Day 4 was dedicated to the Southern side of Goa state and as per our initial plan, We were gonna explore Northern Goa on Day 5. Couple of churches near Mapusa, forts, Calangute Beach, Baga Beach, Anjuna beach.. A long list.. BUT.. Both of these guys had seen the photographs of my November Goa Ride and they were totally fascinated by Murudeshwar temple photographs. The sheer grandeur of that temple had blown their minds.

As we were having dinner on Day 4, Umesh Khollam proposed the idea of skipping the North Goa exploration and heading down south to Karnataka. Other Umesh although a little late, finally agreed to what he had proposed. I for one had been to all the above mentioned places, be it the north Goa beaches and temples or the Murudeshwar temple. That's why asked them to make their choice with only One condition. From my place in Goa to Murudeshwar and back is approximately 500 Kms. And somehow I didn't feel like riding there all over again. So I told them, if you guys select Murudeshwar for Day 5, then someone will have to take me as a pillion rider. A little discussion later, Murudeshwar temple was selected as the destination for Day 5 and Umesh Khollam was ready to take me as a pillion on his P200. I also told him not to worry and we can share the distance between us.

Seeing a long ride ahead, we woke up a little earlier than past couple of days and left home as early as possible. A little before Ponda, we stopped for refueling and proceeded further. We had our breakfast at an Udupi hotel in Margao city. Some tasty medu wada sambar there..

Roads were mostly in good condition and we were heading southward without any problem. I got bored being a pillion a little sooner than I expected and asked Umesh to be a pillion for some time. This was just after Margao. Being a rider on P200 brought back some BEAUTIFUL memories. It reminded me of my P200 and the rides done with her. P200 is seriously a fun machine. Ample torque at your disposal and great handling. It was more noticeable for me because there were hardly any downshifts during overtakes or uphill climbs. Just twist the throttle and there we go.. Fantastic. I soon started enjoying the bike and know what.. I didn't let Umesh ride the bike at all.. I rode it all the way till Murudeshwar and back till Karwar before I handed over the keys to Umesh. There's a reason behind it.. but more on it later.

The bike was so fun to ride that I completely forgot that I have an inexperienced rider following us and also I am not riding alone, I had a pillion. I was ripping like crazy. I now realize how difficult it must have been for Umesh to keep up with us and feel sorry for the same.. Shouldn't have done so. But that was not done purposely. Anyway, time to share some snaps that we clicked on the way to Murudeshwar.

At Karwar..




I don't remember the exact place but it was in Karnataka




After long and fast ride, we reached Murudeshwar by lunch time. It was a totally different scene there than what I had seen on my last visit In November, there was absolutely no rush at the temple but now there were literally hundreds of south Indian people in their typical black lungi and uparna(black cloth around neck). We headed straight to Kamat restaurant to have lunch. Even that was over crowded with people standing in queue in front of every table Damn! When I asked the hotel owner why there was so much rush that day, he told me that it's because of some festival which is celebrated every year in the month of January. And to add to it, it was a Sunday.

After lunch, we requested the old uncle at the hotel counter to keep our helmets and jackets with them while we visit the temple. It was just a chance and to our surprise he agreed to keep our stuff.

I had already clicked a lot of pics during my last visit. Therefore sharing some of the pics that I clicked that day.

Murudeshwar Beach












You can see the big Murudeshwar Beach Restaurant in this pic. Later on, we went to this restaurant to have some food and enjoy the beautiful sea view.


Asked an anna to click a group photograph but he blurred it completely


Murudeshwar beach as seen from the beach restaurant




Both the guys felts satisfied and thrilled after seeing the temple. They felt Every mile traveled worth it.

Clicked this pic when we got back to Kamat restaurant to get our stuff back..


Clock showed 4.15 pm when we started our return journey and there was definitely a chilly night ride ahead, waiting for us. I was again riding the bike and Umesh was being pillion.

Rushing towards Goa..


