DAY 7 - January 24th: Kathmandu to Ayodhya
The return journey was starting today. I decided to cover major portions today, till Ayodhya (via Sonauli border) and the next day till Agra, leaving me a comfortable 250 kms to ride on the final day. The prospect of 'return' winds down the enthusiasm and stamina of any rider. If I had stayed back with my co-riders, or even alone but still in Nepal, I wouldn't have experienced any tiredness!
I started off early, at 6 AM as I had to ride over 450 kms today. Food services at the hostel were at specified timings only, so I couldn't have chai. I decided to stop for breakfast after riding 50 kms. At this hour, there was obviously no traffic. The route was the same one I had taken while coming from Pokhara, but without the dreaded trucks. I was still riding at a slow speed due to the general bad condition of the roads.
Around 55 kms later, I spotted 'Hamlet Restaurant' and stopped for breakfast. The service mode is quite interesting here. They basically serve a buffet of sorts. All items are laid out, you look and choose what you want and they charge according to the items you take. In other words, the 'look' is of a buffet but you don't pay a fixed amount for unlimited stuff, you can just take some portions and pay for those. Quite a unique concept, especially for breakfast. I chose poori and alu sabzi and black tea from the adjacent stall. Once again, the food was excellent, as was the tea. This trip was quite a culinary delight, with almost no meal being below-average (yet....). While I had stopped randomly, because the restaurant looked nice from outside, PS later told me that it is actually a very popular hang-out spot. It's a nice, short drive out of Kathmandu and she'd been here many times.
As I was leaving, a guy in an SUV stopped and chatted with me for a long time until his wife gestured to him impatiently from inside the car. Guess she doesn't want him mixing with 'bikers' and getting his own ideas! Post breakfast, it was mostly an uneventful ride. The roads continued to be brilliant with sparse traffic. The weather was amazing too. This was another thing about Nepal. The air is fresh and easy to breathe, unlike the polluted air in Delhi-NCR. Then again, I'd be a hypocrite to complain about pollution when I myself ride a motorcycle.
My mood was a little down, to be honest. The trip was quite short, my mates were still here for another week and I was returning home alone. Post-ride blues are quite normal but this seemed to be worse than normal. As a result, I made one bad decision - to keep riding and not stop for lunch. I wasn't very hungry and I thought I could cross the border and eat on the Indian side. I kinda anticipated a lot of options.
Compounding my end-of-ride blues was what I perceived as one last attempt by this beautiful country to hold me back, 50 kms before the border:
I crossed the border without a single hurdle. The guards on the Nepal side simply waved me through. On the Indian side, I expected some sort of checking, so I stopped and asked a few people in case I get caught further down for some reason. When I was sure nothing was required, I continued. Bit of an anti-climactic ending to my first international ride, I must say.
Hunger pangs struck and I realized I should have eaten on the Nepal side. The roads after Sonauli are huge, smooth and empty. Nothing apart from fields on the sides. More than 50 kms later, at around 3.45 PM, I spotted a small restaurant. They served only snacks, so I gobbled down multiple plates of onion pakodas, samosas and a plate of gajar-halwa. The pakodas were perfect but everything else was strictly average. It was almost 4.30 PM now and I had more than 150 kms to cover till Ayodhya, so I started off without further ado.
At my next rest stop, I booked an Oyo Room (Spot On Jyotish House) for the night in Ayodhya. I hadn't paid attention to the name and assumed it was a regular hotel. I rode quickly through the darkness to reach at around 7.30 PM. As soon as I reached, I realized it was actually a small ashram of sorts, and they were probably renting out the rooms via Oyo as a side business. The caretaker there was a nice chap, who referred to 'bikers' as if it is a different species. After confirming that I belonged to aforementioned sub-species of Homo Sapiens, he proceeded to explain our various features to the other staff. He first explained how we all seem to wear these things on our arms and knees, how we carry a lot of stuff on our bikes, etc. I was allowed to proceed to my room only after the staff had properly observed this newly-discovered sub species.
