Thursday, 14 July 2016

Chennai In BIke: A sudden Unexpected Journey

Just a week before I had landed into Bangalore in the pursuit of doing my Internship. The usual company life had got into me already in a week and this time I really wanted to do something new! Few days back I had met my friend who was talking about solo trips! She had been telling about Solo trips in such a passionate way that after listening to her, I decided on the spot that even I should have one solo trip! What more can I ask for?

So, after the usual party routines of Friday, I was heading back to my home on Saturday morning. Suddenly it occurred to me that instead of wasting a weekend in Bangalore, why not get something out of it! I just had reached my home by somewhat around 12 in the noon. In no time I was out of it with my luggage all set to head for a solo trip! But not knowing where exactly to go, I was wandering the streets of Bangalore till 2p.m.  I was heading on Bannerghatta road that suddenly I happened to see a lorry with TN registration. Seeing the lorry the first thing that came to my mind was Chennai. Without any second thought in my mind, I headed directly to Nice road and then set off to Chennai! 




Just on reaching somewhere near Hosur, I found a sign board  with my desitnation name written on it! Chennai 350km was written. Whoa ! For a moment that 350km seemed so huge that I began counting number of hours I have to sit in the rider seat of my bike! But as the journey began, I almost forgot of that number. The journey was equally awe-full as the destination where I was headed. Rain god had already blessed me and now it was the turn of Sun God to do so. After crossing Vellore I started feeling the blessings of Sun god. It was getting all hot and the climate change was so evident. If its your first bike trip , then I will have to warn you, youll be all fine for the first 200 kms , later on youll be requiring stops every now and then. So was my case. After crossing Kanchipuram I was literally stopping for every 30 mins. The heat wave was so much that I had to take rest in between and cool both bike and myself down .


Finally I happened to reach Chennai only by somewhere around 9 p.m. After checking in at a cheapest hotel I dumped my luggage, kept my bike and decided to go for  a stroll. I knew I couldnt ride any longer that day. Chennai was so beautiful at night. Not much crowd, roads being wide enough, it really is a nice place to roam.

The next day  I woke up quite early and headed to Marina beach to spot sunrise. But unluckily a cloudy weather was spotted and may be ill have to head again to see sunrise! After spending some time in the beach, I headed back to room and checked out. I was in a  confusion to decide where to visit. So had headed to a mall nearby, Skywalk Mall, it was starting to get crowd , the Sunday crowd. Theatres were getting full and people started to flock in large numbers. Next , I decided to visit the St. George  Fort Meusem. This was a cool place located well along the shores of Bay of Bengal and had a collection of variety of weapon's, coins, dresses,paintings and what not! 


From here I headed to Semmozhi Poonga . This was a pretty cool garden, but with couples situated everywhere. I'd say you are more probable to find more couples than trees here. But nevertheless in the scorching heat of Chennai , I definitely needed a place like this to cool off ! Still the cool it provided wasnt enough. As I was searching for a better place to take a nap, I was reminded of Planetarium . What other best place would one find where you would be given an AC room with push back chair and a dark environment to sleep off. 


Without loosing time i headed to Periyar Science Center. The Center had a science exhibition center , a planetarium, a playground, a 3D show all in a fare of just Rs.45.



So after avoiding the scorching mid-noon sun of Chennai , I decided to visit a beach. Initial plan was to visit Kovalam beach on the ECR, but due to time limitations I had to stick to a nearby beach. So, headed to Elliots beach .Spent some time sitting there peacefully.

By now, the time was all up! It was already 7 p.m and I had to leave to Bangalore (ride to Bangalore actually). So, I started after feeding my bike. The weather was getting cloudy and I could feel that i'd be  caught in a really bad rain tonight. But I didnt have a option either. So, I decided to cover the max distance possible. By around 10, I was at Vellore. 


After having dinner at Vellore, the second phase of my journey started. My stomach was full , it was raining heavily, that too in night, and a cool breeze. Everything was making me sleepy. Even though I took pit stops it didnt help. Then at one point I just found a empty bus stop and slept for some time ! Sleeping in this bus stand was no less luxurious than a 5 star hotel for me at that point of time! After a small nap, I started again.But sleep was still behind me. I had to take 2 more stops. Somehow I managed to reach Bangalore that night and it was already 3 by the time i reached ! 

That was it for the trip! My first SOLO TRIP was done and that too on my bike riding all the way covering around 750km in just 36 hours !

Monday, 4 April 2016

Kudremukh Peak : An awesome trek

Kudremukh, once the land of mining, is a magical surprise box in itself. It provides such amazing view that any nature lover will be taken aback! Kudremukh (translated as Horse Head) is a treat to eyes. Everywhere here one can find lush green mountain, amazing scenery, picturesque landscape. Nature is in its purest form here.

Kudremukh, located in state of Karnataka, is around 50km from Karkala, comes  under the Chikkamagaluru district. The place has been so famous that its been attracting trekkers from many far and nearby places. People flock here in huge numbers, especially during the peak season(Nov-Jan) to get forgotten in the beauty of nature.