As we reached the outskirts of Karwar, we were forced to pull over and stop by some beautiful birds. We just couldn't ignore their beauty and the chance to capture in our cameras.





By the time we reached Karwar, it was almost dark and we could feel the drop in temperature. We stopped at a restaurant for hot cup of tea and we were totally disappointed. Tea served by the restaurant was pathetic and on top of that they charged it Rs. 15 per cup of tea ..

It was completely dark when we were back on road again. I was still riding the bike, well was trying to ride I should say. I have HID installed on my bike and I am used to riding in bright light conditions even in dark whereas the P200 had stock headlamps. For me it was like riding with a candle's light .

I pulled over to the side of the road and asked Umesh to ride the bike. I told the R15 rider to be careful, slow and lead the way with it's somewhat better headlamps. Being pillion gave me another opportunity of testing the V6200's GPS. I switched it On and searched for Cumbarjua. It's a remote place but to my surprise MMI has it on their map. I set it as our destination and the phone soon began guiding us step by step.

We didn't have to rely on GPS till Margao as it was just one road, NH17. But even after traveling through Margao so many times, I always get confused once inside the city . That's where I wanted to test the usability and accuracy of this device. Also Karwar - Cumbarjua is a very long distance and that would also test it's battery life.

The GPS proved very useful in ghats. You get idea about all the sharp turns or hairpins in advance which otherwise are difficult to spot at night and with on coming traffic's bright lights. Thumbs up!

This device was so bloody accurate that it showed even the smallest village roads that ran parallel to the national highway. It guided us safely and via shortest route through Margao city and we were heading towards Ponda. Temperature was very low and we had tough time fighting with the cold.

We had dinner at a dhaba near Ponda, on NH17. Beautiful food, the warmth of Tandoor bhatti and a TV with cable connection . We felt like staying over at the dhaba for that night and carry on the next morning . It was that comfortable and warm there.



I used the GPS till we reached the doorstep of our house and it was damn accurate. Even the battery performance was great. When I bought this phone, some people taunted me with it's faulty thermometer and compass. Well first of all, it's only the thermometer that's not accurate on my cell. It sometimes shows a little higher temperature than the actual. But rest of the features works brilliantly. And even if I ignore all those sports features, the GPS itself makes this phone a total VFM product. Well, that's what I feel. People will never stop cribbing.

Day 6 log and Pics will follow soon.. Return journey to Mumbai Via Amboli Ghat and NH4..

When we were discussing on Day 5, about which route to use for the return journey we had two clear options ahead of us. 1. Use the same NH17 or 2. Use the NH4. Though NH17 was in overall good condition and is more scenic & enjoyable than the plain boring NH4, I never like riding from Nagothane to Mumbai on NH17 after dark. Traffic conditions are horrible on that patch after 6 in the evening till 3 or 4 in the morning. NH4 on the other hand is safer, more economic and quicker than NH17. Also after a long and tiring ride to Karnataka on Day 5, it was impossible for us to wake up early and start the ride on Day 6. All these reasons pointed to only one route for return journey and that was NH4.

Umesh Thorat and I woke up pretty late on Monday. Umesh Khollam was up and busy getting ready before us as he wanted to meet his cousin, who's in Goa and works for Marriott Goa, before leaving. He left home almost an hour before our departure and we decided to meet up at Raybandar road - Panji junction. We two then got busy getting ready as we had some extra work ahead of us. Cleaning the house, checking all the taps, Gas connection, locking all the doors and windows etc. After doing all these things carefully we locked our home and handed over the keys to my granny who's our neighbor. Praying the Hanumanji and taking granny's blessings we left home and headed towards Old Goa. That's where we tanked up our bikes as fuel is almost 5-6 Rs. cheaper in Goa than Maharashtra. Umesh had already reached rendezvous point and was calling us frantically. There's no shade at that place and he was waiting for us with all the luggage and gears on in afternoon heat. We reached almost 15-20 minutes late. Ferry boat, rail crossing and traffic near Raybandar caused this delay [].

