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**xBhp** · 05-25-2020, 11:33 AM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Thread approved.

Apologies for the delayed approval.

Let the photos and the travelogue fly!

**sajalsheth** · 05-25-2020, 01:57 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

@Rajesh_Ravi ji
Nice ...waiting for more

**Rajesh_Ravi** · 05-25-2020, 04:41 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Originally posted by xBhp View Post

Thread approved.

Apologies for the delayed approval.

Let the photos and the travelogue fly!

Thank you so much and its never late :-) I am writing this travelogue after 8 months :-)

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

So for every ride a story that starts way before you do the actual ride, so this one was no different. My ride started the usual way of us (We3 – Rajesh, Sarav and Vinoth) starting the discussions very early and exchanging our ideas from the routes to plan and everything you can think of. If you have gone thru my earlier travelogues you will have a fair idea of who we are actually😊 (2 bikes and 3 travellers, myself Rajesh, Sarav the other rider and his pillion Vino). After 4 continuous year of one long ride a year, we had to skip 2018 for personal reasons (we planned to do the longest ride and try going a minimum of Kolkata or as far as North East).

So, coming back to 2019, we explored all the options which we had from the previous year and with new additions. Vino was on a tight schedule and it was better to reduce the number of days which includes the length and the leaves to be taken. So, going far out to North East was out of the question. The maximum we could accommodate was 5 days. The plan is to club the Oct 2^nd holiday and the following weekend. So, once the dates are fixed, and plan was to go all the way up to Kolkata by train and do the return leg obviously by bike and cover Kolkata, Puri, Konark, Vizag, Araku and Lambasingi. Even though I am not a big fan doing this one leg rides, situation demanded either we take up this option or miss another year. Now that we settled on the plans, getting our bikes ready plays a major role. It is important in any ride but for us it was extra important because of no ride in the previous year with basic service and the distance of our travel. Did a complete service of my bike and literally changed everything possible (break & clutch cable, levers, Front disc assembly, chain set and many more). It cost me 10 K. On the accessories, just replaced the worn-out things. So, like in 2014, the twist came 10 days before the ride and Sarav could not make it for family reasons, that automatically drops out Vino (because he is the pillion in Sarav’s bike).
So that leaves me doing the SOLO again after 2014.

So now comes the interesting part of changing the entire plan from scratch and customize to your way (no compromises on a solo ride). You are the hero and the villain in a SOLO ride.

I completely scraped the Kolkata plan, because basically it was Vino’s idea and I do not want to do it without them. So, time to scratch the head again and sort out a plan. I had a lot of other plans in the pocket for various scenarios and one was to cover places which I have not done before in TN and Kerala and most important place of that is Dhanuskodi. It was pending for a very long time.
So after a quick check on all possibilities i prepared a rough plan. Map below with the actual plan.

I am a day 1 long rider, so it will always have the longest ride (many positives are there like you are fresh, eager to ride as much as you can, and the bike is in peak condition).
Before I start with the Day 0 and Day 1 action, here are some information on the ride before I write a detailed travelogue.

Bike – Hero Hunk (The Beast)
Riders – This time only one and it’s me 😊
Date – Oct 2^nd to Oct 4^th (3 days)
Route – Chennai > Dindigul > Cumbum > Idukki > Alleppey > Courtallam > Rameshwaram > Dhanuskodi > Velankanni > Pondicherry > Home.
Distance covered – 1807 Kms
Total Expense – 6593 (excluding bike service, PUC certificate and accessories)
Petrol – 3651 (Roughly Rs.2 per KM)
Stay – 1800 (2 Nights)
Food – 1062

Parking and other charges – 80

**Rajesh_Ravi** · 05-26-2020, 12:51 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

The MAP of the actual ride...

**Rajesh_Ravi** · 05-27-2020, 01:21 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Day 0 – 1^st Oct 2019

Even though I had 5 days in hand, I wanted to do this trip in either 4 or 3 days. Two reasons for that. One being alone for a long time and get bored and the other wanted to take a rest day before I go back to office. Finally decided to do in 3 days after all the mathematics with the distance and time.
So with everything is place I was all set to start the ride. On 1^st Oct completed all my office work early and got permission to leave early. The idea was to do the final packing and sleep early. Came back home at 5 PM and was ready to sleep at 7. But with my son and nephew around couldn’t do so for obvious reasons. I literally forced myself to sleep and it was not working. I just tried to at least rest my back for the long ride ahead. The actual plan was to start by around 2 AM (yes I am a night owl and love driving in the very early morning hours). This helps me cover long distance before the daylight comes out and allows me to relax in the midday time. Did a quick calculation and by the time it was 10 PM and I hardly slept for 30 mins. My mind and body was fresh as always for the ride. So decided to start by 11, which is 3 hours early and utilise the time in the touring places. Had a quick shower, coffee and loaded the luggage and here I am ready by 10:30 PM. Bid goodbye to family and off I go…..

