoying pleasant
evening, headed to Anjuna Beach for dinner bearing the horrible traffic jam on
the way. ‘What the hell are so many people doing at this time of the day?’ I
started to think as I could hardly see any vehicle moving. Reached Anjuna and
realized it is completely silent compared to Baga and we decided to head back
to Baga for dinner. Had Fried Rice and Biryani in a beach shack and reached
back to our room and crashed by 12:45 AM.
Day-14 | 22-December-2013 | Calangute-Baga-Calangute-Anjuna-Vagator-Calangute
| 34 Kms | 2677 Kms
It was KP’s desire to go
for a jog bare foot on the shore and he was adamant about it since previous
day. After a quick discussion, we decided to take a dip after jog. Set out to
Baga Beach early in the morning and straight to beach all set to run J.
“Time kya hua bhai????” KP
asked a local guy relaxing in shack.
“7:15” He said looking at
his wrist watch.
We marked the line and
ready, steady gooooo….
We had no time constraint
and not much plan for the day too. We made sure we will jog and not run. Hence
we took it very slow. On the way we could see that there were few other
likeminded tourists who were on their tracks and running along the shore. Few
babes had just stepped to beach and still stretching their bones J. After about 18 Mins, we took a U-turn and its backward run now.
I must say that it’s really amazing to get the work out done in shore right
under sun. Although we were slightly panting, we could feel the freshness
inside us. Finally reached the starting point and stopped just crossing the
start line which we had put before starting the jog. As soon as I stopped, I
could clearly feel that my thighs were vibrating a lot.
“Time kitna hua bhai?” KP
asked the same person with whom we had asked the time before starting the run.
“Saat bachkar pachaas
minute….”
“We ran for 35 Mins. Am
sure we ran for 5 Kms…. Coz even when I did 5 Kms marathon I was running at
same speed….” KP said fully satisfied.
‘Wow! Did I actually run 5
Kms? I just can’t believe that I have so much stamina’ I was actually jumping
out of joy. Settled out in a shack, got into our shorts and directly to face
the fresh waves. It really feels stupendous to take a dip in beach after
workout. We were feeling as fresh as we can start for another 5 Kms run J. With every wave passing through us, we were feeling more and
more excited. After a relaxing dip in fresh water, got back to shack sipping a pot
Tea followed by diet breakfast. I have a habit of eating heavy breakfast but
these diet breakfast was no where enough for me L. Post breakfast, relaxed in
shack for a while and got back to lodge. Got fresh and hit the bed without
second thought. KP took a nap while I got busy watching movie in my Tab.
Due to light breakfast, I
was damn hungry and by 12:45 PM we went to Udupi Hotel nearby for lunch after forcing
KP to detach himself from cozy bed.
“It’s too sunny and hot. Let’s go out evening. Let’s take some rest now”
KP said and got back to his bed again. Due to barefoot jog, my right foot was
slightly paining and I guessed it might be due to lack of practice and
neglected it. With no other plan, I continued watching movie until evening. By
around 4:00 PM I finally managed to wake up buffalo sleeping next to me and we
headed out to Anjuna Beach to check the happening crowd filling fuel. By now,
my foot pain had slightly increased and I couldn’t walk properly L. Anjuna was more silent than Baga with crowd engaged
in their own world boozing all around.
Busy Anjuna Beach
Can u guess what is this?
Calm part of Anjuna :)
Took a walk around the beach and got back to parking
to visit Vagator Beach. Due to leg pain, KP was full time rider for the day and
I was full time pillion L.
Vagator was much against my expectation. I had thought Vagator Beach will be
more scenic with shacks and babes all around but it was dead opposite. I was
shocked to see there wasn’t even a single shack on beach. It was close to
sunset time and I could see that huge crowd was waiting to witness sunset
standing curiously on Chapora Fort walls in ‘Dil Chahta Hain’ style. With every
step I took, I could feel that my foot pain is increasing and I told KP that I
would head back and wait near parking.
Cozy Vagator Beach
Tourists desperate to catch Sunset at Chapora Fort next to Vagator Beach
Close to Sunset
And here he sinks!
KP came back after taking
a complete walk on the shore and we decided to head back to Baga Beach again
since it was the only place where we could find good quantity of crowd.
Reached Baga with a little
confusion on direction and again to a shack for quick bite enjoying the
melodious music of waves. Since KP was about to start his own family soon, he
wanted to do a small shopping for be family and special one J. After shopping in Calangute, had dinner in same Udupi restaurant
and hit the bed applying Iodex to my foot and wishing that the pain will vanish
by tomorrow.
