Fired for xBhping much? Then i should have been fired more than a year back

And yes, dents like these keep the evil eyes away

Take care of your ride too!

Nice pics and log ananth.. waiting for more

@Ananth-Very good stuff.I'm hooked to this thread. In my last trip I got to see forest fire that too in the miidle of the night. But I was so exhausted that I couldn't dare to take the camera out of the bag and click pictures.Now I feel I should have put some effort at that time.

Waiting for the second set.

@ananth: good to see you and your FZ-28 in action. Great work.

@Ananth : Kerala + touring + greenery + photography = awesome..

awesome - never seen anyone else sight the tahr, let alone take such a good pic!!

Nice trip there machan! The bike falling part was sad man ......... Loved the log and pics....Bring on the rest

Hi Ananth

Nice trip their , heard about the trouble you had on your bike from keerthy @Thy . Was supposed to join you people from Coimbatore . Got held up with work , @ Thy had informed me about this trip earlier . But could not make it . What a big loss . Any way cool picks .

I heard that you are using the Panasonic FZ 28 . We have some thing in common , I am also having the same . Hoping to catch up with you next time

Thanks Mithun!

Yes! It happens I was lazy myself to take the cam out, the formation of the forest fire was good to see..

Thanks Pranay! The FZ is working long and hard these days

Kerala, indeed is a wonderful place. Touring just enlightens that

Thanks Hitanshu!

Thanks Manoj! Yes the bike falling down was somewhat disappointing, the dent, loss of petrol were a bit negative for the trip but thats part and parcel of such a trip

Hey Pradeep, keerthy was telling me that you were help up with work and couldnt make it. Thats OK! next time is always there and on a serious note, I might visit pollachi / valparai again in a few months - we will ride together that time. And keerthy pointed out that you were too good in working with the FZ28, so a lot to learn from (& Bug) You!

Aha, Ananth, good to see you action!

Day 2: Crossing Lakes, Mountains, Dams and excellent twisties..

Odometer: 004729 Trip meter: 594.5

I woke for a special cardamom tea and it was still dark outside. The forest fire had set down, and i was still lazy to get up from bed. My shoulders were paining and i also had a sour back. Indeed riding 600 kilometers had taken a toll on my body. Bathed in Hot water and i was feeling better, got out of the room and headed into the Periyar Tiger Reserve which was just a few meters away from my room. Entrance fee was Rs.25 and another 25Rs. for getting a Camera inside.



The roads inside the reserve were great! Looked scenic and was scary for a guy like me walking all alone. The Forest officer at the entrance gate adviced me of seeing wild animals and i was eagerly looking forward for it. I thought the climate would be cold and still had the riding jacket On. But it was a great mistake. The weather was much like chennai, Hot and not that cool as i wondered. 15 minutes into the reserve, my legs started paining and i havent crossed half the distance. Kept walking further up, and spotted a deer crossing by the road. It ran away into the woods as soon as i opened up the camera. With not much time to spare for the first boat into the lake, got a share auto (much like what you find in chennai, but too costly!) to the periyar lake. Paid him 20 bucks and he dropped me in no time!







The boat 'JalaTharanga' was waiting for me. I was the last one to board the boat and every one on the boat was made to wait for me. I had a small place next to a 6'6" monster. Contradictorily, there was a beauty on the other side of it, but DAMN! Her husband came along! For sometime, I was in crossminds wondering where to concentrate. The lake, or the beautiful birds or the odd animals crossing by or the only beautiful thing to see on the boat.






I planned otherwise, turned to the beautiful side and started shooting with my cam. The boat started sailing into the lake, with so many birds flying around my cam was trying to capture as much as it could. Cruising into the lake Spotted Bisons, deers, Wild Pigs, and finally Elephants at quite a distance.