Day 1 – 2^nd Oct – 752 kms

So still in Day 0 but I started the ride as I could not wait anymore. Like every previous ride, I take it cautiously for the first few kms. Even though I have this route in the back of my mind and can even ride with my eyes closed, It was always slow and steady and go.
The first stretch from Puzhal to Tambaram is my daily navigation for office for about 8 years so it was comfortable with good roads. By the time I crossed Ambattur, I started to speed up and was surprised by the less traffic considering Oct 2^nd being a holiday. Nevertheless I made upto to Perungalathur (people who stay or work in Chennai know this place very well and it usually for the bad reasons) and there we had the huge traffic of people moving out of the city by own vehicles and buses. This is a usual sight and there is no way to escape it. Kept myself calm and slowly moved across and after crossing vandalur could pick up the speed with had to drive along with a huge amount of vehicles. This was going on until I reach the chengalpet toll and once I crossed that it was back to normal.
Usually I when I take this highway, the first stop will be at Tindivanam which is about 125 kms from my home. As I reached that place I was not tired or wanted to stop, so I went further and thought of stopping it at the next best location. I pushed all the way upto Villupuram which is 175 kms from my home. Don’t remember if I had done more than this distance without taking a single stop or break for even petrol or nature call. The time I reached there was 1:30 AM. So I had completed 175 kms in 3 hours which is a good distance. It was a good 20 mins break of tea and water. Didn’t feel like eating anything as my tummy was full with home food.
Started the ride again and it was smooth sailing on these roads without any trouble and had my next stop just before Trichy. Distance covered is 305 kms and it was 4 AM. Had I started at 2 AM I would have still not reached Tindivanam. It turned out to be a very good decision.
It was a quick break of tea and biscuit and started again in 15 mins. The Trichy junction has been a puzzle for me when I go alone or as a group as I always somehow manage to miss to take the correct road to Dindigul. This time I was very determined, looking out for the sign boards and having the google maps on the ear phone handy.
Guess what I missed the Dindigul road again, and I can easily figure out the mistake of me in the Madurai road. This time I didn’t want to try navigate back through unknow roads and planned to wait till there is a decent State highway to go back and connect Dindigul bypass. Google maps helped me here to identify the same near a place called Viralimalai. This will take me all the way upto Manapparai and connect me back to NH. Had to check google maps couple of times and talk to few people for direction. After being there in the arrow straight NH roads till state highway was a relief, it was 2 laned good road with lot of twist and turns. It got excited so much that I lost control in the first few curves and had to get back to my senses before I crash into the paddy fields of the locals in the very early hours.

Again, took help of Google and people to connect back to Dindigul NH and reached Dindigul (430 kms) by 6:45 AM. Just before taking the Batlagundu-Periyakulam-Theni road, had the first fuel stop of the trip and filled the tank for full 1000 rupees. This route is always scenic and you won’t get bored driving here. Being early in the morning it was even more pleasant.

The sun is ready to come out...

On the smooth Highway..

On the scenic roads of Periyakulam...

Time for Hero of the ride to pose...

By 8:40 after just crossing Theni stopped for breakfast. It was a simple south Indian breakfast of Idly, vada and tea. Took me just 20 mins and was ready to roll again. The plan was to take the diversion just before Cumbum and head to Kalvari Mount via Kattappana. This time I did take the correct right turn. Initially it had lot of twist and turn and air started to get chill as we close down to the Kerala border. Crossing the border was smooth and you can easily identify you are in Kerala by seeing Banana everywhere corner of the road and in every shop.
Reached Kalvari Mount by 11:00 AM (600 kms) and there is no clear sign board to take a steep slope upwards to reach the exact point. You may miss this, google map alerted me and had to turn back few hundred meters before I climb the slope. After a few hundred meters you reach the checkpost and billing counter. This is the place to park your and walk to the spot. It is neatly maintained and after collecting the tickets for entry and camera (Rs.30) made the walk via the entrance. The initial part is well maintained like a park and after that you get the most stunning view of the landscape. No words can describe it better. I will have the pictures do the talking.

Would take that as a home anyday...