Day-15 | 23-December-2013 | Calangute-Dudhsagar Falls-Calangute-Anjuna-Calangute
| 174 Kms | 2851 Kms
Initially when KP was
planning to join the ride, he had told me to reserve one day for Dudhsagar
Falls. Today it was I said when I opened my eyes. Got on bike getting fresh in
no time and KP took the riding seat. Although I was enjoying the excitement of
visiting one of the famous falls on South India, a part of my mind was worried
to the core and reason behind it was my foot pain. Damn it! It was paining more
than yesterday but there was no swelling at all. It was paining so much that I
had to rely on my toes for walk at times. Initial few Kms were like dealing
with traffic and soon after Panaji, we took left towards Ponda which had
2-lanes smooth track to cruise on.
After few Kms, took a
natures call break and I took over riding seat since I was feeling pain resting
my leg in foot rest. I thought if I ride, my concentration will be deviated and
may not feel too much pain J. Road was simply super smooth and scenic with thick
forest on either side. I could see lot of KA registration vehicles plying and
that’s when I realized this is NH-4A which connects Panaji to Belgaum.
“Bhayya, Kulem kaise jaana
hain??” I asked to a person standing in bus stand just after Ponda.
“Seeda jao! Molem se pehle
ek petrol pump milega. Waha se right lena. Seeda Kulem jaayega….”
“Yeh raasta kidar jaayega”
KP asked pointing to another road with suspicion.
“Arre!
Udhar mat jao. Woh jungle ka raasta hain. Phir tum ghoom jaayega” He
replied firmly.
Continued riding between
thick forest and took right turn right before petrol pump and in some time, we
reached Kulem from where we knew we can’t take our bike ahead. Our assumption
was to take a train till the falls and catch another train while coming back.
Parking our machine under shade went straight to railway station after a quick
Tea.
“Sir, hame kuch
information chahiye tha….” I requested to station master being as innocent as
possible.
“Ha. Kaho….” He said
without lifting his head busy writing something in white sheet.
“Dudhsagar Falls ke liye
train milega kya yaha se abhi?”
“Abhi kuch time se pehle
nikal gaya…. Agla train shaam saade char bhaje hain…. Lekin uss train main jao
ge, toh wapas aane ke liye train nahi milega….”
‘Oh God! Shit. What the
hell is this? Coming all the way so far, do we end up with nothing?’ We were
just scolding our fate.
“Paidal jaa sakte hain
kya?” KP asked again but I was no way ready to walk with my painful leg.
“Kareeb
bhara kilometer padega aapko….”
With no option left for
the day, came back to main road only to know that Dudhsagar can also be visited
by rented jeep which is the most common way to visit the falls from Kulem.
After enquiring a little, went to ticket counter to get the details and man o
man! It looked nothing less than fish market where everyone is eager to get the
tickets. Me joined their line too and after dealing with human traffic for
about 20 Mins, got two tickets paying 770 Rs. The jeep booking works like this!
Single jeep can carry maximum of 7 people and the fair for one jeep is 2300 Rs.
There were another couple who would join us and other 2 tourists from big
family in our jeep and hence it was total of 6 tourists in our jeep. After
paying for the life jacket etc, we got into our jeep at last.
“Kya system hain! Poora
corrupt hain…. Kuch bhi clarity nahin hain…” KP said little frustrated to other
couple who is originally from Kolkata based in Bangalore.
“Boss! As far as I know, I
am sitting in jeep in just 15 mins after paying for the ticket…. I don’t think
system is corrupt!” Head of the Kolkata family told happily.
I told KP not to talk all
such things with these people since it would never get into their mind J. Driver came in no time and our jeep took off towards falls.
After paying for the forest entry ticket, we entered the forest passing which
we had to go to reach the base of falls. Since I was sitting next to driver, I
initiated the conversation with him,
“Kitna
kilometer hain yeh raasta?”
“9
kilometer hain….”
“Kitna trip karte ho aap
ek din main???”
“Do trip karte hain. Subah
aur dupaher ko….”
Our conversation continued while KP got busy chit chatting with 2
members of huge family who had come in our jeep. After some time, driver asked
about our trip and there it goes Nth time in this trip that I am
sharing about my trip to someone. Driver also told that they have made life
jacket compulsory since lot of tourists have lost their life in the falls since
the water is deep. After about 45 Mins of hardcore off road drive which
included passing through few water crossing, we reached the base of falls from
where we had to walk for 5 Mins to reach the falls. Driver told us that he
would give us one hour and we have to be back by 1:20 PM. ‘Damn! Is there walking
still’ I said starting my walk slowly. Reached falls which was not in its full
glory but not bad too. It was packed with tourists and I could see that lot of
them were taking dip in falls few wearing life jackets. After good amount of
clicks and chilling out for some time, we got back to parking and straight away
back to Kulem with same off road experience.