The room was large and clean, although there was a lot of construction going on outside. I jumped into the shower quickly and stepped out refreshed. My only peeve with the place was that I couldn't grab a beer. But they served unlimited poori-sabzi for dinner (repeat of breakfast!) along with a huge bowl of kheer that I could barely finish. Before sleeping, I checked the distances and decided to stop for breakfast in Lucknow on the way to Agra.
DAY 8 - January 25th: Ayodhya to Agra via Lucknow
The fog was back, although not as bad as before. I started off from the ashram at around 7 AM. The main priest/head of ashram was also up and the caretaker jumped at this opportunity to show off his latest discovery to him. The head of the ashram was duly impressed by the young man's discovery and asked an insightful question - "what do these bikers do then?" To this, the caretaker responded that bikers seem to ride long distances, over plains, mountains and even deserts, they don't seem to get tired and claim to enjoy doing all this. I didn't get a word in edgewise, such was his mastery of the subject. He informed me afterwards that he had come across 'bikers' in Lucknow and thus knew so much about them. I congratulated him for gaining such valuable knowledge and bid a farewell to everyone gathered there.
Riding through huge throngs of people heading to the temple nearby, I touched the highway soon, where I stopped for tea. I was in touch with a couple of my friends from Lucknow, who all recommended Sharma ki Chai in Lalbagh. I reached there without much difficulty at around 10.15 AM. There was a huge crowd but service was super quick. I had bun makkhan, samosa and chai, of course. While all 3 were great, I did feel it's a bit too hyped. Don't get me wrong, they were really tasty, but I didn't think it was anything unique or mind-blowing and not really worth a detour into the city. Nevertheless, Lucknow seemed to be a nice and clean city to hang out in, at least the areas I had passed through.
I made my way out of Lucknow and hit the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, that eventually continues up to Greater Noida. I had heard a lot about this expressway, but this was my first time on it. I paid the toll and started. There is nothing much to write about from this point. It's a long, empty and monotonous stretch. I stuck to a speed limit of 75-80 kph. The only hiccup I faced was petrol. I had not tanked up since I crossed the Nepal border and now I was on the expressway with no way to go but straight. I could take the next exit but that'd mean repaying the toll when I entered the expressway again. The first 'rest-stop' was 75 kms from the start. I heaved a sigh of relief when I spotted the signboard announcing the rest-stop, tanked up and continued on my way. Lunch was at the next rest-stop, another 130 kms from the first one. Here, once again, I booked stay at 'Friends Guest House and Hostel' in Agra. I reached there at 6 PM. I was back in a dorm room now, after my stint in the private room in the ashram.
2 'dry' days had passed now and I was not looking to make it a hat-trick. Before that though, I stepped out and walked into a petha store nearby. How can I miss petha in Agra? The shopkeeper had a slow business day and was about to shut shop when I walked in. I just wanted a couple of pieces to eat, not to pack. He showed me his entire range and I chose a regular petha, a paan petha and a chocolate petha. He also refused payment! I was really on a freebie roll now. As promised, I am sharing the location here for anyone interested - with your back to the Friends Guest House and Hostel in Taj Nagari (Shilpagram Road), walk to your right for less than 30 meters, you'll find the petha store on the same side of the road. I recommend both paan petha and chocolate petha, they were amazing and unique.
I returned to the hostel and went up to the Bob Marley Cafe on the top floor. Beer, starters and some light dinner were consumed with gusto. Post 10 PM, I was requested to park my motorcycle inside. Inside meant REALLY inside. I basically rode over a small ramp into the hostel and parked my bike in front of the reception desk. Now that's a first! I was dead tired and hit the bed soon.
DAY 9 - January 26th: Agra to Gurgaon
The final day of the ride! I wasn't excited of course, but my mood had improved considerably since day before. I made a late start, at 9 AM to avoid the fog. Right before the Expressway Tollgate, I stopped to have chai at a small stall. I had a long chat with the stall owner. He was under the assumption that bikers who go on such long rides are sponsored by companies. When I told him that we mostly spend our own money, he was quite impressed and commented on the freedom and spirit of adventure we all must have inside us to embark on such journeys. His own life journey was quite interesting. He happened to be a skilled worker, who used to work in a chemical manufacturing plant nearby. After multiple burn injuries, his mother requested him to quit and he then started this tea stall. He mentioned that he earns less now, but at least his life and limbs are not in danger. I found this to be quite motivating, he seemed to have made peace with his life and its circumstances and did not dwell too much on the past or 'what-could-have's.
