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Day 1 (24th Dec 2012) - Hyderabad to Bhadrachalam via Jangoan. (Distance: 310 km)

Route Map


We have started early in the morning at 7:00 am from Amar's house (Habsiguda). After reaching uppal, we had to face a huge fog across the highway. We were not able to see anything on the road. We had to go very slow almost around 30-40 KMPH.


We have faced the fog almost until 9:00 am, by then we have reached Bhongir. As this is my first trip we have planned to take breaks for every 50 km. We have clicked few snaps and started to Jangoan.


Kakitiya thoranam welcomed us near jangoan

Day 1 (24th Dec 2012) - Hyderabad to Bhadrachalam via Jangoan..Continued.....

We reached jangoan by 9:15 am and had breakfast at the following hotel. Breakfast was good at this hotel.




Inquired about the route with the hotel manager and started to yellandu around 10 a.m. Took intermediate breaks between for every 50 kms. Clicked few snaps during these intermediate breaks. The road from Thorrur to Yellandu was horrible, some patchup work was going on and the road was completely removed to lay a new road. We had to drive at a speed of 20-30 KMPH almost for 20-30 km.



Here comes the pic of Mr. Amarender Reddy






After a horrible road drive of almost for 20-30 km we reached Yellandu around 2:15 pm. We inquired about the best hotel and planned to have lunch at Bably restaurant. I had prawns biryani while Amar had some zeera rice. As we were moving to Bhadrachalam Amar got fixed to zeera rice and i enjoyed my prawns biryani.



After having lunch at Yellandu, we started to Bhadrachalam arount 3:30 pm. The road from Yellandu to Bhadrachalam was awesome. We reached Bhadrachalam around 5:30 pm and started inquiring about lodges. As it was vykunta ekadasi on the previous day, i was bit worried about the availability of the room for our stay. Amar found few hotels which had no parking facilties, the hotel guys asked us to park my vehicle literally on the road. I was very particular about a private parking place, at last after lot of search we were able to find a hotel. The hotel receptionist inquired about our where-about. Once after knowing that we have come from hyderabad and are planning to go to Srikakulam on bike, he seemed to a bit surprised and gave us a insane smile and even told us that few other bikers have visited their hotel some time back. After getting freshened up at our hotel room, me and amar went to have darshan at Bhadrachalam temple around 7:30 pm. I was again bit worried about the waiting in long queues for darshan, but luckily all the huge crowd got subsided by the time we went into the temple and we were able to complete the darshan by 8:00 pm. Never thought that darshan on vykunta ekadasi via Uttara dwaram would get completed in 30 mins . Felt that even god was encouraging us in our bike trip .



Had dinner in a near by restaurant and planned about the next day's plan; as it was going to be a very crucial and exciting journey of the entire trip. To avoid the huge fog during the early hours of morning we have planned to start around 9:00 am. After completing the dinner by 10:00 pm we went to our hotel room to have a good sleep.

Total distance covered at the end of the day: 316 km.

Awesome trip log and great pics.
Waiting for more.

Day 2 (25th Dec 2012) - Bhadrachalam to Narsipatnam via Sileru. (Distance: 290 km)

Route Map



Thanks to Xbhpian Ravi varma’s (xbhp id: ravi@17bhp) thread related to this route. We have chosen this route after going through his thread/photos about Eastern Ghats.**

To avoid the early hour fog (which we faced on yesterday) in the morning we woke up leisurely, got ready, had breakfast and checkout of the hotel room by 9.00 am at Bhadrachalam. Also fed by bike up to its brim ….and started towards 2^nd day trip which at last turned out to be a scintillating, thrilling, adventurous, a bit tiring and amazing drive.

Found these lavish green fields after crossing Bhadrachalam, we stopped over there and took few snaps.



Typical side view pose of Mr.Amar






Then started towards Chinturu…after crossing Chinturu we found a ‘Y’ junction…I was bit confused about the direction we have to take. Luckily we found a guy on a two wheeler and he suggested us the correct route towards Donkarayi. We took some photos in between…





We found this astonishing location near Donkarayi…the canal with a hill at the background was really spell binding…stopped my bike and we enjoyed the beauty of this location by walking around almost for around half-an-hour….thought for a second why government is not encouraging tourism in this kind of enthralling locations….







