A Year on the Road...

It's been a whole year since I embarked on my first ever motorcycle trip. Yes, the one that changed my life forever; the one that got me into travelling, photography and paved way for pretty much everything I did in 2010. At the pinnacle of my travelling experience (so far), a few months ago, I found myself on a boat in the Kerala backwaters with six amazing people who I wouldn't have met if it hadn't been for my first rally. I had, for the lack of a better term, a spiritual experience. Not only did it make me want to refuse a 9-5 life, but it encouraged me to simply live out of a suitcase, for as long as possible.

Who knows where life will take me in a year's time, but for now, I want to look back on this incredible year. 35,000km later, here are the best places I've been to, the worst, the most amazing experiences, the things I learnt; all combined in one little blog:

The Best Places I've Been To

Udaipur

Still my favourite city of all time, Udaipur is, simply put, amazing. From the roof top restaurants to the romantic old city lanes, Udaipur's a charm. There are so many places to see, from the palaces to the gardens to the lakes, the old forts and the nearby Aravalis. I spent just about five days in total there this year and I couldn't even see a tiny portion but I still fell in love with it.

Kerala

Remember I was talking about the spiritual experience before? It can't happen without a night out on a boat in the middle of a beautiful place called Kerala. Go to Allapey, near Ernakulam. Find a boat, which is not that hard considering they're everywhere! The boat's cheap if you go with a lot of people and split the bill, but in any case, it is more than worth it.

But if you still can't afford the boat, go to Cherai beach near Cochin. If you're even more adventurous, go in the middle of the monsoons, like I did. The rain will freeze your butt, but as soon as you get into the water, you'll understand exactly what those Kerala tourism advertisements keep shouting about.

Mulshi

Why Mulshi, you ask? It's just 40km from Pune and it's just a reservoir. Well, you have to go during the monsoons, and it'll be even better if you take a friend called Ellis Dee with you. =)

 That's exactly what I saw.

Most Amazing Experience

The whole month of December 2009 was an amazing experience because of the rally I was on, but if I were to narrow it down to one day then it would be the ride from Bhopal to Chhindwara. It was about 300km and took 12 hours to finish, but by the time we reached our destination, it grew very dark. If you've never been to Madhya Pradesh, then believe me, when the sun goes down, it's pitch black. There are no other vehicles on state highways but an occasional passing truck. All we could see were the tail lamps of the bikes in front and the head lights of our trail vehicle.

Suddenly I happened to glance at the night sky and I was blown out of my mind. It was the most beautiful sky I had ever seen. The distant, setting moon glowed orange in the horizon, which only added to beauty of the moment. The winding roads eventually turned into ghats and we found ourselves at the mercy of the lead vehicle since our headlights were no match for these roads. 60kmph was still too fast on blind turns. Thankfully there was no other traffic.

We passed through villages which seemed like ghost towns from the total absence of any people to seen. Some of us were freezing, some kept warm from the brutal excitement that the ride had to offer and some who, after we reached Chhindwara, wanted to just turn around and do it all over again. You can guess which category I fit into.

 The Pan India Rally was another 'religious' experience, but one that I've written nothing about. Perhaps I got so depressed after the rally got over, that I just didn't feel like writing. What do you do after you spend 35 days on the road with 11 amazing people and suddenly you find yourself at home with nothing to do?

The Worst Places I've Been To
Gujarat

Under no circumstances should you go there, unless dry heat, barrenness and boredom is what you're looking for. The Gir sanctuary in the west and the Kutcch are the only interesting places here, but apart from that, National Highway 8 is a straight road for over 600km(!) with no sights along the way. It's the best highway in India, but unless you're in a Porsche 911, it's going to suck your energy dry.

Maharashtra

This comes as no surprise, since I've lived here my whole life and I'm bored of it already. I've seen pretty much everything, from the Arabian Sea in the west to the Vidharbha region in the east. Nashik is pretty much the most interesting places and only because the Sula vineyard exists nearby. (Not counting Mulshi, Murud and some of the beaches on the coast).

Things I've Learnt Along The Way

Just keep travelling. Life will take its own course and you never know where you'll end up. You'll be surprised at how much you change after a single night out on the road you haven't been on before. My favourite thing is to find a beautiful isolated beach right next to an overcrowded commercial tourist spot. Which brings me to my next point:

Don't be a tourist. Be a traveler instead. There's a difference. A tourist goes in search of a destination, while a traveler seeks a journey.

Tamil Nadu has the best 'roads to sights' ratio. By that, I mean while I haven't seen a single pot hole in TN, I've seen some of the most amazing places there. Usually in Maharashtra, the better a place looks, the worse the roads can get.

Carry a camera, always. Even if you think you suck as a photographer, you might regret not taking home a single picture from your escapades.

And most importantly, make sure you're prepared. Helmets make good sense. I know they're heavy and most of us don't even own one. Think of them as condoms - they're very effective in the long run.

Your odometer speaks volumes about what you've done. If nothing else, at least you'll have a great story to share with future generations. Just remember to get off that chair soon enough, fellow traveler! 

Alibag, Murud and the Golden Sunset

The first bike trip I did since coming back Mangalore. The rains have finally taken a break and I can resume my travels without any water worries!

Two days ago, I rode to Bombay to a friend's place where I met up with a few of my IBR buddies. We had a bike trip ahead. Destination: ? So after giving it no thought at all we just decided to get on our bikes and ride till we were hungry. So we promptly starved ourselves for a good 5 hours.

