BOP Bangalore Chronicles: The Munnar Macarenas ride (Part I)

BOP Bangalore completed another fantastic ride! I can't think of a better introduction, so here we go.

Dates: 17-20 April, 2014

Places covered: Munnar, Kolukkumalai and Coimbatore

Routes taken:

Bangalore-Salem-Tiruppur-Udumalpet-Munnar (while going)

Munnar-Pollachi-Coimbatore-Salem-Bangalore (on the way back)

Riders:

1. Phalgun Reddy: Royal Enfield Machismo 500
2. Sheshank Reddy: Royal Enfield Electra 5S
3. Krishnatreya Brindavanam: Royal Enfield Electra Twinspark

Total distance traversed: 1113 kms

DAY 1 (Bangalore to Munnar)

We weren't able to indulge in the pre-ride ritual of drinking together on the night before a ride, but I did have a few drinks with my colleagues in office. I prepared for the ride by listening to some catchy item-numbers. Singing helps keep me awake and I usually run out of songs to sing a few hours into the ride; thus, I created this mental catalogue of songs!

We started at 5.15 am from the Silk Board Junction. Because we had to cover 500 kms in one day, we decided to strictly stick to 100 km-pitstop schedule. We made some good progress, even with the sun beating on our heads. The key to avoid getting fried was to continue riding. This serves two purposes: you get closer to the destination, obviously, and also the warm wind is very pleasant. By lunch-time, we had covered 300+ kms and couldn't really go on. We came across an AC restaurant called Bheema's Restaurant and went in, just to escape from the heat. The food was decent, but the focus was on the cold beer. We spent quite some time here, chatting away and sipping the refreshing beer. But the best part of the ride was ahead of us and we soon left. 

For navigation, we relied on Google maps in Fagu's and Sheshank's iPhones. As we reached Udumalpet, it started to get confusing. The directions being told by the locals weren't matching with those in the maps. As we roamed around in the small town, where we had to "neraa ponga" (go straight) for every destination, we chanced upon a group of off-duty bus drivers. They grouped around us, speaking rapidly in Tamil, calling others to join in and generally creating confusion. I was getting a bad feeling about whatever was happening, but they were actually just trying to help. A couple of them were very enthusiastic and interspersed the directions with questions about our bikes and gear. In the end, it was decided that 2 of them will accompany us till the local bus stand, from where they will guide us. We noticed that Sheshank's bike was leaking oil from the air filter, so the drivers took us to a local mechanic. Turned out that it was just because of the heat. We were emphatically told to ride for 50 kms at a speed of 60 km/hr and then take a half-an-hour break to prevent further problems. We dropped the drivers off and continued with our ride. We still haven't figured out what route we took and what we were supposed to take, but the general consensus is that there was a bit of mis-navigation. Another item ticked off from BOP Ride Must-happens checklist!

We now reached the Annamalai Forest Reserve, at the edge of Tamil Nadu's state border. When you cross the border into Kerala, it becomes Chinnar Forest Reserve. Sheshank was riding ahead of us and he saw that a few cars were waiting in the middle of the road. A herd of elephants was crossing the road at that spot. As the last elephant stepped off the road, one over-enthusiastic Indica driver started off, only to back up again, as the last elephant turned around and charged towards the car. No damage was done though; the elephant was simply up to some mischief. We continued riding through the forest, this time keeping a wary eye out for any more mischievous elephants that decide to play around with metal bulls. 

The sun was setting as the ghat riding started. Before it turned dark, we were able to catch a glimpse of gentle hills covered with tea estates, looking green and vibrant. There were loads of tourists in cars, buses and jeeps and at almost every bend, there would be a group of them clicking pics of the landscape. Fagu would pause at every bend, close to the tourist group and try to see whatever they are looking at in the valley below. He probably didn't want to miss out on whatever they were looking at. Eventually though, the number of weird, startled stares he got from the tourists (multiple) was much more than the number of interesting sights spotted (zero) and he stopped with his ritual. 

I've always avoided night-riding because I've never really enjoyed it. During this ride, I realized that it was partly because of the weak headlight of my old Karizma. The Bullet's headlight is superb, in comparison and I was able to ride without any problems. The roads were well maintained and the traffic was disciplined. The others reached Munnar a few minutes before me. When I reached, we decided to split up. Fagu and Sheshank would scout for a place to stay. Advance bookings had been made using Cleartrip, so they both went off to check the hotels out. I rested for a while and started looking for an alcohol shop, for the night's BBB session. 

I was guided through the town to a government liqour shop. Now this place was unlike any other alcohol shop I've ever seen. There are two counters, one for payment and one for delivery. A heavy iron grill made a very narrow pathway, through which you approach both these counters. Only one person can fit in at a time and there is no turning back. You get into the pathway, make the payment in the first counter, take the alcohol from the second counter and exit. The most surprising aspect, however, was the crowd. ALL of them were standing in a queue! Some were slurring and barely able to stand, but they still stood in queue. Never have I seen such discipline at any theka in Noida, Delhi or Bangalore. I bought a bottle of 8 PM whisky. As it regularly happens, I made a fool of myself as I got stuck between the grill and counters due to my huge bag and arm-guards. I was getting panicky, as the people behind me and shop staff got impatient. Finally, a kind soul helped me out of the mess. I flashed him an embarrassed smile-thanks and went back to the town bazaar to wait for news from Fagu and Sheshank. 

The Cleartrip booking hadn't worked out  and there were no rooms vacant anywhere, except in one hotel. It was a tad pricey, but we didn't have the patience to search for anything else. We freshened up in the room and stepped out for dinner. There were only 3 places open at this time (9 pm). We walked into one of them, but the waiter was more intent on leaving for home and informed us that most of the dishes on the menu weren't available. We weren't keen on having Chinese food in a Kerala restaurant and walked out. We then went to the second hotel, called Sri Mahaveer. It was all empty and we expected another disappointment. Far from it. The waiter was extremely courteous and hospitable. Everything on the menu was available. Our arrival and subsequent orders spurred activity in the kitchen and we were soon digging into some very delicious food. I had a Gujarati thaali and it was fabulous. We returned to our rooms and realized we were too tired to do anything. We, however, drank a few pegs, discussed the day's ride and made tentative plans for the next day before going off to sleep.


(to be continued....)