Well, most of the people have this notion about road trip being a waste of time as there is nothing to experience. But, trust me, go on one and you will realize what it is all about. You need passion to drive through the entire course and still have the last bit of energy to sink in the natural splendor surrounding you, not convinced? Let me explain this to you.
It was 5:30 in the morning and my phone starts to beep, it was an alarm that I had turned on last night to set my course to the green paradise living in the garden city; fast forward thirty minutes, I'm on my ride for the next 9 hours- The journey to Wayanad from Bangalore on a 150 cc, 3 year young red colour Yamaha FZ V2.0.
It took me around 30 minutes to get out of the Bangalore city and my red lightning (my motorbike- please bear with me) was clocking 113 kmph on the nice road, the patch that connects Bangalore to the surrounding cities on the west. I took the exit towards Mysore and started to revv up further more only to halt after 100 km to get some breakfast.
Back on course and fast forward for 2 hours, I was nearing Bandipur Forest, known for the tiger reserve. The ride gets completely mystified as soon as I enter the forest area. The sight of the narrow strip paving a way for you amidst a dense forest has kick started my engine again and my energy became 1000 fold.
After riding for about 3 hours through the forest and the Western Ghats of India, the green paradise has welcomed me with a lot of greenery (of-course) and also with a chilled breeze. It was around 3 in the afternoon and I had checked in to my Airbnb, where the host has greeted me with all the kindness in the world and I was overwhelmed by his hospitality.
Freshened up thick and fast, grabbed some food and there I go on my red lightning again to meander through the greenery around me and stop by karapuzha dam.
It took me around 45 min to saunter through the entire region and sit back to sink in the calmness and tingling noise of the surrounding air- jeez, it was special. The Kerala tourism has opened up a small park alongside for recreational purpose with few adventure activities.
I wandered through the entire city for close to an hour only to get mesmerized again until the sun has reached the obscurity. As there was lot to offer the next day, I headed back to my nest to doze off for the night.
Well, the second day begins with a view, arguably the best of them- Lakkidi View point, this view was so marvelous to describe, so I would just let the picture do the talking.
And then I hop on to my next destination, the Chembra peak; the famous peak of the city has the best in store to offer its visitors, the road, the tea plantations, and most importantly the wondrous landscape. I had to shout out the amazement I had in my heart after witnessing and experiencing the nature’s splendor here at the peak.
I quickly grabbed a meal to get going as I was headed to witness Kanthanpara waterfall (sounds funny as this is summer) but yeah, the energy was plenty to give it a visit and it was totally worth it for slowly but surely scorching heat. As the whole theme of this travel is to experience the journey than the destination, the timing of the visit isn't perfect as most of the waterfalls in this paradise are closed during summers.
As the noon started to ascend the sun started to scorch up the body; I headed back to my room for a quick shower and started my journey towards Edakkal caves- the test of your stamina.
Steep rocks and ankle high steps to climb have tested my stamina and mettle to reach the peak, where I witnessed a landscape that just whizzed all the struggle I had to put-in. Sat down, sunk in all the beauty and headed back to where it all began.
Got some sleep and started my way back to Bangalore the next morning with a pit stop at Bandipur Tiger reserve to take a safari ride. The ride was good but still disappointing as I wanted to see was our National animal, while I ended up witnessing our national bird; after which I started my way back to the garden city. After riding for about 5 hours the revving of the engine has finally stopped after a notorious test of its power.
As there is a saying, it is the journey that is beautiful not the destination, this trip of mine is a perfect example for that saying.
60 hrs, 800 km, 3 states, 1 country, and unparalleled peace with staggering landscapes- Journey of a person to be told for the rest of his life.