NH17 was the best option; riding south along the coast always is. We found ourselves at Alibag in two hours and decided to get lost, which is always a good idea in an unfamiliar place since you never know what you might stumble on to. Stumble we did, and came across a small fishing village a little outside Alibag. And the pier had a spectacular view.

There were these kids there, having a good time, curious about us foreigners and eager to get their pictures clicked...

After searching for a way out, we rode till we were even more hungry, further down south to this place called Murud. It was around 5pm and sunset was close. We stopped, finally for some food and clicked a few pictures of this spectacular evening at the beach.

It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. So glad and so lucky we came here! Thank the universe for some awesome company as well!

Toodles!

Mangalore and the Art of Preparation

What I recently realised after making the fateful decision to brave the Indian monsoons and take a trip to Mangalore, is that you can never be too prepared for anything. But that's me talking like I'm 50. I'm never prepared; just enough to avoid the worst. Worst here is breaking a few bones, taking a few blows to the head, maybe even getting yourself killed if the road hates you that much. Well, I've never broken a bone. Not in my entire life. I don't know how, even when I fell, right knee first, on to the side of the NH17 a few minutes after crossing Karwar, with the weight of my bike, six kilos of baggage and sixty kilos of myself. My knee is lucky to have just three stitches stitching together whatever flesh still left inside after the jagged rocks cut it open like they were trying to chop tomatoes. Quite the sight.

Funny thing is, ('funny' being something I completely made up) I found out much later that it was such a deep cut. I had assumed (due to the fact that I was wearing a pair of jeans and then a raincoat, so there was no room for a peek) at the accident and for five hours and 250km afterwards that it was but a small scratch. But when I suddenly gave in to my curiosity and stretched the hole in my jeans enough to see the slimy soup inside, I panicked. Women giving birth would not understand the pain that overwhelmed me at the moment when I came to terms with the existence of an extra opening on my body.

So three stitches, a thousand more kilometres and five days later, here I am talking about being prepared. Well, you never can be. The only way to be completely prepared is to foresee the future and plan accordingly. Have you heard about the guy who sees himself breaking a bone a week in advance? Well, neither have I.

I think it's about time I invested in knee pads.

The view from the lighthouse at Suratkal. Miles and miles of a ravaging sea to the west and a million acres of green to the east.

Monks at Bylakuppe, where a Tibetan monastery stands with three gold plated statues of the Buddha and his kin.

Bylakuppe at its greenest.

A fountain/bird bath at the Bylakuppe monastery.

Abbey falls, near Madikeri.

The Mangalore coastline.

Thilak took me to his backyard river spot.

The 250cc Kawasaki Ninja I borrowed. Put a huge smile on my face.

On the way back to Pune, I stopped at Turtle Bay. This is a rare spot where you'll come across the sea on one side of the road and a river on the other. Try the bread omelette at one of the many shacks as well.

Riding 850km in a single day is pretty tasking. The 400km mark is when your body starts aching slightly. At 500km your back starts to feel uncomfortable and your butt just cannot take it anymore, even with frequent breaks. At 700km you feel exhausted and your focus slowing starts to limit itself to what is immediately in front of you on the road. 800km and if you haven't had a good night's sleep the night before, you're going to pay for it here. This is also the time when you've probably spent a good 12-15 hours on the bike and so much time spent concentrating takes its toll. If you find yourself with a flat tire in the middle of nowhere at this time, good luck.

Thankfully, I got bored and sleepy only 50km before I reached. Patience is a tough thing to find as the kilometres fly by slower and slower. Not to worry though, there are certain things that have made my life easier while on the road that I'll share:

I find listening to music an effective way to combat sleep. If you don't have noise cancellation headphones, it is much safer though because at night you need your ears on the road as well.

Naps help quite a bit. Just take a detour off the highway to find a nice quiet spot under a tree where there's no traffic and get some shut-eye for half an hour.

If you are as loony as I am, you'd try talking to yourself too.

Make sure you don't skip meals. Eat, but don't eat too much. Not eating right is the main reason for tiredness, at least for me it is.

Hydrate yourself. Even in the monsoons, water is very necessary. If you get dizzy on a bike at high speeds, the rest of the way is not going to be a very fun experience.

There, that should keep you alive for another few years more. Thank me later, I'm off to sleep.

Pune to Goa

If you're ever stuck in the monsoon rains in the middle of nowhere on a bike, cold, hungry and lost, this would not be a post that would really help you in anyway, because I've never been cold, hungry and lost all at the same. In fact, this is not even about being cold, hungry and lost. This is about how awesome a ride Pune to Goa is... when it's NOT raining. However, if you are cold, hungry and lost at the moment, I suggest you set your tires on fire and eat your map instead.

Of course it wasn't all scenic pictures. Here's my cousin after his Hindu right of passage aka Munji ceremony:

Guthrie Govan concert in Mumbai

From the moment I got the email from Bhargava's telling me about the gig, I knew I couldn't afford to miss perhaps the only chance I'd get to see one of the world's greatest guitar players live. And it was a free concert too. The four hours just flew by, and Guthrie blew my mind away with every note he picked with his god-like technique and virtuosity. It's been a night I will never forget. I even managed to get a picture with him to savour all the pretty memories.

I still can't believe I saw the man live and met him in the flesh. What a fantastic weekend, literally! I am very content with the universe today. =)

To end the perfect day, I went for a drive with my cousin to Nariman Point and managed to click the Queen's Necklace in it's sparkling yellow beauty.

I wish I could stay in this wonderful city a while longer and attend Gino Banks' drum workshop in Furtado's tomorrow, but unfortunately I have a jam session at 4pm in Pune so maybe next time. Here's to a lovely day! Thank you Guthrie Govan. =)