12th July'14 : A relaxed weekend in Germany and a plan is discussed with Noopur for a ride. I am missing India and have been away from riding for a while now. We talked about riding to Ladakh or Western ghats and finalized a South Indian ride in month of September. As I will be rolled off from current project and working on few weekends has left me with a few extra comp offs, so will be easy in September. This time I chose Goa, Hampi, Gokarna over Ladakh to be more relaxed with preparations - Yes ladakh ride needs some. Also, I want to ride less and relax more so this will be my 3rd time in Goa in last 2 years and last time I rode from Hyd-Mum-Goa-Hampi-Hyd, I remember lush greens in month of September. So would be good to be there again.
I still need to do some preparations - 1st thing is to get my bullet in shape, it's lying idle from 15th April, then get a double seat. 2nd is to buy riding gear for Noopur and arrange saddle bags, I gave my saddle bags to a friend for ride and he returned them back with a big hole, thanks to his silencer. And lastly I want to get my Electra 4s to Hyderabad and start paper work for it soon
So we will have approx 12 days and we just want to spend a couple of days in Hampi and rest in Goa and Gokarna. I am excited to log this down as the thought of being back on road with my better half and my bullet is unmatched.
May not have any more updates for next few days, cheers till then..
So, I am writing back after a gap of few days. We are back from a ride covering 2000kms over a period of 10days. I rode my same old Bullet Electra 5s but this time with a pillion rider for complete duration of ride.
23rd Aug'14: After getting bike serviced from last 2 days and getting other ride things ready, this day was when we had our scheduled start. Initial plan was to reach Hampi and from there we will decide where to go next - Gokarna or Badami and we did no bookings (like I always do). After having a glass of left over milk from last night, we started at 7:30 am. All packing was done a night earlier and we were all set to start our debut long ride together.
As we passed Vikarabad and roughly 85kms of ride, we stopped for breakfast and tea at a roadside Dhaba, till this time we were on Hyd-Bangalore highway and the road was wide enough for an easy cruise at 90-100kmph. After that as we passed Mehboobnagar 2 guys on their bike tried to talk to us and when I slowed down I could hear - 'Great man' and a thumbs up gesture. I shook my head in acknolwedgement and we rode further. Our next break was a general rest/chit-chat break and I turned my bullet a little away from main highway and stopped in a field. 2 more breaks on the way and next was an imposed break due to makeshift check post made by some villagers. I was a little cautious as why these kids are stopping us but suddenly they tightened the rope on road and waved as us to stop.
And they asked money for Ganesha visarjan which I refused to pay. 2-3 of them were adamant to extract at least 50 rupees from me but I kept refusing so their head allowed us to leave. Wtf it was, I am not in favor of these religious fundings which are full of threat and hooligan than voluntary donations. Another surprise awaited us just before entering virpapura gadde when we saw the road completely submerged with water and locals informed us that there was heavy rain from last 4-5 days. Aah, I was in not mood of misadventure to cross that stream of water as it was deep and even bolero and a mini truck couldn't cross it and the road was very narrow. In the mid of confusion a good soul approached us and offered his space on top of a rock on the other side of road to park my bullet.
I accepted his offer as he worked as a boatsman there and somehow I could trust him. His name is Arjun, aged 17 year old and I went to his village where people looked at me and talked about my Royal Enfield. I parked it and saw he had more than 5 TVS mopeds which he used to rent out to tourists but because of heavy rains he stacked them up on the rock. I walked back and we got into a round boat made of bamboo and crossed the river stream to reach Virpapura Gaddi. It was deserted and very few long term foreign tourists could be spotted. It was not the type of place it used to be when I visited it 2 times earlier. A hotel owner gave lift to Noopur and saddle bags and I walked to Laughing Budha cafe. This is the same place which I visited in year 2012 as well and run by Deepak ji. The place has 29 cats in all and 3 dogs. All friendly, it is managed well by Deepak ji and he charged me 300 Rs per night for a cottage stay. Laughing Budha is on the river side and offers a great view of river and Shiva temple on other side of river and there is greenery, cats and food and beers available in the cafe. One thing I disliked about cafe was the behaviour of Nepali men working there when Deepak was away, they ignored people sitting in cafe and put on Nepali news channel, Nepali songs and killed the fun of our 2nd evening there in the cafe.
