Times when you look at life and feel so bad, it is then time to get into the wild.
There are two reasons for this:
1. You discover your own energy levels while enduring
2. You experience the silence which makes you feel the
connect between your soul and the wild
So went on our plan of cycling from Munnar to Alleppey.
Transport from Chennai to Munnar and Alleppey to Chennai were booked forehand.
We reached Munnar on the morning of 29th March, a sunny
morning. To make sure we set our air pressure right, we spotted a small shop in
the nearby areas and waited there 15 minutes for the guy to come. Sandeep, the
best guy in our group was asking every passerby if he was the guy who owned the
shop. After this, we set off on our expedition.
The day one was full of down-hill, which was an encouraging
start, as you get to touch speeds nearing 50 Kmph, which keeps the adrenaline
so high. We made sure we were hydrated, as the Sun was busy, draining us out. Stops
for hydration ensured us lime sodas and water fillings from the nearby houses. Right
from the start of the trip till we finished, lot of people were anxious to know
about our ride and the intention and we could hear them gossip about us as we
passed them by.
The total distance for the first day came close to 40 Km as
we started our ride only at 12pm.
Night riding wasn't preferred owing to the less lighting and
the dangerous curves along the route. Around 4pm, we reached a beautiful
bridge, underneath which was the river flow. This got very tempting, forcing us
to take a mandatory dip. AJ and I decided to go till the other end and back.
The top surface of the water was warm and the below surface was cold.
This got thrilling since I remember experiencing this also
in Ottiambakkam, during our open water swims. Ram got the Gopro and was
standing atop a rock, shooting a video of us and he did get inside after we got
out. We got out and set our again, around this time, it got dark. It was time
for us to look for a spot to camp as we were tired and badly needed some sleep.
En-route, we purchased a mesh, few vegetables and curd to retire with
barbeques. Few miles away as we were cycling, AJ found a spot, which was a few
meters away from the ground and guaranteed a lovely sight. I was standing a few
meters away and trying to see if I could find any other spot.
Meanwhile, we zeroed in on the spot AJ discovered and by
this time we needed a light source to do anything. Two of us started to gather
fire wood, while two were getting the tents ready. Soon after, we tried to set
the fire and soon started to set up our barbeque setup. AJ and me were shouting
wow for every piece that came out (it was half cooked though) and were
responsible for the major share that went inside our stomachs.
Soon after, we saw a motorbike approaching us. This man,
Seji, enquired about who we were and what our notions were. And then he left,
which saw one more person approaching us, almost nearly after 15 minutes. We
repeated the same explanation and this person, Sebastian, offered nearby help
if we needed anything and went on his way. Our barbeque session came to an end
and we decided to retire for the night. 25 minutes later, we saw a Jeep
approaching us. As usual, I went in the front as nobody in my gang spoke
Malayalam.
It was the locals, they didn't want us to let them way,
rather they were objected by the fact that we occupied their land. We had to
show them our Identity cards and since there was a girl in our gang, they got
suspicious. They insisted on inviting the police to clear any assumptions, to
which we had to oblige as they weren't willing to let us go just like that.
One hour later, the senior civil police officer, Mr. Roy and
his counterparts came along with the locals. To our surprise, after they heard
our tale of what we were doing, since we showed them our ride plan, he stood
for us and spoke on our behalf, stating that these tents are meant for camping.
They understood, we weren't keen on hiring a lodge or a hotel room.
It was a nice experience and Mr. Roy gave us his contact
numbers and directed the locals to offer us any help if we needed. This shut
the locals' minds and they had to oblige to us and retire to their
destinations, letting us sleep for a while till dawn.
We set off the next morning, after stopping for a cup of
nice Black tea, few miles away. We found it funny with the mixture of
languages, especially when Ram once asked for Black tea and was refused. I
asked "Cheta, Kattan Chaaya", which got us the intended black tea. Likewise
happened for Lime soda when they said they don't have and I had to ask
"Cheta, Nyaaranga soda". Sadly, Logesh had to settle himself with
soda and salt, since he didn't know how Lemon was called in Malayalam.
