Day 2 - 4000 Kms - 06 Days - At Southern Tip Of India..Pune 2 Kanyakumari

Day 2 - Thiruvannamalai-Punducherry-Nagapattinam-Thondi

Routemap



Went to the Arunachaleshwar temple in the morning.The temple at Tiruvannamalai is one of the biggest and grandest temples in South India. Stately towers, high rampart walls, broad quadrangles, spacious gateways, large mantapams and fine tanks. The temple was very rich in architectural and sculptural beauty.There is a hill on the one side of the town where one can trek and enjoy the beautiful view of the town.But this was not my cup of tea :P

Day 1 - 4000 Kms - 06 Days - At Southern Tip Of India..Pune 2 Kanyakumari

Day 1 - Pune-Banglore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Thiruvannamalai

Another solo trip done on the long weekend. We had company off on 31st August and 01 September, took leave on 02 and I had all 05 days for my plan.
Though I have considered 05 and 06th September as buffer, and plan was to take planned sick leave. 

Routemap of Day 01



I had planned to start off on 30th August evening, but I was feeling very tired due to the hectic day I had at office. So I said, let take a quick nap for 3-4 hours and start for the Journey. But the quick nap wasn't a quick one, I woke up and saw the clock it was 03 AM.Damn !..I quickly completed the daily rituals and started for Satara.

Somewhere ahead of Belgaum

Day 2 - Viramgam - Kharaghoda - Kuda - Dhrangadhra - Nal Sarovar - Bagodra - Vadodara - Vapi - PART 3

More Birds

He flew out of the frame,and little bit out of focus 

Day 2 - Viramgam - Kharaghoda - Kuda - Dhrangadhra - Nal Sarovar - Bagodra - Vadodara - Vapi - PART 2

We came out at a village named Kakreji.Last view of Little Rann

We moved towards Dhrangadhra,then Surendra Nagar and made it to Nal Sarovar by 05 PM.We quickly parked our bike and went to check out the rates for boat ride.The lake seemed beautiful from a distance,and too my surprise there were lot many birds around.

Day 2 - Viramgam - Kharaghoda - Kuda - Dhrangadhra - Nal Sarovar - Bagodra - Vadodara - Vapi

Day 2 - Viramgam - Kharaghoda - Kuda - Dhrangadhra - Nal Sarovar - Bagodra - Vadodara - Vapi

Odo - 680 Kms

We planned to get the glimpse of the Sunrise on the other day.But since we were very tired due to the night ride we did on the other day.So we started bit late for Kharaghoda.

Beautiful-Empty state highways

And the species and the National park for which this place is famous.

Day 1 - Pune - Ahmedabad - Viramgam - APRIL 2011

[B]Day 1 - Pune - Ahmedabad - Viramgam[/B]

Odo - 792 Kms

It was long weekend where we had a Holiday on Monday. So me and my room mate Ankit came up with a plan to visit Little Rann of Kutch. So we planned to start on Friday night around 10-11 PM.But then again came an concern,"Dude,we have world cup final tomorrow from 2:30.I said what the heck,can't drop the plan now. So I  came up with an idea, We will ride till 02:30 tomorrow and wherever we reach we will check in into a Hotel so that we will not miss both the things.” The Ride and The World Cup".

We rode whole night, to be as close as we can to our destination. Sometimes it was Ankit who was leading and sometimes I took the lead. We reached Mumbai pretty soon, bypassed the city via Ghodbunder road and reached the NH8.NH8 which stretches from Mumbai to New Delhi. Few stops for tea and Sutta and we made it to Bharuch in the morning. Later we stopped in Vadodara to meet Ankit's friend who treated us with Free breakfast at a Highway Inn. From Vadodara pleasure of the 4 lane highway ends.As the 4 lane between Vadodara to Ahmedabad is an Express Highway where two wheelers are not allowed. So every biker has to take the other route which is very crowdy and is just 2 lane.

So having no other option in hand we took the old highway from where Ahmedabad is approx 100 Kms.In between we were stopped by two cops who were in routine check up, I thought now we will have to shell at least 200-300 rs as bribe because of over speeding or some stupid reason which traffic cops usually comes up with to loot the helpless citizens. But to my surprise they just checked our papers and let us go. Big relief. Soon we made it to Sardar Patel Ring road, there we inquired about the route for Kharagoda/Viramgam.It was really hot out there so we stopped to get come cold drinks. Had few rounds of chaas and we were back on the Highway.

We made it to Viramgam at 2:00 PM afternoon, there me and ankit decided to call it a day. We got a nice hotel bang on the highway. We booked an AC room for 1000 buks.We unloaded the stuffs quickly and got settled into the room so we should not miss the World Cup action.

And what. INDIA WON it :)

What an eventful day it was, which ended up with an Historical win in World Cup.