After spending close to an hour there I made my way down and went along to check the Idukki dam. There are multiple entry points and heard you will not be allowed inside to have the complete view. It went up to one of the entries and could get only a partial view of the dam, took some picture and there was a banner with the complete specifications of the dam.

Joined back to main road and had I more stop (illikkal kallu) before I head to Alleppey. Read a lot about this place and wanted to checked that out. Followed the google maps and at one point lost completely of the direction. Tried reaching the locals and that too didn’t help. Finally found the road to the spot and it was a complete nightmare road. It has a steep rise with very bad roads. Continued on it for 2 kms and stopped an auto coming in the opposite direction. Heard it will be the same for many more kms. Decided against going further and thought of heading straight to Alleppey. Spent a good 45 mins to 1 hour here.

As you go around Idukki, you will cross multiple dams and photography is strictly prohibited. Security is tight and police is everywhere. I had another 100 kms to Alleppey and took the Muttom-Pala-Ettumanoor road. From here took complete help of google to navigate to Alleppey. Crossed a huge waterfront and there you see a huge number of tourist boats of different sizes moving lazily on the water. That was my entry to backwaters and Alleppey. To reach Alleppey beach I had another 25 kms and this time the traffic was dense and roads were narrow. Managed through the traffic and followed google all the way upto Alleppey beach and here I am the destination for Day 1 at exactly 752 kms and at a time 4:30 PM. The early start made all this possible and I had enough time to explore Alleppey.

Quickly checked on google for places to stay, found a few very close to the beach and within budget. Went to a hotel which was just 200 meters away from the beach and one can see the beach and sunset right from the street. Went inside and enquired about the room availability. Only one room was available in the the 2^nd floor. The location was fine, but the rooms were a mess and non-AC. Thought of checking couple of more places. I liked the area so much that I parked my bike in a corner and went around to see some place. Enquired one which is even closer to the sea, but was well above my budget. Had to let go of it and saw one more place called “Sea Breeze Homestay”. This is just couple of buildings away from the first place I checked. They had both AC and non-AC rooms. Non-AC was 500 and sharing, while AC was 900 for a individual room. Happily, took the AC room. Quickly completed the formalities and refreshed myself and headed straight by walk to the beach by 5:30 PM.

The sun is about to set...and i can see it just standing outside my homestay...

It was not very crowded and was a pleasant evening. Roamed around for a few minutes and took pictures of the sunset. My tummy started to cry after skipping the lunch (I prefer to skip the lunch, but hydrate myself with water, tea, juice and snacks in the meantime). Had a lime soda, Sarbath and masala ground nuts. It started to get dark and my tummy wanted more, enquired the locals about some famous restaurants nearby for the obvious dishes of Karimeen and Beef. One guy suggested me a hotel which is little far. Took an auto for Rs.40 and reached the place. You can easily it is a busy and famous place seeing the crowd and lot of eatables in display. The place is called “Halais Restaurant”. Outside you have the counters for some quick bites. Got myself a plate of Chicken Samosa and went inside to have the complete menu. The front side of the hotel is a shop all kind of eatables from the middle east. Then you have a seating area where the setup takes you back to the 19^th century. Again you have a middle east feel here as well. Enquired the waiter of things to eat there and finalized on a Chicken Shawarma, Beef Fry and Tea. Al the three were yummy and I couldn’t have asked for more. I could see people coming with their for families and also opting for many varieties of bread and rotis and biriyanis. I don’t have any more place in my tummy. After settling the bill of 250 which is very much worth, decided to walk back to my room in a way to digest some food before I hit the bed.I strongly suggest this place for a meal if you are very close by Alleppey.
After a good fifteen minutes’ walk, I was got myself a bottle of water and settled in my room. Called and messaged the peope back and went to a early sleep at 8 PM, because of a very long day. Everything went as planned except for missing the illikkal kallu. Made my mind it is for another day and went to deep sleep without my knowledge.

