Hi Guys, I'm back again. This time to tell you about my recent trip to Coorg, Karnataka. Coorg is around 270 kms from Bangalore, and is known for its coffee. In fact the chain of Cafe Coffee Day and its parent company, Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Ltd, source most of their coffee beans from the vast fields of Coorg.
On a side note, I normally hate weddings. I make it a practice to try and avoid going to one. But, if I must, I wish the couple and make a speedy exit. But a Coorgi wedding, is one that should never be missed. The concept of open bar, must have been introduced in either a Coorgi or a Punjabi wedding. Here, the food can run out, but its a bad omen for alcohol to run out.
Now, we were heading off to a place in Coorg, around 40 kms from Madikeri, called Tadiandamol. Tadiandamol, is the highest peak in Karnataka, and trust me, a wonderful place to get in touch with nature.
By now you must be accustomed to the fact that I ride with the Royal Indians Enfield Owners Club (R.I.E.O.C). This time around, 21 bikers, left from NICE rd - Mysore rd junction at 5.30am sharp. Our itinerary was simple.
Ride on Mysore Road till Srirangapatna, then take a diversion through KRS road to hit Hunsur road. Then continue on uptil Kushalnagar. From there head to madikeri, take the mangalore road at madikeri, and shortly after take the diversion to Tadiandamol. A total of close to 300 kms.
After a timely start, and a flag off, by a few fellow club members, we were on the road. The next stop, Jai Bhuvaneshwari Military Hotel, for breakfast. This is a very famous place among celebrities and local labourers alike. We had Chicken with thate idly for breakfast. The vegetarians went opposite the road, to a veg hotel for breakfast (Nothing special there :-P).
Having had a scrumptious breakfast, we departed. Next stop, the Tibetan monastery at Bylekuppe, to try to steal some of the gold from the golden temple.
On entrance to the tibetan settlement, you immediately feel you have been transported to a far off land, with a completely different culture, but yet a sense of home remains seeing the number of tourists, all people like us.
All eyes were on us, as we made a grand entry into the parking lot. We removed our riding gear and entered the monastery. Its a nice and peaceful place, but slightly over populated by tourists, causing it to lose the feeling of tranquility.
The temple has three main deities, completely covered in gold. They look stunning, concentrate of their figures for a while and you'll feel a sense of peace and calm taking over your body.
Having visited this great place, we continued towards our destination. The next section of road was absolutely amazing. Winding roads and curves that bend more than even the world's hottest model. This beautiful stretch was bound to carry us away, as we enjoyed cornering our bikes, and it did. Scrrreeechh, Skid and a Bang later, a rider had managed to jump of his bike just in time. But miraculously, the bike went sliding into the gutter, and parked itself upright. We all stopped. Now normally, people would be concerned about the rider. But being such motorcycle enthusiasts, all eyes were on the bike, and not the rider. The rider, by the way, was absolutely fine, thanks to the protective gear.
Bike was however, not in the best of shapes. Bent crash guard, front mud guard, foot pedals. Luckily, the fork and handlebar were fine. The bike was in a rideable condition. I quickly took out my toolkit, and we were all toiling away, trying to remove the damaged crash guard & mud guard. 20 mins later, we were ready to go. The town of madikeri, was just 4 kms away. We found a nice hotel, and crashed to get some grub.
After a very delayed lunch, where we learnt how to order such that we get food first. After a somewhat satisfying meal, we left to reach the resort. It was around 40km from here. The time was 2.30, around an hour max of riding left.
But as you might have figured from my previous blogs, we have a tendency to love getting lost. And before we knew it, 6 bikes were heading in the right direction and 15 bikes in the wrong one. Gathering the lost bikers was itself a humongous task, with all phones losing network due to the location. Finally, Bala, sped up and caught up with the front guy, and got everyone back after almost 90 minutes.
After all the drama, we finally reached the resort (Kaveri estates) at 6pm. Just in time to watch the Suvarna tv broadcast of the rider mania program.
After relaxing and refreshing, as is custom, it was time for the drinks to flow, and the merry making to start. A huge bonfire, good food, great company and lots of fun!!
