Thursday 22 December 2016

Ride Solo to Explore

Mind set - It all begins here!

Daily life was starting to get a bit hectic as the stress level indicators raised up the stress meter. All those suppressed emotions and feelings however tiny, were piling up to reach the heights..............THE HEIGHTS OF INTOLERANCE!


Deep within me, a whisper of my sub-conscious mind was constantly repeating itself. All it continued to say was, 
“Set me free, Set me free and Set me free”

I needed a break! I wanted to break free from the daily chaos that was driving me into insanity. On the contrary, I was planning a 'ride' to some hill station to drain all the stress in me and clear the clouds of chaos in my mind. With a little bit of research on the net, I decided to visit Wayanad in Kerala.

YES! Wayanad it is. Convinced that Wayanad was ideal I begun to create my road map.


I had then intended to leave on the following Saturday morning and reach back to my presumed chaos or so called reality by Monday night. It was a long weekend since it was 15th August - our Independence Day. All my brothers and sisters of India were in the mood of independence and I decided to celebrate our Independence Day by setting my soul free. I did that by loosening those strings which had held me back to a structured and scheduled lifestyle.

I packed my basics and sorted all that I would need. Dusted the saddle bags and my riding gear with a spirit of freedom. I could imagine myself as a bird locked up in a cage and knows he would fly away to his freedom the following dawn.

Initial road-map

Bangalore > Mysore > Gundelpete > Sultan Bathery > Wayanad > Gundelpete > Mysore > Bangalore.

Locations Checklist

  • Chembara peak 
  • Soochipara falls
  • Edakkal caves
  • Sunrise valley
  • Himavad gopalswamy
  • Nanjanagudu

The Ride

The start did not go about as planned and that’s a pretty usual scenario.
I hit the Bangalore - Mysore highway and decided not to take a break for the first 2 hours at least, however I was forced to pause my travel every now and then due to rains that kept fluctuating with its pour. I was forced to take breaks along the highway due to rains and that helped me to calm myself down every time my adrenaline rush blew out of its proportions. These pauses also helped to cool my tigress down (RE Bullet 500).
The Start


Droplets of drizzle
Canal - Srirangapatna
Within a span of 3 hours, I was at Srirangapanta and stopped by a small irrigation canal for a break. I stretched myself to the maximum only to feel all my muscles relaxing down and all the bones & joints getting back to their place. “I could sense a feeling that seemed like my soul was dancing out of those egoistic layers while climbing out of that filthy hypocritical pit we all live in.” I strolled a bit to see around the place where I had stopped. I couldn’t witness much of nature or landscapes there; however I was able to hear the sounds of the birds chirping as the water in the canal kept flowing. After a decent relax time I headed further towards my destination. I turned left just before I entered the Mysore city into the ring road to avoid the city traffic inside the Mysore city. You may want to explore Mysore if you’ve never been there before. The heritage city of Mysore, as it is called will let you witness the true heritage of Mysore's culture . Try not to miss the Mysore Palace, Brindavan gardens (KRS Dam) and Chamundi Hills which are among the prominent tourist spots of Mysore. There are numerous other places to visit in and around Mysore. I would say, the exploration of Mysore itself would require a good 3-5 days depending on the degree of detail you'd want to cover. 

Let’s not deviate into Mysore and its heritage, as we are already on the ring road that heads towards Nanjangudu and further until Gundelpete. I continued to ride along the road and reached a spot where I could only see fields of orange flowers for miles together. That pretty sight got me nostalgic and led me to my school times. It reminded me of those lines William Wordsworth said in Daffodils.


“Ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance” 
Gundlepete
What a beautiful sight that was. I did feel what Wordsworth felt or wanted his readers to feel. I felt it not by reading his poem but by sight of those fields covered with flowers, that reminded me of his poem. It was a sight of true splendor. I was mesmerized indeed. You got to see it to believe it! I stopped by there for a while to enjoy the sight of beautiful nature and not let the concept of time ruin the moment. 

I then mounted my bullet and headed towards Bandipur forest. Wonderful roads that twists and turns quite frequently with hardly any pot holes helped me cruise through the forest with ease. I then passed by the Bandipur check-post to enter the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary. I must have traveled for a good 5 mins into the forest and saw three elephant by the road strolling away like each of them being their own majesties.
Bandipur - As their Majesties stroll


Bandipur - A King-size Life! 
It seemed like they lived life king-size, but I’d say grass is always green on the other side. All kinds have their ups & downs. The next thought on my mind was, why am I even comparing wild animals to humans?
As all the three disappeared into the forest I moved ahead towards Muthunga wildlife sanctuary. Bandipur forest on the Kerala border is called Muthunga forest. Saw some spotted deers, herd of bisons some birds I’ve never seen before, hence I do not know what they are called. There is great scope for wildlife photography in Bandipur. You also have some jungle lodges and resorts to accommodate tourists here. You also have the wild life safaris that forest department offers. If you plan a stay at Bandipur, do not miss the midnight safari and the elephant safari. It will be a memorable experience for life. Passionate wildlife photographers will enjoy their time in Bandipur. So now let’s move on as that’s not our destination. 

