Monsoon Ride 2k13- Day 3,4 and 5!!

Day 3
Gokarna is a wonderful place to calm your body, mind and soul.The last time our troop was here, we had loads of fun and the first time we were here it was breathtaking.

Night stay at Om beach

Headed out of Namaste Cafe after a sumptuous breakfast at 11 am and started towards Karwar.

Enroute.The Kudle Beach in the backdrop

The chain had started making weird noise from last night.Got the chain tightened up for the rest of the ride at Ankola, another fish-is-vegetarian place i remember. Headed straight to Karwar, where my friend Sukhi was all unawares working on a usual weekday.

As soon as I entered his workplace at Karwar with my Riding jacket, everybody started staring at me.My friend was very much surprised seeing me and that too in that avatar :P. Still remember his face at that moment. Was called b different names X-men,Batman..blah blah.. was enjoying the attention though.

After meeting my friend at his place, I started towards Goa which was around 2 hrs from Karwar. As soon as I reached the borders of Goa, it started raining.And bouy!! It only fuelled my spirits and I rode even harder, enjoying every bit of it. The roadside got greener and the road itself got narrower.

Route map for Day 3

Thought of staying in Vasco this time as I had already stayed in Panaji the previous time.Reached Calangute beach and found a hotel to stay for the night.

Day 4:
The next day plan was to head up north and return to the base in 2 days. But it never works out the way you want. Got a mail from my close friend and her words stuck me hard. It not always about being on road, sometimes it is about enjoying the moment. And then I had change of plans. Called up my boss and asked for extension of leaves, which she readily accepted.

Hit the Baga beach and did a bit of roaming in Goa.

Some pics of Day 4

                                     Baga beach

                                     Unknown beach

Selfie - My way

Anjuna beach

Casino!!

Day 5:
After a rest day at Goa and with the leaves extended, I headed out of Goa. This time into an unknown territory of the Western ghats into Maharastra. Wasn't sure of the destination for the day, but as they say , destinations are made within the journey. My first stop of the day was at a restaraunt

Had a sumptuos brunch here and headed upwards north. Roads in Maharastra were really good even in that rainy season with some minor bad patches. And then like some scenic beauty was waiting for me in that monsoon. A place near Rajapur where i was struck with beauty on both sides of the road. Let the pics do the talking.

 

After a bit of interaction with the locals here, I decided to head to Ganapatipule via Ratnagiri. The ride from here on was on a different planet altogether. Roads butter smooth with those drops of rain hitting your helmet visor at different angles.

Enroute Ratnagiri

Near Ganapatipule

Reached Ganapatipule and found a lodge near the beach

Ganapatipule:
Its a small village off the West coast near Ratnagiri.It is primarily famous for the Ganapati temple and then for its beach. There are lots of options for accomodation here. There is an MTDC resort very near the beach which is the best option available for accomodation. The beach is a good 1 km in length. one can have a quiet weekend over here with friends and near ones's.

Called it a day with a beer and food in the resort.

Monsoon Ride 2k13 - Day 1 and Day 2

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

I call this the Monsoon ride because a) It was during the Monsoons b) Not a single day passed by where i wasn't drenched and c) It was raining(quite obvious i guess:-P)

I started on this journey a day behind my schedule, coz I had to meet someone important and so it began on the 10th of August 2013. I couldnt sleep properly the night before and was again woken by an email by one of my friend. Not that I was uninterested in the trip, but i do love to sleep late in the holidays. Some things cant be helped ;-).

Day 1 and 2 : Drive to Thirthahalli and the Monsoon'ous Agumbe

Day 1:

And so I was on the roads by 12 PM(late by good 6 hours) with all my gears. All pumped up and ready for the big show. The tank bag was a new entry into my armory .With the tank bag on,took a little time to adjust with the swing of the handle. Switched on the ignition and Hallejullah!! Hit the roads! Man on a mission !!


Took the ORR from Tin factory and sailed past the traffic snarls at Nagwara and Tumkur rail crossing.One and half hours into my ride and I was past Bangalore and on the NH 4.I had to completely fill the tank to the brim, but to my surprise there were petrol pumps which did not oblige to do so.Fortunately, got it filled to the brim after Tumkur.

The plan for the day,was to by pass Shimoga and stay overnight at Agumbe.

Route map of Day 1

The NH 206 to Shimoga is a good road to ride with tiny bad patches here and there.You can do a 80 on your Odo quite comfartably.

It was a cloudy day and there were black clouds hovering over my head. But that did not inhibit me to go further.The roads getting smoother and the landscape turning its moods, only to make me ponder,what's ahead? That's the beauty of being on road.

At 4 PM had lunch in a road side dhaba. The Tandoori roti with Veg kadai did justice to my hunger, but what stole my taste buds was the Tomato salad, all spiced up!! People around were staring at me with  "Where the hell are you going"kinda expression and throwing the obvious questions at me.

After a sumptuous lunch, started towards Arsikere and this is what I was blessed with

Though the Sun was not out, the Sunflowers were radiating enough energy and light

My baby!!

It was getting dark and with the cloudy day all set to pack bags and go home early, I was falling behind my scheduled plan.Then I thought of reaching Shimoga atleast by 7 PM and then take it from there. I did reach Shimoga after crossing Arsikere,Kadur,Tarikere and Bhadravathi township.

Chickamagalur and Shimoga : There are lots of places in this route,which I gave a miss, bcos of my obvious plan. If you love flora and fauna this is the place to be.One can visit the Kemangundi and the Baba Budangiri range of hills and savour the ultimate experience of trekking. There are also many religious temples of architectural value in and around Chickamagaluru. This part of Karnataka is rich in flora and requires a minimum of three days to be explored. The Tungabhadra dam is also worth a place to visit. The thing you shouldnt give a miss is the trek to the Hebbe falls.Also worth mentioning are  the Elephant ride near Gajanur Dam in the outskirts of Shimoga and the Lion Safari, enroute the Jog falls.