Wonderful DudhSagar Falls
Stream falling with glory!
Nice place for Jacuzzi?
Tourists busy in water beneath the falls
On the way back, me and KP
took back seat and we could hear other guy asking the driver,
“Yahi falls hain na jo
Chennai express main dikaya tha?”
Me and KP busted out
laughing since KP had told me he asking the same question to him couple of time
while heading to falls J. It was close to 3:00 PM by now and KP insisted on
having lunch here itself. Got into a small restaurant which served pathetic lunch
for 70 Rs and KP just couldn’t control it anymore. He busted out on servant
complaining about the food.
Got back on saddle with
our tummy filled and journey back was little bad majorly due to the hot sun
right on our head and added to that was coastal humidity. Reached Panaji with a
tender coconut break in Ponda and straight away to lodge eagerly looking to
rest for some time. Since there was no other plan for the day and we had plenty
of time in hand, I suggested KP that we can head to Anjuna Beach and take a
dip. Around 5:00 PM we headed to Anjuna Beach and took a dip only to realize
that water is not at clean and sand beneath is not as soft as it was in Baga
with lot of rock stones in between L. Got out quickly and back to our favorite Baga Beach
with a quite bite in Anjuna. After relaxing for a while in Baga Beach, headed
back to Calangute and closed the days account after a quick dinner J.
Day-16 | 24-December-2013 | Calangute-Palolem-Karwar |
134 Kms | 2985 Kms
It was time for us to bid bye to Goa and move ahead
after relaxing here for 2 days. By 8:00 AM, I was ready but KP delayed a little
by an hour. Settled the lodge balance and straight to same Udupi Krishna Hotel
for morning feast. I was damn hungry cause of which I had mild head ache. After
stuffing in Upma and Onion Utappa followed by filter Coffee the journey
continued towards south. Crossed Panaji and took a nature’s call break after
which KP insisted that he would ride.
Agriculture in Konkan
Due to heavy baggage, bike
was occupying more space on road and we had to ride more cautiously. But this
stupid was trying to overtake from left side in 2-lane road and overtaking when
vehicles are coming in opposite direction. It finally came to control after a
blast from my side. Crossing Margao was painful as it was congested with heavy
traffic. After negotiating the slow moving traffic, got rid of Margao traffic
and it was smooth road to cruise on with green vista around.
“Bhayya, Palolem kaise
jaana hain?” I asked a local guy who was getting on his bike.
“Seeda jao. Bees kilometer
hain….” He said and we zoomed off.
Rode ahead witnessing the lush green vista of Konkan and crossing over
Konkan railway track couple of times and took right turn to Palolem soon after
reading Goa tourism board. In no time, we were on Palolem Beach with the loaded
bike resting in parking. Took a small walk around the beach with our jackets on
while all others were wearing the minimum cloth required to cover themselves J. After a couple of clicks, got back on bike and
straight to petrol pump to till the tank till neck. The reason being, fuel rate
in Goa was around 59.1 Rs/Ltr whereas in Karnataka it is around 79.3 Rs/Ltr.
Wave ready to kick off
Homely Palolem Beach
I wish to stay here one day :)
Since Karwar was just about 40 odd Kms, we filled the
fuel and moved ahead crossing state border. ‘Finally am back in state’ I said
to myself and insisted KP to take my snaps for memory.
Welcome back HOME :D
Reached Karwar by around
3:00 PM and after a little search in tiny town, got the deal done in Hotel Sona
Palace for shelter. Lodge manager said it would take some time to clean the
room and we decided to finish our lunch in the mean time. Came back and
directly to room and then to bed getting fresh as we were burning due to harsh
sun rays since morning. Soon after I got into bed, I went to deep sleep and
woke up only when KP played song from his mobile. Got fresh and headed to
Tagore Beach which is right beside NH-17 and hardly a Km from our lodge.
Meanwhile KP wanted to enquire about the return bus ticket from Gokarna for
tomorrow and we headed to KSRTC bus stand before heading to beach. But we
couldn’t get the ticket booked since the counter got closed a little before at
5:30 PM.
Tagore Beach was very calm with moderate crowd most of which are locals.
With no other plans in mind, we settled in beach for some time before heading
to exhibition nearby to kill the time.
Sunset in Tagore Beach, Karwar
Wonderful Sunset colors
“Yenide tinlikke (What is
there to eat)?” I asked a local chat shop guy just outside the exhibition.
“Girmit!” He said busy
preparing the same for other customers.