**Ballistic Rider** · 05-28-2020, 12:01 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Originally posted by Rajesh_Ravi View Post

Day 0 – 1^st Oct 2019

Even though I had 5 days in hand, I wanted to do this trip in either 4 or 3 days. Two reasons for that. One being alone for a long time and get bored and the other wanted to take a rest day before I go back to office. Finally decided to do in 3 days after all the mathematics with the distance and time.
So with everything is place I was all set to start the ride. On 1^st Oct completed all my office work early and got permission to leave early. The idea was to do the final packing and sleep early. Came back home at 5 PM and was ready to sleep at 7. But with my son and nephew around couldn’t do so for obvious reasons. I literally forced myself to sleep and it was not working. I just tried to at least rest my back for the long ride ahead. The actual plan was to start by around 2 AM (yes I am a night owl and love driving in the very early morning hours). This helps me cover long distance before the daylight comes out and allows me to relax in the midday time. Did a quick calculation and by the time it was 10 PM and I hardly slept for 30 mins. My mind and body was fresh as always for the ride. So decided to start by 11, which is 3 hours early and utilise the time in the touring places. Had a quick shower, coffee and loaded the luggage and here I am ready by 10:30 PM. Bid goodbye to family and off I go…..

Day 1 – 2^nd Oct – 752 kms

So still in Day 0 but I started the ride as I could not wait anymore. Like every previous ride, I take it cautiously for the first few kms. Even though I have this route in the back of my mind and can even ride with my eyes closed, It was always slow and steady and go.
The first stretch from Puzhal to Tambaram is my daily navigation for office for about 8 years so it was comfortable with good roads. By the time I crossed Ambattur, I started to speed up and was surprised by the less traffic considering Oct 2^nd being a holiday. Nevertheless I made upto to Perungalathur (people who stay or work in Chennai know this place very well and it usually for the bad reasons) and there we had the huge traffic of people moving out of the city by own vehicles and buses. This is a usual sight and there is no way to escape it. Kept myself calm and slowly moved across and after crossing vandalur could pick up the speed with had to drive along with a huge amount of vehicles. This was going on until I reach the chengalpet toll and once I crossed that it was back to normal.
Usually I when I take this highway, the first stop will be at Tindivanam which is about 125 kms from my home. As I reached that place I was not tired or wanted to stop, so I went further and thought of stopping it at the next best location. I pushed all the way upto Villupuram which is 175 kms from my home. Don’t remember if I had done more than this distance without taking a single stop or break for even petrol or nature call. The time I reached there was 1:30 AM. So I had completed 175 kms in 3 hours which is a good distance. It was a good 20 mins break of tea and water. Didn’t feel like eating anything as my tummy was full with home food.
Started the ride again and it was smooth sailing on these roads without any trouble and had my next stop just before Trichy. Distance covered is 305 kms and it was 4 AM. Had I started at 2 AM I would have still not reached Tindivanam. It turned out to be a very good decision.
It was a quick break of tea and biscuit and started again in 15 mins. The Trichy junction has been a puzzle for me when I go alone or as a group as I always somehow manage to miss to take the correct road to Dindigul. This time I was very determined, looking out for the sign boards and having the google maps on the ear phone handy.
Guess what I missed the Dindigul road again, and I can easily figure out the mistake of me in the Madurai road. This time I didn’t want to try navigate back through unknow roads and planned to wait till there is a decent State highway to go back and connect Dindigul bypass. Google maps helped me here to identify the same near a place called Viralimalai. This will take me all the way upto Manapparai and connect me back to NH. Had to check google maps couple of times and talk to few people for direction. After being there in the arrow straight NH roads till state highway was a relief, it was 2 laned good road with lot of twist and turns. It got excited so much that I lost control in the first few curves and had to get back to my senses before I crash into the paddy fields of the locals in the very early hours.

Again, took help of Google and people to connect back to Dindigul NH and reached Dindigul (430 kms) by 6:45 AM. Just before taking the Batlagundu-Periyakulam-Theni road, had the first fuel stop of the trip and filled the tank for full 1000 rupees. This route is always scenic and you won’t get bored driving here. Being early in the morning it was even more pleasant.

The sun is ready to come out...
[ATTACH]254486[/ATTACH]

On the smooth Highway..
[ATTACH]254487[/ATTACH]

On the scenic roads of Periyakulam...
[ATTACH]254492[/ATTACH]

Time for Hero of the ride to pose...
[ATTACH]254493[/ATTACH]

By 8:40 after just crossing Theni stopped for breakfast. It was a simple south Indian breakfast of Idly, vada and tea. Took me just 20 mins and was ready to roll again. The plan was to take the diversion just before Cumbum and head to Kalvari Mount via Kattappana. This time I did take the correct right turn. Initially it had lot of twist and turn and air started to get chill as we close down to the Kerala border. Crossing the border was smooth and you can easily identify you are in Kerala by seeing Banana everywhere corner of the road and in every shop.
Reached Kalvari Mount by 11:00 AM (600 kms) and there is no clear sign board to take a steep slope upwards to reach the exact point. You may miss this, google map alerted me and had to turn back few hundred meters before I climb the slope. After a few hundred meters you reach the checkpost and billing counter. This is the place to park your and walk to the spot. It is neatly maintained and after collecting the tickets for entry and camera (Rs.30) made the walk via the entrance. The initial part is well maintained like a park and after that you get the most stunning view of the landscape. No words can describe it better. I will have the pictures do the talking.

