A 1000 KM Solo trip across south India.
This was something that i wanted to since a long time. Finally the Diwali vacations gave a perfect opportunity to plan this.
Distance - ~ 1000 KM
Road Quality - National and State Highways (mostly in good condition)
Duration of Trip - 4 days 3 Nights
Cost of Travel - 6000/- (including fuel, stay and everything)
Time of Travel - October End
DAY 1
1) Left Home (Bangalore) at 6:00 AM in the morning.
2) Reached Ramnagara (the location of Sholay). Roamed around and saw the mountains.It was mostly isolated and i was the only one there. The mountains are lovely and great to trek but i did not want to leave my bike alone so i just saw them from below and clicked some snaps.
3) Had Breakfast on the way at KFC.
4) Started out for B R Hills. (Distance ~ 150 KM from ramnagar). Decided to not follow the google maps and follow the road signs hence took the kunagalli road from mudigundam. A different experience going between small villages.
Found some amazing landscapes on the way.
My suggestion - if you want to cover the distance quickly take the NH or SH but if you want the journey to be interesting take the small roads.
Had an amazing drive up the hill. It got cold and the traffic was minimal hence you could have a lot of fun in the bends and corners.
5) After finishing the hill ride decided to find a place to stay and settle for the day. Didn't want to over exert on the first day. Hence decide to go to Chamraja Nagar and settle there (approx 45 KM from B R Hills). Found a nice lodge there called Mayura Lodge. Took a nice AC room as it was super hot that day.(Cost ~ 1000/-) but i think you can get cheaper lodges there. I was just lazy to find more options.
Saw the famous Sri Chamarajeshwara temple there.
Sri Chamarajeshwara temple
6) Watched TV and had dinner in the room.
FYI - Do carry Pudin Hara as the food might be too spicy for your taste as it was for mine. :P
DAY 2
1) Left the Hotel at 7:00 AM after having some nice idli sambhar.
2)The First Destination was Gopal Swamy Temple ( approx 60 KM )
3)Found awesome lonely roads leading to the top of the mountain.
The roads get worse as you climb but its manageable.
4) Reaching the top in itself is an achievement as the 4 wheelers had a hard time trying to climb the steep road and caused jams while you on 2 wheels could easily go past them.
The temple and the surrounding view, covered in lush green and immersed in milky white fog just takes your breath away.
Gopal Swamy Temple
The Garden of Eden
5) Leaving from there I started for my next destination. Dodda Betta (Highest peak in the Nilgiris at 2637 m).
This route will take you via Bandipur and you might be lucky enough to spot some wildlife on your way. Stopping and clicking pictures is not allowed but seeing these wild creatures in their habitat is a reward in itself. I was lucky enough to spot a deer and a pack of wild boars on the way. The road is great and fun to ride.
You will even cross Ooty to reach to this place and there are amazing hairpin bends up the mountain which are lovely on a bike. Just be careful of big vehicles especially the buses.
The climate was really cold and foggy. Thanks to my riding jacket i was coping up well against the weather.
The peak was over crowded due to the long weekend and the parking lot was like a fish market. The weather was extremely foggy hence you couldn't see any view from the top. But definitely a great place to visit.
6) Once finishing up from there I decided to go to Coonoor from there which is merely 25 Km from there and the winding mountain roads and the cold weather just added to the fun. Coonoor has a few places to see like the SIMS park, Dolphin's Nose, Lambs Rock , etc.
The view from the mountains was just breathtaking.
The Clouds and Fog
7) Had Lunch in Coonoor and then met up with a friend in Ooty. Stayed with him in a lodge called Grange. It was a really nice hotel and the stay was awesome.
FYI - Do carry some warm clothes when you are going there. I was only carrying T-Shirts hence had to wear my riding jacket while roaming in the city.
DAY 3
1) Got up early or atleast triued to get up early but got late and left Ooty by 8 AM. The orignal plan was to cover the entire distance till bangalore that day and have dinner at home but the gods had something else in store for me.
2) The planned route was as below.
But there were a lot of obstacle son the way which made me alter my route on the way and chenged the trip to a 4 days 3 nights Trip.
Firstly, there was a land slide and the road from coonoor to mettupalyam was blocked for about 30 mins hence there was a really long traffic jam,
Secondly, there was too much fog and there was a good amount of downpour to slow the traffic down.
Hence i was completely drenched and had to keep my phone and my DSLR safe from the water yet had to use my phone for navigation so it was really tricky.
3) Lost my way and had to take a longer route to reach Sathyamangalam via Annur. This added about 30 km extra to the route and driving in the rain with heavy traffic inside the cities was getting tricky.
4) Finally reached Sathyamangalam and started my ascent up the mountain via the awesome hairpin bends.
5) From there continued forward till Chamrajanagar in the heavy downpour. The rain had reduced the speeds at which i could drive considerably hence i was loosing precious daylight time and i did not want to drive in the night.
6) By the time i reached Malavalli it was already 6:15 PM and it was getting darker by the minute. I still had more than a 150 Km to reach bangalore hence i decided to stop at mysore for the night and rest.
Driving in the rain for almost 10 hours non stop was extremely draining. All my gear and my clothes were completely drenched. And the weather did not seems to clear up hence took the detour and stopped in mysore. Found a decent lodge and dried up all my belongings for the night.
Had a bad craving for Dominos Cheeseburst Pizza so quenched that thirst too and came and relaxed in the room.
DAY 4
1) Left Mysore by 7:00 AM and wanted to reach home early to relax as it was a sunday and wanted to recharge before the boring monday.
2) The rain still followed me and i stopped at a few places for breakfast and coffee.
3) Finally i was home by 12:30 PM.
My Experience
What an eventful journey it was. I had never done anything like this before especially solo .It made me push my boundaries of comfort and come out of my shell. Knowing that you are the only one responsible and no one is there to help you with your mistakes, makes to look at things in a completely different perspective.
My family and colleagues were really apprehensive of my idea of a solo trip and each one tried to convince me to drop the idea but in my heart i knew that i wanted to do this journey for myself.
Driving solo has its fears and freedoms. I could stop wherever i wanted, whenever i wanted. I was a master of my time and could make my own milestones along the way. On the same hand i had to be careful with where i stopped and where i stayed. The routes i took and the Machine that i was riding.
Thankfully my machine did not give me any problems and i always love her for that.
I experienced 3 Completely Different weathers on each day
Day 1 - Extreme Hot
Day 2 - Extreme Cold
Day 3 - Extreme Rain
But such a journey makes you realize that if you can tacke these hardships alone, then there is nothing that can bring you down. As long as you are a bit careful, a bit adventurous and always open to new ideas you will never get bored and you will always win over the situations .
Driving solo makes you understand your inner self, Away from the city and all the distractions you start to understand who you really are at heart.You start to appreciate the simple things in life.
Its a journey that everyone should do as it will bring you closer to yourself and make you realize that you only need yourself to be happy.
and finally, as always..!!
Fell in Love with Jenny all over again..!!