Really our eyes had a visual feast…and then we started from the canal towards Donkarayi reservoir…but later learned from the localities that none are allowed on to the dam…also felt bit disappointed knowing that we would not be able to get Bamboo chicken in our today’s trip ....we were able to spot the reservoir from a distance…



Moreover with our riding apparel and all localities were looking at us as if aliens are riding in their localities .





Later after driving for some time we found some of beautiful locations near the reservoir…took some snaps again…





We reached Sileru almost around 2.00 pm and were forced to have our lunch at this place…we did not find any other place other than this place at Sileru to have our lunch. The food was not so good and was not so bad even …



After having our lunch we took rest for some time at the same place…even called our friends from the coin box (there were no phone signals throughout the agency area)…
Around 3:00 pm we moved towards Chintapalle…enjoyed driving on the ghat roads especially through the hair pin bend curves…we found a waterfall in between…spent almost 30 mins over there….found some young people boozing in a such a cozy natural environment…they were using waterfall water to mix with their drinks they asked about our whereabouts and suggested us to move fast as it would take more 4 hours to cross the agency.







Oppa Gangnam Style!!!




I was bit tensed as it was already 4.00 pm and we had to travel another 4 hours on the ghat roads in the dark. We all tensions in mind we have started towards Narsipatnam…the roads until this waterfall were awesome but the worst thing happened after that..we had to face roads which were in a very bad condition…I was again worried…as we had to travel almost 100 more kms and it was already getting dark…we were not able to cross 30KMPH because of the worst road conditions…we took breaks at regular intervals to take snaps of the spell binding scenic views…

















We found coffee plantations almost after 6:30 pm and have missed magnificent view of the tea/coffee plantations driving on ghat roads in dark night with oncoming upcoming trucks from opposite directions was really adventurous…I had to keep my cool to drive carefully and sensibly…we drove almost around 150-180 km of ghat road on the total…atlast we reached Narsipatnam around 7:00 pm and have found a hotel room by 7:30 pm….got freshend up and went out to booze and enjoy the sea food dinner…

I would never forget today’s ride throughout my life…was able to witness some amazing scenic views…my eyes really had a visual feast…I myself felt that I was roaming on roads of Europe…cursed our government for not encouraging tourism in such a wonderful locations…after riding through location I can now proudly say that India has better scenic views than Europe. Finally we retired to bed around 10:30 pm.

Thanks...i have added more log details...please go through the same.

Good Trip Man!! TB350 looks stunning!!

Day 3 (26th Dec 2012) - Narsipatnam to Srikakulam via Vizag. (Distance: 230 km)

Route Map



My friend Krishnam Raju’s marriage was on 27^th Dec 2012, so we planned to reach Srikakulam a day before. As we had to cover only around 200 km, we started bit late (around 10:30 am) from Narsipatnam after completing over breakfast. After traveling for some time we were able to see splendid view of Eastern ghats which we have explored yesterday…



We were soon on the Vizag highway…



We reached Gajuvaka around 12:00 noon..,initially we thought of covering all beaches of Vizag, but later we have come to know from the localities that there would some strict security checks by Navy police at Gangavaram beach and they have suggested us to not visit this beach. We have decided to skip Gangavaram beach and moved towards Yarada beach; I had to drive on ghat road for some 4 km to reach Yarada beach by 12:30 pm…



Driving on the beach sands was not at all in my agenda, but after seeing Yarada beach water and sands, the devil biker inside me woke up and ordered me to take the bike in to the beach sands…I had to even ignore Amar’s suggestion of not to take the bike into beach sands…taking the bike into beach sands was a bit difficult; the tires were digging a trench in the sands…



But we managed to take my bike until the wet area…I have started driving on the wet beach sands…ah!!! What more can I say…had splendid experience driving on the beach…all through this beach ride I was singing the famous telugu song “Anubavinchu raja…."



We stopped at a point and started capturing some pics…



Amar doing some yoga aasanas







Amar was feeling hungry and we had some Lion dates….



