The Kanyakumari Ride

After all the no ride weekends and just a sole one day ride to BR Hills did not cure the biker’s itch. It was long that I had to go out on a long ride more so because I have never had a chance to take a whole week off work. So the question next is where I can ride out for a week and that too curing the Christmas festive time. Over the week myself and Santosh (NFSNFS) did discuss a few locations and then decided to head to Kanyakumari via the Kerala coast and then take U turn and head back northwards and ride to Munnar. So the date to start the ride was fixed as the 25th of December 2006 and starting time would be 6 am. Initial plan was to ride for about 4 days with 2 days in buffer.

We avoided the weekend knowing that the traffic on the highways would be high more so because of the holidays. So packs all the necessary things on Saturday and Sunday. With Monday morning being awaited had a decent enough sleep and was relaxed because had nothing to do over the weekend. So let me start from day 1

Day 1 – 25th December 2006
As per schedule I would meet up with Santosh at the Shell petrol bunk on the Mysore road. We should have started riding @ 6 am. As usual after 30 mins delay Santosh joined me at the petrol bunk only to find that the Shell petrol bunk opens only at 7 am. So what next, no choice we waited there for a while talking about the route and the breaks that we need to take. Soon filled both the bikes up to the brim of the fuel tanks, oops I forgot to tell you about bikes or do I need to as my apache 200 (modified) and Santosh’s Pulsar 180 have done quite a few rides together. So there we go on a planned 4 day long ride. Soon crossed Bangalore outskirts and kept zooming on the 4 lane highway till Kamat Lokaruchi which is about 5 kms further from Ramanagaram. Headed to the Kamat Lokaruchi only to find that it was filled with people in there. Looking at our outfit with the riding jackets, knee guards/protectors, people were curiously asking us if we were racing on the highway or we were heading for some race. After telling them that these are essential protective gear for biking and letting them know on our plans, a few people were surprised and few even went to the extent of calling us crazy. Anyways had nice breakfast Idly Vada. Visit www.kamatyatri.in for more information on the Kamat group of hotels.

We were ready to move on, but first hurdle to face and cross was puncture on Santosh’s P180. Luckily right next to the place was a puncture shop, soon fixed it. Time to move as it was already 10.30 am. The weather was nice with cool breeze, so started moving on at almost 3 digit speeds somewhere in the range of 100-120 kmph. Rode non stop till Nanjangud which is about 25 kms after Mysore and stopped after crossing Nanjangud to have tender coconut and also to ensure we answered nature calls. Within 10 mins we were again zooming on the highway towards Gundlupet. We missed our other friends who were on the way back from Ooty towards Bangalore as we were doing speeds close to 120-125 kmph to make up for some of the lost time at Kamat Lokaruchi. However we spoke to them when we took a break for lunch. Rode till Pugmark Restaurant just a few kilometers from the Bandipur forest reserve. Had decent lunch (I wont call it a good one, because the cost versus food items on the lunch menu were somehow not matching) rest for about 30 mins chatting with a couple from Australia who were heading to Ooty. Soon we were on the road again riding towards Gudalur. Stopped at a few places to click a few snaps on the deserted road in the afternoon.

We knew were behind schedule by a good hour and a half. Reached Gudalur and diverted towards Nilambur not before seeking a little help from the locals on the directions. Soon reached the Kerala border. The roads after which were good with roads twisting through the forests, so peg scraping mode now for a good distance of about 40 odd kms. Reached Nilambur and then had to divert towards Perinthalmanna (sorry if I have spelt it wrong, these names in Kerala can get the best of them to commit errors). The roads from here were like a horror story. The poor roads with loads of dust ensured we were further behind schedule by another half an hour. Reached Perinthalmanna and had some tea, I somehow did not like the tea. Left with no choice we rode on. The twilight and the bad roads along with quite a few idiotic drivers of vehicles of all sizes who did not seem to care even a little bit about the traffic rules were driving me nuts. Soon reached Thrisshur and we almost missed the bypass road and entered the city. Luckily took the right road and rode on as it was already close to 7 pm. The highway between Thrisshur and Ernakulam was very crowded. We weaved our way on that busy highway an reached Ernakulam around 8 pm. Feeling happy that we have made it to the first stop for the day, we were thinking of finding a decent lodge with an AC room (AC is must if you are staying anywhere in the coastal cities, especially if you were riding all day).