Coming back to my trip, I very well reached Shimoga before 8 PM and wanted to go atleast near the hill ranges of Agumbe. So I decided to take off to Tirthahalli, come what may! And bouy! wasnt I in for a surprise.

The roads absolutely smooth for a State Highway.The trees as tall as 8 storey building.The rain playing its part as the chorus to my ears.The only sound that you would hear is that of your heart beat.I was in absolute No-Mans-Land.Neither an Incoming nor a passing traffic to my company.It was this little tweak I needed.The spark that ignited me and I was doing a 60 in the jungle, with the ocassional humps.And then the twisties! Aaah! I m in love with the twisties and the only thing I do when I see them, is attack them with fury and speed :-))

It was well past 9 PM, when I reached Thirthahalli.I expected it to be a noisy,polluted and crowdy piligrimage centre.But to my surprise it was very quite little town that ended in just about 2 Kms of tarmac.Uncertain about the accomodation in Agumbe, I decided to call it a day at the office(On the road today :-D). Luckily, I did get a roof to spend the night in the small town.

358 Kms for the day.

Day 2:

Woke Up and headed straight to Agumbe. It is about 33 kms from Tirthahalli.

Enroute Agumbe

My first point was Jogigundi falls.
The point below is where you deviate for Jogigundi.

Agumbe: Set among the thick rain forests of Western ghats, Agumbe is one of the highest rainfall receiving place in India.It also has a Rain forest research centre to its name.It has also got waterfalls such as Barkana and Jogigundi in its vicinity.The best season to visit this place.Anytime! It rains atleast 15*7 hours a week.There are also a few resorts to stay in Agumbe.

Enroute Jogigundi and Barkana

And it started raining!! and then it didnt stop.

Enter the Fog!!

The road to Barkana was invisible after a few metres due to the incessant rains.Enquiry with a local boy revealed that the route will be accessible only after the sun is out for another 10 hrs and absolutely dry.This was highly impossible in the present climate.Dropped Barkana and started back to Jogigundi.

Way to Jogigundi

And now the rain had shifted gears and it was raining furiously.

Jogigundi Falls

Agumbe is Indra devs' abode for sure.It doesnt rain here, it rains the death out of you.If you can soak it within you, then this is the place for you with breath taking scapes.But it is big no no for the cameras.You need to be extra cautious with the equipment.My camera stopped working here and I was little pissed off. The heavy moisture in the atmosphere had done the damamge..One needs to be careful with the electronics one carry here.

I finally decide to go off from this place as I was incessantly drenched in rain.Visited a view point on the Agumbe-Udupi road and left for Thirthahalli. It was time to pack the bags and start to the next destination. Jog was on my mind and so I started at around 2 PM from Thirthahalli

Route Map of Day 2

As I whizz past some of the villages enroute Jog, I see clear skies .The clouds making tiny appearances here and there.I was feeling  blessed to have come out of my home and be there under the sun.

Went past the small taluks of Ripponpet and Anandapuram and was on the NH 206 by 3 PM.It was the same NH 206, which I had left in Shimoga. But it had shrinked twice as much and road was only driveable from here on.

When you reach a prominent place like Jog falls, U can sense it from a distance.The cars,the stalls vagera vagera!! But the Jog does it in a different way. U can hear it from a distance. Had been there three years back and could visualise the three main streams of the Jog. And moreover could recreate the sound it produced. When I reached Jog it was chaotic.Felt I had taken a U turn and come back to Bangalore.Traffic everywhere!! Took a U turn from the parking lot and headed out of Jog falls towards the West coast. There's a Ghat section on the NH 206 downhill, about 20 kms from Jog falls. This section of road has good winding roads and beautiful Arecanuts along it. The winding sections could have been a better experience if the roads were good. Nevertheless had good time overtaking the cars, in the ghats!!

Reached Honavar and refilled the NS to the brim and zeroed in to stay at Gokarna for the night.The beach, the tide and the sea breeze would be perfect for the sour bumps. Reached Gokarna and headed straight to the isolated Om beach for the night stay. The Namastey Cafe which offers affordable and round the year stay at the beach.

Called it a day with a beer and rice pudding along the shores of Gokarna.

Lets Blog-O-Log!!

The thought of sharing is an idea, which many believe is a 'Way of Life!'. I do belong to the same school of thought. Its a way to put yourself across to the world.Your views, your experiences and your journey through life. Although many might have traversed the same route in the same way, but your experiences will always tell a different story from the others.

Everybody is mad about something or the other. Some are mad about chocolates, some about films, some about their work. I am mad about travelling and its associated things. To put it in the right way, I am very much passionate about it. And hence the name 'KnowMad-Soul' or 'NoMad-Soul'(I am mad but I aint one ;-)).

Travelling has always fascinated me, right from the days of childhood. Those who know me from childhood,know exactly what I am talking about!! Be it a matchbox or a pen. I used to go right behind them and fantasize them as a vehicle in the hills and scenic(with the appropriate sounds :-)).It was 'Fast and Furious' purely fantasized.They used to tell me, Beta! Tu bada hokey driver zaroor banega!!  Somebody rightly said, 'We are, what we repeatedly do!'.

This space will not be limited to my travel trails.Would like to put it as an open forum for all kinds of discussion and subjects.And this space will not be limited only to one language.You will find words in Telugu, Odiya, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali etc., coz I feel language shouldn't be a barrier, but a bridge.

I hope I do justice to this space and bring you something new or the other.

Bricks and Bats!! Anytime.

A first time blogger!!So any suggestions.Always welcome!!

Let the journey begin!!!

Cheerio!!