WCR 1109

9^th Nov 2014: Pune to Goa:

All of us were ready to go by 4:45 AM. Then Gyan took some time to find Nilu’s place and we were ready to leave by 5:45 AM. Amardeep was also awake and ready. He had to attend a full day training today starting 9 AM having slept for only 3 hours. Still he provided us with company for some distance before saying goodbye.

The whole bunch was together now. Things didn’t go smoothly. Zaheer’s Bullet started to lock its front tyre. This went on for a long time. He tried some basic fixing but it didn’t work. So he just carried on riding it in the same condition. We covered a good distance in the cold, early morning. The first pit stop was taken at Satara after covering 120 kms.

We didn’t dare order parathas during this trip. They are suitable only in the North. Our diet would be entirely new here. Upma and dosas were ordered. I, however ordered missal-pav. When in Maratha Land, eat like Marathas. I’m sure there are more dishes to be had, but ordered the one I knew. Nilu aptly described it as just a chakhna served with pav. Over breakfast began another session where Zaheer and Ashok pulled each other’s legs, much to everyone’s laughter.

Meanwhile, the bikes were attracting their share of looks, specially Nilu’s KTM. Gyan and I caught one onlooker asking if it was Yamaha, much to Nilu’s annoyance and our entertainment. The label of “Chinese Yamaha” was now stuck on his KTM. There were few more enquiries in the group from the public but we didn’t pay much attention to them. In retrospect, I think we should answer the curious questions. We are representing the Riding community to people and by not responding we do give an arrogant image.

The farther we moved from Pune, the better were the highways. Nearing Kolhapur, they turned excellent. Caught in that excellence, Zaheer disappeared. He was in the lead for the first time and since he had forgotten to bring his rearview mirrors, there was no looking back. While the rest of us fuelled up, we tried to reach him. After much effort, a connection was established and he was told to wait at Nipani, 14 kms ahead. Meanwhile, the rest of us hydrated ourselves on oranges bought by Rohit.

Some more distance ahead we reached a quizzical point. The six lane highway continued to Belgaum. A second single road would take us to Sawantwadi. The former was 80 kms longer but quicker. Looking at the time and also considering that we would need to stop for lunch soon, we opted for the Sawantwadi route. Moreover, Riders usually prefer state highways to NHs.

We sure were glad we took that turn. The road snaked through beautiful countryside. Little traffic was found on this road. We had only 110 kms more to cover. A stop was taken at roadside theka. KnockOut beer was on offer. It’s a pity this brand is not served in the North. Snacks were consumed in the form of Gobi Manchurian. We had earlier planned to taste the famous Kolhapuri mutton. But that would’ve required us to venture into the city. Fortunately, the theka offered that dish for lunch. 

Maybe it was the Riding effect, but the dish tasted wonderful. The underlying spice without too much chili tasted our beer-laden buds just fine. We were now refreshed to continue our journey.

The remaining kilometers were covered quickly on the smooth road and we reached Calangute just after sunset. Goa was in its usual swing. The pre-booked furnished apartments were excellent. We had covered a long distance today, but we were not that tired. Order of Kings beer was immediately placed. Quickly after refreshing ourselves we stepped out to go to Calangute beach. Man, it was crowded. We found a spot near the sea and cheered. Some of us were seeing the sea for the first time. I envy their feeling.

We were then caught by a patrolling cop to pick up our beers and go home. Drinking wasn’t allowed at the beach because many leave broken bottles around. It sounded typical of Punjabis and Delhi-ites. We obliged and went away. For dinner, we stopped at a roadside restaurant. Meat dishes of all kinds were ordered except for the vegetarian. I tried the local preparation fish vindaloo. It was damn spicy. The gravy was made in chili. I could finish it only with the help of some beer. But even more stinging was the price of Pomfret. They were being sold at Rs 600. We decided to skip it and have it in some other state instead.

The next day would be a leisurely cruise around Goa, only this time it wouldn’t be on rental bikes.

WCR 1110

10^th Nov 2014: Goa:

Waking up was at ease, except for Ashok and Zaheer who woke up at 6 am and went for a morning walk to the beachside. They must’ve got an empty beach to themselves at that hour. When everybody had gathered for the complimentary breakfast, Ashok brought his old Goa map purchased from his previous visit years ago. We shortlisted the places to visit today taking care not to exert ourselves.

But first came the time to have a dip in the hotel’s swimming pool. The “water babies” were very excited. There were two pools at the hotel, one besides the main restaurant and the other in a secluded corner between the apartments. We opted for the latter preferring privacy and not to expose our glamorous bodies to the public. The life guard was very strict though. He didn’t allow anyone to enter the pool without proper costume. This left me and Zaheer disappointed and we vowed to have our revenge. We managed to sneak in for a dip though.

First on the list was Fort Aguada. The movie Dil Chahta Hai has made this place a must-visit even for repeated travelers. Lots of photos were clicked along with the usual promise to visit Goa every year. 

Next on the list was Sinquerim beach. We hadn’t visited this beach earlier. But the place was close by and the name sounded exotic.

Adventure sports were on offer here. Now began the long process of negotiations. Finally, four of us, Rohit, Ashok, Zaheer and me got ready for parasailing. It was thoroughly enjoyable. 

Nilu and Gyan meanwhile enjoyed body massage. We were then misled for the Banana boat ride. Our agent had agreed to take six of us for the ride and all of us got ready for it. But the organizers at the desk plainly refused. Playing the tune of unity, all of us refused rather than let one person be the sacrifice. The next hour passed lazily. Some of us went for a dip in the sea while some lazed around in one of the shacks.

We had to plan our budget carefully now. Expenditures had to be curtailed for the long travel ahead. Looking at the prices of food in the shack, we just opted for snacks and decided to have lunch somewhere else on the way to the rooms. We reached a small restaurant where basic fish curry and rice were on offer for Rs 90 a plate. The adventure sports had left us hungry and more plates were ordered. 

Zaheer and I shopped around for swimming trunks and immediately went for a dip in the pool as soon as we reached back to the hotel. Much to our annoyance the life guard was absent. We had to bury our vengeance.

The evening plan was to shop for ingredients for homemade food. Nilu had volunteered to cook dinner for all of us. Maybe it was the marriage effect. We went out to buy prawns, chicken and spices. While the masterchefs were busy in the kitchen, the others just strolled around and collected material for the evening’s BBB.

The beer-battered prawns came out brilliantly. For the non-alcoholics, a separate chicken dish was prepared. I was surprised by Nilu making so much effort on his vacation, but then why complain when you have great food and a bottle of beer in your hand.

We needed to leave early the next day so that we could cover the distance to Mangalore and also visit sights along the way. But things wouldn’t happen that way as Gyan, Ashok and I had to rush out to get more beer before the wine shops closed.

The next day would be exciting as Nilu, Gyan and I would be revisiting our Undergraduate College after more than 10 years.

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.