We both were clueless
about what actually it is and decided to have one and check. It tasted very
nice for our hungry tummy. Got back to room, rested for a while before heading
for dinner and then closing the eye shutter.
Day-17 | 25-December-2013 | Karwar-Gokarna | 111 Kms |
3096 Kms
Days plan was to reach
Gokarna which is just about 70 odd Kms south of Karwar. Hence we took is cozy a
little and headed straight to Sadashivgad Fort around 10 Kms north of Karwar
towards Goa.
“Illi
Sadashivgad Fort yelli baratte? (Excuse me, where is
Sadashivgad Fort?)” We asked couple of localities and in quick time we got the
route. Parked our bike in front of Bhavani Temple and climbed few steps to
enter the Fort. Frankly, there wasn’t anything special in the Fort and over
that, Emarald Bay resort was neatly setup inside the Fort.
“Who gave them the permission to setup resort inside the Fort?” KP asked
me with little frustration.
Sadashivgad Fort
An antique ruin in the Fort
But from tip of the Fort, we could get gorgeous
landscape of deep blue ocean and the merging of great Kali River with Arabian
Sea. Took a walk around tiny Fort and from another view, we got the aerial view
famous Karwar bridge.
The great Kali River joins the Ocean
Devbagh Light house and island in Karwar
Famous Karwar bridge
With nothing else to do,
got back on bike and got back straight to lodge finishing our breakfast. On the
way back, KP wanted to check Jungle lodges and resort whose office was very
next to NH-17. They had their resort in Dev Bagh Island. Since lodge manager
had given us the room with a condition that we should vacate by 10:00 AM today,
got back to lodge and packed our luggage in jiffy. Settling the lodge bill, we
got set to move to our next destination. KP wanted to ride badly as it was his
last day of the trip but I insisted that I would ride for some Kms.
Got back on our trusted
NH-17 after booking return journey bus ticket for KP, rode south with thumping
bull. For initial few Kms, view of right side was blocked by thick and huge
walls. The reason being India’s biggest naval base is under construction and
hence NH-17 in this stretch is in ‘DO NOT STOP’ zone. After riding for about 40
Kms, took a break to fill in some liquid to our dried up throat and for butt
break. After resting for a while, I got back as pillion and journey continued
on NH-17 till we saw a board saying ‘Gokarna 9 Kms’ with a right arrow. Gokarna
is a very small temple town with one main narrow street. Just before entering
the town, civil stopped and,
“Where are you coming
from?” Constable asked us suspicious on our looks.
“Heli
saar. Goa dinda barta irodu…. (Tel me sir. We are coming
from Goa)” I said removing my helmet and meantime even KP removed his helmet
and scarf.
“Oh! Neevu kannada davara.
Nim getup nodidre olle foreigner tara kanistiralla (Oh! You guys are from
Karnataka itself. Your getup looks like you are foreigner)” He said with a
smile and let us go without further interrogation.
Next big task for the day
was to hunt for a budget lodge. As I was pillion, I took the responsibility of
getting into lodges and asking if there is any room available for us. When I
rang the door bell of one such lodge, a lady came out little frustrated.
“Madam, room kaali idiya?
(Madam, is there any vacant room?)” I asked trying to be decent.
“Haudu! Ide. Adakenta
eega? (Yes! It’s there. So what?)” Lady said scanning me from top to bottom.
“Room
kaali idre namge bekittu. Ondu dinakke…. (If there
is a vacant room, we want it for a day)” I replied little confused on her
frustration.
“Neevu yaaru? (Who are
you?)” She fired back.
“Naanu Krishna (I am
Krishna)” I replied bursting out of laugh from inside on her questions and
attitude.
After thinking for a while she replied saying she will not give is the
room and I came out thanking her J. Repeated the conversation to KP and we both laughed holding our
stomach. Search continued further but it didn’t last for long as we got a good
room in Hotel Gokarna International. Got fresh and had lunch in restaurant next
to lodge. Post lunch, relaxed for a while in room and by 3:30 PM, stepped out
to visit Paradise Beach for which we had to do a small trek.
Broken road connectivity to Paradise Beach
Climbing even a small hill on my injured leg seemed
terrible for me but after about 30 Mins of trek crossing the hill, the view we
got was all worth it. Paradise Beach looked much like private beach with small
in size and very less crowd lazily lying around.
Paradise Beach!
Cool and calm is what it makes as Paradise :)
Dual color rocks
After a quick rest, returned back to parking and next
in the list was famous Om Beach. This beach was crowded with lot of tourists. I
wanted to walk till the other end of the beach, climb a small hill and get
beautiful view of the beach but KP insisted to head back as it would get late
for him to catch the bus.