Thus motivated, I embarked on the last leg of my journey. I crunched through the kilometers and reached the Greater Noida-Noida Expressway. This is home stretch for me. I had spent many years putting my brother's Karizma through its paces on this very Expressway. Noida holds a special place in my heart, as I was born and brought up here and those 23 kms were quite nostalgic!
I made a quick stop to meet a friend of mine in Noida, though the 'quick' break turned into a 2-hour long lunch session. I finally reached home in Gurgaon at 5 PM.
This ride is now my second-longest ride, after Rann of Kutch. It was my first international ride and I truly wish I can go back to this nice little country again in the future. I felt that the good times I had here deserved a tribute in form of this blog and thus, this ride also helped push me over the 3-year long writer's block!
Until next time! Cheers and Jai BoP!
The return journey was starting today. I decided to cover major portions today, till Ayodhya (via Sonauli border) and the next day till Agra, leaving me a comfortable 250 kms to ride on the final day. The prospect of 'return' winds down the enthusiasm and stamina of any rider. If I had stayed back with my co-riders, or even alone but still in Nepal, I wouldn't have experienced any tiredness!
I started off early, at 6 AM as I had to ride over 450 kms today. Food services at the hostel were at specified timings only, so I couldn't have chai. I decided to stop for breakfast after riding 50 kms. At this hour, there was obviously no traffic. The route was the same one I had taken while coming from Pokhara, but without the dreaded trucks. I was still riding at a slow speed due to the general bad condition of the roads.
Around 55 kms later, I spotted 'Hamlet Restaurant' and stopped for breakfast. The service mode is quite interesting here. They basically serve a buffet of sorts. All items are laid out, you look and choose what you want and they charge according to the items you take. In other words, the 'look' is of a buffet but you don't pay a fixed amount for unlimited stuff, you can just take some portions and pay for those. Quite a unique concept, especially for breakfast. I chose poori and alu sabzi and black tea from the adjacent stall. Once again, the food was excellent, as was the tea. This trip was quite a culinary delight, with almost no meal being below-average (yet....). While I had stopped randomly, because the restaurant looked nice from outside, PS later told me that it is actually a very popular hang-out spot. It's a nice, short drive out of Kathmandu and she'd been here many times.
As I was leaving, a guy in an SUV stopped and chatted with me for a long time until his wife gestured to him impatiently from inside the car. Guess she doesn't want him mixing with 'bikers' and getting his own ideas! Post breakfast, it was mostly an uneventful ride. The roads continued to be brilliant with sparse traffic. The weather was amazing too. This was another thing about Nepal. The air is fresh and easy to breathe, unlike the polluted air in Delhi-NCR. Then again, I'd be a hypocrite to complain about pollution when I myself ride a motorcycle.
My mood was a little down, to be honest. The trip was quite short, my mates were still here for another week and I was returning home alone. Post-ride blues are quite normal but this seemed to be worse than normal. As a result, I made one bad decision - to keep riding and not stop for lunch. I wasn't very hungry and I thought I could cross the border and eat on the Indian side. I kinda anticipated a lot of options.
Compounding my end-of-ride blues was what I perceived as one last attempt by this beautiful country to hold me back, 50 kms before the border:
Another little, heartwarming incident happened around 20 kms before the border. My brakes were very loose by now, so I stopped at a mechanic's to get them tightened. The owner of the store walked out to greet me and expressed regret that the mechanic wasn't around. When I said I just wanted to get my brakes tightened, he volunteered to do it himself (I am assuming that's not the norm at this shop). We chatted for a bit and he learned that I had a long ride ahead of me; without me asking him to, he lubed the chain, tightened a few nuts and even volunteered to dust the bike. To top that, he refused any money! My insistence fell on deaf ears. I was a visitor to his country and it was very minor stuff, he said, so no money required. Yet again, Nepali hospitality touched my heart.
