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Background
Digital Marketing Agency, that too a start-up = minimalistic sleep, leaves are another topic overall. Let alone a 5 day long break! Have to bow down to the most humane boss that anyone can ever have. Especially for the break and the GoPro to record and share these experiences.
Ride Preparation
Alarm set for 4.00AM
Day 1
Road Plan: Andheri - Panvel - Lonavala - Pune - Satara - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Hospet - Hampi
Initiating packing sequence and the special morning chores, all set to roll out by 4.15AM. Heading to meet the man of the hour, Ashwin Pinto on his Pulsar 150, at the local decided destination in Andheri. Making sure that all the bags are packed and set to begin the journey to lead us into seeing a new but known space.
Our Aim was to be able to cover the known patches before the traffic starts. Initially halting at Lonavala to watch the sunrise and capture a few pictures. Realizing that to cover this distance one would need to minimize the halts and make sure to maintain decent riding speeds and reach before sundown.
Sunrise @ Lonavala
Roads until Pune were good as always. From Pune to Satara there were a few diversions that slowed down the pace a little bit. Post that, till Belgaum the bikes were enjoying the super smooth slick 4 lane roads. Unfortunately they were only the straights. Just like people say, real women have curves, real roads have curves. The transformation of the surroundings, from state to state was quite noticeable. Post Belgaum the roads turned into 2 lane highway without any dividers. Not only did this reduced our riding speed a little bit but so did the fact that the roads were unknown, and we had to halt to ask directions and reach our destination.
At one of the places where we halted for some quick snacks, it got a bit difficult to communicate due to the language barrier. But nevertheless, the local hotel guy was more than eager to get us to try the special bhajiya that they serve along with the farsanUttapa, Dosa, Idli, Wada, etc. Nonetheless, the dish was delicious.
Somewhere before Hospet
Further moving on to reach Hospet and trying to find our way in the midst of the evening traffic. At one point where we could spot mountains of boulders, it seemed like we had reached our destination, but we were mistaken. We had a couple of more KMs to go. Luckily, we managed to catch the sunset while entering Hampi and we were able to look around at the temples, boulders & ruins that are around. We were dead tired and wanted to find a spot to camp or a reasonably priced place to get some sleep. At the entrance of the famous Virupaksha temple, in Hampi Bazaar Street, a few guys approached us asking if we want to book a room for the night. After contemplating and bargaining a bit, we picked the first basic room that we managed to see. The rooms were quite reasonable for an army of two. We parked our bikes on the local street roads after being assured bythe locals who were running the place. Surprisingly we later saw that the small place was quite stuck to one of the big boulders around. (not exactly sure what this means)
Day 2
Breakfast spot for the day
Winding up with food, we checked out from the place and requested the folks to keep our bags for the day. We planned to head to the other side of the river and check out the stay options out there, as all that was heard was non vegetarian food was available on the other side.
The other action point was to decide which places to visit and then make it for the last ferry that will take the bikes to the other side of the river. We landed up visiting the spiritual side of the river and all the places around, Vitthal temple, Matanga Hill, Pushkarni, Krishna Temple, etc.
Time to pack-up, gear-up, saddle-up and head to the other side. Luckily we managed to get onto the last ferry to head there. It was a heck of an experience pushing and squeezing this heavy RS200 onto the small ferry with the entire luggage, riding gear, etc.
Taking the ferry to 'The Other Side'
Finally we reached The Goan Corner and settled down to keep the luggage and gears on the exquisite star gazing bed, situated right on the terrace of the owners. One is provided is a mattress, bed sheets, quilt, mosquito net & a small locker, all the bare necessities as Mowgli would say. The owners and their sons are a talkative and interesting bunch. If one is going to visit Hampi, they should surely go here just to talk to the owners and hear all sorts of stories about visitors from across the world. Surprisingly, the sons are bikers who work there during the season time. And with the salary they earn, they travel the length and breadth of the country for a couple of months each year.
Star gazing accommodation for the night
Day 3
idlis in the kitchen and we were seated in the supposed hall with one table. This was one of the best idlissambar
Ashwin leaving for Bangalore
Cliff Diving
Next leg of adventure was riding through the paddy fields, beside a canal to reach another secluded water body. I caught up with a couple of people from dinner last night, and landed up traveling to the secluded water body with them.
