TW Ride - *** Day 4 - A Day of Disasters and Experiences***

Route: - Palolem -> Karwar -> Gokarna -> OM Beach -> Murudeshwara -> Honnavar -> Bhatkal

KMs Munched: - 211 Kms

Expenses:- 

Brunch - 31 INR

Mech - 30 INR

Tea break - 30 INR

Key maker - 50 INR

Mech - 40 INR

Auto Wala - 50 INR

Motel - 300 INR

As the heading says it was a day filled with disasters. Strike, Broken key, Shoe bite and what not !!

Was very happy in the morning as got I got an early start today, went to the beach to get some early morning shots. Unlike the commercialized Baga,Calangute,Anjuna beach...Palolem is one of the most beautiful Goan beaches,  a crescent like coastline of silvery sand, lined by coconut trees swaying in the breeze and hemmed scenically by a couple of steep, rocky cliffs. Making this perfect silvery arc shaped beach even lovelier are thehuts made of thatched palm for tourists. Though affording this type of accommodation is a costly affair for people like me :D :P 

 

TW Ride - ***Day 3 - A Tourist In GOA***

Route: - Goa -> Palolem

      

KMs Munched: - 130 Kms

Expenses:- 

Fuel - 690 INR

Breakfast - 215 INR

Motel - 900 INR

Dinner - 391 INR

Goa, the coastal paradise located in South Western India is popular for its sun kissed sandy beaches, easygoing life style, fenni, beer and various fairs and festivals. The relaxed and tranquil atmosphere of Goa makes it a hit place among people like us who comes wandering in search of sun, sand, food and beer. :)

A delayed start to the day and it was dedicated to Goa darshan.While I relax and blog at Calangute Cafe Coffee Day, I sipped around 3 cappuccinos and burped a Cole slaw sandwich. Feeling good now, last night party hangover is on the easier side now. The rain Saga continues in Full glory. I waited for a while to see it end or stop. But that didn't happened at all.

TW Ride - ***Day 2 - Goa..Here I Come !!***

Route: - Chiplun -> Ratnagiri -> Pavas -> Rajapur -> Vijaydurga -> Kankawali -> Mapusa -> Baga 

KMs Munched: - 402 Kms

Expenses:- 

Fuel - 650 INR

Chai/Paani - 25 INR

Brunch - 30 INR

Wada Paav Break - 17 INR

Motel - 1300 INR

Beer - !!

Last night or shall I say today morning I slept at around 02:00 AM, blame it on the heavy rains I faced. It’s obvious that I got a very late start.

Sky seemed to clear when I started from the Motel or was it trying to fool me around, but then a Fool got fooled again and I met him again  ..The creep who is following me, bugging me from last evening. My fellow companion everyone's truly 'The Rain'

I cried in pain not again,

At least not at the start of the day

Oh please rain go away go away.

So the pain is real, it has made me a Poet :P.Stopped in Ratnagiri to post my Day 1 blog and its raining like anything out there. :D :P

 As I finish penning down my Day 1 travelogue, it’s time to zoom ahead, to be back on the place where I belong. No don't think about the word 'ROADCHAAP'.The road stretches on before me, what lies ahead is unknown. I must continue the journey though, my destiny awaits me and Rains are not going to stop me to achieve it.

Ratnagiri district lying in the lap of Konkan Region, another paradise in earth. Stunning beaches and the Ratnagiri Fort adding feathers to the beauty of this place.

Theeba Palace

TW Ride - ***Day 1 - Headstart and A Date with the Beaches***

Route :- Pune -> Managaon -> Murud -> Janjira -> Dighi -> Diveagar -> Shrivardhan -> Harihareshwar -> Khed -> Chiplun 

KMs Munched :- 372

Expenses :- 

Fuel - 850 INR

Brunch - 42 INR

Dighi Ferry - 65 INR

Harihareshwar Ferry - 25 INR

Tea Break - 17 INR

Motel - 900 INR

Dinner - 170 INR

Route Map

Excitement is like a forest fire, you can smell it, taste it, and see it from a mile away. And I was excited and enthusiastic about my own dream and these dreams didn't let me sleep well. I hardly slept for 2-3 hours in the night. Early morning I had to rush to office as the Prologue I had written with hours of effort was on my Office PC.Rushed to office in the morning at 06:30 AM to get things in place. It took around one hour to finalize and post the Prologue along with the pictures, this one hour includes the travelling time to-fro office as well.

Returned from office at around 07:40 AM and the first thing I did was kicked Ankit’s (Xbhp id - Roadzilla) butt to wake him up so that he can accompany me at the Flag Off ceremony. After some continuous and desperate attempts the mighty woke up. Without wasting much time we packed the remaining stuff and started for the Wrangler Exclusive Showroom, Aundh.

TW Ride - ***Prologue - The Beginning***

They say 'Dreams comes true for those who believes in themself', and I am a living example of it. It all started when few of my travelogues got selected by Wrangler and Xbhp for the True Wanderers contest. And one fine day I received a call from Sunil (Xbhp ID - Sunilg) and he told me that I have made it to the top 10 finalist. It was one of the best day of my life, where I topped the list of Wanderers with 7 days of opportunity to live a life of Nomad.


Who are these Wanderers actually and Who am I ???

