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We started on Saturday, the 24th at 4:45 am met with Lennon (who contacted us after reading the Rider-needs-Rider on the bullet website) and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. If Lenny hadn''''t come along, the trip wouldn''''t have been 1/3rd as much fun as it was.
Day 1: Saturday, 24th Jan, 2009
On Saturday our target was Margao. We drove straight out from Bandra to Pen, stopped for chocolates and chai (Tip: Chocolates are great to get you instant energy). Then we introduce ourselves
We also find out that no one has really slept the worst being Lennon who hadn''''t slept for two days and was nodding off on the highway while hitting 90 kmph plus!!! Our stops were also fewer, and not as per plan. We only stopped for lunch at Rajapur. Post lunch we increased the number of stops as our fatigue increased and the supply of chocolates and Red Bull got depleted. Lennon had a few near misses and I was close to those too as I tried to keep up with him ma foi, the guy CAN RIDE. He was zipping along the ghats at 80, dashing through the straights at 90 and I had to break 100 at those stretches just to keep up with him!
It was all fantastic fun though. We went past the Maharashtra-Goa border. No customs stopped us or even said anything (sheesh, where''''s the security???).
We went through Goa, scaring the local motorists (three black thunderbirds with riders in full biker gear!) and stopped at a hotel in Margao, just off the highway. A decent enough place with an AC room for a dirt cheap price. We had dinner at the restaurant downstairs and then crashed for the night.
Day 2: Sunday, 25th Jan
Woke up at 6:30 and pushed off towards Karwar. This is one of the places my ancestors came from, but a long time ago and I hadn''''t a clue where to look, so we pretty much zoomed past it and took some nice pictures of Karwar port and the naval base (heh, heh, no security here either!). Then, before Ankola, there was a rasta roko on the highway and the cops were just shooing us off on to the state highway (dammit, not on the map), so we had to ask our way around and lost some time there.
We stopped at Bhatkal for some lassi and samosas before reaching Udipi at 3 for lunch. We went hunting for the hotel recommended, but it was too late for lunch and so we stopped at a local resto. The food wasn''''t THAT great (though perhaps we had got too hyped an idea in our heads of udipi food, comparing it to Bombay udipi khana).
From Udipi to Mangalore, the road wasn''''t that great and we lost Nigel in between and stuck along for about an hour as he slipped by us and went ahead and then we had to call and catch up with him key point, always keep your cell phone charged so if you''''re lost, you can be contacted. Lennon also met up with a friend''''s family before Mangalore while Nigel and I headed for Mangalore.
My target in Mangalore was Milagres Cathedral everyone knows that place, so it''''s a great landmark.
We arrived on the day that those idiotic perverts molested those girls in the Mangalore pub, but we never realised it until we switched on the telly later that nightl. Bluidy idiots castration''''s too good for them.
Got a good hotel The Prestige and stayed there for the night.
Day 3: Monday, 26th Jan
Left the hotel at 6:30 in the morning and headed south. Crossed into Kerala and took photographs.
We went to Bekal fort do NOT miss this place, it is really worth exploring and took the bikes ride up to the entrance for a cool photograph. Had a quick biscuits and chai and drove on.
Next stop was Mahe this little French colony had beer even on a dry day so we were happy
Had some great Kerala food prawns, chilly etc. and drove off, feeling satiated!
Next was Kozhikode and here I got lost, or rather, Nigel stopped to chat up some chicks and Lennon stopped with him, while I, like an absolute berk went straight in to Kozhikode city. When I called them they said to stop at some junction and no matter how much I asked, I still went round in circles before finally meeting up with them after a frustrating hour.
Now these guys had heard of the Kozhikode bypass and how it would save time for us, so we took it. We made another screw up and instead of rejoining the highway at Ponnani, we took the SH 39 and had the worst roads we''''ve ever experienced miles upon miles of dug up roads, no rest spots and traffic. Insane.
We finally stopped before kunnamakulam and stopped at a hotel just after nightfall. I was very eager to stay there as it was night-time and I thought we had no idea where we were going. However, the hotel was over-priced for a hotel in the middle of nowhere and we found out that Guruvayur was close by. So we carried on the night until we reached Guruvayoor and stayed at a resting house there.