Ok, so this day after having dinner we kept sitting there in the cafe for sometime and as night approached we went to sleep in cottage but there was heavy thunder sound and no electricity for whole night. A French girl was staying in next cottage from 3 months and was fully Indianized in her avatar, makeup, dressing and eating style.
24th Aug'14:After having breakfast, we crossed the river stream and I took my bullet out and we went to Sanapur lake and water reservoir. It was nice weather with no sun and we walked to various places. We met a South Indian family who appreciated us and clicked pictures with us. Also, the same old man at lake named Budappa recognized me. We met a crazy English guy who dared to jump from bridge into the river stream which was highly swollen at that time. Had our lunch at a small road side eatery and people there recognized my Bullet. Youths asked about mileage, price, year and experience of riding a bullet. I was used to such questions, but it was new to Noopur and she agreed to my point of ROYAL ride because of being on Enfield. We went to different places of Vijaynagaram kingdom and in the evening we hiked to Hanuman temple but there was no sunset visible because of clouds all over. As we had our dinner back in Laughing Budha cafe, I felt bad because of behaviour of guys over there as they were loud and paid no attention to guests there. It was then that we decided to move out from there and stay in Hampi next day and visit the ruins and temples of Hampi.
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We covered a distance of 40kms and reached Hampi by road from Virapapura Gaddi and got a room in guest house run by a family there. And then we were out to visit the ruins and temples, one after the other we went to a lot of places of the historical kingdom. Hampi ruins are listed in UNESCO World Heritage sites and it was mesmerizing to know about them and imagine how life used to exist there in ancient era or as latest as 500 years back. We had roadside lunch and tea and befriended a lot of local tourists and villagers. A few kids walked upto us to get a picture clicked and Noopur obliged to all of them well. After coming
back to our guest house area, I went to a cyber cafe and noted down the route from Hampi to Gokarna.
In the evening we relaxed at a cafe and met that English guy there who jumped into the flowing stream from bridge. He was keen to do a road trip on Royal Enfield and after knowing about our ride he took a few tips from us and in no time we mingled with everyone in the cafe. After reaching the guest house, we packed our bags and were off for sleep. It was then when I confirmed Noopur that we are riding further to Gokarna, Goa and Badami and with an uncertainty on weather ahead we slept.
The route was simple :
Hampi - Hospet - Gadag - Kalghatgi - Yellapur - Idgundi and then left from a T point (not towards Angola). We covered around 330 kms that day and the journey as usual was better than the destination. Our second stop was at a roadside location with greenery on both sides and we clicked a few pictures there and took some rest before starting again. Just before Yellapur, there was a sudden and heavy drizzle that took us by surprise and luckily we could find a road side Dhaba where we stopped and had our lunch. In the meantime rain also stopped but was told by a local tea seller that there could be more rains towards the coast so I took my ran jacket out and we started again after a 45-50 minute halt. We moved at a decent pace as Noopur kept clicking the green highway and the clouds that mustered above the hills on the way after Yellapur. There was no sun and rains were on and off and a few kms before Gokarna, we experienced heavy rains again. We had a lovely ride in the rains, a romantic one, with very less traffic on road and as approached Gokarna, I could sense some possible destruction because of heavy rains. Water logging, thatched roofs blowed away and no roadside shop open were a few signs that made me think like that. At Om beach in Gokarna, everything looked faint and silent except 1 Namaste guest house. It was then when for a moment we thought of doing another 150-160 kms and reach Goa but then because of continuous heavy rain, we took a refuge in a tourist hotel in Gokarna town. In the evening, as rain slowed down we walked to a restaurant and had a few Dosas and local Thalis there. It was a good vegetarian restaurant and Dosa was yummy, followed by filter coffee.
Gokarna was not worth to visit in that season. Another apprehension surrounded me that what if we reach Goa and see it in same state. But I was confident that at least Baga and Calangute beach will be busy. So we fixed next day for Goa and as the distance was less - 170 kms or so, we planned to start late after having lunch.