Our big hurdle was that we were not able to find a good room in Ernakulam, so headed towards Cochin. Status still the same even in Cochin. Some how after hunting the room for about an hour and a half finally found an AC room which had windows which cannot be closed, also had to contend with mosquitoes. The room rent was Rs. 750/- inclusive of tax. The rating to the room from my side is poor. Anyways no choice, so freshened up and soon went to the restaurant. Since myself and Santosh both are Veggies, had to satisfy our hunger with Parota and Chutney. Headed back to the room, as usual checked the photos clicked and discussed about the next day’s plan and slept with the clock well past 11 pm and with 600 odd kms odo on day one.

Day 2: 26th December 2006

Previous day’s hassles and delay ensured that the trend continued. Got up a little late. After breakfast, we started to continue ride not before we changed the rear brake springs in Santosh’s pulsar 180. So we rode on just when the clock was about to tick 11 am. It was damn freaking hot and humid. Rode till Alleppey and we were looking out for tender coconut to soak the heat. Finally found a shop selling tender coconut, now the next surprising part the cost per coconut Rs. 16/-. Left with no choice, had a couple of them and moved on. We soon reached Kollam at almost 2.30 pm. Had to wait at a level crossing for about 15 mins, before 2 Bangalore – Kanyakumari express. Yes you read it right, 2 trains on the same route but in opposite directions. Soon reached the beach, spent a few minutes clicking photos.

Decided to skip lunch being fed up of paratas & chutney and to move on as we had to reach Kovalam beach, you will find as to why in the photos. On the way to Kovalam Beach found this pond similar to ever know heart shape.

Reached Kovalam reach without entering the Thiruvananthapuram City at around 5 pm. We had to keep our luggage, no cloak room, what next. Requested the priest at the nearby temple but to no avail, everybody refused to help us. I thought why people in Bangalore are so vastly different to people in here, that too from the same country. Anyways a guy from a fancy store was ready to help us and I was no wonder surprised. Later found the guy who helped was from Hubli. Anyways we went to the beach it was very soothing with nice breeze and lovely sunset. Just as the sun went below the horizon we went to the nearest restaurant for a cup of tea.

Soon packed our luggage and started to ride towards Kanyakumari. The rode were very good but quite narrow for a highway. A small town/village every 5-10 kms ensured we made a slow progress. Just after Marthadam the roads got wider and so did our speeds reached higher crossign the 100 kmph mark. The roads even though not straight was very nice to ride on. We reached Kanyakumari at around 10 pm. The next nightmare. Kanyakumari rooms almost completely occupied but with a help of porter we found a room but the one and half times the price of the room. We headed back to Triveni restaurant on the main road. Had nice yummy dinner and headed back to the room and rested.

Day 3: 27th December 2006
Got up a little early to catch the sunrise. But our luck running on thin lines, there were a lot of clouds which ensured we could not catch even a proper glimpse of the very famous sun rise.

What next, knowing that we would spend most of next day at this place, we came back to the hotel and relaxed ourselves. After resting for a couple of hours, we headed off to have breakfast. After breakfast we rode to Suchindram. Met a couple from England who were touring the whole of India on a bullet, quick chat and photo with them, we moved on.

Little more about this place now.

The Sthanumalayan Temple is of importance to Shaivaites and Vaishnavite Sects of Hinduism. The place got the name of Suchindrum, according to stalapurana. Hindu Mythological legend has it that king of devas, Indra got relieved of a curse at the place of the main linga in the temple. The term "Suchi" in Suchindrum is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit meaning that stands for "purify". Accordingly Lord Indra is supposed to visit the temple for performing "Ardhajama Pooja" or prayer.