The temperature cooled down once we went deep into the lake, and the beautiful one asked me to take a picture of her with her hubby. I clicked t(HER) picture on her Canon and my eyes and we parted. Got a lift to the cottage by one of the workers in the reserve, refreshed myself at the room and checked out the room.

Spot the elephants if you could..





Bison...


Birds Posing..



To roads towards Munnar were sought as one of the best, but in turn it was other wise. The roads were being repaired and it was take diversions right from where i started. The only advantage was that i had to cross many small villages of Kerala and it was indeed refreshing. Children playing along the small canals, women washing clothes at the rivulets and grandads resting along side the coconut tree shades were a pleasant sight. Stopped by Nedumkantam, another small town for some cool drinks. The shop owner, an elderly woman had no clue what i asked her. Managed to open up the fridge ad pick up a fanta myself, and some snacks and sweets. She charged only 5 bucks for the fanta and 20 for the snacks and sweets.



Deers...








Only TamilNadu owned boat on the lake..


Black Monkeys..


The roads then were excellent, few straight, lots and lots of twisties and some hair pin bends, My ride just proved perfect on all those roads. Stopped by a few places for snaps and i proceded on. The temperatures rapidly decreased and the green green sights were a virtual treat. Those green tea plantations, excellent twisties running through them, with mountains around the backdrop indeed what a biker wants. My first time to Munaar / Kerala and for sure Munaar didnt disappoint me.





















A broken jetty..


The Kundale Lake


I was wandering even after i reached Munaar, stopped by Matupatty dam for a few snaps. And time and again some other beauty stops by and i forget to concentrate on what i need to do :P Further up, stopped by the KSEB boating arena and they wont allow me in with the camera. So i decided not to go in without my camera, and went a head to Top Station, topmost point as per the banners. The roads leading to the Top station is really fascinating. with single lane roads running through the tea plantations at those high altitudes, it was verymuch picturesque.










The view point






The Top station, a view point owned by a private party is in Tamil Nadu's limits. The 3 kilometers into the view point from kerala is in a very bad state. The locals claim the forest department is not allowing them to lay new roads, while the forest department further down the road claim the Tamil nadu government is not co-operating to lay new roads. If laid, the distance between top station and kodaikkanal would be a mere 59 kilometers, that too running through dense forests.









Trekked into these forests..





My next stop was at the Pambadum - Shola National park, where i went for trekking. 4 kilometers into the wild forest, accompanied by a forest officer.. a totally different experience. But came out with bleeding legs , because of leech bites. I was exhausted after the trekking, after all i trekked 4 kilometers after hard riding and oops i forgot to have my breakfast and lunch and it was already 5 in the evening.












On way back visited another dam and the Kundale lake. Stopped for some photos, had a pine-apple juice and returned to Munaar. Way back, i was concerned if i had enough petrol and locals asked me to fill up petrol at Ellapatti, the only town to stock up petrol on cans. The shop owners at Ellapatty were very kind enough, most of them were tamils and originally from some parts of chennai. They offerred 5 rupee discount for me, after knowing that i came from chennai and for riding down all the way Though concerned voices like "You could have come by bus, it just costs around 200" could not be avoided!







So again, an eventful day.. Lots of new places, meeting new people and rejuvinating the hidden faith. The ride started becoming more special for me.

End: Odometer: 004919 Tripmeter: 784

Route: Thekkady to Munnar - SH19 towards Devikulam and NH49 from there on. The roads are scenic, and would save a lot of distance unlike the other normal route running through tamil nadu..

Route Map:

great log and pics.. awaiting for more dude ..... ....

Thanks!!

Thank you and be prepared to write the logs for the 300 kilometers you rode along with me

Good Luck!

Another trip to Kerala!!! Nice pics Ananth.

Part two was superb too Ananth.
The photos are awesome man. Your Panny's abilities and Kerala's sights, make for awesome viewing pleasure

P.S: For someone so smitten by that chick, i couldn't find a photo of hers
You could've snuck in one pic for our sakes !!