Day 4: Tuesday, 27th Jan
The next morning we left at 6:30 and headed straight for Kodungallur (Cranganore). I was keen to check on the Mar Thoma (St. Thomas, the apostle) church which has the bones of the apostle who''''s been dead for 1960 years. We met a very friendly restrauntier behind the Kodungallur temple who gave us some fantastic wadas and detailed directions to the Cathedral. Nig and Len didn''''t know that Cranganore was Kodungallur until then, heh-heh.
After going through a lot of little lanes and asking first for Mar Thoma (me) and then for St Thomas Cathedral note, everyone knows Mar Thoma, not St. Thomas, we came up on the Cathedral. The location is fantastic.
The Cathedral itself is no great shakes, designed like a very tiny copy of St. Peter''''s in the Vatican. The interior is also common-place except for the hermetically sealed chamber where St. Thomas right hand (the one that touched the wounds of Christ) are kept. Nig and I took pictures of this enclosure from outside.
Nigel decided to stop for a soft drink while Lennon then started chatting with the fishermen and went on board a boat anchored right next to the Cathedral. Though we didn''''t know any Malayalam and the fisherman knew no hindi or english, we managed to communicate with him and he told us how many days he goes out to fish, how many crew and how much fish they catch. Both Len and I got on the boat and then off it and took pics. A man came up and started talking to us and found out we were from Bombay. he turned out to be the priest of the Shrine and he showed us into the enclosure and right up next to the relic (the 2000 year old hand of the saint) fantastic! not many people get that opportunity. Nigel was pretty sore we didn''''t call him, but then we pointed out the priest to him and he got to go pay respects to the artifact.
We then pushed off towards Kochi and took the Kochi by-pass. While we were having chai, some middle-aged guys were looking at the bikes, so I moved out to see what was going on (as our saddle-bags were attached). It turned out that they were admiring the bikes, and when I asked them if they were locals, they started chatting with us. Seems that one is a fellow bulletteer and the others were interested in buying them.
They wanted to ride up to Ladakh and were terribly interested in our plan to get to Kanyakumari and then our plan to get to Ladakh in June. We exchanged cards and this proved helpful later on.
Then we pushed off past Kochi and headed for Alapuzzha (Allepey) beach and had lunch at a little shack there. We spent about 2 hours there doing some sightseeing and taking pictures of Lennon riding his bike with no hands! Really chilling out.
Then, we moved on straight past Kollam (heavy, heavy city traffic) and then, HOLEY-MOLEY IT STARTED TO RAIN, and I mean, really pour. Lennon and I snuck into a shop while our bikes got drenched. Where was Nigel??? I called him and asked where the blue blazes he was. He said he could see me and I was going "huh??" seems like chuckles was just a few metres behind us stuck near a tree. Lennon was enjoying the rain and walked out into it while I stayed nice and dry.
By-the-by, the Cramster bags do not seem to be waterproof. I removed mine when it started raining, but Nigel left his on and the stuff got a bit wet.
We three were all worried about driving in the rain, and to cap it, it was getting dark. But I said, let''''s hit Thiruvananthapuram, come what may. So we pushed off and God seems to have smiled on us as it didn''''t rain again, while the road dried up pretty quickish.
So we kept going down the highway, initially at 30, then 40, then 60, then at 70. We then stopped at the cross-roads to Thiruvananthapuram city and the airport and asked around. One guy was really very helpful and translated for us from english to Malayalam.
We initially asked him to direct us to Kocheveli station (where we were to get our train), but
When we asked him to find a good hotel (since had to dump our gear while heading for Kanyakumari), he said "why don''''t you try Ginger Hotel by Taj" and man, what a god-send! We said hooray and headed that way. The Ginger hotel is right next to the Technopark in Trivandrum and we got a room very cheap.
They also had a buffet dinner (hooray!) and we chowed down before heading to bed.
Day 5: Wednesday, 28th Jan
This day had a bad beginning and yet, ended well. We started off at 8 to Kuchevli station and found out that the train didnt have a luggage compartment duuuuuh, we should have checked it!!!!! Mental note: remember to check before you book the tickets next time, ya dope!
