Re: The golden sands tour - West coast to Rajasthan

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Re: The golden sands tour - West coast to Rajasthan

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Ladakh – That was in our minds for the last 1 year and we have even prepared for it mentally. Then came the issue with leaves and to get a month long vacation is near to impossible and we were still not in a position to say good bye to our jobs and take a plunge to pursue the roads . Visiting Ladakh just for the sake of it was not in our minds and we would have liked at least 20-25 days to move around there and covering almost all places. But that was not to happen.


We here means,me (Aneesh) , Smith and Midhun. We knew each others from college time and it’s been a long 10 years of Friendship. On February 2012, we rode to Goa from Trivandrum and it was a great experience. The idea for a Rajasthan ride came from the Goa trip. Rajasthan is a place that has always fascinated me. The grandeurs and vastness of Rajasthan has fascinated us to take on this ride. Then begins the preparation. After much of googling and going through different travelogues from this forum and others we finally get to know the vastness of the place. It was not possible for us to visit the must see places in Rajasthan unless we took a flight to Jaipur and start our journey from there hiring a taxi or through other means. But then, that would have killed the joy of early morning breeze, the starlit sky, endless roads and the fun of being in a motorcycle and thumping all the way. We would definitely wanted not to miss that. So the plan began to get shape. We would be visiting just 3-4 cities in Rajasthan and leave out the rest for another day. The cities being Udaipur,Jodhpur and Jaisalmer and visitng Nathdwara,Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh en route. This one turned out to be the best ride we had and the experience we got from this ride would be of a life time. We get to know how to plan better for a trip like this, got to know the importance of a reserve day and got a lot of help from people we never saw in life.


So let’s start with the journey. The place and date was confirmed. Now the big task was to get approval from parents. It was a little hard to convince them, but finally they yielded. Me and Smith applied for leaves and they were granted. Midhun was still tentative as he was in 2 minds about coming to Rajasthan. But finally with a month left to the ride, we persuaded him to join us and I am sure he will be thankful for that.
The start date was 23-Nov-2012. We have planned to start by 6pm from Trivandrum and drive through night and reach Hubli by 24th night. Midhun was as usual late(he never comes in time for anything) and the 6pm start was delayed and finally we started by 9pm. Our friends where there to see us off and we hit the roads. The NH-47 running From Trivandrum to Tamil Nadu Border is really congested and has couple of bottle necks which cause heavy traffic jams. Since we start late, the traffic was less and finally after reaching Panankudy the road was butter smooth with dividers and we picked up speed. The first stop was planned at CCD which is after Tirunelveli and around 160km from Trivandrum. By around 12, we reached there, had some coffee and took a break for 30 minutes.





Started again and now we were maintaining good speeds and covering some distance. Some 30 minutes and I felt something has fallen from the bike. Slowed down and to my horror it was the “gear lever”. :shock: But luckily, the gear lever was lost when I was crossing a stretch which has side walls and Midhun, who was behind me, also saw it. He picked it for me and we started off again after this unscheduled break.(which was just an indicator of more to come). Soon the rain caught us. It rained really heavy and our speeds were drastically reduced. It was hard to see the road and nowhere to stop for shelter. We thought that the rain will stop after some time, but it became worse and finally we put on our rain coat and pants along with gaiters and decided to push on. It rained some 2-2.30 hours and the ride was very slow. We covered very less than what was anticipated and finally by 5.30 am we reached Karur.


After Salem





We took an extended break as we all were completely drenched and rested on the road. A good 1 hour break followed and finally when we started , sleep catches up with us. We took another stop for having a black tea and then continued. The climate was really hot and after Krishnagiri we saw a roadside vendor selling tender coconuts. Me and Midhun quenched the thirst. By about 12 pm we reached somewhere near Hosur and decided to have a brunch. The wood was good and we had our stomach full. Since the initial plan was to travel till Hubli and it was still some 450km away, we decided to call for the day and got a room near “Narayana Hridayalaya”. The plan was to get some sleep and start around by 9pm. We thought that traffic will be less and we will be able to make up for the time loss. But that was the first mistake in this trip.


We all took nap till 8pm and though it was not a sound sleep, I felt relaxed. We started from there by 11pm and entered the NICE road. We had Dinner from a road side Dhaba in NICE Road. The Dhal and Paneer was really yummy. Filled up our tummies and filled up bike we continued the ride. The highway was chaos. I thought that traffic will be less during night, but it was full of Volvo’s and trucks and cars. Add to that, the road widening taking place in the Tumkur stretch with diversions every 2-3 kms. But these chaos kept me and Smith awake but that cannot be said about Midhun who dossed off often. At one time, he was awaken by a Volvo honking behind him. :shock:


Finally the good roads came and we were ripping. Midhun was feeling really tired and he was lagging behind a lot. Smith decided to ride with him and I rode ahead. By early morning 4.30pm, I reached some 100-120km from Hubli and there was a road side shop selling tender coconuts. I had a couple of coconuts while waiting for Midhun and Smith. I waited for 30 minutes and by not seeing them, I called Smith. Midhun was feeling very sleepy and he slept for some time on the way and that’s why they were late. I waited for them another 20-30 minutes and still there was no sign. On enquiring with some local people over there, they informed me that a toll booth is there in some 5km. I decided to wait for them over there.
Finally they reached and we took a break at the toll booth.