27th August
This small distance of 175kms was scenic between Gokarna and Goa, and we rode all these kms in rains. There was a lot of water everywhere, except for a few minutes in between when we could stop and click some pictures. We kept stopping in between for short breaks at any roadside stretch and on one such stretch my phone got damaged in rain. As we touched Palolem beach in South Goa, we were disappointed as the place looked really deserted and sad. We moved further and reached Calangute, got a nice guesthouse there (2 room set) for only 600 Rs per night because of off season.
After settling there, we went out for a walk around. It was 3rd time I was in Goa in last 3 years and all the places looked familiar.
28th, 29th August
We were in Goa, visited few beaches chilled out in various cafes and got ourselves inked. Yes a tattoo in Goa, Noopur wanted it from a long time and I also got one on my left hand. We bought some liqor, cashew on 29th August and I checked my bullet before setting out again on 30th August.
30th August
The destination for this day was Badami, I missed some roads and ended up with around 30kms extra. Took Goa - Belgaum - Yeragatti - Lokapur - Bagalkote - Badami route.
I checked this route in the morning on google maps and was out riding in next 1 hour. I always face questions like - 'How is the road', 'What speed we should manintain' , 'Is it safe', 'Where to stay', 'Where to eat', 'Where are the gas stations/repair shops on the road'. I think I should answer all these questions here as well :
Q: How is condition of road?
My Ans: Never bother, if there is road or no road the bikers are not toddlers, they know how to make their way. Let the road offer the worst it can, we enjoy our journey and if the road is good, we still enjoy it.
Q : What speed we should maintain on XYZ stretch?
My Ans : Really, you want to match my speed? Ok if I say 5 kmph, will you do so? No, never copy anyone else's speed. Maintain a speed as per condition of road, speed at which you are comfortable, your motorcycle is in your control and your mind is free. Even if it is 50 or 80 or 100kmph, judge it by your own.
Q : Is this area/place/road safe?
My Ans : I don't consider any place/road unsafe, I follow my instincts and I am prepared to face any uncertain event - Both mentally and physically. If you are so much concerned about safety, motorcycling is not your game. Change it.
Q : Where to stay/Where to eat/Where to shit/Where to refill tank?
My Ans : I stay at random guest houses or in my camp as I don't plan my road trips, I love to sleep under stars and any place which is clean can be my shelter for night. So if you want to stay in Taj or in Baaj or any planned place - Go ahead. I go solo or with less people, with whom I am really comfortable as I am sure my frequency will match with them. I refill my tank wherever I see a gas station and carry extra fuel always - Say 4 litres to 15 litres depending on the state I am traveling in.
Ok, so back on the ride log - The route upto Belgaum was clean, green and beautiful. We got first puncture of trip after some 40 kms ahead of Goa. After fixing it up (which took around 1 hour) as I am not very fast in changing tube we moved ahead.
Late in the evening we reached Badami and got a room in a local guesthouse which had a good restaurant and room service. The access road to Badami was painful as it was dark, the road had patches and potholes, it was a single road and there were infinite mosquitoes all over.
31st August
We went to the heritage Badami cave temples at around 11 am, there were lot of monkeys everywhere following us and our stuff/bags. The rocks were cut and are considered to be from 6th-8th century when Chalukyas ruled Karnataka. There are 5 caves here on a small hill which you need to climb on stairs and see all 5 cave temples.
This day we roamed around the area and checked few other temples. Badami has lot of potential to be developed as a tourist place and it is not really difficult. Build some roads, convert some houses to guest house and clean the place. But no one at the moment cares about this place, our government is busy in spending money to erect statues in temples, but not ready to preserve heritage sites.
1st September was the day when we started for Hyderabad. We took this route :
Badami - Lingsugur - Yadgir - Pargi - Chevella - Hyderabad. It was around 430kms of ride that day. We were used to by this time, the highway was not at all exciting and we took some breaks on the way. The biggest drawback of living in middle of India - No International borders, no snow clad mountains, no scenic road but thankfully weather was not very hot.
