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**The Monk** · 06-11-2013, 11:40 AM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Travelogue Approved

**Rakesh Rok** · 06-11-2013, 12:15 PM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

that's a great way to kick things on. . . Now please continue your travelogue, we are waiting and don't forget the pics. . .

Cheers!!!

**voyageur** · 06-12-2013, 01:24 AM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Where?

Son Vs Daddy

I had to hit the roads by 7.00-7.30am in the morning at least that was the plan. But in reality I started my bike at 8.30am and my original journey began by 9.00am. The traffic was commendable and that was something I expected due to late schedule. The journey towards Thenmala was around 88 + kms from my place and the route was like

Kayamkulam(20kms)- Adoor (45kms)-Pathanapuram (62kms)-Punalur(78 kms)-Thenmala Dam(94 kms)----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Though in the above flowchart, the kms are less but to cover this little figure, we need a lot of time. These are major towns of that place and the traffic is good in all the times except in the afternoon (1400 -1600 hrs).

It was a pleasure because Pulsar 220Fi was munching miles with ease. You can just do 80-100kmph without any strain on the bike or your wrist. I kept the bike constantly running between 60-80 kmph wherever I could. I had reached Adoor by 10.15 and I just continued with my ride towards Pathanapuram. The road from Adoor to Pathanapuram was horrible. Those 16-20 km stretch was the worst in the whole journey. Due to an unexpected event (which I will mention towards the end), I had to stop for 10-15 min at Pathanapuram. Then I resumed again and hit Punalur and took off to Thenmala.

I reached Thenmala by 11.45am and bad news was that the dam was closed for visitors that day. There was some sort of security issues and they told me they cannot let me in. I really wanted to see the dam and the surrounding places but BAD LUCK! There were places developed for tourism like jungle safari etc but I chose not to go. Instead I thought of touching Palaruvi falls as early as possible. The time spent there and the pictures taken there were very less, which I hopefully plan to compensate on the next trip.

DAM from the bridge. ( this is all I could get)

Way to Palaruvi Falls

Attached Files

**voyageur** · 06-13-2013, 12:30 AM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

After spending some possible time there, I started on towards Palaruvi Falls. The roads towards Palaruvi Falls were decent. I don't exactly remember the time I took for reaching the mentioned place but the way confused me a bit. My eyes were searching around for sign-boards and now I don't remember if I missed out sign boards or was it the scarcity of the sign-boards, I traveled 3 kms in the wrong side.

As soon as I got a doubt, I used my weapon (tounge) to verify if I'm headed right. The people there guided me to the correct location with a smile. I thanked them as I left and in a few minutes I was there. Rest would be explained by the pictures.

Way to Palaruvi Falls

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

I reached Palaruvi Falls and I was really happy to see those falls. It was in a secluded location and void of much human interference. But now Kerala government is trying to improve tourism here. That particular day I had a lot of company. There was a college which had organised a tour to these falls, then some foreigners and regular tourists.

I spent sometime around watching the water gushing through the mountains, taking some pictures and getting uphill to get a closer view of the falls. There were places where you can have a swim in the fall and I could see college students having a great time in the water. Those took me back to memories of my college days, and happiness that I used to have spending time with my friends.

On reaching Palaruvi Falls

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

On my way back from Palaruvi falls, there was a person who asked me for a lift to a near-by place. The place was on my way back, so with pleasure I told him to be my pillion. On the process of getting to know each other, he advised me to pay a visit to Courtallam Falls. He suggested me that I go there as it was just 15 min away from the place I was. That was really close and I gave a thought on why not? No reasons for not going.

I left that place waving a hand to that man who suggested me the place. To reach Courtallam falls, I had to cross Kerala-Tamil Nadu border and from there I had a little distance to cover as per that person's descriptions. I soon reached the Check-point, successfully crossed the border and I had to descend the hair-pin bends. I stopped there for a while to give the bike a little rest.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

I thank my bike P220Fi for its support during the return. There were loads of horses available as mentioned in the spec sheet and whenever I had the feeling that I had to push forward the run, I would roll on the throttle and enjoy its available-uncontrolled acceleration. I truly understood the need of a powerful bike during a long trip. Had it been the P150, I would have been hit by fatigue and tiredness. The P220Fi responded well, inspired confidence on the way back and at some stages had me doing triple digits on the speedo, which is highly not recommended on those streach of roads.

I reached Adoor by 1830 hrs and marked completion to my trip by 1945 hrs as I reached my HOME SWEET HOME! The return was of quicker pace with almost zero stops for taking stills and the ride too was a little high paced one. In total, 367.8 kms were clocked on the trip meter.

Hope you all liked the place and write up.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Though there must be umpteen number of reviews and write ups about the P220Fi I would also like to add my own version of what I felt about the bike in the limited 10-12 days along with the technical problems that I faced.