Some people working in the toll booth came and started to chat with us. It began on a good note, but they where too inquisitive to our likings and really felt irritated to all their unnecessary questions- Why did you stop here,Whay are you going to Rajasthan,Why riding a bike to Rajasthan,Kitana deti hai … We decided to start from there and another 30 minutes later we had to take a stop as sleep caught us.


The beautifully laid tarmacs.














An early morning rest for the bull





Fully Loaded





Some Greenery











We crossed Hubli by 9am and me and Smith rode ahead and waited for Midhun in front of a restaurant. He was still struggling with sleep and his pace was seriously keeping us down.Once Midhun joined us we went to restaurant only to find that they serve lunch only. Luckily some 30 minutes later we find some place to have breakfast.


We saw some riders in bullet riding past us. They were a group riding from Goa back to Mumbai after attending the “Rider Mania”.


We reached the outskirt of Pune by 6pm. We had a food break and then continued. The climate was really hot and it was really tiring. Once we entered Pune, huge traffic blocks welcomed us. There was some accident in flyover and it was something right out of a movie. 3-4 vehicles collided and including cars and truck. It was a mess and it took us a lot of time to exit Pune. We filled Petrol and I took a break to call my cousin who is in Pune.


It would have been better if we had stayed at Pune, but on my instance we decided to ride till Vashi. If I could possible change on thing that happened in this trip, that would be this decision.


We took the Lonovala Route and had team at a wayside shop. I catched up with a guy who works in Merchant Navy. We had a good conversion and they guy was really passionate about bikes and travel. He wished us luck and we took off from there.


Then came the first Tunnel in route. This was the first time we were riding in a tunnel and it was really nice. The thumping sound of bullets filled the tunnel. The one thing I liked about traffic is though there were lot of vehicles plying all were going at almost same speed and there was not stop and go traffic. We also got a view of Khandala(I believe it is Khandala). By 1am we were some 30km from Vashi and I think the place is Rasayani, bad luck hit me.




To be continued ....


Aneesh

We continued our journey and the weather really took the toll on us. The climate was too harsh for our likings and we were tired. The climate in our place is more moderate and a sudden change for that really bogged us down. The weather was nothing like we experience here in Kerala. It was really harsh. The temperature we normally experience here is anywhere from 28-34 degree. We had lunch and rested some time at a CCD, mainly because of it being AC. We had to take frequent breaks to keep us aerated.




















We left for Nathdwara and reached the RTDC guest house by 10.30pm. The wind was really chilly and we slept right way.

RTDC Guest House-Gokul. Well maintained and spacious rooms.






































Courtyard












Outside view of fort



To be continued ....
Aneesh

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We continued our journey and the weather really took the toll on us. The climate was too harsh for our likings and we were tired. The climate in our place is more moderate and a sudden change for that really bogged us down. The weather was nothing like we experience here in Kerala. It was really harsh. The temperature we normally experience here is anywhere from 28-34 degree. We had lunch and rested some time at a CCD, mainly because of it being AC. We had to take frequent breaks to keep us aerated.




















We left for Nathdwara and reached the RTDC guest house by 10.30pm. The wind was really chilly and we slept right way.

RTDC Guest House-Gokul. Well maintained and spacious rooms.






































Courtyard












Outside view of fort



To be continued ....
Aneesh

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We had a chat with some Taxi guys at Kumbhalgarh and a truck walla after that. They all said to avoid riding in Rajasthan at night if you are on a bike, especially if it’s not the highways with traffic.


After the fort visit we went to Jodhpur. Reached our hotel Singhvi Haveli. It’s in the old city and it’s a well maintained haveli with a heritage attached to it. The rooms where basic but tastefully done. The streets are really narrow. The wedding season was in full swing and we saw couple of grooms in horses. It was the first time we saw something like this.













Morning we went to Mehrangarh Fort. It’s the first time I am seeing something this majestic. It’s a well maintained fort which has a rich history. It was very embossing with its grandeur.









































Sheesh Mahal

















Moti Mahal











Birds view of Jodhpur city




















We wanted to do the rope ride which will give an aerial view of city but on enquiring found out that it will be another 2-3 hours before we will get a chance to do the ride. We had to reach Jaisalmer and I really wished we had a couple of days to spend in Jodhpur. I will have to go there once more are enjoy the city.


We had Kachoris and Mirchi Vada and they tasted delicious. I picked up a conversation with a Spanish Lady at the hotel. She was interested in our journey and expressed desire to ride the bull. But by then we had tied the luggage and she was a bit skeptical of taking the bike. She had a good philosophy to life.


She told me that why should we live some 60-70 years doing nothing and seeing nothing and only earning money. We have to go out to different regions,mingle with people and live the life so that we can leave without much worries. She was writing a book based on her travel.
We left for Jaisalmer by after noon and the roads leading to Jaisalmer were very much deserted with some occasional vehicles passing by. We saw tanks lined up after Pokharan. May be they were there for firing practice.


We also saw a bull fight …











We had to leave when the bulls shifted their attention towards us.







As soon as we reached near Jaisalmer, couple of guys doing triple in bikes began chasing us and they turned out to be hotel agents. Since we had reservation in Jaisalmer, we went to that place. We booked the room in Nirmal Haveli, opposite Nagarapalika, out side the fort. After settling in we went to have dinner. We had Lal Mas,Chicken and butter parathas. The fort was closed by that time. We just wandered for some time and slept by 11.pm.