Few of us, decided at midnight, to go for a walk. And believe me, when I say this, it was one of the best walks I have ever had. We took a random path, and walked for about a km, till we found this beautiful stream. The whole place covered in fog. Under a full moon. Had I gone alone, I might have even started believing in ghosts. The place had a tranquil but eerie feel to it.Take a look at the photo, and see for yourself the amount of fog. Its one of those once in a lifetime experience.
The next day, we just had to return to that same place, and see how it felt in the morning. So we got to our bikes, wiped of the morning dew, and headed to the same stream.
The place was just too beautiful, still covered with fog. There was a small bridge there which looked unstable but actually held our weight pretty well. The sun was just at the right angle in the sky, giving a nice effect to the fog. We spent around half an hour here, just admiring nature's beauty.
I can only give you a glimpse of it, but to experience it, you have to go there.
The road back to the resort was a bit of off roading, and something we all just loved doing. Take a look.
After a quick breakfast at the resort, we were all back where we truly belong, on the road!! A quick stop on the way to re-fuel, and one more at Madikeri to buy some stickers. Mani's Machismo was leaking oil, so both of us, went into the markets to find a quick fix - a bolt and some oil. All set, we left for Bangalore.
On the way, a puncture, 20kms after Kushalnagar. But no problem, we have the patience. We found a guy to fix the puncture, and 45 mins later were back on the path. We rode non stop, until we reached the same hotel where we had stopped for breakfast the previous day. Had a quick lunch, ragi mudde, chicken and mutton chops for the non-veggies, and sambar rice for the veggies.
Saddled up, and we were racing back to reach bangalore. The lead decided to stop 5 km from Ramnagar for a break. Bala and I, the sweeps for the ride reached behind the group, to find that there were only 19 bikes, instead of 21. Alarmed, that we had not done our jobs, we waited anxiously for the other two. 10 mins later we were relieved to see our brothers join us. On further enquiry, it turns out that they were playing hide and seek at the lunch stop, while everyone was leaving. (I'm sure they'll give you a different story :-P). I told you, we like getting lost!!! An hour later, we had reached our end point!! Wooh!!! What a ride!!
On a side note, I normally hate weddings. I make it a practice to try and avoid going to one. But, if I must, I wish the couple and make a speedy exit. But a Coorgi wedding, is one that should never be missed. The concept of open bar, must have been introduced in either a Coorgi or a Punjabi wedding. Here, the food can run out, but its a bad omen for alcohol to run out.
Now, we were heading off to a place in Coorg, around 40 kms from Madikeri, called Tadiandamol. Tadiandamol, is the highest peak in Karnataka, and trust me, a wonderful place to get in touch with nature.
By now you must be accustomed to the fact that I ride with the Royal Indians Enfield Owners Club (R.I.E.O.C). This time around, 21 bikers, left from NICE rd - Mysore rd junction at 5.30am sharp. Our itinerary was simple.
 |
| At the start point. Photo Courtesy : Anil Reddy |
After a timely start, and a flag off, by a few fellow club members, we were on the road. The next stop, Jai Bhuvaneshwari Military Hotel, for breakfast. This is a very famous place among celebrities and local labourers alike. We had Chicken with thate idly for breakfast. The vegetarians went opposite the road, to a veg hotel for breakfast (Nothing special there :-P).
Having had a scrumptious breakfast, we departed. Next stop, the Tibetan monastery at Bylekuppe, to try to steal some of the gold from the golden temple.
On entrance to the tibetan settlement, you immediately feel you have been transported to a far off land, with a completely different culture, but yet a sense of home remains seeing the number of tourists, all people like us.
All eyes were on us, as we made a grand entry into the parking lot. We removed our riding gear and entered the monastery. Its a nice and peaceful place, but slightly over populated by tourists, causing it to lose the feeling of tranquility.
The temple has three main deities, completely covered in gold. They look stunning, concentrate of their figures for a while and you'll feel a sense of peace and calm taking over your body.