No Photographs for Today as my Camera batteries were completely discharged :(

Cheers
Biru

TW Ride - ***END OF ANOTHER EPIC JOURNEY***

These last 6 days i have rediscovered a lot about myself that seemed so lost.When you travel alone with bunch of bags for a seven days you realize how little you need, and everything you do need is in your heart and the memories you have in your mind.Got little bit emotional as i wished if this Journey could have lasted little bit longer :) 

Had ups and down like most of the long road trips do.Covered around 2551 Kms of National Highways,StateHighways and on the unclassified routes.Explored the beauty of the Konkan Coastal Region,Western Ghats and Vijaynagara Ruins.5 Days of heavy rains,2 days of Sunny day.Series of hiccups,disasters and experiences .All in all,A remarkable journey which will stay in my memories for forever.

This marks the end of my travelogue  "7 Days of Wandering to The Unknown Avenues"

At last i want to thanks again to XBhp and Wrangler for awarding me with such a great opportunity.

Cheers

Biru 

TW Ride - ***Day 7 - More Of Vijaynagar Ruins And End Of The Wandering***

Route:- Hospet - Aihole - Pattadakal - Badami - Ramdurg -Belgaum - Kolhapur - Satara - Pune

KMs Munched: -  684 Kms

Expenses: -

Breakfast - 25 INR

Fuel - 300 INR + 710 INR

Lunch - 45 INR

Motel - 900 INR 

And here comes the last day of the Wandering,Today's plan was to ride through and explore some more ruins of Vijaynagara.And the most important thing,clear the backlog of blogging.So I spent the first half in blogging and the second half in exploring Badami,Aihole,Pattadkal.To reach Badami from Hospet we have to continue on the NH13 (Solapur Highway) for around 60-80 Odd Kms and then there is a diversion to left from there,Badami is around 30 Kms.While coming from Hospet direction,the first place you reach is Aihole,Then Pattadakal and then Badami.Post Hospet NH13 is in very very bad shape.Also the four laning of the road is in progress,due to which the road has become quite messy and the Heavy Vehicle traffic added some difficulty in the riding. 

I stopped in a small town named Yelbarga for some brunch,luckily the place had internet connectivity.So i stopped there to clear the backlog.Since the connection was very slow it took around three hours to post the Day 04 and Day 05 log.Phew !,time to move ON.

So i was there again In between those Vijaynagara Ruins the structures who witnessed the days of glory which are long gone. The ruins which stand silent today. If only they could talk, what a story they would unfold. Intricate carvings, magnificent images and sculptures, exquisite architecture. You can easily lose yourself in these historic ruins and sit entranced for hours basking in the aura of serenity they afford. 

Aihole - Aihole was the first capital of the early Chalukyas. Aihole is to the west of Badami, along the Malaprabha river, while Pattadakal is to the east.

Durga Temple 

The Durga (Fort) Temple is notable for its semicircular apes, elevated plinth and the gallery that encircles the sanctum. The interior is filled with fascinating carvings. Chamundi Devi trampling the buffalo demon, Narasimha - the half-man, half-female deity. Then there is image of the fearsome Mahishasuramardini or the Mother Goddess Durga destroying the demon Mahisha. The temple appears to be of the late 7th or early 8th century. Then there is image of the fearsome Mahishasuramardini or the Mother Goddess Durga destroying the demon Mahisha. 

TW Ride - ***Day 6 - Deep Dive Into The History***

Route:- Hiryur - Chitradurga - Hospet - Hampi - Hospet

KMs Munched: -  241 Kms

Expenses: -

Breakfast - 40 INR

Lunch - 100 INR

Fuel - 300 INR

Dinner - 65 INR

Motel - 700 INR

So the next destination turn out to be Hampi(Vijaynagara Empire),where history remains from Ages in the form of Ruins/Huge Boulders.Today God showed some mercy upon me and gave me a clear sky when i started from Hiryur.Hampi was still 200 Kms far from Hiryur.From Hiryur i took NH4 (Mumbai - Banglore Highway) to reach Chitradurga which was another 35 Kms.In no time i reached Chitradurga from where i had to take NH13 (Solapur Highway) to reach Hospet.Hospet is the main town which is reffered to reach Hampi.

Stopped for a quick breakfast and chai break.I asked idli and Sambhar,and they served me Idli-Sambhar along with Mirchi-Bhaji.Without complaining about it i tried few bites of Mirchi-Bhaji along with Idli-Sambhar and it tasted pretty good.After some pretty good taste development excersice i started for Hospet.In between faced little bit of drizzle,but it didn't last longer.

TW Ride - ***Day 5 - Escape from the Rains into the Western Ghats ***

Route: - Bhatkal -> Honnavar - Jog Falls - Shimoga - Kemmangudi -> Mulyangiri -> Chickmanglur -> Belur -> Halebidu -> Banavar -> Hiryur

KMs Munched: - 511 Kms
Expenses:- 
Brunch - 65 INR
Petrol - 200 + 200 + 710 INR
Motel - 1000 INR
Dinner - 300 INR

Rejuvinated,cant express in words how great i am feeling today.I didnt go as per the plan shared by Anant(Xbhpid - Antzbin).I preffered to take the known route,to head towards Belur-Halebidu.Went back to Honavar and headed towards Jog Falls which was around 60 Kms from Honavar.