A group of young boys came running to the place and have taken some pics posing with the super star (my bike) ….
During the drive on the beach, my shoes have become completely wet and I have tied them to my bike to dry them…



As per our initial itinerary we were supposed to spend only 1 hour at this beach but we have spent almost 3 hours here…we were enjoying the ambiance to such an extent that we have even forgot to take a note of the time….the clock was already ticking 3:00 pm and we have planned to move from there, but the worst thing happened then…while I was driving back from the beach, the intensity of the waves got increased and the water gushed into my bike’s silencer and I was not able to move my bike further as the tires were digging a trench and with the waves, the trench was going more deeper…





I was bit worried about the salt water in my bike silencer, but I started my bike again and pushed the accelerator hard and all the water gushed out of the silencer…I have noticed that the silencer has become dry and Thank god!!! I was bit relieved then…Amar started pushing the bike from back and I was able to move the bike a bit further but in the process Amar was fully covered with wet sand from top to bottom



We have managed to move the bike to some extent, but it was becoming difficult for two of us to manage my hefty bike on the beach sands…we took help of the young boys who took pictures posing with my back and we all have lifted the bike and have landed it safely off the shore…it almost 45 minutes for us to get the bike out of the beach…me and Amar got exhausted completely.

We were feeling hungry by then and went directly to Novotel Vizag around 4:15 pm to have our lunch. The view of Ramakrishna beach from Novotel was stupefying. We were supposed to spend time at Bheemli beach also but due to time constraint we planned to skip it and go directly to Srikakulam. We had our lunch and started to Srikakulam by 5:30 pm.
My friend Krishnam Raju, the bridegroom has already booked room for us at a hotel at Srikakulam and after driving on the highway for almost 2 hours we have reached Srikakulam and checked-in to the hotel room. My bike was fully covered with beach sand and by the time we reached Srikakulam it had already covered 3000 km on the whole..so I have planned to give it for the second free servicing at Srikakulam. We got freshened up went out again to booze and have dinner. As we will not be riding tomorrow we partied late in the night and retired to bed around 12:30 am.

Day 4 (27th Dec 2012) - Srikakulam.

Today was the actual day - Krishnam Raju's wedding day...this is the root cause which lead to this trip of ours. We got up late in the morning and were ready by 10:30 am. Had breakfast and went to meet the bridegroom. By the time we met the bridegroom some pre-wedding events were going on. The bridegroom relatives were surprised knowing about our bike trip and few of the elders have even scolded us about taking such an adventurous trip .

The bridegroom - Mr. Krishnam Raju



I went to the Royal Enfield service center to get my bike serviced and after handing over the bike at the service center i have returned back to the function hall. We have spent some time with the bridegroom, had our lunch. The wedding muhurat was at 10:30 pm so in order to kill the time we decided to watch a movie "Yamudiki Mogudu" (Allari Naresh's movie) . After watching the movie we went to the hotel room, took a small nap, freshened up and went out to have a beer. We have placed some of our luggage in a friend's car before start of our bike trip and were waiting for them. In the mean while i went to collect my bike. My friend's have reached Srikakulam around 7:30 pm, we took the luggage from them, got ready and went out to attend the wedding eve. After attending the wedding eve, we returned back to the hotel room around 12:30 am and have retired to bed.

Day 5 (28th Dec 2012) - Srikakulam to Srikakulam via Santhabommali (Distance: 150 km)

Route Map



Today we had to attend a pooja at the bridegroom's house at Santhabommali. We started around 10:00 am after having the breakfast. We went to Arasavilli to have darshan of the Surya bhagavan (Sun God). It is the only temple of it's kind in South India.



After having the darshan, we started moving towards Santhabommali. We have reached Santhabommali around 12:00 noon. Had some good time with friends over there.

My bull resting in the cattle shed



After having lunch around 2:00 pm we went to visit the nearest beach. We had lot of fun playing in the beach.

Me with Praneeth, Krishnam Raju, Amar and Mohan





From the day 1 of this trip, i had a dream of capturing the sunset in a beautiful location..i got succeeded at last at Sonthabommali



We started back to Srikakulam, while returning back we purchased cashew nuts (Srikakulam is one among the largest cashew nut processing units in India) and reached our hotel rooms at Srikakulam by 8:00 pm. We again went out to booze and have our dinner . We retired to bed around 12:30 am.