Entry to Om Beach!
After relaxing for a while
in Namaste Café, got back to lodge and KP got set to start his bus journey back
home. On the way to bus stand, he bought some fruits for his dinner and got
into bus which was waiting to depart. Bidding bye to him, came back to lodge
buying some fruits as part of my dinner. ‘Solo ride continues again and its
home sweet home tomorrow’ I said and crashed in no time J.
Day-18 | 26-December-2013 | Gokarna-Mirjan Fort-Yana-Murudeshwar-Udupi
| 258 Kms | 3354 Kms
Destination for the day was sweet home but I had to
take a detour to Yana as per my plan. Since I could not explore Om Beach
properly yesterday, I had to visit it as well and hence hit the beach early in
the morning. Parked the bike, got down from steps and am on beach which was
very calm and peaceful with no tourist crowd. Few foreigners were busy jogging
along the shore and I could manage to walk slowly as I was still suffering from
pain L. Slowly walked to the other end of the beach, climbed
the small hill from where I could get bird’s eye view of the beach. It was
simply heaven to relax just watching the blue ocean and listening to its music.
Sunrise en-route Om Beach
Wonderful Om Beach!
Tiny islands adjacent to Om Beach
Colorful rocks at Om Beach
After spending some time, came down and while I was walking back along the shore, I could see few very small water bodies which looked like Octopus at first glance. Curious me,
“Yenidu?” I asked a local fisherman.
“Idu niralli irutte. Bande kallalli irutte idu. Sathog bittide…. (This lives in water. It will be sticking to rocks. Now it’s dead)” He replied saying some fisherman would have caught it along with fish.
Dead tiny Octopus due to fishermen's job!
How discounted is the life of these strange species I thought and rode back to lodge. Got fresh, had breakfast and am off towards south. Midway saw a board to Mirjan Fort and decided to give it a quick visit. Fort was barren with tourist crowd might be since it was still early I thought and gave a quick visit to the Fort. While I was busy clicking the ruins, a local came to me and asked,
“Idu video camera na? (Is it a video camera?)”
“Alla. Bari photo aste. (No. It’s just a photo one)” I said getting back to my camera view finder.
Mirjan Fort
Inner view of the Fort
Ruins of the complex's inside Fort
Indian Roller busy looking....
After a quick photo session, got back on wheels and
straight to Yana. Just before Kumta, took a left turn towards Sirsi and after
few Kms, again took a left turn where it was mentioned ‘Yana 9 Kms’. The last 9
Kms of ride was between thick forest and it was bliss to ride here. With
absolute silence and complete shade by dense trees.
Riding between lush green towards Yana
First view of gigantic Yana
Parked my bike and
desperately got rid of my jacket which was making me sweat badly. Ticket
collector came nearby to give parking ticket.
“Yestu? (How much?)” I
asked taking out wallet.
“Hattu rupai (10 Rs)”
“Luggage
ille idre yenu parvagilla alva? (No issues if I keep
luggage in bike itself right?)” I asked handing over 10 Rs note.
“Yenu agalla bidi irli
ille. Naanu ille irtini… (Don’t wry! Let it be here. Nothing will happen. I
will be here only)” He replied turning back and running to other customers.
He told it’s around 1.5 Kms walk and I said ‘Damn shit’ I said to myself
since I was still suffering from leg pain L. With no way out, started walking slowly eagerly looking forward to
reach the target as soon as possible. Soon after am done with walk, I could see
that I still had around 200 steps to reach the finish line L. ‘Man o man! Is Yana really required?’ My heart
questioned but I had made my mind to visit this place as part of this trip and
now no turning back at any cost. After climbing like a tortoise, finally I made
to the base of world famous unusual rock formations. The 2 hillocks stood
straight in front of me but before I start capturing them I had to get some
liquid inside me as I was sweating badly.
Sharp and tall Yana rock formation!
Got my camera out after drinking tender coconut and
captured the Bhairaveshwara Shikara (mountain). This mammoth hill was nesting
place for many honey bees too. In my previous visit, I had been inside this
hill which leads to a cave but this time due to physical damage, I gave it a
miss and started to climb down after few shots of Mohini Shikara.
Bhairaveshwara Shikara standing firm!
Observe the sharpness of Mohini Shikara!
Honeybees in the cave
Creativity of nature
Sharp edges on the cave
Walking back was not as
terrible as forward trek and on the way back in steps, I could see the few very
old grannies were trying their best to climb up holding their breath.
“Innu yestu steps ide?
(How many more steps still?)” An old lady asked panting badly telling her
family to move ahead.