[ATTACH]254488[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]254489[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]254490[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]254491[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]254494[/ATTACH]

Would take that as a home anyday...
[ATTACH]254495[/ATTACH]

After spending close to an hour there I made my way down and went along to check the Idukki dam. There are multiple entry points and heard you will not be allowed inside to have the complete view. It went up to one of the entries and could get only a partial view of the dam, took some picture and there was a banner with the complete specifications of the dam.

[ATTACH]254496[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]254497[/ATTACH]

Joined back to main road and had I more stop (illikkal kallu) before I head to Alleppey. Read a lot about this place and wanted to checked that out. Followed the google maps and at one point lost completely of the direction. Tried reaching the locals and that too didn’t help. Finally found the road to the spot and it was a complete nightmare road. It has a steep rise with very bad roads. Continued on it for 2 kms and stopped an auto coming in the opposite direction. Heard it will be the same for many more kms. Decided against going further and thought of heading straight to Alleppey. Spent a good 45 mins to 1 hour here.

As you go around Idukki, you will cross multiple dams and photography is strictly prohibited. Security is tight and police is everywhere. I had another 100 kms to Alleppey and took the Muttom-Pala-Ettumanoor road. From here took complete help of google to navigate to Alleppey. Crossed a huge waterfront and there you see a huge number of tourist boats of different sizes moving lazily on the water. That was my entry to backwaters and Alleppey. To reach Alleppey beach I had another 25 kms and this time the traffic was dense and roads were narrow. Managed through the traffic and followed google all the way upto Alleppey beach and here I am the destination for Day 1 at exactly 752 kms and at a time 4:30 PM. The early start made all this possible and I had enough time to explore Alleppey.

Quickly checked on google for places to stay, found a few very close to the beach and within budget. Went to a hotel which was just 200 meters away from the beach and one can see the beach and sunset right from the street. Went inside and enquired about the room availability. Only one room was available in the the 2^nd floor. The location was fine, but the rooms were a mess and non-AC. Thought of checking couple of more places. I liked the area so much that I parked my bike in a corner and went around to see some place. Enquired one which is even closer to the sea, but was well above my budget. Had to let go of it and saw one more place called “Sea Breeze Homestay”. This is just couple of buildings away from the first place I checked. They had both AC and non-AC rooms. Non-AC was 500 and sharing, while AC was 900 for a individual room. Happily, took the AC room. Quickly completed the formalities and refreshed myself and headed straight by walk to the beach by 5:30 PM.

[ATTACH]254498[/ATTACH]

The sun is about to set...and i can see it just standing outside my homestay...
[ATTACH]254499[/ATTACH]

It was not very crowded and was a pleasant evening. Roamed around for a few minutes and took pictures of the sunset. My tummy started to cry after skipping the lunch (I prefer to skip the lunch, but hydrate myself with water, tea, juice and snacks in the meantime). Had a lime soda, Sarbath and masala ground nuts. It started to get dark and my tummy wanted more, enquired the locals about some famous restaurants nearby for the obvious dishes of Karimeen and Beef. One guy suggested me a hotel which is little far. Took an auto for Rs.40 and reached the place. You can easily it is a busy and famous place seeing the crowd and lot of eatables in display. The place is called “Halais Restaurant”. Outside you have the counters for some quick bites. Got myself a plate of Chicken Samosa and went inside to have the complete menu. The front side of the hotel is a shop all kind of eatables from the middle east. Then you have a seating area where the setup takes you back to the 19^th century. Again you have a middle east feel here as well. Enquired the waiter of things to eat there and finalized on a Chicken Shawarma, Beef Fry and Tea. Al the three were yummy and I couldn’t have asked for more. I could see people coming with their for families and also opting for many varieties of bread and rotis and biriyanis. I don’t have any more place in my tummy. After settling the bill of 250 which is very much worth, decided to walk back to my room in a way to digest some food before I hit the bed.I strongly suggest this place for a meal if you are very close by Alleppey.
After a good fifteen minutes’ walk, I was got myself a bottle of water and settled in my room. Called and messaged the peope back and went to a early sleep at 8 PM, because of a very long day. Everything went as planned except for missing the illikkal kallu. Made my mind it is for another day and went to deep sleep without my knowledge.

