moeed

Date: 13-16/08/2009

Distance covered: 1947 km

Day 1:

It was Thursday and I had a holiday the next day which means I would get 3 days of holiday and this surely called for a ride and that too a long ride since I wouldn’t be able to ride much for the next month due to my internals. I thought for a while and finally zeroed on Bengaluru since I heard a lot about it and thought of checking out the place. The initial plan was just Bengaluru, but I decided to include Mysore and Ooty in the plan as well.

The weird part was that I didn’t even tell my mom about my plan till morning. Finally i told her. She was shocked as to how did I plan of all this suddenly. Spoke to my dad and he gave me the permission.

The second weird thing was that I had to get my bike serviced before the ride. Went to the service center from my college at 1:30 pm. It was lunch time. Had to wait till 2:30 pm. Finally gave my bike. I was into a major shock when the service advisor told me that the bike could only be delivered the next day. For once I thought that I will have to postpone my plan, but I wanted the delivery that day itself so I said him that it was urgent and I needed the delivery by evening. He said that he could not guarantee the delivery as there were a lot of bikes to be serviced before mine. He told me to speak to the service supervisor. I spoke with the service supervisor and told him that it was urgent and I needed the delivery of the bike by evening. He agreed to it.

Now I could see my trip happening as planned. Went to take the delivery of my bike in the evening. It was already 7pm by now and the service center was about to close. I was lucky enough to get there in time. Took my bike and came home. Did the packing and had dinner.

Started from my home at 10:30 pm. Filled the tank on the way. Reached Shamshabad at 11 pm and picked up my friend. Now the real fun started. I was riding on the new NH7 for the first time and that too in the night. I wanted to ride safely so I kept a constant speed of 70 km/h.

Our first stop was Kurnool at 2 am. Met a friend there and went to the Kurnool bus stop. Had softdrink there and we resumed our journey. The roads from here onwards were bad, by bad I mean really bad. Every now and then, there was a railway crossing. The highway was full of diversions. At a certain stretch, the road was so bad that we had to ride at 10 km/h.

Our next stop was at Anantapur. It was 5 am by now. Took a 10 minute break and we resumed our trip. Rode for an hour or so and we were feeling hungry. Stopped at a dhaba for breakfast. But unfortunately he didn’t have anything to serve us at that time. Lucliky, we had packed breakfast from our home. We sat there and had our breakfast. Spent an hour there relaxing and then started off again.

After riding for a few km, my bike toched the 30000 km mark. Stopped and took photos. After some time we entered the Karnataka border. Stopped there again for some quick snaps. The one thing which I didn’t like about the Karnataka highway is that they had speed breakers every now and then. This had wasted a lot of our time. We thought of visiting the Bengaluru International Airport first as it comes on the highway itself.

Reached the airport at 11 am. Parked the bike and went to see the Airport. After seeing the Airport I can say that, the Hyderabad Airport is much better than the Bengaluru Airport though they have been built by the same GMR Group. We went and sat in the Arrivals section. I was feeling so sleepy that I slept there for around 2 hours. Finally my friend woke me up and we decided to leave. Rode out of the Airport premises and we were about to enter Bengaluru.

On the way, I saw the signboards regarding the speed limits of various vehicles. I religiously followed it and kept my bike below 60 km/h. A couple of other bikers were zooming past me but I didn’t mind that at all. After a few km, I saw that those bikers were caught by cops because they were overspeeding. I was saved, thanks to the Bengaluru xBhpians, because of whom I came to know about the Interceptors. Finally we entered Bengaluru.

As we didn’t have much time to spare due to our tight schedule, we started sight-seeing. First we just roamed around the city. Another annoying thing which I noticed was, the one-way roads. I entered into the wrong way a couple of times. We searched for an internet cafe to check out the tourist sites in Bengaluru and to check out the map to Mysore and Ooty. We made a list which included the Bangalore Palace, Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, Lal Bagh, M.G Road, Brigade Road, etc. While passing through the roads we also got to see the golf course and the race course. We passed though many parks and churches on the way.

Now we decided to head towards our first destination, which was the Bangalore Palace. We asked the route to some Auto rikshaws, all of them had a similar way of giving directions “Go straight, dead end right, go straight, dead end left”. Finally we reached the Bangalore palace, checked it out and moved towards our next destination which was the Lal bagh.

On the way we saw the Police Pulsars which had that wierd paint job(yellow with black spots on it). We just kept laughing at them. Reached the Lal Bagh, checked out the place and moved towards the Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace. Went in, clicked some pics and went to a park to relax.

It was evening by now. Checked out the M.G Road and the Brigade road. There was a hell lot of traffic at that time. Got a tank full done. I had arranged our stay at my friend’s place. We straightaway headed to his house, had dinner and slept.