In the Initial days of biking on P220Fi,

One fine morning the bike wouldn’t start, I checked the fuel flow and spark plugs. They were working quite fine. Then I approached a local mechanic, who couldn’t find out what it is. I had to take it local Bajaj Service Centre. There even before I could notice he had fixed it up with a Screw Driver, I asked him for what the problem was but he just avoided my question. As I was about to take the bike back, he asked me to leave the bike for a day there. He told me that he had done only a small adjustment and he needs to do a little more work on it. He told me if I hadn’t left the bike there, high chances that bike would break down on the way. I didn’t want to take a risk. I did what he said and returned next day to find that the fuel was just the half of what was there the last day. I asked them and they had number of excuses and I was helpless as bike wasn’t registered in my name.

After a couple of days, I was with my father in a distant village to meet one of my relatives. It was night and while we were going to return from their place, the bike wouldn’t start again. I was stranded this time as this was a distant village and no one to help. Then with a little help I just went to a nearby town and searched for a bike mechanic. With a lot of difficulty after hour and half, a mechanic guy came to the spot. He asked me the whereabouts of the bike and again with a small screwdriver he just fixed the stuff up. The bike started as usual. I asked him about the problem, he showed me the rubber on the pipe connecting the chamber. He told that the rubber was not fixed properly and he fixed it well. He took a small ride and enumerated the faults of the bike. I had to pay him 10 times of what is required and we left from there.

I had to take it to workshops and service centres number of time in those 10 days. I shelled out a good amount for P220Fi for that limited time. I am not bothered about the money but a bike so new, should have never had these problems is what I feel. May be its just this bike, I’m not sure.

Some Pros that I felt:

Seating positioning and ergonomics is good. It is a good tourer and has a sport bike feeling also.
Proved fuel efficient for me (around 42 kmpl for long trip and around 38 kmpl for my daily use)
Uncontrolled acceleration available at a roll of throttle which I personally enjoyed. Just roll the throttle and feel the wind under the wings.
Cheap and easily available spares.
No false neutrals at all throughout. Gear shifts were positive and pleasant.
Last but not the least, Looks awesome. With just the Pilot lamps switched on in the evening it was pleasure to watch this bike coming from a distance.

Cons :

Reliability factor was lacking as in an International Bike manufacturer like Yamaha or Honda.
Braking was not confidence inspiring especially the back brakes were very less efficient.
Cornering would remain a dream as centre stand creates a big drama.

Attached Files

**tamizhgeek** · 06-13-2013, 06:15 PM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Good one!

Courtrallam has three other big waterfalls within a radius of 7-8 KM. The one you went goes by the name main falls and it is very near to bus stand and main town. The other falls would be less crowded compared to here.

**B2W** · 06-13-2013, 07:05 PM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Originally posted by tamizhgeek View Post

Good one!

Courtrallam has three other big waterfalls within a radius of 7-8 KM. The one you went goes by the name main falls and it is very near to bus stand and main town. The other falls would be less crowded compared to here.

hmmm brother am from tenkasi near courtalam.did you enjoyed old courtalam,five falls,tiger falls?because its more relaxed free place than main falls.

Sent from my GT-S5570 using xBhp Connect mobile app

**voyageur** · 06-17-2013, 11:20 PM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Originally posted by tamizhgeek View Post

Good one!

Courtrallam has three other big waterfalls within a radius of 7-8 KM. The one you went goes by the name main falls and it is very near to bus stand and main town. The other falls would be less crowded compared to here.

Originally posted by B2W View Post

hmmm brother am from tenkasi near courtalam.did you enjoyed old courtalam,five falls,tiger falls?because its more relaxed free place than main falls.

Sent from my GT-S5570 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Oh. I never knew there were three falls nearby. What I visited is the main falls. so I guess there should be another trip to visit the other two falls.

Thanks to you for making me know this fact.

Cheers.

**chaosaddict** · 06-28-2013, 03:56 PM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Nice utilization of resources and time. Good clicks, mate!! I hope your friend did not go berserk coz' IIRC the exchange was meant to replace your daily rides, right??

; considering the stress & strain & kms she went through..

**Jerrin** · 06-29-2013, 09:35 AM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

nice single day trip. ride on , bro..

**voyageur** · 11-03-2013, 03:27 PM

Re: Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Originally posted by chaosaddict View Post

Nice utilization of resources and time. Good clicks, mate!! I hope your friend did not go berserk coz' IIRC the exchange was meant to replace your daily rides, right??

; considering the stress & strain & kms she went through..

Originally posted by Jerrin View Post

nice single day trip. ride on , bro..

Thanks guys, Sorry for such a late reply. I was away from xbhp for a while.

I am happy that you liked it.

[MENTION=48174]chaosaddict[/MENTION] : That bike had done only 7500 kms even after 10-11 months after purchase. So I thought Why not !!!

I'll update this space soon with trips I do in near future.

Cheers.

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Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

Solo trip to Thenmala, Palaruvi and Courtallam

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