Great one Rajesh and what a yummy dinner

. Keep going Rajesh. Want to read more about your solo trip.

**Rajesh_Ravi** · 05-28-2020, 12:24 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Originally posted by Ballistic Rider View Post

Great one Rajesh and what a yummy dinner

. Keep going Rajesh. Want to read more about your solo trip.

Thank u....
Yeah...it was the most perfect Beef and Chicken Shawarma i can ask for....
Scripting Day 2 and 3...will upload it shortly

**krishna77** · 05-29-2020, 04:39 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Nicely put!

**Rajesh_Ravi** · 06-02-2020, 03:28 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Day 2 – 3^rd Oct – 450 kms

This day is to execute the theme of the trip. Ride from West to East coast on the same day. Ideally it would have been better if it was the vice versa, but I am more than happy to do this way.

So, after very early sleep I got up at around 5 AM fully refreshed and ready for action. First thing I wanted to do is catch the sunrise. Quickly refreshed and walked to the beach. I was slightly early and had some cloud cover. Still loved the place being very calm and with almost no people around. After a few minutes witnessed the sunrise and took some photos. Just lazily walked around the shores for a few minutes.

Next up it is to go to a local Tea shop. Found one about half a kilometre away. It was a typical Kerala old school stall with benches and people everywhere and a huge glassed display box with the local delicacies of the region. It was too early for me to have anything other than tea, had it quickly and was ready to move back to the homestay to get ready for Day 2. I was the only odd person in the stall with every other person eating all the delicacies.

Sea Breeze Beach Homestay

Once back in my room, did all the morning chores and packed my bags. Talked to the owners for a few minutes and settled the balance and tied the bags to my bike. Did a little bit of cleaning and all set to start the day by 7:30 AM

Again, took the help of google maps to navigate out and catch NH66. I was surprised in a sense shocked to see the size of NH66. I imagined way more than it actually it was, nevertheless, it was similar to any other road you see in Kerala. Being a working day, the road was crowded with people. After a few kilometres I would exit NH66 and join the Alappuzha-Changanassery Road. It was neat, wide and very new road, more like the NH. On both the side you come across many water crossings, boats and all typical of Alleppey. It was arrow straight and after reaching Changanassery, take the right to go via Thiruvalla, Chengannur and Adoor. Somewhere down this road stopped at a road side small hotel to have breakfast at 9:30 AM. It was the usual Idiyappam, kadalai curry, egg masala and a glass of tea. Very delicious breakfast that costed my only 60 rupees. Did a quick fuel stop in the next petrol station for 600 rupees.
After this crossed Punalur and then Thenmala which is the last point of Kerala before I enter Tamil Nadu again. Just before I cross the border, on the right side there was an entry for waterfalls. Went ahead to check it out, had to turn back because private vehicles should be parked before the check post and you can only take the forest vehicles. Since there was a huge crowd waiting for their turn and my next stop being in Courtallam I turned back to join the road again. The name of the waterfalls is Palaruvi.

Crossing the border was simple and then I crossed Shengottai and again took help of locals and maps to navigate towards the Courtallam falls. As I get closer the crowd and vehicles are getting bigger. I have already been to this place before, but it was a very long time ago. Couldn’t recollect much about this place, so it was literally new for me to explore. As I went closer found one Waterfall adjacent to the main road. Enquired to locals for parking and they suggested to move ahead and see the main falls. Went another few kms and it had a neat parking, lot of shops and people are selling all sorts of fruits there. Parked the bike in the shade and it was exactly 12 PM. The place is called Five falls and went inside. The bathing area is divided into two and on the left side is for ladies and right is for men. There are enough security personnel to monitor the place and avoid any problems. Can say this is a safe place for women to enjoy the nature. The water is in good flow and I can see a lot of people enjoying, stood there and just enjoyed the beauty for nearly 30 mins. I was tempted to take the bath, but somehow controlled myself and after a good one hour came back to start again. Had some so called icecream (want to forget about that) and tried the star fruit. Waved goodbye to Courtallam and move forward for my next destination.