Day 6 (29th Dec 2012) - Srikakulam to Vizag via Araku (Distance: 300 km)

Route Map



We got freshened up, had our breakfast and checked out of the hotel room by 10:00 am. We bid adios to our car friends (Mohan and Praneeth families) and left our luggage bag (used clothes) with them. We all have planned to meet at Araku.

We found a reservoir on the way to Araku...



We reached Araku by 1:00 pm and again have enjoyed driving on the ghat roads...





With the new year looming in, we found huge crowd at Araku (who seemed to be interested in celebrating the new year at Araku), unlike Sileru where me, amar and my bike were the only people riding on the eastern ghats...hardly we could find people and vehicles at Sileru. But the most cherish-able moment of the today's ride was to fulfill my appetite for Bamboo Chicken . We also slurped chicken kebabs. Amar felt it to be very spicy, but i enjoyed it thoroughly.



Again there was a problem with our phone signals and we were not able to communicate with Mohan and Praneeth. We thought that we may miss each others, but luckily we found them waiting for us on the ghat road..we planned to move towards Ananthagiri water falls...but again we missed them on the way ..me and Amar have planned to visit the falls without Mohan and Praneeth...we captured few snaps...







We have planned to move to Vizag and started riding again...i was again lucky enough to capture the sunset



we have reached Vizag by 7:30 pm, met Mohan/Praneeth families and planned to stay at Praneeth's cousin's house. We had dinner at the same place, chit chatted for some time and retired to bed around 11:30 pm.

Day 7 (30th Dec 2012) - Vizag to Yanam via Uppada (Distance: 240 km)

Route Map



We started towards Yanam (union territory) after having breakfast at Praneeth's cousin's home around 11:00 am. We had to drive on the highway almost until Uppada. We have taken regular breaks on the highway. At some toll plaza we found some vendors selling papaya fruit. Me and Amar have decided to have Papaya for our lunch We took 2 fruits and ate one papaya fruit to fulfill our hunger. By 3:00 pm we have reached Uppada and i was able to fulfill one more dream of driving on the beach road ...the location was awesome and the amateur photographer in me woke up and i immediately stopped the bike to capture some pics...









Road parallel to the beach...



We found this dead tortoise on the beach....







We reached Kakinada around 5:00 pm and have purchased the famous Kottaiah Kaja and then moved towards Yanam.

Lord Shiva's Statue at Kakinada



We reached Yanam by 6:00 pm and could get a hotel room soon.



We got freshened up at the hotel room and moved out to explore the union territory. As Yanam is a union territory, the cost of petrol and liquor was cheap. I filled my bike upto it's brim, petrol cost at Yanam was 66/- (while at other places in AP the cost was 72/-) and then we went to enjoy the liquor (cost was very less ) and again had sea food as our dinner. We retired to the bed around 11:00 pm.

Again a nice set of pics..kool!!

Day 8 (31st Dec 2012) - Yanam to Viajayawada via Tapeswaram. (Distance: 300 km)

Route Map



We have planned to meet Praneeth and Mohan families at Vijayawada and celebrate New Year together at Praneeth’s in-laws house, Vijayawada. We got ready, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel room by 10:00 am. We went to visit the Yanam beach and took few snaps.



Bharath Matha at Yanam



Some sound was coming in my bike’s rear disc and I have decided to change the today’s trip plan and went to Kakinada to get by bike checked; earlier we thought of going to Draksharama. Unfortunately there was no official Royal Enfield service center at Kakinada , so we started moving towards Tapeswaram. We had to face some huge traffic from Pasalapudi to Tapeswaram. We have reached Tapeswaram by 12:30 pm and have purchased the famous Tapeswaram Kaja’s, had badam milk over there and started back to Vijayawada.



Again we found some vendors selling Guava fruits at a toll plaza on Vijayawada highway; we had Guava as our lunch .. we took breaks at regular intervals and could reach Vijayawada by 6:30 pm. Praneeth and Mohan were supposed to reach Vijayawada by 7:00 pm but they haven’t. To kill time me and Amar have planned to go to a bar and restaurant and booze (New Year celebrations )…we went to a restaurant got freshened up and had Vodka with all types of sea food. Praneeth and Mohan have reached Vijayawada around 11:30 pm, by then we went to Praneeth’s in-laws house and then we all together have participated in new year cake cutting event, wished each other, chit-chatted for some time and retired to bed around 1:00 am.