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. 

WCR 1112

12^th Nov 2014: Surathkal and Mangalore:

We woke up lazily after the late night. The weather was very humid. Today, us ex-KREC-ians planned to venture in the college campus again. I was also wearing my old College Tee. We left earlier than the others. We also didn’t want to bore our co-riders. We couldn’t travel inside the campus on our motorcycles. So we had to park them near the entry gate and traverse on foot.

We were exploring our history now. We started with the main block and made straight for Samudra Darshan canteen. We were eager to taste egg-puff but it wasn’t found here. Due to new paintwork, the buildings looked new, but were still very familiar. There was a lot of construction going on too. Gyan was again recognized by a registrar.

Familiar spots were revisited with glee – SAC, Tennis and Basketball courts, swimming pool, Down Co-op, cricket grounds, etc. 


We were having the elusive egg-puff at Down Co-op when our co-riders joined us. We took them to the Main Canteen. College canteens offer good food at unbeatable prices. While visiting the Sports Hall, another familiar face appeared – Paku. This guy is one of the sportiest guys. He immediately recognized Gyan, both having played football together. The hilarious comment came from Paku – “Thoda bada ho gaya” indicating Gyan had grown fatter. This statement would stick with us for the rest of the Ride.

Then came the depressing news. Our most coveted Night Canteen was no more. It had been the haunt for so many late nights. There was a flat ground in its place. For the last leg of our historical re-visit, we went into the first block hostel. The in-charge, Shetty also immediately recognized us. He greeted us with warmth. Being lunch time, he was busy but warmly invited us to have lunch. We just had breakfast so weren’t hungry. But the invitation was too kind to refuse. We took one plate to share. Rohit had other ideas. He took up another plate and began to help himself to a full meal.

The look on the first year students was priceless. They must be wondering who these people are that are receiving VIP treatment from Shetty. The anxiety was clear on their faces just like freshly ragged first year students have. To add to that here were some super-seniors seated right at their table. Poor guys must be dreading getting ragged inside their safe haven. Nilu added to the tension by standing directly behind a student having lunch. The effect was that he finished his food quickly, got up and left. I’m sure we would’ve done the same if we were in his place.

We said goodbye to Shetty and made for Nescafe. As we made towards Final Block, the confidence on students’ faces was clear. Final year students walk with a different air. We relived the past by sitting on the stairs of Fifth Block. This place used to be the hallmark of Bakchodis. To our co-riders we must be appearing as idiots with a lost look on our faces taking delight in seeing small, worthless things. To us, these were priceless sights.

We had planned to cover Mangalore in the evening. We had some time on our hands. So we made for Muka beach. Nilu brought us to a wonderful, isolated spot he had seen here some days earlier on a site visit. We just relaxed here for a long time. How many times in our daily life do we just sit down to relax. All stuck in the rat race. On the way we noticed Sharath Bar too, another regular haunt.

We returned to our rooms tired from the humidity. There was enough time to take a nap and then we left for Mangalore in the evening. The 20 kms to Mangalore had surely become more occupied than earlier but still it wasn’t chaotic. We still remembered the turn to be taken inside the city. Then we noticed the changes. High rises were coming up everywhere. But the good part was they had great architecture too. That showed planning. Some of the roads had been converted to one way so we had to consult with passers by to guide us on the correct path, which they very eagerly did.

The city was still as neat as before. We asked at Hotel Maharaja if their famous Crab Ghee Roast was ready. It wasn’t. We had two hours to kill. As Nilu went to KTM service station, we went to Ideal ice cream parlor at Hampankatta. The Skei parlor had closed down. The ice cream here was still as special as earlier. They had a new dish by the name of Tiramisu, Chocolate sin.

All of us then met at Hotel Maharaja at 6:30 pm. When the Crab was served it looked delectable, and tasted like that too. It was a first time for many of us, so we struggled to eat it. The cook had also cooked it enough to soften the shell more than usual. So it was easier to eat. Our hands turned bloody from the red gravy. Our stomachs were full but still we hadn’t had enough of it. It was only the longing to taste Hao Ming that we didn’t order more.

We walked around a bit more to digest the crab. Having described the notoriety of the bus drivers of this region to our co-riders, we took them for a joyride to Surathkal and back. This was all done in a matter of 45 mins. A hilarious incident that occurred on the way back was when one of the passengers tried to speak to Gyan and he didn’t respond. The passenger was drunk. He then turned to Rohit sitting ahead of him and asked, “Where are you taking this Chinese?” Gyan then replied to him in Hindi. The look on his face was priceless. He had been making effort to converse with him in English and Hindi both. The shock was so much that he even missed his bus stop.

On reaching Hao Ming, the usual Hao Ming special rice dish was ordered and it tasted just like it had years ago. The bunch of universities around the city ensure that prices are never too steep. By now the crab in our stomachs showed its power and many were unable to finish the entire plate. 

For dessert we went to Pabba’s near Saibeen complex. Our flashback tour was over now.