Day 2:

“Independence Day”

Woke up at 10 am after a nice long night’s rest. Had our breakfast and we were all set to conquer Mysore and Ooty. Started off at 11 am. Rode through the traffic. A flyover construction was going on due to which there was a traffic jam. It took about an hour for us to get out of that and reach the highway.

Finally we were on the NH 4. They charged us a toll of Rs. 13 for using the highway. It was 12 pm by now. The road was really smooth with no potholes. I was riding at 90-100 km/h. But this was only till 17 km. From there we had to take a left turn to the SH 17 for Mysore.

It was busy with traffic and was not even looking like a highway. I had to decrease the speed to 70 km/h. Passed by an amusement park ‘Wonderla’ on the way. One difference from AP was that, there was CCD and McDonalds on the highway! There was a Gumbaz on the way which we visited. This was the tomb of Tipu Sultan’s father.

We resumed our journey and reached Mysore around 3 pm. Asked for the directions to the Mysore Palace and finally reached the palace. It was simply marvelous. We decided to check out the palace. We had to wait in a long queue to get the entry ticket. Finally got the ticket after waiting for about 30 minutes. We entered the palace entrance gate and were ready to capture the palace with my camera. Our happiness was shortlived as we came to know that photography was not allowed inside the palace. We had to deposit our camera in the locker for 5 rupees. I reluctantly did that. Just as we were about to enter the palace, we came to know that footwear was not allowed inside the palace. Once again we had to deposit our shoes at the shoe counter for 50 paise per pair! It was 4 pm by now. We had to start back by 5 pm, so we just had 1 hour at hand. Entered the palace, and I must say it was as beautiful from the inside as it was from the outside. Some gyan on the palace.

(The architectural style of the palace is commonly described as Indo-Saracenic, and blends together Hindu, Muslim, Rajput, and Gothic styles of architecture. It is a three-storied stone structure, with marble domes and a 145 ft five-storied tower. The palace is surrounded by a large garden.
The three storied stone building of fine gray granite with deep pink marble domes was designed by Henry Irwin. The facade has seven expansive arches and two smaller ones flanking the central arch, which is supported by tall pillars.

Above the central arch is an impressive sculpture of Gajalakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, good luck, and abundance with her elephants.

Unique rooms

 Ambavilasa or Diwan e Khas.
This was used by the king for private audience and is one of the most spectacular rooms. Entry to this opulent hall is through an elegantly carved rosewood doorway inlaid with ivory that opens into a shrine to Ganesha. The central nave of the hall has ornately gilded columns, stained glass ceilings, decorative steel grills, and chandeliers with fine floral motifs, mirrored in the pietra dura mosaic floor embellished with semi-precious stones.

 Gombe Thotti (Doll’s Pavilion)
Entry to the palace is through the Gombe Thotti or the Doll’s Pavilion, a gallery of traditional dolls from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The pavilion also houses a fine collection of Indian and European sculpture and ceremonial objects like a wooden elephant howdah (frame to carry passengers) decorated with 84 kilograms of gold.

 Kalyana Mantapa
The Kalyana Mantapa or marriage hall is a grand octagonal-shaped pavilion with a multi-hued stained glass ceiling with peacock motifs arranged in geometrical patterns. The entire structure was wrought in Glasgow, Scotland. The floor of the Mantapa continues the peacock theme with a peacock mosaic, designed with tiles from England. Oil paintings, illustrating the royal procession and Dasara celebrations of bygone years, make the walls more splendid.

Temples

The palace complex includes twelve Hindu temples. The oldest of these was built in the 14th century, while the most recent was built in 1953.
Some of the more famous temples are:
Someshvara Temple, dedicated to God Lord Shiva
Lakshmiramana Temple, dedicated to God Lord Vishnu

Attractions

The palace houses several rooms of importance. These include:

 Audience Chamber: This was Hall of Private Audience, where the king would confer with his ministers. It was also the chamber in which he gave audience to people deserving special attention.

 Public Durbar: The Diwan-e-aam was a public hall where the general population could meet the king at prescribed times with petitions.

 Royal wedding hall

 Armoury: The palace houses an armoury, which contains a collection of different types of arms used by the members of the royal family. These include weapons that were used in the 14th century (lances, cutlasses, etc), as well as weapons that were used in the early twentieth century (pistols, etc).)

Source: Wikipedia


Visited the museum at the palace. It was 4:45 pm by now, so we decided to start back. Took our shoes and camera and bid farewell to the palace. We wanted to visit Ooty as well but we were really tired so we had to drop that plan.

Started back to Bengaluru. It was 5 pm by now. There was traffic jam at several places on the way. Finally reached Bengaluru at 8 pm. My friend had already booked the tickets to watch “Kaminey” at 9:30 pm. I had to rip on the city roads so that we don’t get late for the movie. I was doing 90 km/h on the flyovers and underpasses. Thank God, there were no cops at that time. We asked the directions to the theatre and landed there right away from the highway at 9 pm.