Coming back, Lennon suggests that I come with him on a houseboat trip that his friend is planning for Saturday night, giving us time to check Kovalam and Kochi. I agree rapidly and ask Nig if he''''s ok travelling alone. He says go for it, so I book my airline tickets back.
ok, so now we (or rather Nigel and Lennon) scramble to call movers and packers and uncles who know them (while I, like a contented, if slightly mentally-deficient lamb, toodle around doing nothing). Nigel''''s uncle directs us to a packer and we head that way. This guy (SRS Packers) is at some strange location in Trivandrum and charges us 12,000 for 3 bikes. Nig insists on heading to Trivandrum central to check the train prices. The guys also want lunch before heading for Kanyakumari I wanted to get there so that we could catch the train in the morning, but it doesn''''t work out that way.
We stop at the station and typically, the station master isn''''t there and neither is the deputy nor the duty manager. The guys head to eat at the non-veg cafetaria (worst service, EVER) there is only one waiter and he disappears for hours on end.
I hunt for the duty manager and he directs me to the packaging manager at the end of the platform and I find that it will cost us about 1800 per bike. I then head back to the guys and tell them about it. They explore it as well and we decided we don''''t trust the railways with our bikes and decide to opt for SRS.
Immediately (at 3pm), we head off to Kanyakumari. This is only 88 km, but it takes us 2 hours with the irritating traffic. We arrive at destinations end and man, we are happy!!! Our journey was successful and we made it to the southern tip of India!!
We stop for a number of pictures and lennon goes shell-crazy He buys up a number of gifts. We see the sun set and the waters merging.
At around 7 pm we head back. This again took us 2.5 hours as the roads are traffic filled and EVERYBODY KEEPS THEIR BLUIDY LIGHTS ON HIGH!! We reach Trivandrum central and then take the bypass (since we keep asking for Kucheveli station). We seemingly drive for miles before wondering what''''s going on. We turn around and while on the way back, I ask a biker (while driving) the way to Technopark. He says we were in the right direction originally and now need to take another u-turn. I race beyond the guys and tell them. We then head back and drive like blue blazes until we see the Ginger hotel and check in for the night.
We then rush for dinner and then plan the following: We drop nigel to the station in the morning and then later on, Lennon and I first drop Lennon''''s bike at SRS, then I take Lennon back pillion and we take nigel and my bike and our luggage and drop these two bikes to SRS and take the train to Cochin.
Post dinner, we head off to bed.
I spent the next few days exploring Kerala and flew back on the 1st of Feb
Day 1: Saturday, 24th Jan, 2009
On Saturday our target was Margao. We drove straight out from Bandra to Pen, stopped for chocolates and chai (Tip: Chocolates are great to get you instant energy). Then we introduce ourselves
We also find out that no one has really slept the worst being Lennon who hadn''''t slept for two days and was nodding off on the highway while hitting 90 kmph plus!!! Our stops were also fewer, and not as per plan. We only stopped for lunch at Rajapur. Post lunch we increased the number of stops as our fatigue increased and the supply of chocolates and Red Bull got depleted. Lennon had a few near misses and I was close to those too as I tried to keep up with him ma foi, the guy CAN RIDE. He was zipping along the ghats at 80, dashing through the straights at 90 and I had to break 100 at those stretches just to keep up with him!
It was all fantastic fun though. We went past the Maharashtra-Goa border. No customs stopped us or even said anything (sheesh, where''''s the security???).
We went through Goa, scaring the local motorists (three black thunderbirds with riders in full biker gear!) and stopped at a hotel in Margao, just off the highway. A decent enough place with an AC room for a dirt cheap price. We had dinner at the restaurant downstairs and then crashed for the night.
Day 2: Sunday, 25th Jan
Woke up at 6:30 and pushed off towards Karwar. This is one of the places my ancestors came from, but a long time ago and I hadn''''t a clue where to look, so we pretty much zoomed past it and took some nice pictures of Karwar port and the naval base (heh, heh, no security here either!). Then, before Ankola, there was a rasta roko on the highway and the cops were just shooing us off on to the state highway (dammit, not on the map), so we had to ask our way around and lost some time there.
We stopped at Bhatkal for some lassi and samosas before reaching Udipi at 3 for lunch. We went hunting for the hotel recommended, but it was too late for lunch and so we stopped at a local resto. The food wasn''''t THAT great (though perhaps we had got too hyped an idea in our heads of udipi food, comparing it to Bombay udipi khana).