I had another 250+ kms before I reach pamban. I was not sure about reaching there in time for the sunset and catch a glimpse of the Pamban bridge in the late evening. But cleared all negative thoughts and started fresh towards the target, this will be mostly on the State highways and towards end will touch the east coast road and then the NH from Ramanathapuram all the way up to the end point in Dhanuskodi. Believe me I never thought there is a NH in dhanuskodi, until I went and saw it there, beautiful roads. So, coming back to Courtallam, again with maps navigated through the place and then reached Sankarankoil and kovilpatti next. It was 3 PM and suddenly clouds started to gather out of nowhere and before I could stop and take shade it started to rain heavily. It was good heavy rain for 15 mins and the first in this trip. Luckily both myself and bags and completely protected from getting drenched in the rain. From there it was beautiful State highways dead as an arrow, two laned and speed breakers whenever you cross a village. As I moved closer to the east coast wind was picking up and at Vembar took a right to NH32 east coast road. Had another 100 + kms to Pamban. It was around 5 pm. The chances of reaching Pamban in time was looking less possible. Roads from there were fantastic and I had hardly had to go below 60. As I came close to Ramanathapuram, clear signs are available to take the right for Rameshwaran. As I said earlier, I was just gobsmacked by the beauty of the NH and even more when I learnt it goes all the way up to Dhanuskodi end point. Being in the east coast, it was already started to get dark with very limited sun light. The time was around 5:45 PM and had the balance 40 kms to cover. Giving my all I just raced to the line and here I am at the entry of the Pamban bridge. Immediately parked my bike in the corner and took some pictures. Took the bike again and went to the middle of the bridge and had a close look of the Pamban bridge. The time was 6:15 PM. Before getting down just made sure it was ok to park the bike in the middle of the bridge, even though many were already doing it. The police were ok if I park it in the very corner and move within 5 to 10 mins. With that parked the bike and had the opportunity to get the most beautiful view of the Pamban. The sky was colouring itself with so many colours and the landscape was mesmerising. Going out of words to explain it. When I thought I had everything needed at this point, there comes a train from the rameshwaram side and crossing the Pamban. Wowwwww that was something out of the world. Can’t thank the gods enough for the last 15 odd mins. By the time it reached the other end it was completely dark. Nobody could have written this script better for me that the ultimate super GODs. Enough of the works and time for some pictures.

Thanked them and immediately moved my bike and the last stop for the day is to get to Rameshwaram temple which was another 10 kms away. On the way stopped for a petrol break. Filled the tank for 500 and went ahead. Went very close to the main temple and looked out for rooms. Got myself a good and neat room in Hotel Raamajayam for 900. Quickly freshen up and walked for a few hundred meter and enter the temple at around 7:15 PM. Enquired at the timings and the temple is open until 8:30 pm. Walked around the temple and prayed, thanked the almighty for giving this opportunity. After a good one hour walked back to the hotel and had dinner on the way. Headed back to the room and arranged few things and thought of what just happened in the last 2 hours was still a dream and still it is while I write this travelogue. With close to 450 kms covered for the day, the plans for the last day are to go to the most awaited Dhanuskodi, revisit the Pamban in the day and head all the way back home via the ECR. With that, updated the family on the things and watched some TV and went back to sleep peacefully.

**Rajesh_Ravi** · 06-11-2020, 07:11 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Day 3 – 4^th Oct – 600+ kms

After 2 wonderful days of riding with memories of a lifetime, it was time for the last day of the ride. Still have Dhanuskodi in the checklist to be completed and an added benefit of revisiting the Pamban bridge in the daytime.

Got up at 5:30 AM, after a very good night sleep. As per the plan head to Dhanuskodi which is about 19 kms from my hotel. Reach the Police check post by 6:30 AM which is about 3 or 4 kms before the end point. Was informed, tourists will be allowed by 7 AM. In the meantime, spent some time in the shops nearby selling tea, snacks and some tourist items. On both the sides of the check post you have access to the beach, but not the complete view. In the meantime, Govt buses and people of the local community are allowed past the check post. In was 7 AM exactly the check was open, all the vehicles headed towards the end point. I stopped somewhere in the middle to take some photos of the sun rise. Went close to the end point where you need to park your vehicle and walk towards the beach. The end of the road and probably India is marked with the Ashoka chakra. Strolled down to the beach, felt this beach is unique with having different shades of water colour in either side of the road. One was the clean lighter blue and other had a greenish texture. Not sure if I am the only one felt like that or not, but it was beautiful and calm. Sat on the shores for a few minutes and took all the beauty of the shores within me. Took enough photos and strolled to both the ends. After a good one hour in the beach went back to take my bike with a heavy heart. There are barricades setup to restrict people from going any further in the beach on few places. But the common Indian doesn’t like to give any care about that. The police then had to interfere and make them all move away. Probably the only disappointment in the awesome place. Why can’t people just follow the basic things…no answer.

