Getaway to God’s Own Country
Last week was one of the rare moments for a Software Engineer working in the Bangalore IT industry, which he can experience. It was a long weekend. 4 days of holidays on one day of optional leave. So, naturally, everyone was in their highest spirits and planning weekend getaways, away from the daily monotony. I was too a part of this inspired crowd but my plans were of solitude because I was planning a solo trip to Wayanad.
As all my plans go, I ask all my friends if they want to join me in my adventure. And like always it’s a negative response. However, I am not the one who cancels plans because other people do not want to do things I want to do. So I started planning nevertheless.
I had four days of holidays, namely, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I could have left on Thursday but I really wanted to catch up a little bit on CAT preparation before leaving so that I don’t feel guilty for wasting my weekend traveling. I also need a day to prepare for the journey for the following day which includes packing, cleaning the chain of my bike, filling petrol and checking the tire pressure as starters. The other items in the itinerary depends on how the health of my bike is at the time of leaving, which till now has been healthy.
Anyway, in high spirits, I did all the chores necessary for the ride the following day and came to sleep early which for most parts of my traveling has been a myth because I do not sleep early at all, ever.
So, the D-Day arrived and it was 3 am in the morning. I live in one of the sparsely populated areas of Bangalore, so there is pin drop silence in my colony which is almost always rejoiced by me. I, however, wanted to rejoice this calm and cold a little bit longer and did not want to get up at all. But then I remembered I wouldn’t be wanting to ride in the heat, so leaving early morning is my best option. And after contemplating this intelligent thought, I slept again. I did somehow manage to set alarm for every half an hour because well, I know me. I woke up around at 4:30 am, did my morning rituals, prepared a nice hot cup of tea for myself, browsed Reddit and sipped tea. Then I quickly put on my riding gears and headed down to the PG parking to load my luggage on my bike. It was around 6 in the morning and I could see people jogging. I left for my journey.
The only benefit of staying where I stay is that getting out of the city is relatively easier as Mysore road is just a neighbor. I took the route of Bangalore > Bidadi > Ramnagar > Maddur > Mysore > Bandipur > Wayanad. The highway for most parts is in excellent condition.
Since it was a long weekend, all of Bangalore was getting out with me and traveling to some place or the other. I saw plenty of cars filled with people blasting loud music, plenty of bikers riding in convoys and there I was riding solo. Putting the word “Solo” really takes away the fact that I was just, in plain words, riding alone for the lack of not finding people who want to travel on bikes. A little weird, but okay.
The ride for most parts after leaving Bangalore is boring. Things start to get interesting when you arrive at Bandipur National Park. You have to cross the park to get to the other side. The roads are really well maintained and the most dominant color is green which just makes me happy.
After Bandipur, I was already in Kerela and since it is the election season, the security was vigilant. I was stopped at a couple of checkpoints and had to show all the documentation and my bags. It was a good experience as the police really don’t bother you much if you are in full protective gear from head to toe
The landscape started to change drastically and the air started to get cooler. I was riding on the hills of Kerela and I couldn’t have felt more me. Hills have always attracted me the most. I was and am a sucker for hill stations. Maybe because they are majestic structures which have stood the test of time and visiting them makes me feel my problems are so insignificant. Well, the excavations of these reasons is another article of its own.
My ride ended when I reached Hibernest Chembra, which was a hostel. The place was beautiful, gently lost in the green. I checked in and straightway went to sleep.