“Innu ondu Innuru steps
ide. Hadnidu nimsha saaku.… (Still around 200 steps more. It might take about
15 Mins)” I said offering any help if she needs.
Came back to parking answering queries about trekking to people who were
climbing up and while I was taking my
bike, I saw a driver drinking cold water taking it out from his car. After
staring him for few seconds, he understood what I was badly wanting and offered
me to drink chilled water. Thanked him for the offer and finished nearly half
of the bottle J.
Got back on track and straight to NH-17 enjoying the vista around with no
breaks as I was already late for the day. Crossed tiny town Kumta, Honnavar and
took right turn on Murudeshwar entrance. Parked my bike in public parking
hoping that my luggage will remain safe till I am back and am off to explore
the land of Shiva. Apart from famous Shiva temple, this place was also known
for 20 floor temple complex and huge Shiva statue of about 120 feet behind
temple.
20 Floor Murudeshwar Temple complex
Crowded Murudeshwar Beach
Huge Shiva statue
Huge Nandi statue
A scene of Mahabharata :)
After clicking them all
taking ample time, back on road to home finishing lunch in Kamath Hotel in
Murudeshwar itself.
As I still had lot to finish off, rode pretty fast and gave my next
break in Maravante which is famous for its deep beach right beside NH-17. Called
up home to update the status sipping a hot tea and got back on saddle only to
stop in home without any break in between.
Maravante Beach spread for miles
As I was getting close to
Kundapur, road quality decreased marginally and after Kundapur, it was more
like riding in city. 4-lane road work was under progress and added to that was
terrible traffic on NH-17. With all these, I reached home by around 7:30 PM and
my parents were curiously waiting for my arrival.
Since I had plans of
grabbing a chat, got fresh in no time and directly to Vaishali Pav Bhaji center
which is very well known in Udupi. Came back home, had dinner chit chatting
with parents for a while and then I switched off my days account.
Day-19 | 27-December-2013 | Udupi-Mangalore | 131 Kms
| 3485 Kms
The destination for the
day was Mangalore which is just 60 Kms from home and hence I started my day
taking my own sweet time to detach myself from cozy bed. I must say that my day
kick started well with moms delicious filter coffee J. After grabbing unlimited breakfast, I managed to finish off some
personal work in first half of the day. Also, got my bike checked for oil top
up, loosening my bike kick which was so hard that I was feeling pain in my leg
at times. Also managed to take my mom out for her work in my dad’s girl friend
‘TVS Wego’. With whatever time was left till lunch I made sure I visited my
brother’s house nearby and played with my darling Saanvi who had just crossed 1
year. This little angel of mine made my day special with her gorgeous smile and
it was very refreshing. It was just 5 Mins ride from bothers place to dads
place and it was just a heaven to grab mom cooked lunch J. Post lunch took a small nap as it was burning hot outside and I
knew I just can’t step outside.
By around 4:00 PM headed out to visit hidden hanging bridge near
Kallianpur which is around 10 Kms from Udupi township. The bridge stood firm
connecting two shores of the river. It was a very calm and relaxing place but
just that I dint had enough time in my hand to enjoy it L.
Antique bridge still being used by locals
Famous Hanging bridge in Udupi
Another view of the Hanging bridge
Next in the list was famous Malpe Beach which was
replicating nothing but fish market. Frankly it was over packed with mostly
school trips. I just didn’t feel like staying there for even 5 Mins and got
back to home to enjoy dads luscious special tea. ‘Yes! You read it right.’ When
it comes to tea it is my dad who is well known in my home for it J.
Malpe Beach in Udupi crowded with tourists
St. Mary's island as seen from main land
After tea, thought to
visit Kapu Beach which is known for its light house and since it was almost
getting late, I rushed ripping my bike. Kapu lies 13 Kms from Udupi towards
Mangalore in NH-17. Parked my bike and directly to lighthouse. Thankfully, lighthouse
was open for tourists and I climb up taking entry ticket.
I knew that this lighthouse was built during British rule but only after
reading in Wikipedia, I came to know that it was built in 1901 and it is 27.12
Mtrs in height J.
View from top of lighthouse was just breathtaking with deep blue ocean on one
side and thick green main land on other side.