As I ride back, I was enjoying the beauty of this wonderful neat and picturesque place, definitely will have another visit here. Who knows I may come here in my bike again? Stopped at couple of other places and took some pictures. There are eateries setup on both the sides. Look mostly to be the fresh sea food from the sea, but it was too early. Heard they open the shops at 10 AM. There is a temple on the right side when you return. The road goes deep into the sea and you can see the temple from a far distance. Headed back to my hotel and had my breakfast in a nearby small hotel. Got freshen up and vacated the room by 9:30 AM. In another few minutes reached Pamban again. This time the crowd is much less than in the evening, but the beauty of the Pamban and its surroundings remain. The entire place was crystal clear, I was just enjoying the place for a good 30 mins. Yaaaaay…can’t believe my luck…there comes another train. The trip just gets better and better. Took some more pics and videos.

After the unexpected, started from Pamban (but never wanted to leave) and went all the way up to Ramanathapuram junction to catch the East coast road. Before anyone could ask, let me tell you. The final checklist on the trip is to return via the East coast road which I have not travelled before. Otherwise I would have gone all the way upto Madurai and took the NH all the way back home. So back to the plan, I took the right and my first stop was in a place called Thoondi at 11:30 AM. The road was really good, but the sun started to flex its muscle. Since I covered 100 kms, stopped for my first break, 2 glasses of Sarbath. After 15 mins started again. The next stop was after another 80 odd kms. The heat was getting to me and had my second break at around 1 PM. Did another 100 kms and crossed Velankanni on the way. As I visited it only a couple of months back, did not stop here and went ahead towards Nagapattinam. The 3^rd stop was at 3:00 PM, like the usual way skipped the lunch and had good amount of snacks and lots of fluids to recharge myself. The good roads all are gone and had bad patches somewhere between Karaikal and Chidambaram. Had to be very careful in Chidambaram as there are multiple roads to reach Chennai. Took multiple checks of google maps to ensure I was in the correct route. As I reached Cuddalore, there was heavy traffic. Lost some time here in cuddalore which is understandable because of the evening time and Friday. Crossing that I reached Pondy by 6 PM. So far everything went as planned. Again, had to encounter a lot of traffic. Got caught in every possible signal. It started to get dark and had to refuel for the final stretch. Waiting at the signal decided on not going ahead in the ECR road any further. 2 simple reasons – Avoid more and more traffic and night drive in the dangerous ECR stretch from Pondy to Chennai. Took the left to catch the Tindivanam bypass road. Stopped at the next tea shop and a quick 15 mins break. Went ahead and refuelled at the next petrol station. Being Pondy the price was much less than the other places, but somehow, I felt it was not like it was used to be earlier. Remember having close to 10 rupees in difference. Think this was somewhere around 6 or 7 rupees. Anyway, it was a good deal. The tank was full, and we ride in good speed all the way to take the right to catch the Chennai – Trichy NH. Around 8 PM stopped at a coffee shop for the last break. Had the usual traffic in Perungalathur and reached home by 9:45 PM.
That ends the successful SOLO ride of 2019. It was just over 1800 kms in 3 days. An average of 600 kms per day was really good. Had I taken the Madurai-Trichy route I would have been back home at least couple of hours earlier, but that was never my intension. I wanted to try the ECR road. Will I try that route again, maybe not? If I go back to Dhanuskodi I will take the Trichy route and maybe try the ECR from Ramanathapuram to Thoothukudi. Think I already preparing a rough plan while on the way back, but that is for another day. So to think of going to the same place which I visited, is all because of the beauty of Pamban and Dhanuskodi. That ends the story……..

To do the SOLO after 5 years was quite an experience after having company for the previous 3 trips. But one thing is for sure, I was calmer and more composed than that first SOLO trip, knew exactly what I was doing and felt like an experienced rider now. With the Pandemic around don’t know if it will be the same again, but I will get back on the roads I love and write a travelogue here.
Challenges will come and go but our determination will take us to places…. Thanks again to all XBHPians for having the patience in reading through my travel experience. Catch you all again in another interesting travelogue next time……Byeeeeee

Attached Files

**krishna77** · 06-11-2020, 08:41 PM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Great captures!
A nice read.

**Rajesh_Ravi** · 06-12-2020, 10:34 AM

Re: Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Originally posted by krishna77 View Post

Great captures!
A nice read.

Thank a lot Krishna

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Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

Ride 2019 - Chennai - Idukki - Alleppey - Courtallam - Rameshwaram - Chennai

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