We all were hungry and wanted a breakfast soon. We went straight to Porvorim where I stopped at an ATM centre. We saw a Mongini's outlet right next to the ATM centre and decided to have a quick bite there. We got fresh burgers, rolls and pattices at mongini's. Yumm.. We ate like hungry pigs

By the time the actual return journey started it was post midday. All the three bikes rode in formation towards Sawantwadi. From Sawantwadi, we took the right turn for SH 121 which was leading us to Amboli ghat. We stopped at a small tea stall for chai n sutta break. Time was around 2.30 pm.



This tea stall is just a couple of kilometers away from the base of Amboli ghat. We spent approximately 20 minutes relaxing at the stall and then resumed our ride. I once more warned and alerted both the riders about the perils of the Amboli ghat. This ghat has a narrow single lane road which is mostly covered in canopy of tall trees. Less sunlight means lesser visibility and lesser idea of the oncoming traffic. I was riding at moderate speeds and I had asked them to stick to my tail. I was constantly keeping an eye in my RVM for the two of them while concentrating on the road ahead and after riding very nicely for a decent amount of time, Umesh Thorat, the R15 rider gave me another shock. [] This bugger suddenly disappeared from my RVM. [] We pulled over to the side of the road and waited for a couple of minutes for him to catch up. When he didn't turn up, I got worried and turned my bike in the opposite direction to go and search for him. That's when I saw him riding slowly towards us. When I asked him what was the problem and why he was left so much behind, he told me with a smile on his face, 'no no, nothing's wrong.. I just saw 22222 kms on the odometer and stopped for a photograph []' .. Surely an A$$hole.. [][][]... One more crash or a flat tyre was the last thing our group wanted at that time.



Continuing from there, we road till the top of the ghat where there's a waterfall. Waterfall had almost dried up but in monsoons it must be a sight to behold. It must be a famous waterfall and tourist spot as there are also a few snack/tea stalls near the waterfall. We had had a good break just 40 minutes before reaching this place. Therefore we had no intention of another tea or butt break over there. But as Umesh went ahead to click a few pics of the waterfall, Umesh K and I got busy in conversation with one of the tea stall owners. Talking about the wild life, climate and other interesting stories of the place. Conversation was so good that we ordered tea, bhajiya, Vada pav one after the other.. [] May be the climate as well was so nice that we didn't feel like leaving the place. We spent another half an hour relaxing on the benches under the cool tree shade.



Apne Purvaj..[]










When we again resumed our ride and road a few kilometers, we saw the road was being resurfaced. It's badly needed in Amboli ghat. Road is in pretty bad shape with big potholes all the way..and a lot of them [].

We also saw a wild mongoose running across the road as we headed towards Nipani on NH4. The ~60 Kms patch from Amboli till Nipani via Ajara is not in good condition. Kind of Ok condition road with lot of patch work and uneven surface. [] After some time it was boring to ride on such road and our body started showing signs of fatigue. Especially the heavy luggage on our back and shoulders caused some serious pain in lower back. We took ample breaks through out that patch to relax our bodies and muscles. Our eyes were craving to see the butter smooth national highway..

Somewhere in between, during one of our butt breaks, we met an uncle who was going to his farm on the bullock cart. I casually asked him, kay mama kasa kay and that was enough for him to feel good and show the feeling of appreciation. He stopped and talked to us for some time. Both the animals of his cart were so beautiful, I couldn't resist going close to them and caressing them on their head. I could related to these things in better way as we our self have farm in our village at Rajapur. I have seen and spent time with such animals there. Seriously, amazing animals they were.







As I talked and spent time with the farmer, I realized that soon we'll be leaving all of this behind and once again running towards the chaos, pollution and a fast life always trying to out run the clock. Anyway.... []

Sun had shifted more towards the west horizon and the shadows were growing longer and longer. We wanted to hit the national highway before sunset at any cost. After around half an hours ride, we finally reached the exit which opens at Nipani on NH4. It was around 5.40 pm.

