* thumbs up* * thumbs up* for u....

Great log and a great way to start the new year saddled on ur bikes! Nice read!

Prajwal

Awesome. Awesome!! Never seen anything so refreshing for a long time now.

Thanks for Sharing

Day 6: Cochin to Valparai

Thanks a lot... Yes, indeed its best my best bike trip till date

Thanks a lot bro ... Its great to see everyone appreciating our work... Thanks Again !!!

Thanks a lot ...

Thanks Prajwal... It was indeed a great way to start the new year !!!

Thanks a lot Ananth ... It indeed an honor to get such a feedback

Day 6: Cochin to Valparai

Since we got the well-deserved rest the previous day and not much of distance to cover, we planned to leave the hotel by 6 AM (TripMeter: 925 Kms)… We were supposed to reach Aluva & then to Chalakudy… Biju was travelling ahead of me & we hadn’t covered much distance and I spotted a company owned BP outlet and wanted to feed by bike with delicious unadulterated petrol and all my indications to Biju (Honk, beep, flick the headlights) to pull-over failed and he just went ahead without noticing me … I stopped by to fuel only to realize that he’s gone quite ahead of me… I was given wrong directions by some of the locals and thereby resulting in me loosing the way & taking a different route … Then it was cat & mouse game between us questioning each other “DUDE, WHERE ARE YOU ????“… This whole mess up wasted at least 1 hour and we finally could catch up after Aluva… It was my mistake that I should have told him earlier or at least should have overtook him and asked him to pull-over for refill… I understood it the hard way that the only way to stop Biju when he’s driving his BULL is to overtake him and wave both my hands, thereby indicating him to stop … No amount of Audio-Visual (Honk, Flick) techniques works in this case

Fuel Details:
Me: 5.31 Liters for Rs. 250/-
Biju: Had no clue about this

We stopped by for b’fast @ Hotel Run (Yes, that’s the name of the hotel , God knows what was running through the owner’s mind when he named his hotel this way )… Damn !!! Should have taken a pic of it, somehow slipped my mind … No prizes for guessing what we had for b’fast

Managed to reach Athirapally Falls @ 10:00 AM or so (TripMeter: 1000 Kms exactly)… The humidity was already playing its role and taking the bags from our bikes and carrying them was a big pain … Spent some time at the falls admiring its beauty … It was indeed worth all the pain we took to reach this place… Am sure, this place will look like Niagara Falls during peak monsoon season… Wish to make it to this place during Monsoon

As we walked all the way till the water falls…



Water Falls as I climbed down:


Since we’d carried all our baggage, it was a very tiring experience… Added to it, the humidity factor was killing us …

From here on, we moved ahead towards Vazhachal Falls… This time around we decided to take turns in guarding the bikes and the other guy would visit the place, shoot pics & then back…



Had our lunch in one of the hotels @ Vazachal Falls…


As I was sitting idle, I somehow happened to check my tyres and suddenly I find 2 nails on my rear tyre … We’re in the middle of the jungle and Valparai is another 80 Kms away from this place … Not sure if this happened @ Top Station (When the tyre pressure came down to 15) or it happened more recently… Was caught up in 2 minds whether to leave it undisturbed or pull it out… Based on of my previous experience, I decided not to disturb it… Didn’t think too much about this and we set off…

On the way to Valparai


We stopped by at couple of water holes, took pics… When riding, it was such a pleasant feeling & whenever we stopped, humidity would come into play thereby forcing us to remove our jackets whenever we stopped… There was hardly any traffic in the entire stretch… The only people we’d spot by were the forest officials at Forest Stations… I’d note the TripMeter reading in my mind (Contigency Plan)... The road was manageable (at times good / at times bad) and we didn’t rush too much & preferred to travel in a leisurely manner…



We saw a different species of monkey on this particular stretch… It was jet black all throughout its body and I’ve never seen such species in my life-time... It was so shy that it would jump from one tree to another tree in seconds & run away… All our efforts to capture onto our lens failed miserably…

Shooting each other:


Spotted a dam on the way…



Spotted on nice house next to the road, wonder who made this and who stays here… Check the rear tyre



Gradually we started coming out of forest area and we could see the landscape getting changed into Tea Estates & in next few mins, crossed Malakkaparai (Last town in Kerala) & subsequently entered TN… The roads got even better as we started driving in the Tea Estates…



The Question we had on Day 2 (When we were about to enter Munnar) as shown in this pic finally got answered here … They’re used to weigh the tea leaves collected by the tea estate workes by the end of the day…



We saw this gal (Yes, it’s a SHE ) on the way, she posed like NASDAQ BULL and when I was about to take his pic, she changed her angle … Had I clicked even a sec, could have captured it in the right way, my bad