Some souls chant in meditation, few of them practice deep, austere meditation; some souls worship it as adoration, some practice daily rituals. But I live the life of a wanderer. Being a solo Tourer all that I have seen, there is still a certain longing for the things I missed: the Palaces I didn't see, the Cities I didn't crossed ,the lakes I didn't dived in, Beauty of the Ghats which I didn't admired, the beers I didn't tasted and the people I didn't meet.

I will be heading to South, to the places I have already been and explored. But I could spend a zillion lifetimes exploring my Country and still have the world to see. That no matter how many times you have been to a place, there's always more road to ride and more places to unearth. According to me the most important thing is that the Wandering doesn't have to be out there, miles away, chalked out as a route on a map. I am a Wanderer...the avenue, and the Journey is wherever I roam.

Here is my 7 Days Itenary.Now which all places I will be covering between these places is still a mystery, which will be unfolded in the course of 7 days :).Lets see how much I stick to my Original Plan.


Day 1: Pune to Ratnagiri
Day 2: Ratnagiri to Honnavar
Day 3: Honnavar to Mysore
Day 4: Mysore to Pattikad
Day 5: Pattikad to Salem
Day 6: Salem to Davanagere
Day 7: Davanagere to Pune

Also got some special tips from my fellow Pune Xbhp'ians on how to crack the ST7 in 7 days. Here is an example of a crash course which I got for getting maximum number of votes.

Get down on your knees and beg for it :P :D

Xbhp-Wrangler True Wanderer's Ride for 07 Days

7 Days of Wandering to The Unknown Avenues

Quick Navigation

Episode 1 - Prologue - The Beginning

Episode 2 - Day 1 - Headstart and A Date with the Beaches

Episode 3 - Day 2 - Goa..Here I Come !!

Episode 4 - Day 3 - A Tourist In GOA

Episode 5 - Day 4 - A Day of Disasters and Experiences

Episode 6 - Day 5 - Escape from the Rains into the Western Ghats

Episode 7 - Day 6 - Deep Dive Into The History

Episode 8 - Day 7 - More Of Vijaynagar Ruins And End Of The Wandering

Episode 9 - END OF ANOTHER EPIC JOURNEY

03 Days Excursion to Chikhaldhara - A Beautiful Hill Station - DAY 04

Day 03 - Semadoh - Paratwada - Amravati - Karanja - Mehkar - Jalna - Aurangabad - Pune

Return journey,we have to reach Pune by the night.As everyone was having office on Tuesday.As planned we started early and escaped the wrath of the Aaloo Bonda Uncle 

We avoided the Akot route as it was in pretty bad condition.We reached Paratwada and took the Amravati route.The Amravati route from Paratwada in fabulous condition.

03 Days Excursion to Chikhaldhara - A Beautiful Hill Station - DAY 03

Day 2 - Chikhaldhara - Semadoh - Stay at Jungle lodge

Morning 08:00 AM,No news from our fellow travelers.I guess they were still resting.I started towards Chikhaldhara without wasting any time.The Lansdcapic view was quite beautiful.Pretty soon it became foggy and nothing was visible .It was early morning and i expected to be clear 

It wasnt foggy at some place though 

03 Days Excursion to Chikhaldhara - A Beautiful Hill Station - DAY 02

Day 2 - Jalgaon - Yawal - Burhanpur - Semadoh - Chikhaldara - Paratwada

Ajanta caves were nearby, so why don't we go and pay a revisit. But it will consume at least half day. So better move ahead and explore some new places as decided. But I had missed to visit the Ajanta view point last time, so I went back to check out the view point..15-20 kms back and I was there at the view point, Gate was still closed as it was just 07 am. I sneaked in by climbing the gates. View point was okaish 

03 Days Excursion to Chikhaldhara - A Beautiful Hill Station - DAY 01

Day 1 - Pune - Ahmednagar - Aurangabad - Jalgaon 

15th August long weekend and I was all geared up with my plans. Initial plan was to visit Kuntala waterfalls and Jungle's around
Tadoba tiger reserve. This was about to be a solo run, but later on few others insisted to join. So two of us now.Me and my fellow biker friend Krishna Raghunathan.
By the time Friday arrived more riders poured in and we were 06 in count now..Sudheer,Siddarth,Nachiket,Vivek. And the plan also got changed a bit. We also scrapped the plan of Visiting Kuntala Waterfalls and zeroed on Chikhaldhara as our weekend destination.

I was in morning shift for this week, that means I will be free by the first half on 12 August. So I decided to make an early start, while others were planning to start on Saturday morning after
Rakshabandhan celebration. With extra time on my hand I planned something extra for me. I opened up Googlemap and searched the places around, which I can cover and visit .Saw Yawal wildlife Sanctuary
Just above Jalgaon. So Yawal Wildlife Sanctuary it was .

Packed up all my stuff and started for Aurangabad. I have been in this route many times. Road is just very good and the four lanes makes things more easier. With one photo break and one tea break at Nagar I made it to
Aurangabad by evening.







To reach Jalgaon I had to take the Ajanta Caves route from Aurangabad. Jalgaon was another 130-140 Kms approx.I said let make it as far as we can. With 100 kms more on Odo it was darkness everywhere, yes the night has begun.
Just ahead of the Ajanta Caves I got an accommodation for 300 INR.And I called it End of the Day.

Cheers
Biru