Late in the evening we were back home after 10 days and roughly 2000kms. And guess what, I am happy I have my wife as pillion rider and my best friend soon to accompany me to Ladakh as a pillion. :)
I still need to do some preparations - 1st thing is to get my bullet in shape, it's lying idle from 15th April, then get a double seat. 2nd is to buy riding gear for Noopur and arrange saddle bags, I gave my saddle bags to a friend for ride and he returned them back with a big hole, thanks to his silencer. And lastly I want to get my Electra 4s to Hyderabad and start paper work for it soon
So we will have approx 12 days and we just want to spend a couple of days in Hampi and rest in Goa and Gokarna. I am excited to log this down as the thought of being back on road with my better half and my bullet is unmatched.
May not have any more updates for next few days, cheers till then..
So, I am writing back after a gap of few days. We are back from a ride covering 2000kms over a period of 10days. I rode my same old Bullet Electra 5s but this time with a pillion rider for complete duration of ride.
23rd Aug'14: After getting bike serviced from last 2 days and getting other ride things ready, this day was when we had our scheduled start. Initial plan was to reach Hampi and from there we will decide where to go next - Gokarna or Badami and we did no bookings (like I always do). After having a glass of left over milk from last night, we started at 7:30 am. All packing was done a night earlier and we were all set to start our debut long ride together.
As we passed Vikarabad and roughly 85kms of ride, we stopped for breakfast and tea at a roadside Dhaba, till this time we were on Hyd-Bangalore highway and the road was wide enough for an easy cruise at 90-100kmph. After that as we passed Mehboobnagar 2 guys on their bike tried to talk to us and when I slowed down I could hear - 'Great man' and a thumbs up gesture. I shook my head in acknolwedgement and we rode further. Our next break was a general rest/chit-chat break and I turned my bullet a little away from main highway and stopped in a field. 2 more breaks on the way and next was an imposed break due to makeshift check post made by some villagers. I was a little cautious as why these kids are stopping us but suddenly they tightened the rope on road and waved as us to stop.
And they asked money for Ganesha visarjan which I refused to pay. 2-3 of them were adamant to extract at least 50 rupees from me but I kept refusing so their head allowed us to leave. Wtf it was, I am not in favor of these religious fundings which are full of threat and hooligan than voluntary donations. Another surprise awaited us just before entering virpapura gadde when we saw the road completely submerged with water and locals informed us that there was heavy rain from last 4-5 days. Aah, I was in not mood of misadventure to cross that stream of water as it was deep and even bolero and a mini truck couldn't cross it and the road was very narrow. In the mid of confusion a good soul approached us and offered his space on top of a rock on the other side of road to park my bullet.
I accepted his offer as he worked as a boatsman there and somehow I could trust him. His name is Arjun, aged 17 year old and I went to his village where people looked at me and talked about my Royal Enfield. I parked it and saw he had more than 5 TVS mopeds which he used to rent out to tourists but because of heavy rains he stacked them up on the rock. I walked back and we got into a round boat made of bamboo and crossed the river stream to reach Virpapura Gaddi. It was deserted and very few long term foreign tourists could be spotted. It was not the type of place it used to be when I visited it 2 times earlier. A hotel owner gave lift to Noopur and saddle bags and I walked to Laughing Budha cafe. This is the same place which I visited in year 2012 as well and run by Deepak ji. The place has 29 cats in all and 3 dogs. All friendly, it is managed well by Deepak ji and he charged me 300 Rs per night for a cottage stay. Laughing Budha is on the river side and offers a great view of river and Shiva temple on other side of river and there is greenery, cats and food and beers available in the cafe. One thing I disliked about cafe was the behaviour of Nepali men working there when Deepak was away, they ignored people sitting in cafe and put on Nepali news channel, Nepali songs and killed the fun of our 2nd evening there in the cafe.
Ok, so this day after having dinner we kept sitting there in the cafe for sometime and as night approached we went to sleep in cottage but there was heavy thunder sound and no electricity for whole night. A French girl was staying in next cottage from 3 months and was fully Indianized in her avatar, makeup, dressing and eating style.