Finally reached Valparai @ 4:30 PM or so (TripMeter: 1085 Kms)… As it was in the middle of the week, we were lucky to get Hotel Green Hill for Rs. 600/- with an amazing view of Tea Estates from the room … We thought of exploring the place as there was still plenty of day-light & went out… Suddenly it reminded me of the 2 nails which are still onto my rear tyre… We spotted a cobbler and with the help of his sophisticated tool, got both the nails removed… The moment we opened the 2nd nail, we could hear the air leak through the hole … The next thing was to look for a puncture shop, and luckily it was nearer… (Had I removed those nails @ Vazachal Falls, it would be a big blunder)… When we opened up the tube, the viscous liquid in the tube had come out and it was all over the place… In fact, its due to this liquid that we could make it without any troubles … The tube survived 3 nails without giving up in the middle of the jungle… Helmets Off to the guy who invented tuffup tubes …



One question to everyone who had any experience with Tuffup tubes… Is it possible to refill that liquid or do I need to go for brand new tube ???

By the time, we got everything fixed, it was almost 7 PM and it was getting darker… We decided to have early dinner and call it a day !!!

Overall, it was a great day, driving through the forests, tea estates etc… Since it was 30th Dec 2009, we were caught in 2 minds… Whether to spend one more day @ Valparai and celebrate the New Year or reach till Gudalur (Between Ooty & Madumalai)… Getting an accommodation @ Wayanad on a New Year Eve was not happening … Since I was getting calls from home about a Family Get-together happening @ Bellary & Biju had few other plans, we decided to move on… Day 7 is all about driving through the 40 hair pens on Valparai – Pollachi ghat… Stay Tuned for more action !!!

Day 7 : 31st Dec 2009 : Valparai to Mysore http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/1...tml#post362406

the pics are really amazing buddy..... missing my hometown now.... these pics are a real relief for me, when i watch them sitting here in uk....

you can get good houseboats from 5000rs also but during offseason.... and u need to book them prior

HAHHAAA That name is really funny ...


Taken during monsoon in 2008

Its Called Sholayar Dam.....

How didi u find the chalakudi - Athirapily road... thats one of best roads i have ever been on.... lots of twisties u get on that section... as i am from chalakudi i keep going to athirapilly on my bike just to enjoy those twisties

amazing ride, trip log and pics.waiting for more.

wonderful selection of places and some great photos refreshing indeed!!

Thanks a lot Mibhin... Its such an honor to us that our work gives such a relief to you Agreed that you get houseboats for 5000 during off-season with proper booking... But our case was entire different, we hardly knew what our next destination would be

Thanks for reminding the name of the place... I was trying to recollect, but somehow couldn't make it ... The Chalkudi - Athirapally Road is really good and we too enjoyed the twisties ... Vazachal Falls - Malakkaparai road is good / bad in stages... Since my rear tyre had a few nails in it, didn't drive fast on this particular stretch

Athirapally Falls looks amazing during monsoon... For sure, will plan to make it to this place during monsoon ...

Thanks a lot ...

Thanks a lot ...

Will get the next day log at the earliest...

Day 7: Valparai to Mysore

Apologies... Had been to native and there was no access to the Internet, hence the delay !!!

Day 7: Valparai to Mysore

Since the BULL was hungry for quite a long time (36 Hours), the last time it had anything was when we were going to Kumarakam, it badly needed some fuel… Biju got it fueled the previous night itself…

Fuel Details:
Me: Had not clue about it
Biju: Rs. 300

This has been the route that caught our attention ever since we started planning for the trip … During our initial plan, we were supposed to reach Munnar using the following route Pollachi -> Valparai -> Chalkudy -> Munnar… But as the plan progressed, we wanted to include the Udhmalpet -> Munnar route for its scenic tea estates + forests… After consulting lotta people, we decided to do it this way (Cochin -> Chalkudy -> Valparai -> Pollachi)…

We left the hotel @ 6:20 AM and had a long way to cover … The twisties through the tea estates was just too good… We found this particular stretch to be much fun to drive compared to the ones near Munnar…

Found a statue of Mr. Carver Marsh & he was particular showing at something, I had my questions as to what he was showing at & got the answer … He was pointing at an amazing Landscapes



Took lotta pics on this particular stretch

Hair Pins … Just loved doing the twisties




It was somewhat cold & I tried recording the route by tying the camcorder onto my thigh… Its come somewhat good, need to work on the video sometime soon…



That’s Hair-Pin # 9 for you … Its got the best view…


View From Hair Pin # 9/40… See if you can count the # of twisties in this pic… We actually lost the count


Spotted plenty of falls on this route & the taste, freshness of water would put even Kinley / Aquafina to shame