Further ride to Sultan Bathery and up to Mepaddi, we are almost at the foot hills of Chembara. I looked at my watch; it was about to clock 6 in the evening. I looked up at the sky and the sun was almost on the verge of setting itself. Seemed like he was waiting for me to witness his unexplainable magnificence as he leaves for the day and let the darkness creep in. I desperately needed a glorious sunrise or a magnificent sunset and YO! the wish was granted.

I strongly believe that nature is the easiest way to enrich oneself. Soul blends into nature, further becoming a part of the nature itself. It is indeed a part of nature, but unfortunately the system we humans have created, fails every human to be a part of nature and encourages him to destroy the nature for his selfish greedy needs & deeds.

I was in Kerala, The Gods own country!

Mepaddi


Mepaddi
The color of vegetation there has a shade of green that is enriched to its fullest. 

An Eve in Mepaddi

I was in Mepaddi by 7pm and checked into a hotel called, ‘By the Way’. Quickly freshened up and relaxed for a while. I then stepped out to get some dinner, meet people, talk to them, and understand the lifestyle and culture. What I realized was people of Wayanad are very friendly people. The caretaker of the Hotel (Mr. Kannan) briefed me of the places, worth a visit and the roads I need to take. He was also sweet enough to provide me with a hand sketched road map made for tourists. That map was really handy and helped me travel with ease not having to inquire locals if I was on the right track. In the course of my conversation with him is when I realized that Chembara peak is closed for trekkers since an elephant had given birth recently. The officials from the forest department, who usually provide permission to the trekkers, were denying any trekking permits for the next 2 weeks.
The Map (Thanks to Mr. Kannan)
There is something beautiful I heard. It seems that when an elephant gives birth, the other members of the herd will surround the mother and baby elephant creating a circle around them to protect them for weeks together, during which no strangers are entertained around them. The herd could get really aggressive and that is why the officials deny all permissions to Chembara at such times. I was disappointed about not being able to make it to the peak, but that was OK. I pacified myself saying I have reason now to go back to Chembara sometime in future.

Soocipara Falls.

I had to change my plans to Soocipara falls instead of Chembara peak.
I got back to my room to get some sound sleep. I needed to relax my stressed eyes and strained muscles so I could rise early and take off to Soocipara Falls

My next destination was Soocipara falls.
I rose by 5 am the next morning and left to Soocipara falls. I did stop by on the way to witness the glory of the RISING SUN. 

MEPADDI
Reached Soochipara Falls. Its a good 20-30 mins climb down the hill to reach the falls.
Its treat to your eyes once you reach the the falls. Water falling in such force and from a height of 200 meters is a mesmerizing scenic beauty indeed. Soocipara falls is also known as Sentinel Rock Waterfalls.
Soochipara/Sentinel rock Falls   

Soochipara/Sentinel rock Falls   

Edakkal Caves: Tales of the Neolithic Age









Edakkal Caves is about 26 kms from Kalpetta. These caves are believed to be a settlement for the primitive men who belonged to the Neolithic age. Archaeologists conclude that this settlement belonged to an era between 8000 BC to 6000 BC. You will need a good 4 to 5 hours to explore Edakkal Caves. It makes me wonder of the human journey from then until now. The progress of man's mind in terms of human evolution left me amazed. I would recommend this place to all who are interested history and archaeology. Wikipedia claims to say that this is the only record primitive men found in India that belonged to the stone age. I took my own sweet time to explore Edakkal and left Edakkal by sunset. Reached the hotel to rest as I had to leave Wayanad the following morning. My next destination was Himavad Gopal Swamy betta.

Himavad Gopalswamy and Nanjangudu:

I left towards Gundelpete the next morning and it took me about 2 hours to reach Gundelpete. Visited the Himavad Gopal swamy betta which is an abode of lord Krishna. An interesting fact about this place is that temple at the peak is always covered with mist all round the year, hence its named with the prefix 'Himavad' (Full of Mist).

My next and last location was Najangudu. It is located on the banks of river Cauvery and about 30 kms from Gundelpete and 40 kms from Mysore. There is a temple of lord Nanjundeshwara and with huge number of devotees visiting this place.
Cauvery at Nanjangudu


Rejuvenated  - Ready to Return! 

I sat by the river and played back my journey on my mind, from the start. It was an amazing experience indeed. The movie of this trip's experience that played in my mind, made me smile and only smile. I was now all set and ready to return to civilization and its chaos. I started towards Bangalore after the Sunset on the banks of Cauvery and reached Bangalore a couple of hours before midnight.

Just like all my trips are memorable, This "solo ride to explore" is a memorable one in its own way.


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