We had a tough climb that day, as there were hardly a few
water spots even, with the weather conditions also humid and sweaty.
Day 2 was nice as we were directed towards Vagamon. We could
hear almost every villager gossiping about us and enquiring about our trip. Few
auto drivers were kind enough to suggest us routes, considering our cycling
intention and the climbs along the way. It was dusk by then and we were in need
of a camping spot. Kanjiyaaru wasn't so tourist friendly, which meant that we
ask someone for permission before setting our tents.
Pit stop at a hotel for dinner, post which myself and AJ
approached the nearby church for permission, which was refused, but the Asst
Vicar gave us a contact number of a father who was in charge of a college, a km
away. We tried the forest range office, which was near the church. We both
waited nearly for an hour to meet them, which ended up with a well-known
declination.
As we were crossing the JPM College, AJ tried his luck in
ringing up the father, who immediately answered the call and came to the gate. Upon
verifying our ID cards and convincing the villagers, who came thronging to see
what was happening, we were let in to set our camp. AJ, me and Ajith wished to
sleep near the reception while the others wished to set the tents and sleep
near the football field. It was a very cold night soon after, eventually
forcing us to go inside the sleeping bags.
The next morning, the father gave us a good morning welcome
and waited for us to pack the things and showed us the way out, with route
directions. It was a very nice and a friendly gesture, as we exchanged a couple
of nice words. People like this are a blessing to our society, indeed :)
Few kilometers down, I was at the front, cycling a bit
faster and stopped near a shop, where the breakfast was getting ready, which
meant everybody were forced to stop for a bite here. The bite eventually grew
up to many pieces of Yummy Parotta with the available gravies. The taste was
very nice. Before this, there was a stop for a lemon tea, where the climate and
the location were very nice.
This ensured lovely photographs along.
We decided to hit Vagamon by noon and reach Kottayam for the
night. Meanwhile Logesh had a personal call, forcing him to plan for his return
to Chennai as soon as possible. We reached Vagamon that afternoon. Sundhari had
pedaled so hard and reach the top very quickly. I chased her path and tried to
catch up with her, meanwhile the others were settling at a spot for a
Nickerchen.
The Vagamon top welcomed us to a closed Cottage, where we
had a good Nickerchen and some excellent photographs, since the colors gave a
good composition. There was a shop right opposite, which was a Tempo traveler
converted into a restaurant. We soon settled there for lunch, as the others
reached too. Yummy Idiyappams were a good delish for lunch. We spent some
quality time for eating and rested at the cottage for a few minutes and set off
on our downhill expedition.
The journey was excellent, from Vagamon towards Kottayam, guaranteeing
us excellent views and spots to take photographs. Note, we touched speeds close
to 60 Kmph here. On reaching the bottom of the hill after 20 minutes, I saw a
deserted bus stop and put my helmet on the ground and slept over it for 20
minutes. The gang woke me up once I reached and we pedaled for a few meters
where we saw a shop and had some yummy lime sodas and the sippy type Ice cream.
Soon after, we kept pedaling until we reached a point where
we had to take a right turn and holy shit, due to some bandh that day, no buses
or autos were plying. We were worried for Logesh, as to how we would return. We
made a plan that Logesh would pedal with the gang faster, while myself and
Sundhari would come behind. Both of us kept pedaling through the roads, which
was kind of a rolling terrain. We did see a tempting spot for swimming, but we
preferred to keep going, since it was already Dusk.
At last, the guys reached Kottayam with Logesh, while we
reached there 45 minutes later.
You wouldn't believe, there is a Decathlon at Kottayam, and
for a moment I did think if we both should drop in there to display our cycles,
since I wondered if anyone used their things there.
Soon, we found a hotel in Kottayam, it was 8.30pm by then and
sadly we had to order the food what was available, as most of the items were
already run out. The security was a kind man, who took good care of our
bicycles, including their counts.
 |
Our Ride Plan |
We had a good dip in the river around 11pm, discussing about
many things.
It was Ram's birthday that night, 1 April, we had bought a
Halwa instead of a cake, for a change.
