avk84

Ride to Live,Live to Ride!!! that's my motto. I always wanted to write about my travels and places but really couldn't do any till now. Probably I don't have much faith in my narration skills and the most important thing is I AM LAZY!!!

This happens to be the first travelogue I am writing, actually anything I am writing at this length after leaving the college 4 years back. This is about the road trip we did to Ambasamudram and Thenkasi from Trivandrum. It's more of a trip for bike ride than sight seeings.

Some teasers for the moment..

SKSy_Biker

Travelogue approved

lijok

Bring on the pics of the waterfall. We have been there twice from tvm xbhp...

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pabi

first pic is superb.. want more..

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on 4 wheels u feel the speed after a crash, 2 wheelers are much more advanced

Ananthagiri Trip

Kemmannagundi-Mulliyanagiri

Ooty trip

Tirumala-horsley Hills

Kudremukh

avk84

We didn't went that far!!!

I think that was a real miss... I had seen the pics in this forum..

may be we will give it a try next time...

lijok

Few pics from our ride to there in 2009, of the waterfall only...







Same place, at another time of the year

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avk84

I love riding and it’s a passion for me. Since I took the RE C-350 I have been waiting to complete its run in to start riding some distance. So after the 2nd service was done and more importantly the seat was modified, I wanted to take a ride.

The ride was planned but without finalizing the route. Many places came up and finally decided to go with the Ambasamudram-Thenkasi way as the roads are better,less traffic and more importantly I have heard that the road and surrounding leading to it is a treat to watch. My friend Smijith agreed to come for this trip and we were all set to go. We planned the route such that it’s a round trip.

Date : 9th July 2011

Route : Trivandrum-Nagercoil-Ambasamudram-Thenkasi-Thenmala-Nilamel-Trivandrum

Distance : 350km(approx)

Steed : RE C-350, Pulsar-150

The start time was decided at 7.00 am and we did start at our journey in time. The road was lively at the time and there was a good amount of traffic and blocks.

By 8.00am we reached Parassala and decided to have our breakfast. 4-5 Dosa and egg curry were gulped in and also brought 2 bottles of water. It was a 20 minute break and now we are back on the road. It was a slow but steady ride.

Even though it is an NH, those who have ride through it will know, the roads are narrow with heavy traffic and riding through the road in morning time is as good as riding in the city.

After some very slow riding, where the average speed was a tad above 50 ,by 9.30am we reached Nagercoil.
From Nagercoil we took the left turn and head straight for NH 7 through flower village Thovalai. Just started into the route and we were welcomed by giant wind mills.








The NH 7 is seen to believe. For us, riding mostly in and around Thiruvananthapuram and in NH 47 running through the state, it’s a dream tarmac. But still we decided not to drive through the NH 7 all the way to Ambasamudram. We opted for the SH 177 which is a left turn from the NH 7.
What’s the fun in ride if you do not have potholes and traffic and scenery
But this detour proved to be very worthy as we rode through some beautiful landscapes with Westernghat on one side and sometimes green, sometimes barren land on the other. The road leading to Ambasamudram was in good shape (much better than the NH we get here in Kerala) barring some occasional patches. Traffic is very less in this road and we have only seen couple of Jeeps and bikes. There were occasional traffic blocks but they were due to these cattle herds.




We have been riding for some time and rightly took a photo break.







Plantain corps





I think it is a well down there.





Enjoying the nature



Some pics enroute









The steeds relishing a well deserved break





After the short photo break we again hit the road and finally reached the outskirts of Ambasamudram. Quenched our thirst with couple of slender coconuts and rested for some time in the shades.

It’s 1.00pm now and we were in Ambasamudram. It’s a temple town. The Thamirabharani river flows through the shore of town. There are many temples in this place. We had our modest lunch from here and started off to Papanasam which is some 7km from here. Papanasam has a famous temple of Lord Shiva and Parvathy. When we reached there the temple was closed. Nevertheless there were a large number of people there and a lot where seen taking a dip in the river flowing beside the temple.







We spend some time there and the decided to go to Agasthiar Falls which is 5km ahead of Papanasam.These places comes under the Mundandurai Tiger Reserve. There is a check post but no sort of checking was there. They just asked where are we heading.?




The Agasthiar fall is a small waterfall and we find it too crowded with people bathing and washing beneath it. A few more meters walk above Agasthiar fall and there is the source for this fall can be seen hidden behind a Rock. We decided to take a powernap at this point as the climate was very harsh. Thank god that it was just a short one because a nap besides the stream in scorching heat can turn into a sound sleep.















It was 3.00pm now and we have another 170km to go to reach Thiruvananthapuram. We have already covered some 170km till then. We abandoned the plan to ride further uphill and started our return to Ambasamudram.

We got a company who is also a good poser, while we were leaving there













After the monkey was tired of posing, and as time was running away we decided to roll to Thenkasi. This small stretch of ride was a beautiful one. It’s some 35-40km from Ambasamudram.

There were heavy cross winds and it was really difficult to ride. The bikes were swaying to one side and our heads were also forced to one side. The surrounding was too brilliant. There was an abundance of green throughout and the evening sun was so mesmerizing. We decided to take another photo break.













Tired



My ride



A 15 minute photo session later we started and reached Shencottah and entered Kerala. This side of the road is fun to ride. It’s been so long since I last hit the road in this part. The roads were good with curves and the reserve forest on either side with the sounds gave the ride a pleasant feel.
The Kollam-Shenkottah railway line





Also spend some time on the Thenmala dam catchment area



From here it was destination HOME. We missed a turn and ended up in Nilamel but no worries as the road from here to Thiruvananthapuram is good. Finally after 15 hours from the start we reached our homes by 9.00 pm.

It was really a great ride and much needed refreshment. The RE seats behaved superbly and I was able to find a sweet spot which drastically reduced the butt burn!!!

In total, it was a perfect get away to a country side with its own charm and rustic feel. Thanks for Smijith without which the trip would not have happened. It is really a RIDE TO CHERISH.

avk84

Missed it for big time!!!!!!!!!!

On another note.. Lijo, where is your Leh travelogue!!

I.S.Avinash

Driving Through Country side is always Fun.. Nice trip U Guys Had..

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Being a biker. Is it easier said than done? What makes a biker?Anyone who rides for the love of it..!!

avk84

It was indeed a good ride. Good roads and greenery makes it a memorable one..