Trip Summary :
Route : Bangalore > Mysore > Hunsur > Madikeri > Sulya > Bekal and back
Start Time : June 17th 2011, Friday 1900 hrs, from Bangalore Corporation Office.
End time : June 19th 2011, Sunday 1845hrs , to Marathahalli.
Total kilometers traveled : 907
Level : Medium, considering the distance traveled per day and rainy season.
Day 0 : Bangalore to Mysore
Day 1 : Mysore to Bekal
Day 2 : Bekal to Bangalore
Warnings : Be careful about the humps from Bangalore to Hunsur. You’ll find many of them and at very stupid spots where you’ll never really expect them to be.
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| Day -1 , Mysore |
Detail Route Description :
· Bangalore Corporation Office to Kengeri :
It took over an hour just to reach the outskirts of Bangalore. Traffic was too much especially where metro construction is going on. You can’t really comment on the road condition since you can’t judge the road in huge traffic jams.
· Kengeri to Mysore:
The road is simply awesome but there’s a lot of traffic and that too very speedy. So, be careful while driving at night if you are not experienced. And yes, be careful about the humps on the road.
Eat outs : You’ll find many of them such as Kamat, Adiga’s and McDonalds. If you are a North Indian, then don’t get cheated by the so called Punjabi Dhabas on the way. They can be anything but Punjabi. I was shocked to see what they called a yellow Dal makhni.
· Mysore to Hunsur :
A driver’s dream. Wide and curvy road with beautiful scenery around, reminded me of Road rash, one of my favourite computer games ever. But you won’t get much to eat on the way.
· Hunsur to Madikeri:
This too is a road, every biker would dream of. Slightly hilly terrain, clean, smooth and wide roads with less traffic. If you have a decent bike, you’d rarely need to go below 80 but still, better be careful and enjoy the road at less speed. On the way you’ll find Buddhist Golden temple and Dubare sanctuary. For both the places you’ll need to take left turns. Be careful about the sign boards that signal left, you might miss them.
· Madikeri to Sulya :
First few kilometres of this road were as good as Hunsur to Medikeri road but later on the road was under construction. I won’t say it was pathetic but it was not good too. But with the greenery around, you won’t mind the condition of the road.
· Sulya to Jalsoor :
It is just a few kilometres but road was fine.
· Jalsoor to Mularia:
It is the entry point to Kerala and undoubtedly the most amazing part of our journey. Just as you cross Jalsoor, you’ll enter into the tropical rain forests of Kerala. The road would be covered by trees all around and sun rays struggling to hit the road directly. There would be loud noise of insects and chirping of birds, accompanied by the sound of some stream flowing somewhere around. If we talk about road, I can bet there was not even a single 5 cm hole on it and traffic was so less then you won’t find anyone for kilometers together.
Mularia to Bekal Beach:
A fine road but be careful about the turns and keep asking the locals for the way to Bekal fort and beach
Story :
Mularia to Bekal Beach:
Story :
Finally, we had someone in our flat who loves to travel, of course apart from me. This guy, Deepak was recently posted to Bangalore from Noida. He is famous in our friend circle for his bike conquests and once he was in Bangalore, we had to plan something with him. It was all decided in a booze party, the very next day which was a Saturday. We all decided to visit Sivasamudram falls on the coming weekend, which is at its ferocious best during monsoons. Everyone was exhilarated about the trip.
But by Thursday, every discussion and planning that happened during the weekend booze party was forgotten. I think we failed to understand that a planning in a booze party ends with the party itself. Ultimately, we were only two guys left and Sivasamudram won’t have been a great idea for two guys. The plan was changed and Coorg was the destination now.
Friday evening it was and we left our offices towards our first destination, mysore.We had planned to meet at Bangalore Corporation office, which was the first common point from our offices. It was nearly 7 in the evening and we took slightly over an hour to come out of the city, thanks to a few huge traffic jams on the way. We stopped somewhere near Kengeri to capture a couple of photos to officially begin our joy ride since there was no joy within the city traffic.
We drove towards Mysore crossing Ramnagara, Channapatna, Maddur and Mandya. The road is simply awesome but you have to be very careful about the speed breakers. You’ll be driving at good speed and out of nowhere you’ll find an irritating hump. Try to spot them early otherwise it could lead to any sort of disaster. We had our dinner at Mc Donald’s which is located between channapatna and Maddur. We spent that night at a friend’s place in Mysore as we don’t like riding during night because it is waste as you can’t enjoy the scenic beauty and moreover the risk involved is always more.
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| The Lovely Mysore-Hunsur Road. |
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| A backwater on the way |
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| On Mysore-Hunsur Road |
Next day, we started at 6:30 in the morning towards Madikeri, via Hunsur. The sky was overcast and there was light drizzle. The view was heavenly. I had never ever enjoyed bike ride as much as I did there. It was one of the best roads I’d ever seen in my life and the surroundings made it even better. Then there was a small spell of light drizzle and we both took no time to remove our helmets to feel the tiny droplets on our faces.
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| Buddhist Golden Temple |
We visited the Golden temple and well before 11 am we were at Raja’s seat. Just when we were planning to take some hotel to keep the luggage and head for other destinations, it starting pouring and this time it was heavy. I just told Deepak that this is not going to work for us. We had already understood that there was nothing much we could do in Coorg during that weather. There had to be something else.
I have a habit of surfing the maps and it paid off that time. I told Deepak, “Shouldn’t we head towards the sea?”
“Wow... ” He said, “But it would be too far and where?”
“There’s some beach called as Bekal Beach.” I replied.
“Anything is fine for me. I’m used to riding long distances but it is going to be a problem for you. It is always easy while we are heading towards the destination but it is hell lot more difficult while returning.” He warned me. It was the first long distance bike trip for me and my excitement could have taken me anywhere. I was not worried at all. Moreover I knew he had never been to a beach and it would be great for him.
“Fine then... Lets go.” I said and there we were, on our way to Bekal Beach.
It rained heavy and it stopped, it again poured and again stopped. The hide and seek of clouds, sun and rain continued. We were doing our part and the weather God was doing his. Sometimes the rain scared me and the sound of wind blowing through forests was adding the horror. Sometimes the wind was so strong that it seemed to push us out of the road into the ditch. I was lucky to have an experienced biker with me and he kept assuring that there was nothing to worry. We slowed down the speed but kept going.
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| Deepak, with his bike stuck in the sand. |
Finally, after 4 hours of ride, we were standing in front of the Arabian Sea. Deepak couldn’t control his excitement and took the bike on the beach which eventually got stuck in the sand and we had a tough time getting it out. Next tough task was to find a hotel there which took more than half an hour. We spent that evening on the beach, had dinner and slept to wake up early for our return journey. Deepak had already warned that the retrun journey was going to be tough and I was already feeling it.
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| Bekal Beach |
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| In Bekal beach park |
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| The Fort |
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