The temple is an architectural marvel known for its quality of workmanship in stone. The musical pillars carved out of single stone and which stands at 18 feet is an architectural delight. There are 7 musical pillars in the Alangara Mandapam each cut out of single rock, which emit the sounds of various musical instruments when struck. There are 1035 pillars with carvings in the dancing hall. The Anjaneya or Hanuman statue stands at 22 feet or 3 m and is carved of a single granite block and is one of the tallest statues in India. The Nandi statue made of mortor and lime and which is 13 feet tall is one of the biggest nandi statues in India. Construction of the temple extended over a period of at least six hundred years. Parts date back as far as the ninth or tenth century, others from the fifteenth century, and a huge seven-storey pyramidal gopura was erected during the sixteenth century.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sthanumalayan_Temple

After spending little time being mesmerized at the Wonderful architecture, headed back to Kanyakumari and had yummy n of course a little heavy lunch. Went back to the room, parked the bikes and it was time to go to the Vivekananda Rock on the ferry. Spent some time there and returned back to the room, since it had gone cloudy, we decided we will ride till Thirunelveli, a city about 80 kms away from Kanyakumari. We left Kanyakumari at around 5 pm, on the way there were a lot of windmills. Stopped at a few places to click snaps. We rode till Thirunelveli we were enjoying the smooth NH 7, so continued till outskirts of Madurai. Soon had dinner and rested.

Day 4: 28th December 2006
We got up early and were ready to move on by 7.30 am. We rode on towards Kodaikonal. The ghats and the road were good with loads and loads of twisties. Time for peg scrapping again for a good distance of 45 kms, yes you read it right for 45 kms. Soon headed for lunch and had decent lunch. Actually we wanted to ride through the forest to reach Munnar. A real dense forest, but the hotel guy told that the road was closed a few years back. We were feeling low that the plan was not working out. So what next we rode back on the same route. On the way back on the ghats Santosh wanted to have a rest. So we chose the Valley view point, had tender coconut and we happily dozed off for 45 mins. We had rested the duty of ensuring our luggage and bikes are intact on the guy selling tender coconuts. Boy o boy he was really generous and was more than ready to help us. Woke up, nice breeze was actually pushing us to have another 45 mins nap. But decided against it and moved on towards Theni.

Just after Theni we took a deviation towards the right and headed towards Bodinayakanur (the place from where the Winding roads start). Stopped at a near by hotel for some coffee. Soon left the place to start the ascend. The roads were newly asphalted which brought a big grin on our face. Stopped after a few kms to click snaps, the off we went, there were plenty of land slides which were being cleared up. This is quite dangerous when its raining and misty. There are no barricades or the sidewall built along the road. If your luck runs out, you can easily start the deep descent only to ascend for lifetime and a word late would be added before your name.
Soon reached Bodimettu, a very small place right on top the hill and also acts as a border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It was already 6.30 pm, sipped another round of tea. The weather was cold, which ensured we pulled out another jacket which we wore beneath the riding jacket to keep ourselves warm. Started riding again, with another good 60 odd kms to go, we moved as the natural light reduced with only little moon light and a quite cold breeze. All of the 60 kms is through the tea plantations ensured the road is not wide enough to overtake a bus or a truck. Had to trail behind them for quite a while before we found some space to zip past them. Lucky that we were on 2 wheels instead of 4, else it would have all the way trailing the trucks and buses. Reached Munnar at around 8.45 pm, it was freaking cold. Now the next challenge was to hunt for a good room since this being a season for tourists, most of the rooms were occupied. After a good search and negotiation with the agent we found a room. So what next we dropped off all the luggage and came back to the shop where we had spoken to the agent as there was a Veggie restaurant. Had to taken a token and wait for quite a while before we were served food.

