WCR 1117

17^th Nov 2014: Kanyakumari to Rameswaram:

We did wake up very early. This was a sight no one could afford to miss. The coast is a busy one at this time of the day. The sun is the driving force of this town. We managed to squeeze through the crowd and reached a fairly empty spot and waited. The reason why it was empty was soon clear. The sun came up from behind the Rock Memorial. To our solace, clouds again covered the horizon. One must be very lucky to catch sunrise/sunset on a clear morning/evening here. As soon as the first rays shone, conches began to blow in the nearby temples.

The sight of rising sun above the Rock Memorial was a tranquil one. The Vedic Gurus must have got something right. There is certainly some different energy in the rays of the rising sun. We soaked in the light.

We observed a large group wearing black robes. On enquiring, it was learnt that they live one month of their life in hermitage having none of the modern pleasures. Some do it every year. When the rituals were over the nearby market started to open. We quickly went to have motorcycle line-up photos clicked as we had to cover 320 kms to Rameswaram today. A rainbow provided the right backdrop for the pics.

A series of pics later at the end point of highway we returned to pick up our luggage. We didn’t know what to expect from the roads in Tamil Nadu, so to avoid any confusion in the interior towns, we decided to take the hotel manager’s advice and go via Madurai. It also ensured that we stayed with BoP Bangalore longer as they would take the same road back to Bangalore.

It turned out to be a wise decision. We were on a six-lane expressway surrounded by windmills. Whatever frustration we had riding on Dread’s roads, Tamil Nadu made up for it. It was windy enough to make us clench the handlebars. No wonder the wind farms continued for a long distance. We stopped for breakfast after covering a quick 100 kms.

The only drawback of fantastic roads is that it makes you drowsy. The lack of sleep was catching up with all of us. Breakfast of masala dosa took away some of it. We left the dhaba and had just filled up petrol when a commuter came and told us that we had left a bag behind. Rohit, Zaheer and I were the tail-enders so I went the 5 kms back to the dhaba. The bag belonged to Satish. The man insisted me to check the contents before leaving. Such honesty is bewildering. Satish had an earful when we caught up with him.

Continuing on the drowsiness was getting too much. It was multiplied as we were following Varun. He was on run-in speed. At a distance of 62 kms from Madurai, we just couldn’t move on further and stopped. There’s no sense in riding in that condition. One wouldn’t even know when the effect overpowers and control would be lost. We laid out by the side of the road in some shade and dozed off. 

Those two short minutes were more than a power nap. It was a nuclear nap. Within 5 mins, we were back on our feet and ready to ride at least 300 kms more.

On regrouping 20 kms later, we needed to split up. The turn to Rameswaram was right ahead. The cashiers for the journey, Nilu and Satish discussed the final settlement. That gave plenty of time for the rest of the group to taste local bananas. The lady at the counter must’ve gotten frustrated as we ordered one banana after the other. Before parting our ways, questions came on the air pressure of the KTM’s Metzelers which Gyan tested by kicking, much to Nilu’s annoyance. With the amount settled and final group photographs taken, the two chapters of our Motorcycle Club parted with a loud chant of “JAI BoP”.

Again we were unsure of what to expect from the road ahead. Again we were pleasantly surprised. For starters, the entire town of Madurai was bypassed. That saved us at least 20 kms. The 130 kms to Rameswaram had excellent road condition and less traffic. 

To add to our delight it also curved at places. But before we could exploit the asphalt, we needed food. We wished to share the name of the dhaba, but it was written only in Tamil. We even asked the waiter for translation but do not remember the name now.

What greatly impacted us was the hospitality of the waiter. Mutton, fish and chicken came on the table. Since this was Tamil Nadu, Chettinad chicken simply had to be ordered. All the meat dishes tasted fantastic. Serving on banana leaves also enhanced the taste. Throughout this ride we were having trouble when ordering spoons much to Gyan and Nilu’s fun. Eating with hands increases your relationship with food. Our ancestors had it right. Modernization has increased the distance from Nature.

The coffee was also excellent. We sure would like to visit the place on our return too. Right now, we were in Riding mode. Nilu had been pressing all of us since morning to push harder for Rameswaram. After this dhaba, we had pushed enough and relaxed and slowed to our usual comfortable pace. After cruising comfortably for a while, we increased the throttles again. Ashok and Zaheer were unstoppable again.

It was growing dark as we neared Pamban bridge. Here came the most astounding sight of the Ride. The sea began to close in from the right. It was a West Coast Ride, but ironically we were having the sea for company on the East Coast. It was also turning more beautiful than the West Coast. After a few kms, the sea began to near from the left also. We were nearing the point of convergence. Then as we touched the bridge, the two water bodies also touched. This bridge is the only road access of Rameswaram with the mainland. The surprising bit was the railway track at a very low height from the sea. During high tide, it was sure to be submerged. Atop the bridge, we simply had to stop to admire the view. Zaheer and Ashok must have crossed here in the daylight. That would’ve been a prettier sight. 

We soaked in the atmosphere. This was exactly the kind of landscape we had travelled 3000+ kms expecting to discover. We still had more extremes to cover.

Crossing over to the other side of the bridge, we started to look for a place to stay. Rameswaram has a variety of hotels suiting various pockets. After horror experiences in our previous two hotels, we decided to splurge a little and chose a slightly premium one with AC rooms, Hotel Ramajeyam. It had ample parking space too.

We had just freshened up when it started to rain heavily. This was the rainy season for this land. After it had subsided, we stepped out to pick up supplies. The theka was right next door through a dark, dingy, filthy alley. It was only the thirst that took me cross the path. Gyan and Ashok opted out of it. Four bottles of 10000 Volts were picked up. For snacks, we took some minced egg-parathas. The beer was horrible in taste. For dinner, we didn’t feel like going far and chose to have it at the hotel only.