Famous Kapu Beach lighthouse
View from the lighthouse
After enjoying sunset in lighthouse, climbed down and
back to brother’s place to spend some time with my angel. Came back home, had
quick dinner and left to Mangalore. Road to Mangalore was under 4-lane work and
Udupi-Mangalore NH is one of the busiest NH’s I have ever seen. This 60 Kms
stretch is more like city traffic with vehicles plying without break. It was
dark by the time I touched NH and hence I had to ride with my helmet visor
open. The combination of road work and traffic poured the maximum dust on my
eyes. Thought of stopping in Bittu Dhaba in Mulki for famous Lassi but gave it
a miss in an attempt to reach Mangalore as soon as possible. Entered Baikampady
industrial area and called Manoj since he had the keys of my brother’s house
who was on vacation around Munnar with family and friends. Manoj was waiting
just before PVS circle and had no vehicle as he had given his dads Maruti 800 to
mechanic due to some issue. After greeting each other, I tied my luggage to
panniers stand and took Manoj to his house from where he picked my brothers
house key and came in his beloved i20 to show me the route. Thanked him and
briefing him about tomorrows plan, I entered my brother’s place parking my bike
and unloading the luggage and went to deep sleep in no time.
Day-20 | 28-December-2013 | Mangalore-Bekal
Fort-Mangalore | 164 Kms | 3649 Kms
It was a planned cozy day in
brothers house. Only thing i was missing at the moment was delicious snacks
which my sis-in-law prepares J. As i was pretty much tired of eating outside food,
prepared simple rice at home with pickle as breakfast. I know it sounds strange
but for me, its nothing less than heaven. Plan for the day was Bekal Fort in
the first half and rest spend in city with Manoj. While I was getting out, my
owner of the house.“Neeuv Shrinath tamma va? (Are you shrinath’s brother?)” He asked with a smiling face.
“Ha! Haudu…. (Yes….)” I said with a smile back.
“Oh camera?” I said glancing at my camera bag for
which I just nodded my head with a smile.
“Nange Shrinath helidru. Nimge tumba interest
untantalla photography yalli. Nimma favorite subject yenu???? (Shrinath had
told me that you are very much interested in Photography. Which is your
favorite subject?)” He asked cleaning his specks with soft cloth.
“Mainly Landscape. Jaasti naanu ride nalli use madtene
aste. Nimge kooda tumba interest untantalla photography yalli (Mainly
Landscape. I use it mostly during my rides. Brother said even you are into
photography….)” I replied maintaining the same smile on face.
“Haudu. Nanna favorite subject tigers. But eega naanu
birds shoot madta iddene (Yes! My favorite subject is tigers. But currently am
shooting birds majorly….)”
Continuing the conversation, he also told that he
frequently visits all major national parks in India for tiger sighting. Having
done with conversation, I kick started my machine and in no time, was on NH-17
crossing Pumpwell circle. It was a weekend and traffic was really unbearable.
Road condition was at its worst I must say. As I was constantly losing out time
due to traffic, rode nonstop to Kasargod and asked for directions to Bekal
Fort.
“Signal left, straight….” Replied a localite in very
simple words J.
Soon after I got into Bekal
Fort road, it was under repair work and I had to take a detour in very narrow
road behind slow moving traffic for few Kms. ‘Man! Will I get to see Bekal Fort
today?’. Finally after dealing with all the mess in terms of traffic, we both
landed in Bekal Fort by around 11:45 AM. Took entry ticket and got into explore
the last Fort of my trip. Compared to my previous visit on this Fort, there was
lot of improvement in terms of maintenance.
Bekal Fort entry
Inside Bekal Fort
The
ruins of the Fort was decorated with small gardens and neatly maintained with
no garbage at all. Fort boundaries were huge and took a slow walk around to
catch the landscape around in my lens.
Ruins neatly maintained :)
Watch tower of Bekal Fort
Watch tower touching the Ocean!
After around 50
Mins of being inside the Fort, stepped out with dry throat and had Lemon Juice
which was badly required for me.
Since I knew I would have to spend a lot of time
dealing with traffic, got back on saddle without wasting much of a time. Paid 2
Rs parking fee and zoomed off to hit Mangalore at the earliest. Came home with
a tender coconut break in between and prepared rice for lunch and had it with
curds and pickle wondering how a simple food can be so delicious. Post lunch,
took a small break and then met Manoj.
“Happy birthday dhani (Happy birthday boss)” I said
wishing him on his 30th birthday J.
He parked his bike in front
of municipal office and we headed to Panambur Beach in my bull which was close
to Baikampady industrial area. Panambur Beach was nothing different from Malpe
Beach in terms of crowd. I wonder where does such a huge crowd pours from?
Attached to Panambur Beach is famous Mangalore Port and there is a small walk
path made of stones to separate both. Manoj wanted to go for a walk in that and
I said ‘Ok’ in spite of little pain I was suffering from. But when we went
close, security guard sent us back saying walking here is not permitted. With
no option, we sat in sand for some time chit chatting about our college
friends.