I crossed the border without a single hurdle. The guards on the Nepal side simply waved me through. On the Indian side, I expected some sort of checking, so I stopped and asked a few people in case I get caught further down for some reason. When I was sure nothing was required, I continued. Bit of an anti-climactic ending to my first international ride, I must say.
Hunger pangs struck and I realized I should have eaten on the Nepal side. The roads after Sonauli are huge, smooth and empty. Nothing apart from fields on the sides. More than 50 kms later, at around 3.45 PM, I spotted a small restaurant. They served only snacks, so I gobbled down multiple plates of onion pakodas, samosas and a plate of gajar-halwa. The pakodas were perfect but everything else was strictly average. It was almost 4.30 PM now and I had more than 150 kms to cover till Ayodhya, so I started off without further ado.
At my next rest stop, I booked an Oyo Room (Spot On Jyotish House) for the night in Ayodhya. I hadn't paid attention to the name and assumed it was a regular hotel. I rode quickly through the darkness to reach at around 7.30 PM. As soon as I reached, I realized it was actually a small ashram of sorts, and they were probably renting out the rooms via Oyo as a side business. The caretaker there was a nice chap, who referred to 'bikers' as if it is a different species. After confirming that I belonged to aforementioned sub-species of Homo Sapiens, he proceeded to explain our various features to the other staff. He first explained how we all seem to wear these things on our arms and knees, how we carry a lot of stuff on our bikes, etc. I was allowed to proceed to my room only after the staff had properly observed this newly-discovered sub species.
The room was large and clean, although there was a lot of construction going on outside. I jumped into the shower quickly and stepped out refreshed. My only peeve with the place was that I couldn't grab a beer. But they served unlimited poori-sabzi for dinner (repeat of breakfast!) along with a huge bowl of kheer that I could barely finish. Before sleeping, I checked the distances and decided to stop for breakfast in Lucknow on the way to Agra.
DAY 8 - January 25th: Ayodhya to Agra via Lucknow
The fog was back, although not as bad as before. I started off from the ashram at around 7 AM. The main priest/head of ashram was also up and the caretaker jumped at this opportunity to show off his latest discovery to him. The head of the ashram was duly impressed by the young man's discovery and asked an insightful question - "what do these bikers do then?" To this, the caretaker responded that bikers seem to ride long distances, over plains, mountains and even deserts, they don't seem to get tired and claim to enjoy doing all this. I didn't get a word in edgewise, such was his mastery of the subject. He informed me afterwards that he had come across 'bikers' in Lucknow and thus knew so much about them. I congratulated him for gaining such valuable knowledge and bid a farewell to everyone gathered there.
Riding through huge throngs of people heading to the temple nearby, I touched the highway soon, where I stopped for tea. I was in touch with a couple of my friends from Lucknow, who all recommended Sharma ki Chai in Lalbagh. I reached there without much difficulty at around 10.15 AM. There was a huge crowd but service was super quick. I had bun makkhan, samosa and chai, of course. While all 3 were great, I did feel it's a bit too hyped. Don't get me wrong, they were really tasty, but I didn't think it was anything unique or mind-blowing and not really worth a detour into the city. Nevertheless, Lucknow seemed to be a nice and clean city to hang out in, at least the areas I had passed through.
I made my way out of Lucknow and hit the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, that eventually continues up to Greater Noida. I had heard a lot about this expressway, but this was my first time on it. I paid the toll and started. There is nothing much to write about from this point. It's a long, empty and monotonous stretch. I stuck to a speed limit of 75-80 kph. The only hiccup I faced was petrol. I had not tanked up since I crossed the Nepal border and now I was on the expressway with no way to go but straight. I could take the next exit but that'd mean repaying the toll when I entered the expressway again. The first 'rest-stop' was 75 kms from the start. I heaved a sigh of relief when I spotted the signboard announcing the rest-stop, tanked up and continued on my way. Lunch was at the next rest-stop, another 130 kms from the first one. Here, once again, I booked stay at 'Friends Guest House and Hostel' in Agra. I reached there at 6 PM. I was back in a dorm room now, after my stint in the private room in the ashram.
