WCR 1111

11^th Nov 2014: Goa to Surathkal:

Breakfast was served around 7 am and we were ready before that time. The first task now was fuelling up. The price of fuel in Goa is too tempting. It was around Rs 20 cheaper than Maharashtra. All loaded up, we took the highway towards Karnataka, our third state on this tour. Having left later than usual meant that we would have to negotiate with increased traffic. But it didn’t turn out to be that bad. The cooling sea breeze was a blessing as we rode.

We had expected to ride besides the sea on this tour, but the highway was always some distance away. It must be due to safety also else roads would be wiped out frequently. The road surface continued to be excellent. Before leaving Goa, Nilu ensured that he filled up the spent 2 litres in his KTM with cheap petrol.

We entered Karnataka and then Karwar. I noticed the coast a small distance away and saw a path leading there. We had been looking for such a place all along where we could ride our motorcycles besides the sea. This path provided us access to the sea. But first the heavy machines had to be dragged through the soft sand of the beach. Slithering and sliding, we inched forward and reached the coast. The sight of six motorcycles parked in a line gathered a crowd. We were asked a frequent question if we had come from Delhi after noticing the license plates. We happily agreed. What we edited out that we hadn’t rode all the way from Delhi and left it at that. The Technical Truth.

While leaving Karwar, we noticed a large group of superbikes exiting out of a side road. Maybe they were just Mumbai-kars exploring wide open roads of Karnataka after covering Goa. The roads in Karnataka are actually that good. Even though the highway is without divider, the road is broad and traffic is thin.

Another 100 kms of excellent roads brought us to Gokarna. We wanted to cover Om beach here. After crossing the city and also after having a short, pleasant conversation with a  policeman, we reached the beach. But it turned out that this wasn’t Om beach, it was Gokarna beach. 

We made our way back and then took the correct turn to Om beach. By now the weather was hot and seeing the 100 steps leading down to the beach, only Zaheer, Ashok and I were prepared to head down.

It was a very clean looking beach. There were lots of foreign tourists but without the huge domestic crowd. In some ways, they must be finding this location better than Goa. We also noticed the large Omkara shape. 

Without spending too much time here, we started to make our way back. We stopped at a nice looking resort for lunch. By now, I had had too much of fish. So while the rest ordered fish thali, I preferred chicken. We did order Pomfrets as side dish here, now available for a measly Rs 200. Another familiar sight was Ideal ice cream. How we missed those triple sundaes.

It was getting difficult to ride now with a loaded stomach. Mangalore was still 200 kms away. We covered half of this distance quickly so that we could catch the sunset at Maravanthe beach. This road is unique with the Arabian Sea on one side and a river on the other. The two are separated by only a highway. This was one of the very few stretches when we were riding besides the sea.

When in Karnataka, drink coconut water. This was just the beginning. However, we were left wondering at the thought why the price was still same as what we pay in the North. The question is lingering to this day.

With daylight gone, progress slowed. Moreover, we were now reaching the dreaded Kundapur – Mangalore stretch. The Express bus drivers are very notorious here. On double laned highways, we had to come to a crawl. Thankfully, some stretches were four-laned. But in the darkness it was getting difficult to spot the diversion markings.

The road between Udupi and Mangalore was entirely four-laned. We made good pace here. The Bullets were sticking together. Then Ashok also raced ahead. The remaining 3 of us stuck together. We avoided a wrong turn near Udupi. I stopped to take a pic of the famous Bittu dhaba and then went non-stop till we reached the Maharaja Hotel in Surathkal. I was surprised to find no one else there. It was then that I read the messages. Nilu and Gyan had stopped at Bittu dhaba after getting lost inside Udupi. They must have taken the wrong turn that we avoided there. I called up Ashok and he had almost reached Mangalore. I sent him Google location of the hotel and he returned shortly after Nilu and Gyan.

Surathkal. Four years of my graduation were spent in this town. The flyovers of today were missing then. What remained was Hotel Sadanand, one of the best places to have beer. Nostalgia overwhelmed Gyan, Nilu and me. It was heavy enough for Gyan and me to make way for Sads immediately without even having a bath. Nilu, as usual opted to come after a shower. Ashok joined us. After more than 11 years, we were seated at the same place. We were kids then. Well, we aren’t much grown up now also, just grown older. The settings also hadn’t changed, much to our delight.

Beer and Banguda were immediately ordered. Even the green salad accompanying the beer hadn’t changed. Same dear old Sads. This place was frequented day and night across the year. The 2 kms back to college were covered in various modes. Sometimes by bus, sometimes by bike, sometimes running, walking, or even crawling.  Gyan and I recognized one of the waiters of yesteryears.

Our co-riders joined us by the time we had finished a beer a piece. With Nilu present, Banguda flowed in endlessly. Even Zaheer was relishing the taste of it now. So it must be the taste all this time and not just the student effect. We didn’t have much money back in the day. We didn’t have much now also, but certainly much more than that time. At least we didn’t have to dig into old clothes to find bits of change now. Eating and drinking flowed along.

Then one of the waiters, not the one we had recognized, came to the table and asked Gyan if he was a KRECian. It was heartening to see that they recognized one of us too. The waiter went back and returned with another one who also recognized Gyan. The feeling at that time can’t be put into words. Ashok did point out that Gyan must have been the naughtiest amongst the three of us. Well, he still is. We asked if the place is frequented that often now. The answer was sadly, no. A new hotel, Surya closer to the college was the regular haunt now.

When the time for last order came, we decided to carry along some to the beach. Unfortunately, they had run out of banguda. We bade goodbye to the Swamis and headed for the college beach, the only college to have its own private beach. Beat that Harvards. The access to the beach had also changed. We rode slowly besides the highway to find the path.

When we reached the beach, it was deserted. It was a sad sight in the way that during our times, students could be found here at any time. It was later that we learnt that the college gates undergo lockdown at 10 pm. Students could no longer keep motorcycles too. So much of freedom lost. We still had tons of freedom and we made full use of it. The beach was all to ourselves now. The soothing sound of the sea enchanted us.

With passing time we also noticed the sea level rising. It was time to head back to our rooms now. I got into the mood to try the KTM now. I was very surprised to see Nilu offer it without a hitch. So much of misplaced trust on a drunk. But that also made me more cautious than normal. The extra caution also made me forget the feel of riding that KTM. Since we were on service roads, I couldn’t gun the engine to my liking. I also don’t remember when Gyan fell from his bike that night but it completed a good omen for the Ride. Gyan always falls.