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| Rest on highway |
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| Reached Virpapura Gadde and it was cut off from land from all sides |
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| Had to park bullet on other side, reached this side on a boat |
24th Aug'14:After having breakfast, we crossed the river stream and I took my bullet out and we went to Sanapur lake and water reservoir. It was nice weather with no sun and we walked to various places. We met a South Indian family who appreciated us and clicked pictures with us. Also, the same old man at lake named Budappa recognized me. We met a crazy English guy who dared to jump from bridge into the river stream which was highly swollen at that time. Had our lunch at a small road side eatery and people there recognized my Bullet. Youths asked about mileage, price, year and experience of riding a bullet. I was used to such questions, but it was new to Noopur and she agreed to my point of ROYAL ride because of being on Enfield. We went to different places of Vijaynagaram kingdom and in the evening we hiked to Hanuman temple but there was no sunset visible because of clouds all over. As we had our dinner back in Laughing Budha cafe, I felt bad because of behaviour of guys over there as they were loud and paid no attention to guests there. It was then that we decided to move out from there and stay in Hampi next day and visit the ruins and temples of Hampi.
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| Kids want to pose with Noopur |
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25th Aug'14
back to our guest house area, I went to a cyber cafe and noted down the route from Hampi to Gokarna.
In the evening we relaxed at a cafe and met that English guy there who jumped into the flowing stream from bridge. He was keen to do a road trip on Royal Enfield and after knowing about our ride he took a few tips from us and in no time we mingled with everyone in the cafe. After reaching the guest house, we packed our bags and were off for sleep. It was then when I confirmed Noopur that we are riding further to Gokarna, Goa and Badami and with an uncertainty on weather ahead we slept.
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| Kids studying and selling coconuts |
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| Breakfast - Cheap and fresh |
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| Shiva temple - Hampi |
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| River Tungabhadra in full flow |
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| He loves cleanliness |
26th Aug'14
It was 7:30 am and I was still riding towards Hampi. Oh yes, it's no dream as Noopur forgot her phone in guest house so we had to rush back after going 4 kms ahead. And at around 8 am we were on the highway towards Gokarna. We stopped on the way for breakfast and met a super friendly local uncle there who could converse well in Hindi. The Kannadiga lady at the small restaurant (canteen like) was not able to understand a single word of Hindi or English and it took me a while to understand that she is speaking in Kannada and not Telugu. The another guy named Ravi helped as a translator.
The route was simple :
Hampi - Hospet - Gadag - Kalghatgi - Yellapur - Idgundi and then left from a T point (not towards Angola). We covered around 330 kms that day and the journey as usual was better than the destination. Our second stop was at a roadside location with greenery on both sides and we clicked a few pictures there and took some rest before starting again. Just before Yellapur, there was a sudden and heavy drizzle that took us by surprise and luckily we could find a road side Dhaba where we stopped and had our lunch. In the meantime rain also stopped but was told by a local tea seller that there could be more rains towards the coast so I took my ran jacket out and we started again after a 45-50 minute halt. We moved at a decent pace as Noopur kept clicking the green highway and the clouds that mustered above the hills on the way after Yellapur. There was no sun and rains were on and off and a few kms before Gokarna, we experienced heavy rains again. We had a lovely ride in the rains, a romantic one, with very less traffic on road and as approached Gokarna, I could sense some possible destruction because of heavy rains. Water logging, thatched roofs blowed away and no roadside shop open were a few signs that made me think like that. At Om beach in Gokarna, everything looked faint and silent except 1 Namaste guest house. It was then when for a moment we thought of doing another 150-160 kms and reach Goa but then because of continuous heavy rain, we took a refuge in a tourist hotel in Gokarna town. In the evening, as rain slowed down we walked to a restaurant and had a few Dosas and local Thalis there. It was a good vegetarian restaurant and Dosa was yummy, followed by filter coffee.
Gokarna was not worth to visit in that season. Another apprehension surrounded me that what if we reach Goa and see it in same state. But I was confident that at least Baga and Calangute beach will be busy. So we fixed next day for Goa and as the distance was less - 170 kms or so, we planned to start late after having lunch.