Riding through the rice paddy fields
Another lake nearby where everyone was relaxing
Surprisingly these guys also were from Bombay. Every person that one meets on the road has an interesting story to say. So did these guys. We hung out for lunch and then went to Anegundi hill, the birthplace of the mythological monkey god Hanuman. This quick and small trek was worth it as the view of the sunset was soothing to the eyes. I stayed there and watched the sunset whilst the clouds did their magic.
Sunset from atop Anegundi hill
Finally I returned to the humble place/not sure where this is. Tonight had planned to sleep in the tent. All the arrangements had been done in the morning before leaving.
Finally, I got to meet him and he suggested taking the route via Amboli ghat, cross Sawantwadi and head to the coastal road to Shiroda. For the last day of this trip, he suggested starting via the coastal route and then heading back to Bombay via NH17. This sounded like a splendid way to end this trip. Little did I know what the next day would actually hold for me.
Day 4
I woke up early to pack up and bid goodbye to Hampi, taking away a variety of experiences in terms of food, people and memories. The much known ritual of Saddle up! Gear up! Gloves on! Helmet on! And ready to go. The distance to cover today was around 400 KMs.
The early morning ride was nice and peaceful, especially with mist settling down on the paddy fields. It was surely a sight that makes one want to breathe in that fresh air and feed the lungs with nature.
I took one halt for tanking up and was back on the road. At one place near Belgaum, I saw a crowded local street food stall where they were serving piping hot medu vadas
Somewhere near Amboli Ghat
Crowded beach of Shiroda
Moving on via the coastal road, which was a bit patchy but the view surely compensated for any form of bad roads. I rode along the seas and small rivers, crossing bridges & hills. Having always heard from people about this side of the country, one really has to experience riding through these places, otherwise the journey to any place is worthless.
Panoramic view of Vengurla Beach
roti, kapda, makaan.
After quickly unpacking, I went for a short dip in the water whilst the sun was at the horizon and was slowly fading away. The love for water is undeniable for anyone who has ever had the joy during childhood.
Heading for a swim @ Tondavli
The dinner was basic and more than fulfilling due to the company of these loving and welcoming people. This day was a real test for me, to actually know if I have the capacity to be the person I aspire to be - A lone wanderer. It helped me learn many things about myself and how the mind behaves when problems are presented. This whole thought process led me to acknowledge that I can travel alone and manage the 100 day journey that I really want to head out for in the coming year.
I resorted to bed early by 10 with nature singing its lullaby in the form of waves. Since it was a curved beach, the waves would hit the shore on one end and keep going on till the other end in ripples. This is something everyone should experience in life.
Day 5
Crossing the good patches of Chiplun, Kashedi, Mahad, Kolad and then reaching the dreaded Vadkhal Naka, the roads were in bad conditions and made the return leg quite tiring. From Vadkhal Naka to Panvel was a disaster in terms of the road conditions because of the construction going on to widen these roads into a 4 laned highway. No one knows when this would really be ready. The riding hours in the past two days taught me the feeling that females go through all day long. I appreciate their effort more now, after wearing the chest mount for the GoPro for about 8 hours each day. I have to say, it did feel nice to unclip the mount.
The ride from Panvel to Bombay is usually filled up with traffic, due to the touristy crowd coming back from various locations after their weekend trip. And this one being a long weekend, there was bound to be more traffic. Even though this would be a disappointing sight for most people, all that was running through my mind was that upcoming solo journeys in the pipeline, the mind was pumping in optimism at its best.
Road Traveled
Mumbai - Panvel - Lonavala - Pune - Satara - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Hospet - Hampi - Sanapur - Hospet - Belgaum - Amboli - Sawantwadi - Shiroda - Vengurla - Malvan - Tondavli - Kankavli - Chiplun - Kashedi - Vadkhal - Karnala - Panvel - Mumbai
Overall Gear
Luggage System
- Viaterra Claw
Stay Jugaad
- Quechua Arpenaz T2
Riding gears
- Jacket - Scoyco JK17
- Pants - Spartan Aspida Odysseus
- Gloves - Cramster TRG2
- Shoes - Steel toe safety shoes
Action Camera
- GoPro Hero 2 (Borrowed)
DSLR
- Nikon D3000 (Borrowed)
Total Spends: Rs. 5000/-
Fuel: Rs. 3,000
Food: Rs. 1,500
Stay: Rs. 500
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