From Udipi to Mangalore, the road wasn''''t that great and we lost Nigel in between and stuck along for about an hour as he slipped by us and went ahead and then we had to call and catch up with him key point, always keep your cell phone charged so if you''''re lost, you can be contacted. Lennon also met up with a friend''''s family before Mangalore while Nigel and I headed for Mangalore.
My target in Mangalore was Milagres Cathedral everyone knows that place, so it''''s a great landmark.
We arrived on the day that those idiotic perverts molested those girls in the Mangalore pub, but we never realised it until we switched on the telly later that nightl. Bluidy idiots castration''''s too good for them.
Got a good hotel The Prestige and stayed there for the night.
Day 3: Monday, 26th Jan
Left the hotel at 6:30 in the morning and headed south. Crossed into Kerala and took photographs.
We went to Bekal fort do NOT miss this place, it is really worth exploring and took the bikes ride up to the entrance for a cool photograph. Had a quick biscuits and chai and drove on.
Next stop was Mahe this little French colony had beer even on a dry day so we were happy
Had some great Kerala food prawns, chilly etc. and drove off, feeling satiated!
Next was Kozhikode and here I got lost, or rather, Nigel stopped to chat up some chicks and Lennon stopped with him, while I, like an absolute berk went straight in to Kozhikode city. When I called them they said to stop at some junction and no matter how much I asked, I still went round in circles before finally meeting up with them after a frustrating hour.
Now these guys had heard of the Kozhikode bypass and how it would save time for us, so we took it. We made another screw up and instead of rejoining the highway at Ponnani, we took the SH 39 and had the worst roads we''''ve ever experienced miles upon miles of dug up roads, no rest spots and traffic. Insane.
We finally stopped before kunnamakulam and stopped at a hotel just after nightfall. I was very eager to stay there as it was night-time and I thought we had no idea where we were going. However, the hotel was over-priced for a hotel in the middle of nowhere and we found out that Guruvayur was close by. So we carried on the night until we reached Guruvayoor and stayed at a resting house there.
Day 4: Tuesday, 27th Jan
The next morning we left at 6:30 and headed straight for Kodungallur (Cranganore). I was keen to check on the Mar Thoma (St. Thomas, the apostle) church which has the bones of the apostle who''''s been dead for 1960 years. We met a very friendly restrauntier behind the Kodungallur temple who gave us some fantastic wadas and detailed directions to the Cathedral. Nig and Len didn''''t know that Cranganore was Kodungallur until then, heh-heh.
After going through a lot of little lanes and asking first for Mar Thoma (me) and then for St Thomas Cathedral note, everyone knows Mar Thoma, not St. Thomas, we came up on the Cathedral. The location is fantastic.
The Cathedral itself is no great shakes, designed like a very tiny copy of St. Peter''''s in the Vatican. The interior is also common-place except for the hermetically sealed chamber where St. Thomas right hand (the one that touched the wounds of Christ) are kept. Nig and I took pictures of this enclosure from outside.
Nigel decided to stop for a soft drink while Lennon then started chatting with the fishermen and went on board a boat anchored right next to the Cathedral. Though we didn''''t know any Malayalam and the fisherman knew no hindi or english, we managed to communicate with him and he told us how many days he goes out to fish, how many crew and how much fish they catch. Both Len and I got on the boat and then off it and took pics. A man came up and started talking to us and found out we were from Bombay. he turned out to be the priest of the Shrine and he showed us into the enclosure and right up next to the relic (the 2000 year old hand of the saint) fantastic! not many people get that opportunity. Nigel was pretty sore we didn''''t call him, but then we pointed out the priest to him and he got to go pay respects to the artifact.
We then pushed off towards Kochi and took the Kochi by-pass. While we were having chai, some middle-aged guys were looking at the bikes, so I moved out to see what was going on (as our saddle-bags were attached). It turned out that they were admiring the bikes, and when I asked them if they were locals, they started chatting with us. Seems that one is a fellow bulletteer and the others were interested in buying them.
They wanted to ride up to Ladakh and were terribly interested in our plan to get to Kanyakumari and then our plan to get to Ladakh in June. We exchanged cards and this proved helpful later on.
Then we pushed off past Kochi and headed for Alapuzzha (Allepey) beach and had lunch at a little shack there. We spent about 2 hours there doing some sightseeing and taking pictures of Lennon riding his bike with no hands! Really chilling out.