Having visited this great place, we continued towards our destination. The next section of road was absolutely amazing. Winding roads and curves that bend more than even the world's hottest model. This beautiful stretch was bound to carry us away, as we enjoyed cornering our bikes, and it did. Scrrreeechh, Skid and a Bang later, a rider had managed to jump of his bike just in time. But miraculously, the bike went sliding into the gutter, and parked itself upright. We all stopped. Now normally, people would be concerned about the rider. But being such motorcycle enthusiasts, all eyes were on the bike, and not the rider. The rider, by the way, was absolutely fine, thanks to the protective gear.Bike was however, not in the best of shapes. Bent crash guard, front mud guard, foot pedals. Luckily, the fork and handlebar were fine. The bike was in a rideable condition. I quickly took out my toolkit, and we were all toiling away, trying to remove the damaged crash guard & mud guard. 20 mins later, we were ready to go. The town of madikeri, was just 4 kms away. We found a nice hotel, and crashed to get some grub.
After a very delayed lunch, where we learnt how to order such that we get food first. After a somewhat satisfying meal, we left to reach the resort. It was around 40km from here. The time was 2.30, around an hour max of riding left.
 |
| Waiting for the lost bikers |
But as you might have figured from my previous blogs, we have a tendency to love getting lost. And before we knew it, 6 bikes were heading in the right direction and 15 bikes in the wrong one. Gathering the lost bikers was itself a humongous task, with all phones losing network due to the location. Finally, Bala, sped up and caught up with the front guy, and got everyone back after almost 90 minutes.
 |
| That's just the way we park. Photo Courtesy : Anil Reddy |
After relaxing and refreshing, as is custom, it was time for the drinks to flow, and the merry making to start. A huge bonfire, good food, great company and lots of fun!!
 |
| Lemon Tea ;-) Photo Courtesy : Anil Reddy |
The next day, we just had to return to that same place, and see how it felt in the morning. So we got to our bikes, wiped of the morning dew, and headed to the same stream.
 |
| Morning Dew. Photo Courtesy : Anil Reddy |
I can only give you a glimpse of it, but to experience it, you have to go there.
 |  |
| Photo Courtesy : Anil Reddy | Subbu kicking up some dust |
 |
| The gang, ready to leave. Photo Courtesy : Anil Reddy |
On the way, a puncture, 20kms after Kushalnagar. But no problem, we have the patience. We found a guy to fix the puncture, and 45 mins later were back on the path. We rode non stop, until we reached the same hotel where we had stopped for breakfast the previous day. Had a quick lunch, ragi mudde, chicken and mutton chops for the non-veggies, and sambar rice for the veggies.
Saddled up, and we were racing back to reach bangalore. The lead decided to stop 5 km from Ramnagar for a break. Bala and I, the sweeps for the ride reached behind the group, to find that there were only 19 bikes, instead of 21. Alarmed, that we had not done our jobs, we waited anxiously for the other two. 10 mins later we were relieved to see our brothers join us. On further enquiry, it turns out that they were playing hide and seek at the lunch stop, while everyone was leaving. (I'm sure they'll give you a different story :-P). I told you, we like getting lost!!! An hour later, we had reached our end point!! Wooh!!! What a ride!!
Coorg - A land of the warriors is an excellent description of the trip of the Wandering Riders. It is actually a trip taken by us alongwith the group. Understand, the Riders plan to have more and more trips in the days to come. Wishing all of them the best.
ReplyDeleteHi Gautam that was a great blog... Whew, to add a comment, my experience as a pillion was even more exciting as I have journeyed through with my father, my husband and now my son very Royaly on an Enfield.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing more such blogs.
Wow, what a wonderful detsiled narration of your Coorg trip.. while reading your blog , by God i felt as if i am on road and riding with you.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you my child. All the best.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed reading.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis winter planing to spend my weekends at bandipur resorts hope il have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi dear..Nice post :)
ReplyDeleteApart from Coorg, Srirangapatnam is also a great place to explore and is located just 130 kms away from Bangalore. Stay at some of the best hotels in Srirangapatna and have a wnderful trip.
A small observation. The Kodavas *HATE* being called Coorgi. So please avoid using that word. You went for a Kodava wedding in Coorg.
ReplyDelete