The only food we had so far was the morning breakfast at Porvorim, Goa and then some snacks at Amboli ghat. We hadn't had a proper meal as such. So I decided to have something at Hotel Kaveri on NH4 before pushing ahead towards Mumbai. Our mind was numb and body tired after riding ~60 Kms on bad roads and as we were limping towards the entrance of the Hotel, Mr. Jackie welcomed us is his own sweet style...[] All three of us were running in different directions saving our arse []. If his owner had not tied him to the pole, he would have definitely guaranteed a stay over for us at a nearest hospital[]. But when his owner shouted at him, he transformed into a very cute looking harmless doggy in no time.. wow []







Since it was evening, Hotel didn't serve us meal. Instead we had a heavy evening breakfast of south Indian food. We were all excited for a fun filled fast ride on NH4. It was almost dark when we were gearing up to resume the ride. So I changed my helmet's tinted visor to a clear one. Bye bye to Mr. Jackie and off we were on NH4 cruising at engine friendly speeds towards Mumbai.

We had little idea that the fun filled ride we expected was soon gonna transform into an endurance read balls freezing ride[] There was considerable drop in temperature as the Sun set on the west horizon. By the time we reached Kolhapur, Umesh T and I(we both have Rjays Octane jacket) started missing the inner liners of our jacket[] None of us had brought it with us... Umesh K was wearing a thick jacket with external protectors which was decent enough to keep him warm. But the mesh on the front side of our jackets made our life.. hell... Cold wind started biting inside our jackets on the bare skin. Conditions worsened as we reached Satara.



We stopped at a dhaba for dinner, just after Satara. We couldn't feel our fingers. Teeth rattling and the entire body shivering like mad.. [] V6200 showed the min temperature as 10 degree C but am sure it was at least a couple of degrees lower than that, that night. Damn, we couldn't even tear chapatis with our fingers.. Continuing and riding ahead seemed like an impossible task to us. It turned into an endurance ride,indeed. For me it was just a trailer of things to expect in Leh-Ladakh[]. Of course, I'll be more prepared then but temperatures will be even lower than this. []

Hot food inside our stomach did help to some extent to bring back life into us and our limbs but we didn't feel like even looking at our bikes forget getting back on them and riding in the chilly wind.

All three of us opened our bags after dinner and took our extra clothes to put on. Half the hotel staff was looking at us with their mouth open[]. Just to give you an idea, Umesh T was wearing a Tee + Adidas textile jacket + Rjay's octane on his body. An inner cap + Helmet on his head. Handkerchief tied to his face and double socks inside shoes. []. He couldn't do anything for his hands and wore only DSG Moto Mesh gloves which has a lot of mesh.. [].

Believe me, it was a horrible ride from Satara till Lonavala where we stopped for tea at our usual hang out spot. We did stop in between Satara and Lonavala for a fuel break but that was a quick one. However, we did take a long break at Lonavala. Our body had become stiff due to intense cold. 3 cups of tea each... []. Even the tea stall owner looked at us with raised eyebrows..

We started to feel a slight rise in temperature as we approached the outskirts of the polluted city. It was then we felt a little comfortable. See? How used to we are to the pollution.. We love it []. Entering Mumbai late night means almost traffic free roads everywhere. Palm beach road, especially, had not a single soul on it.

6 Days of freedom... Freedom from the city life running with the clock.. the fun, the adventure, the exploration.. 'THE FREEDOM' all came to a stand still as we stopped at my place to bid good bye and go separate ways in different directions. But this is not the full stop. There are still hundreds of kilometers waiting for us to ride together and am sure we will soon head out to another adventure ride. A thumbs up to both of them for the great company and yet another unforgettable ride. Both of them were good listeners. Thanks Umesh Thorat and Umesh Khollam. []