Then, we moved on straight past Kollam (heavy, heavy city traffic) and then, HOLEY-MOLEY IT STARTED TO RAIN, and I mean, really pour. Lennon and I snuck into a shop while our bikes got drenched. Where was Nigel??? I called him and asked where the blue blazes he was. He said he could see me and I was going "huh??" seems like chuckles was just a few metres behind us stuck near a tree. Lennon was enjoying the rain and walked out into it while I stayed nice and dry.
By-the-by, the Cramster bags do not seem to be waterproof. I removed mine when it started raining, but Nigel left his on and the stuff got a bit wet.
We three were all worried about driving in the rain, and to cap it, it was getting dark. But I said, let''''s hit Thiruvananthapuram, come what may. So we pushed off and God seems to have smiled on us as it didn''''t rain again, while the road dried up pretty quickish.
So we kept going down the highway, initially at 30, then 40, then 60, then at 70. We then stopped at the cross-roads to Thiruvananthapuram city and the airport and asked around. One guy was really very helpful and translated for us from english to Malayalam.
We initially asked him to direct us to Kocheveli station (where we were to get our train), but
When we asked him to find a good hotel (since had to dump our gear while heading for Kanyakumari), he said "why don''''t you try Ginger Hotel by Taj" and man, what a god-send! We said hooray and headed that way. The Ginger hotel is right next to the Technopark in Trivandrum and we got a room very cheap.
They also had a buffet dinner (hooray!) and we chowed down before heading to bed.
Day 5: Wednesday, 28th Jan
This day had a bad beginning and yet, ended well. We started off at 8 to Kuchevli station and found out that the train didnt have a luggage compartment duuuuuh, we should have checked it!!!!! Mental note: remember to check before you book the tickets next time, ya dope!
Coming back, Lennon suggests that I come with him on a houseboat trip that his friend is planning for Saturday night, giving us time to check Kovalam and Kochi. I agree rapidly and ask Nig if he''''s ok travelling alone. He says go for it, so I book my airline tickets back.
ok, so now we (or rather Nigel and Lennon) scramble to call movers and packers and uncles who know them (while I, like a contented, if slightly mentally-deficient lamb, toodle around doing nothing). Nigel''''s uncle directs us to a packer and we head that way. This guy (SRS Packers) is at some strange location in Trivandrum and charges us 12,000 for 3 bikes. Nig insists on heading to Trivandrum central to check the train prices. The guys also want lunch before heading for Kanyakumari I wanted to get there so that we could catch the train in the morning, but it doesn''''t work out that way.
We stop at the station and typically, the station master isn''''t there and neither is the deputy nor the duty manager. The guys head to eat at the non-veg cafetaria (worst service, EVER) there is only one waiter and he disappears for hours on end.
I hunt for the duty manager and he directs me to the packaging manager at the end of the platform and I find that it will cost us about 1800 per bike. I then head back to the guys and tell them about it. They explore it as well and we decided we don''''t trust the railways with our bikes and decide to opt for SRS.
Immediately (at 3pm), we head off to Kanyakumari. This is only 88 km, but it takes us 2 hours with the irritating traffic. We arrive at destinations end and man, we are happy!!! Our journey was successful and we made it to the southern tip of India!!
We stop for a number of pictures and lennon goes shell-crazy
He buys up a number of gifts. We see the sun set and the waters merging.At around 7 pm we head back. This again took us 2.5 hours as the roads are traffic filled and EVERYBODY KEEPS THEIR BLUIDY LIGHTS ON HIGH!! We reach Trivandrum central and then take the bypass (since we keep asking for Kucheveli station). We seemingly drive for miles before wondering what''''s going on. We turn around and while on the way back, I ask a biker (while driving) the way to Technopark. He says we were in the right direction originally and now need to take another u-turn. I race beyond the guys and tell them. We then head back and drive like blue blazes until we see the Ginger hotel and check in for the night.
We then rush for dinner and then plan the following: We drop nigel to the station in the morning and then later on, Lennon and I first drop Lennon''''s bike at SRS, then I take Lennon back pillion and we take nigel and my bike and our luggage and drop these two bikes to SRS and take the train to Cochin.
Post dinner, we head off to bed.
I spent the next few days exploring Kerala and flew back on the 1st of Feb
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