Last ray of light in Panambur Beach
Huge Cargo ship arriving in Mangalore Port
By 7:45 PM, I insisted to head back as I was damn
hungry. Since it
was his special day, it had to be celebrated with little speciality and hence
we headed to Palkhi for dinner. Spending quality time enjoying the food, came
back home with a dessert in a parlor and crashed with the thought of calling it
end tomorrow J.
Day-21
| 29-December-2013 | Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore | 368 Kms | 4017 Kms
It was pretty big day for
in terms of distance and hence I had to make up time early in the morning. Woke
up at 4:30 AM and loaded my bike and was on road by 5:00 AM. It took hardly 15
Mins to be out of Mangalore and soon I was in Mangalore-Bangalore NH-48. High
beam light from vehicles in opposite direction was huge distraction but as I
was maintaining slow speed I was able to deal with it easily. Even though I was
in Coastal region which is well known for its hot burning weather, I was
feeling pretty cold in spite of wearing leather jacket and pullover inside L.
Sun showered his first ray of light to this region after I crossed Uppinangadi.
Misty morning towards home
As it was damn cold, I had to take natures call break
and continued my ride in an effort to cover as much as possible before it get
sunny.
Crossed Gundya and there it
came! Famous Shiradi Ghat which can hold Guinness record for its consistency in
bad roads. But as it was early morning, I could see very few vehicles plying
because of which I had little less dust pouring on me. Few potholes were so
huge that it could easily put me on ground.
Ever pathetic roads of Shiradi ghat
Rode
very slow dealing with gigantic potholes and after few Kms of this hell, NHAI
had replied the potholes which helped me in great extend to speed up my journey
back home. As soon as I climbed Sakleshpur, visibility reduced to great level
with thick fog ruling the road. Fog was so much that I could not see the road
ahead in few curves.
Foggy Sakleshpur
Stopped for breakfast and continued further as I was
kind of liking the way I was ending my ride joyfully. Soon after Hassan, I was
welcomed by 4-lane ultra smooth road and I enjoyed thumping my bull to the
full. Took few breaks in between to give some rest to my butt and engine.
Filled in fuel near Chanrayapatna and headed straight. As I was riding on, I
was keeping a close watch on the distance to Bangalore and with every drop in
distance, I was feeling satisfied about the ride I was about to end. It was
around 1:30 PM when I entered Nelamangala from where I took exit to NICE road.
“Mysore Road….” I said while handing over 50 Rs note
for the toll in NICE toll booth.
Took exit in Mysore Road and Bangalore welcomed me
with its natural style of traffic. Reached home in no time using Kengeri
Uttarhalli road. By around 2:30 PM, parked bike in front of my house and got in
with my luggage and a feeling of accomplishing my mega ride.
Epilogue
‘So how was the ride in all?’ My heart asked my mind soon after I
got into sofa after freshening myself. ‘Great! Incredible, fantastic,
brilliant……….’ My mind was constantly puking out words and it doesn’t seem to
stop at all. Informed my parents and loved ones about safe arrival and am sure
my parents must have taken a deep breath. I know it sounds really stupid to be
out for couple of weeks in unknown place between unknown people without having
an idea of unknown circumstances which might knock my door anytime from
anywhere. But I have no words to defend myself. There is a great saying that
‘The best way to experience love is to fall in it!’. On the same lines, I would
confidently say, ‘The best way to experience travel is being on bike ride’.
But unlike my other rides, I had absolutely no time after the ride.
The reason being I was all set to head Dandeli with few colleagues for 3 days to
enjoy some adventure activities like River Rafting, Rappelling etc. No matter what
condition I am in, I will always be game for adventure.
It has so happened with my every ride that soon
after I complete it, my mind just doesn’t stop there nor it asks for a small
break. My mind had virtually opened Google maps and started its hunt for
another unexplored place in my incredible country. ‘Oh Man! Did I just look at
India map? Haven’t am done with all these places? When will I conquer all these
unexplored lands?’ Life is too short I said to myself. There is still a lot left
to be covered in my country with ‘North East and Gujarat’ in hit list and hence
my Journey continues….. JJJJ
Superb man :-) u r amazing!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteShemige.. suuuuper.....
ReplyDeleteWow Samaga real cool !! This will be a guide for any one if they decide to travel. i have already noted few places from this and form your previous trips :)
ReplyDeleteTake care of your back and Happy Journey for your next one :)
Super composition!! And as usual great pics!
ReplyDeleteAwesome read. You really ride my dreams :) Am i envious, hell ya!!
ReplyDeleteHi Krishna Sir ,
ReplyDeleteI have read your blog 'Bangalore to Ladakh' , you are just amazing, I hope I can make at least a single long trip.Keep rocking :) .