It was soon morning, after a sultry night, with everyone
camping inside the tents outside Thiruvarpu home, myself on the Thinnai, which
is more than pleasure to me. We dropped a visit to the Krishnan temple and the
Kochambalam, both being hardly a stone's throw from home. The Krishnan temple traces back to history, even today, as
one amongst those temples which open as early as 2.30AM in the morning.
Soon after, by noon we set off to Kumarakom. It was a flat,
10Km ride.
We hit the Boat Jetty soon. The only transport service
available was the boat to Muhamma, from where we could ride to Alleppey. We
crashed onto a nearby hotel for lunch, relishing the yummy Kumarakom biriyani,
which is rice on the outside and gravy on the inside.
The boat journey to Muhamma was interesting. One of the crew
member became friends with us, telling about various places on the route. He
mentioned about a brave girl, who swam this 10Km distance earlier two weeks
back. My mind sounded excited, I thanked him in my mind for the idea, for we
are a crazy group who do these things. My mind tickled, Hari, you have a super
plan now. Why not make a plan to swim the same distance? :-P
We had cycled to Alleppey then, which was an easy ride, not
so hot. On reaching Alapuzha Boat Jetty, the Houseboat plan was on, was very
excited as we got into our Houseboat. We had requested him for two things, one
was to stop at some point so that we could go for a swim, second was to buy
Toddy.
Both worked out, yes, three bottles of light Toddy, I liked
the taste.
I and AJ had a nice swim to the other end of the Lake, around
160 meters. On return, Ram clicked few photographs of us, and getting into the
boat again was hell a tough task. The crew of the chef seemed bit friendly and
Nissam, a young chap, also jumped into the waters for a swim with us.
I had a Kattankaapi after the swim, to cleanse my stomach,
since I felt the water could be polluted. Slowly we started off, sipping the
toddy. AJ played some nice music and it was a lovely day. The night went off
and the next morning, we had some nice Appam with Kadala Curry for breakfast. As
we reached the big view point of the open waters, it was a fantastic sight.
Now, it was time to set off to the next destination, Yay,
the St Mary’s Forane Church at Pullinkunnu. Who has watched Vinnaithaandi
Varuvaaya will know this Church, for its lovely and soothing background score. Sundhari, Ajith and I took a boat to cross the waters, it was a 15 minute ride and
the boat man was a friendly character.Meanwhile, AJ, Ram and Sandeep had reached the Church,
relishing a nice ride from Alleppey, as we couldn't afford a delay as our train
was to depart early. As we were on the journey to the Church, the BGM of VTV
was playing in my mind, with a Black Camarant opening its wings so wide, as if
giving me a warm welcome.
There was little trouble into us getting inside the church,
which got settled later, thanks to our Lakshmibai Sundhari. It was a nice feel
to get into the silence inside the prayer hall. We thanked the Security for
being so kind to get us permitted inside.
Soon, we took an auto and reached a spot for Lunch, for it
was Ram's treat for his birthday.
"Avees Puttu House" an exotic restaurant serving
lot of Puttu and Non veg varieties was a delightful sight. It had a boat of the
Nehru boat race kind, on top of which was the dining chairs. One would
definitely relish the interiors of this place.
Soon, we had got done and started off to reach Alleppey,
then took our bicycles and pedaled to the railway station, asking for routes
all along the way. Many were gossiping "Hey these guys have come so far
cycling".
Reaching the station, we booked the bicycles as a luggage
and went and sat in the bench, relaxing with a bottle of cold water. We were
only myself, Sundhari and Ajith. Rest were to go to Bangalore by Bus and they
had ample time to come slowly. The train travel was a funny one, for it was an
RAC ticket, so had lot of confusions in our berth. We three caught up for a
nice never ending discussion which lasted over three hours. At last, after the
train crossed Palakkad, we found peace and slept off.
Woke up in the morning to rush to office at 8am. Started at
6.45 from Central and reached home, pedaling with fully drained energy, still
managing to reach home and then to office on time.
These trips are a dream kind. You might find it to be hard
at first look, but they show you what real life and fun is. It is not about
spending money on luxury, rather relishing true nature through pure adventure
:)