Reached a small village after having done with the ghats… This is one particular stretch that’ll be there for the rest of my life … Since everything was written in Tamil, I couldn’t figure out which town is it (Time: 8:20 AM)… Had breakfast like a glutton & this time around Pongal, Idly, Paper Dosa & Vada (Yes, we had all of them )… From here on, we knew it was a straight road till Coimbatore… We decided to cover this stretch as much faster as we can so that we can reach the destination (Even till now, we’d no clue where we’d call it a day ) at the earliest… After cruising at a steady speed, we were able to reach Coimbatore by 10:00 AM or so (TripMeter: 1192 Kms) & it was getting hotter… Biju had some work in the bank and we waited for a while… Once we reached Coimbatore, our confidence grew manifold that we can easily make it to Mysore by 7 PM or so… My family members had been calling me to find out when I’ll be back as there was a family get-to-gether happening after a long time @ Bellary (350 Kms from Bangalore)… I could confidently tell my dad that I’ll be home the next day by around the same… He’s very happy to know that I’ve finally decided to be home …

Ooty was another 90 Kms away, so we had set the target of reaching by 1 PM & we set off… After moving a certain distance, it suddenly reminded of my conversation with Blackbird (Sanjay) which we had at Munnar… I vaguely remembered that the direct route via Mettupalyam is closed and one has to detour and go via Kotagiri (An additional 20 Kms)… As we neared Kotagiri, the traffic was picking up + the ghats brought down the average speed … Two-wheelers definitely have a bigger advantage when climbing a ghat as we could zip across other vehicles and would vanish in no time … As we started climbing up the hill, we could actually feel the temperature fall by a few degrees and it was a great feeling… Didn’t stop anywhere and we managed to reach Ooty by around 1 PM or so (TripMeter: 1288 Kms)… Now our confidence grew much more as the drive from here was like a cakewalk … In just about a few hours, we’d already crossed 2 ghats (Valparai & Ooty) & our bikes badly needed an energy drink & they got what they wanted badly…

Fuel Details:
Me: Rs. 200/- @ Rs.49.51 / Liter
Biju: Rs. 500/- @ Rs. 49.51/Liter

Stopped by after crossing Ooty to make some calls as we’ll not have any signal from hereon for next few hours



Nilgiris….


Stopped by at one of the lakes (Not sure if this is Pykara Lake) & took some pics…





Our next stop was @ Gudalur (at about 3:45 PM) where we had lunch and set off towards Madumalai and managed to reach Bandipur by 5 PM or so (TripMeter: 1370 Kms)… We had one road-blocker and in fact we were the first ones to reach this point… In no time, few more vehicles gathered and they started behaving as if it’s a Zoo… Having read about the elephant chases alover the blogs, we even turned our bikes and were all set to zip away if this elephant would charge at us… Luckily, it was in good mood and was completely unconcerned & grazing in its own world …



Suddenly we saw one couple successfully made it on a 2-wheeler from the other direction… This is when our confidence grew and we decided to move ahead… There were 2 vehicles ahead of me (Innova & Tavera) & the Innova guy had the audacity to stand just a few feet away from this pachyderm… Should say, it was his lucky day, else for sure it’s not good to be so close… This is when people from behind started behaving like fools by honking horns yelling at the Innova guy to move ahead… As the vehicles were slowing moving ahead, I decided to shield myself by positioning myself behind these 2 vehicles and move ahead from the right side (Elephant was on extreme left side) & suddenly the guy in Tavera opened his right door… Damn, you idiot !!! I yelled at him, “YOU DUFFER, WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU????” (Yes, this is what I said) & at this moment, the elephant looked at my direction just for a sec or so… Should say, this has been the most scariest moment of my life, thanks to this idiot… Somehow, this idiot knew his mistake and closed the door making me room to make my way… I zipped across both the vehicles … The elephant was not in a destructive mood, but still I had my share of scary moment …

Reached Nanjangud by about 6:15 PM or so (TripMeter: 1425 Kms) & from here on the traffic was really bad and we finally reached my Aunt’s place in Mysore by 7:00 PM or so (TripMeter: 1451 Kms)… Biju went to his friend’s place to celebrate the New Year in a grand way… I decided to rest @ my Aunt’s place as I’ve to get up early next day and leave for Bangalore and drive for Bellary by noon in a cage …

Day 8 : 1st Jan 2010 : Mysore to Bangalore http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/1...tml#post362411

Kerala Bike Trip Dec 2009 - a set on Flickr

what a trip there buddy.... and overall amazing pictures.....

how come u didnt take the masinagudi route??? the famous 36 hair pins....

enjoyed every moment of going through the log...

Thanks a lot Mibhin ... Didn't think too much about which route to take , missed it out... Moreover, we were not sure about the condition of the route too... There's always a next time !!!

Dude no words to say about your trip and photos...awesome ..

Thanks a lot Buddy ...