We were feeling hungry so we had vada pav and were ready to watch the movie. The theatre was house-full since it was the second day of the release. Went in and sat on our seats. The movie started and everyone was cheering. There was a dialougue where Priyanka Chopra mentioned Bengaluru. Everyone screamed on the top of their voices at this time. The surround sound was really good. Enjoyed the movie. It was 12 am by the time the movie ended. I filled petrol from a petrol bunk right next to the theatre. Went to my friend’s place, had dinner and slept at 2 am. Woke up at 4:45 am and started off for Hyderabad.

The roads were wet due to rains. I maintained a speed of 80 km/h till we crossed the Bengaluru limits. Now the speed breakers came in our way again. Had to brake hard several times due to them. Just as we were about to cross the Karnataka border, it started raining heavily. We were completely drenched. The bike even got off. Had to wait for 5-10 minutes before I could start it again.

Crossed the Karnataka border and we were riding towards Anantapur when it started to rain again. I thought that, if I would ride fast the bike wouldn’t go off. But I was wrong. Again we were drenched and the bike got off. Had to wait for more 10 minutes. I had to reduce the speed to 60 km/h since it was raining heavily and the bike was going off very often. I had put my watch, mobile phone and wallet in my bag so that they don’t get wet. Doing this, I didn’t have any idea about the time and I was riding leisurely.

Crossed Anantapur and it started to rain again. Again we were drenched and shivering since cold winds were blowing. The road from here onwards was full of diversions so I had to ride slowly.

Crossed Gooty and we were about to reach Kurnool when it started to rain yet again. Rode in the rain at about 70 km/h. Reached Kurnool and took a break at a dhaba. It was around 1 pm by now. Had lunch and started off from there.

The road from here onwards was smooth and I could ride at a constant 80 km/h. But I had to reduce the speed once again since it started to rain. The roads were full of water. It stopped raining after some time. Again I increased the speeds to 80 km/h.

We were around 100 km from Hyderabad when it started raining again. I was fed up of these rains. We were getting late so I decided to rip. It was 80 km to Hyderabad now. I rode at full throttle. The average speed went upto 90 km/h and the bike was touching 100 km/h mark constantly on slopes.

Overtook many cars, bikes, lorries and busses on the way. We covered this distance in no time. The mileage also dropped drastically. It was around 40 km/l. Had to fill petrol again at a bunk. Just as we reached Shamshabad, it started to rain again. We had no option but to ride in the rain. In all, it rained for 7 times on our return journey. I had the feeling that, the clouds were also riding to Hyderabad from Bengaluru with us.

Rode through the city traffic and reached my friend’s place at 4pm. Dropped him and rode to my home. I was really tired and exhausted. My whole body was paining. My clothes were still wet. Changed my clothes and went out again. The trip distance was around 1900 km. I rode in the city to bring the total to 1947 km.


Photos

Picasa Web Albums - moeed - Bengaluru and...

P.S: I didn't post the photos here because there was some problem when I did that last time.

Aryan

Topic Approved.

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ekartik82

Hey Moeed...Very good ride man !! I have driven the NH-7 stretch between bangalore and Hyderabad quite a few times..and I guess the highway is good only till one crosses the respective airports...

But waiting for the highway construction to complete..I have heard people say that the time duration between Shamsabad and Devanahalli airports would only be 5 hours, once the highway is completely constructed. Don't know how far that is true, but the highway does look promising...

Had a close shave with the Bangalore interceptors just today when I was on a trip to Nandi Hills... although the speed limit here is upto 80 KM/H... but one never knows with the police...
Let me know when you plan your next trip..!!!! keep the touring spirits high!!!

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vishnuu

Good trip log Moeed. Even I faced simillar problem with rain during my trip from Mahanandi to Hyderabad.
But one thing is the roads are amazing between Kurnool & hyderabad expect for the cross winds between Krishna & Thungabhadra rivers.

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ravi@17bhp

Very nice trip log Moeed. You truly amaze us, this time with a pillon for 2k-km ride.

whizzkid_ram

You are a hardcore rider man, 1947 Kms on Platina ...Hats off...BTW, Nice pics & excellent log...

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moeed

Thanks mate! The stretch from Hyderabad till Kurnool is really good. I was doing a constant 90-100 kmph on it. Once the highway construction is completed, it would be a breeze riding on it. I'll surely let you know when I plan a trip.


Thanks buddy! Those cross winds are a big problem in maintaining good speeds.


Thanks bro! I am still wondering how did my friend sit as a pillion for 2k km.


Thanks dude!

ajay_meda

good ride there....actually i was planning the same ride during dusserah vacation

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abhilashabhi12

@Moeed

is u r platina running on stock or U have done any mod ??

That requires a lot of guts to do Hyd-Blr that too in night in platina..

Well done mate

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santoosh

Nice trip dude ,I like ur spirit
if possible Update the state of the roads in the thread mentioned in my signature. will be helpful.

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