After dinner, we headed to the internet parlor to check the emails. Damn, just a week or so most of the passwords were forgotten. Signs of me getting old. After browsing for a while we headed back to the room, reviewed the day’s photographs and dozed off, but not before we requested additional blankets to keep ourselves warm. One peculiar policy I found was that these rooms had to checked out @ 11 am.

Day 5: 29th December 2006
We had planned to get up early and go to a nearby view point about 14 kms away. But the damn cold weather ensured that we got up late and had to skip that early part of the day plan. Got ready after our daily chores, our first agenda was to find another room to stay at Munnar for another day. Soon found a better one with even lesser price, soon shifted the entire luggage to the newly hired room and headed off for breakfast. Soon finished breakfast and the next place to visit was Top Station which is about 40 odd kms from Munnar.
Since already the place was flocked with tourists the place was pretty crowded with quite a bit of traffic. There are a lot of places on the way to Top Station to visit, like the Echo point, Bee hive, Madupatti Dam, and of course the Top station. After riding for about more than an hour’s time we reached the place but not before clicking photos at will. Parked the bikes and had to go the view point through steps.

After about 30 mins we decided to head back to Munnar so that we can give a try at the motor boat thingy at the Madupatti Dam. But to luck, we had to wait for about 2 hours, we decided that boating will be next time and we moved on. Reached back to Munnar and it was lunch time. This time we found a good Punjabi style restaurant, a new one too. Had very tasty Paratas (actually a variety of them). Headed back to the room and dozed off for a while. We had to reach the sunset point before 5.30 pm so that we will have loads of time to capture the sunset.

The spot is on the way enroute to Cochin. One has to get down along the steps to get to the view point. But there are no sign boards, so we missed it and then after enquiring a few people about the place, we rode back to this place. Hardly any people there to disturb us, it was time for clicking hour.
Sipped tea the view point from a near by small restaurant and headed back to Munnar. After dinner at the same Punjabi restaurant, we were planning for the next day. But since we had already overshot our schedule by one day, the next day could be used only to get back to Bangalore. We thought at least we will make it to the view point next day morning.

Day 6: 30th December 2006
Just like the previous day, we got up late due to the cold. After our daily chores, we packed our entire luggage and decided to move on. On the way we refueled our bikes to the brim again, we took the Coimbatore Route. Imagine twisting roads for 60+ kms with decent enough tarmac, we were treated with the occasion to peg scrape again. One the way we had to pass through the Chinnar forest reserve. We were cruising here with the hope to spot at least a few tuskers. But to our lucky did not even spot a single Tusker. Rode till Coimbatore along the highway. The roads were very good, but we spotted 2 accidents were a few people had died on the spot. Just on the out skirts of the Coimbatore city we had lunch. A little heavy to honestly accept it, made the ride a real tough one as our eye lids were dying to close. Left with no choice, started to rip on the bike. After we crossed Satyamangalam Town, after we crossed the forest check post, we went further and deviated from the highway and parked our bikes near a tree and dozed for almost an hour. Refreshed ourselves and then rode till Chamarajnagar. We were cursing ourselves for not having at least a 600 cc touring bike to enjoy these roads. But after Chamarajnagar the roads in the worst possible condition. This ensured that we were happy with the current bikes for these type of roads. It was already 7.30 pm when we reached Maddur. The roads from here are a dream with quite a bit of traffic on the weekends. In about an hour’s time we had reached the ring road. I bid bye to my friend Santosh and headed back home. Now knew why the home comfort is always better after the ride.

All in all a safe ride of 2099 kms, 6 days lots of places visited, just 890 photos clicked.

Anyways the route now
Bangalore – Mysore – Bandipur – Gudalur – Nilambur – Perinthalmanna - Shoranur – Thrissur – Cochin – Alleppey – Kollam – Trivandrum – Kovalam – Kanyakumari – Madurai (Tirumangalam) – Kodaikanal – Periyakulam – Theni – Bodinayakanur – Pooppara – Devikulam – Munnar – Udumalpet – Coimbatore – Satyamangalam – Chamarajnagar – Kollegal – Maddur – Bangalore .