magnificent pics buddy.... awesome !!! . Must appriciate your gutts to take that so called shortcut , happy that you are back safely ... must be once in lifetime journey for you.. . Your pics are inspiring me to drive to munnar

Thanks Man,Yeah it was bit scary but..an experience of lifetime

Cheers
Biru

aap OIST ka and MP ka naam 2-wheel pe accha chamkaye hai shabaash

Saw the pics today. Wow man, the TOp station route is really scary, hats off to you to have covered it! Not many people can say they have ridden this route on motorcycle!

Thank you sir ji

Thanks a lot Man..I am bit lucky on the part that i did not got caught by any forest officials

Cheers
Biru

Top station-Beri jam lake distance??

What was the exact distance between Top station and berry jam lake??..
I always wanted to ride across this route..but i never knew that this route was not restricted and quite honestly i was really scared to do this route alone.. I think if you had read about this route beforehand you wouldn't have taken this route.. but now you have given some hope for all of us..

I also think that because you did this route in April(just towards the end of dry season) you kind of managed..this route would be undo-able during the monsoons..

Biru bhaiya.. There is a difference between 'Maharashtra Bad Road' and 'Kerala / Karnataka Bad road'. Thank you for reminding all of us of the difference .

Waise the road does look extremely tempting ... No! Seriously!! . If possible please complete the log... Would love to re-listen the whole story

Thanks a lot man.The approx distance 20 Kms(Shortcut) + 40 Km (tar road).The route is quite scary .I regretted about my decision later though :P.


Thanks Chottee...You should go there and try that shortcut

Cheers
Biru

Coool pics.
Why is there so much noise?

Thanks Cos ..Yaar,I was clicking at High ISO.At cam screen it wasn't visible much

Cheers
Biru

Never trust the cheating Camera screen.

CONTD....

It continued a little longer than i expected and as i moved ahead the road condition gotten worse...At one point i thought i have been sent on a wrong route and i will never be able to make it to the other side.But these were just thoughts,I continued ahead...



The nullah where i got stuck and struggled for 15-20 mins


Wonderful road ahead :P






Had a really hard time crossing this patch







And the time came when hours of struggle came to an end..Finally saw some taaar road :P.With little bit of inquiring with the local villagers about the route to kodaikanal, i continued ahead towards Kodaikanal.Met few fellow villagers who were cleaning carrots and packing them to transport and sell them in city.The method of cleaning was super awesome.

Ok,so from here the special-sweet taste come :P


All set to be sold ..I grabbed some pieces,free of cost.Double cleaned them before eating though :P


I was on my way to Kodai and it started to drizzle again,it transformed into heavy rains later on.Finally reached Kodai.

Berijam Lake





Staying in Kodai was not in cards,as it would it be as costly as Munnar.So i moved towards Theni.
A waterfall enroute Kodai-Theni


I reached Theni around 08 PM,found an decent accommodation for 300 bucks on the main Theni-Thekkady highway.Quite a tiring day it was.Had my dinner and crashed to bed

Cheers
Biru

Day 4 - Theni - Thekkady - Allepy - Kochi

I started early morning from Theni.another 70 kms and i reached Periyar Tiger Reserve..crossing cumbum and Kumily.
From Kumily one has to take a diversion from the main road to reach the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Tea Gardens


Ah!,Jumbo Circus..Childhood memories refreshed .While i was taking photos of it.People gathered around me,thinking that i am from Jumbo Circus and will pull up stunts for them.They thought i am the one who rides inside that "MAUT KAA KUAA"


At the entry gate of the Tiger Reserve.Entry fees for Vehicle and myself


Being Sunday,the place was jam packed with the family crowd.Causing a long queue for the boat ride .I just have look around at the place and started back towards Kumily.

I did not expected much from Periyar Tiger Reserve,as it has nothing much to offer,other than the beautiful view of lake and boat ride.


A fellow traveller



Road was good all the way,view turned more majestic 30-40 kms before Alappuzha.True Beauty of Kerala - Backwaters on both the side of the Highway.Beauty of it was just awesome.









Thodaa hat kee


I reached Allapuzha and went towards the beach.It was like any other beach .Sat for a while,had an icecream and moved towards Kochi.





Initially i was planning to take a boat ride from Allepy to Kollam
but i was too late for that.





Meanwhile my bike started giving me trouble.Front tyre was completely gone,with 7-8 punctures.It was hardly holding any air for 15-20 mins.Blame it to the shortcut i took from Munnar to Kodaikanal.Chain was also giving me trouble,it has become so loose
that it was slipping on the sprocket.Darn !!

I was left out with only one option.I reached Kochi and thought of Parcelling my bike.But before that,I wanted to do some city darshan..as i had heard a lot about the churches and the Chinese fishing nets in Kochi

Chinese fishing nets


One of the church i visited









Went to the railway station,It was already 05:00 PM.They told me that Parcel booking is close for today.So i have to parcel the bike as a luggage.
Left all my stuff in front of the parcel office and went to buy the train ticket to Pune.Long queue..

Finally i got the ticket.Got my bike packed and purchased the parcel ticket.Big relief..I paid extra 100 bucks to the packer to get the bike loaded safe and sound.Next thing was to find a bus to reach Banglore and then another Bus from banglore till Pune.

Local Transport in Kochi


I did get connected Buses to reach Pune and i landed back in Pune by Monday midnight.

Cheers
Biru

loved the pics...
specially the first few on this page.. Riding on the so called "Road" must've been a thrilling experience..

Thanks Pranav ..it was thrilling,scary..one hell of mixed experience.

Cheers
Biru