2 'dry' days had passed now and I was not looking to make it a hat-trick. Before that though, I stepped out and walked into a petha store nearby. How can I miss petha in Agra? The shopkeeper had a slow business day and was about to shut shop when I walked in. I just wanted a couple of pieces to eat, not to pack. He showed me his entire range and I chose a regular petha, a paan petha and a chocolate petha. He also refused payment! I was really on a freebie roll now. As promised, I am sharing the location here for anyone interested - with your back to the Friends Guest House and Hostel in Taj Nagari (Shilpagram Road), walk to your right for less than 30 meters, you'll find the petha store on the same side of the road. I recommend both paan petha and chocolate petha, they were amazing and unique.
I returned to the hostel and went up to the Bob Marley Cafe on the top floor. Beer, starters and some light dinner were consumed with gusto. Post 10 PM, I was requested to park my motorcycle inside. Inside meant REALLY inside. I basically rode over a small ramp into the hostel and parked my bike in front of the reception desk. Now that's a first! I was dead tired and hit the bed soon.
DAY 9 - January 26th: Agra to Gurgaon
The final day of the ride! I wasn't excited of course, but my mood had improved considerably since day before. I made a late start, at 9 AM to avoid the fog. Right before the Expressway Tollgate, I stopped to have chai at a small stall. I had a long chat with the stall owner. He was under the assumption that bikers who go on such long rides are sponsored by companies. When I told him that we mostly spend our own money, he was quite impressed and commented on the freedom and spirit of adventure we all must have inside us to embark on such journeys. His own life journey was quite interesting. He happened to be a skilled worker, who used to work in a chemical manufacturing plant nearby. After multiple burn injuries, his mother requested him to quit and he then started this tea stall. He mentioned that he earns less now, but at least his life and limbs are not in danger. I found this to be quite motivating, he seemed to have made peace with his life and its circumstances and did not dwell too much on the past or 'what-could-have's.
Thus motivated, I embarked on the last leg of my journey. I crunched through the kilometers and reached the Greater Noida-Noida Expressway. This is home stretch for me. I had spent many years putting my brother's Karizma through its paces on this very Expressway. Noida holds a special place in my heart, as I was born and brought up here and those 23 kms were quite nostalgic!
I made a quick stop to meet a friend of mine in Noida, though the 'quick' break turned into a 2-hour long lunch session. I finally reached home in Gurgaon at 5 PM.
This ride is now my second-longest ride, after Rann of Kutch. It was my first international ride and I truly wish I can go back to this nice little country again in the future. I felt that the good times I had here deserved a tribute in form of this blog and thus, this ride also helped push me over the 3-year long writer's block!
Until next time! Cheers and Jai BoP!
What a perfect way to pinpoint a location for others to reach - "with your back to the Friends Guest House and Hostel in Taj Nagari (Shilpagram Road), walk to your right for less than 30 meters, you'll find the petha store on the same side of the road."
ReplyDeleteWaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
I find it quite strange that you never name your friends or just give their initials. Is this because you don't want to share their names or have they asked you not to?
The bike parking can't get safer than what you had to! Kudos...
Our Faizabad OYO experience was oddly funny too...Would mention in my blog.
We got Paan Petha gift from Dips' Didi! la la la la...kya mast hota hai yaar woh :D
Ab jaldi se nayi ride plan karte hain...so that you can continue writing!
Cheers,
Che
Isse badhiya directions de sakta hai koi? Follow it to the letter and tell me afterwards, when you next visit Agra.
ReplyDeleteActually many years ago, 2 of my friends had requested not to put their names in. Tabse it's become a habit to use initials for girls. I don't ask them, just 'anonymize' it. But I guess I can ask and put them in next time onwards, it does look a bit weird.
Sahi mei, safest parking ever.
Looking forward to your blogs now. Abhi tak ke sab experience kiya the maine, no I can't wait to read of your adventures in complete detail.
Agreed about paan petha. Mere waale shop pe jaake try karna.
I'm going to float both destinations and plan accordingly :D