27th August
This small distance of 175kms was scenic between Gokarna and Goa, and we rode all these kms in rains. There was a lot of water everywhere, except for a few minutes in between when we could stop and click some pictures. We kept stopping in between for short breaks at any roadside stretch and on one such stretch my phone got damaged in rain. As we touched Palolem beach in South Goa, we were disappointed as the place looked really deserted and sad. We moved further and reached Calangute, got a nice guesthouse there (2 room set) for only 600 Rs per night because of off season.
After settling there, we went out for a walk around. It was 3rd time I was in Goa in last 3 years and all the places looked familiar.
28th, 29th August
We were in Goa, visited few beaches chilled out in various cafes and got ourselves inked. Yes a tattoo in Goa, Noopur wanted it from a long time and I also got one on my left hand. We bought some liqor, cashew on 29th August and I checked my bullet before setting out again on 30th August.
30th August
The destination for this day was Badami, I missed some roads and ended up with around 30kms extra. Took Goa - Belgaum - Yeragatti - Lokapur - Bagalkote - Badami route.
I checked this route in the morning on google maps and was out riding in next 1 hour. I always face questions like - 'How is the road', 'What speed we should manintain' , 'Is it safe', 'Where to stay', 'Where to eat', 'Where are the gas stations/repair shops on the road'. I think I should answer all these questions here as well :
Q: How is condition of road?
My Ans: Never bother, if there is road or no road the bikers are not toddlers, they know how to make their way. Let the road offer the worst it can, we enjoy our journey and if the road is good, we still enjoy it.
Q : What speed we should maintain on XYZ stretch?
My Ans : Really, you want to match my speed? Ok if I say 5 kmph, will you do so? No, never copy anyone else's speed. Maintain a speed as per condition of road, speed at which you are comfortable, your motorcycle is in your control and your mind is free. Even if it is 50 or 80 or 100kmph, judge it by your own.
Q : Is this area/place/road safe?
My Ans : I don't consider any place/road unsafe, I follow my instincts and I am prepared to face any uncertain event - Both mentally and physically. If you are so much concerned about safety, motorcycling is not your game. Change it.
Q : Where to stay/Where to eat/Where to shit/Where to refill tank?
My Ans : I stay at random guest houses or in my camp as I don't plan my road trips, I love to sleep under stars and any place which is clean can be my shelter for night. So if you want to stay in Taj or in Baaj or any planned place - Go ahead. I go solo or with less people, with whom I am really comfortable as I am sure my frequency will match with them. I refill my tank wherever I see a gas station and carry extra fuel always - Say 4 litres to 15 litres depending on the state I am traveling in.
Ok, so back on the ride log - The route upto Belgaum was clean, green and beautiful. We got first puncture of trip after some 40 kms ahead of Goa. After fixing it up (which took around 1 hour) as I am not very fast in changing tube we moved ahead.
Late in the evening we reached Badami and got a room in a local guesthouse which had a good restaurant and room service. The access road to Badami was painful as it was dark, the road had patches and potholes, it was a single road and there were infinite mosquitoes all over.
We went to the heritage Badami cave temples at around 11 am, there were lot of monkeys everywhere following us and our stuff/bags. The rocks were cut and are considered to be from 6th-8th century when Chalukyas ruled Karnataka. There are 5 caves here on a small hill which you need to climb on stairs and see all 5 cave temples.
This day we roamed around the area and checked few other temples. Badami has lot of potential to be developed as a tourist place and it is not really difficult. Build some roads, convert some houses to guest house and clean the place. But no one at the moment cares about this place, our government is busy in spending money to erect statues in temples, but not ready to preserve heritage sites.
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| Badami Cave Temple |
1st September was the day when we started for Hyderabad. We took this route :
Badami - Lingsugur - Yadgir - Pargi - Chevella - Hyderabad. It was around 430kms of ride that day. We were used to by this time, the highway was not at all exciting and we took some breaks on the way. The biggest drawback of living in middle of India - No International borders, no snow clad mountains, no scenic road but thankfully weather was not very hot.
Late in the evening we were back home after 10 days and roughly 2000kms. And guess what, I am happy I have my wife as pillion rider and my best friend soon to accompany me to Ladakh as a pillion. :)
