Goa Bike Trip : Bikomaniacs 2014: Part 4
"On the road again -
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again -
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends.
Insisting that the world keep turning our way"
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again -
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends.
Insisting that the world keep turning our way"
Poetic Early Morning
2nd November 2014, Sunday: Akash Inn, Shimoga
Woke up at 4:30 am. Felt fresh, in spite of previous day’s long
journey and late night party. But, I swear, would have felt terrible if I
had to go to work- all in the mind!
We were on our bikes by 5: 30 am. Still it was dark. Apart
from a few brisk walking-health conscious uncles and aunties, hoping to
postpone their tryst with destiny, the streets were empty.
For a person dwelling in a city of unique three seasons –
mild summer, moderate summer and severe summer – the chillness felt like a
boon. Enjoyed the rare opportunity of wearing multi layered winter clothing.
We were riding on Honavar Bangalore state highway towards
Jog falls.
Dawn- the night’s love poem towards day – was a different
beauty. There was femininity in that. The stillness and calmness of the
daybreak, looked like a meditation, prayer to see her beloved one. There was freshness,
energy and hope for a new beginning in the air. The night, unable to control
her shyness swiftly vanished when her love interest arrived!
Unfortunately, waking up early is not my cup of tea. Rarity
becomes special.
We wanted to reach Goa before sunset and planned to see Jog
falls on the way. Around 350 kms to Goa, 60 odd would be on ghat
roads.
When I was travelling through those fertile lush green parts
of Karnataka- gifted with heavenly natural resources - irresistible thought came
to my mind. In spite of these abundant god’s gifts why our country is in such a
poor state? Why farmers are struggling?
Near Sagar we stopped at a roadside homely restaurant. Had a
heavy tasty breakfast - hot idly, sambar, coffee and tea (yes I drank all
three!). I liked Karnataka sambar-it was different, thin and spicy with a tinge
of sweetness.
Jog falls – Neglected
Grandeur
When we reached Jog falls another shock struck us, the
meagre state of Jog falls, which could have been easily one of the major
tourist attractions in India. Only thin stream of water was flowing from the
falls.
 |
| Jog Falls during season( Nettla suttadhu!) |
Jog falls is the second highest plunge falls in India (First
is Nohkalikai near Cherrapunjee). It is formed by
Sharavathi River. Sharavathi River originates from Ambuthirtha, Western Ghats
and flows westwards and forms this falls. According to Ramayana, Ambuthirtha is
the place where Lord Rama broke a bow
to win the hand of Sita.
 |
| Jog Falls - What we saw |
As per world water falls database- “the falls stand 829 feet tall and can stretch to almost 2000
feet in width at peak flow. This translates into Jog Falls being one of the
most powerful waterfalls on the planet, and if it was a permanently
free-flowing waterfall would most likely elevate its rating such to be one of
the top five on earth”. But without realizing the uniqueness, a dam - Linganamakki has been constructed a few
kilometers away for the purpose of generating electricity. So, majority of the
water flow is blocked by the dam, leaving only a thin stream of water flow apart
from monsoon season. If someone wants to see the real beauty of Jog falls, one
must visit during peak rainy season.
The falls dives into four segments - the majestic Raja-extreme
left, the Roarer- short falls
creating roaring sound, the Rocket –
with many jet like streams, and the Rani
– with graceful elegance on extreme right. (Didn’t
know why so much of distance between Raja and Rani! Married long
enough???!!!)
Steps (1400) have been constructed to reach the bottom of the
hill, from where one can have a nice view of the falls from below. Unfortunately entry into
those steps was also prohibited, because someone committed suicide by jumping down from the steps. What a sensible step to curb suicides!
We also joined the photo obsessed, selfie freak crowd. Spent
more time shooting and taking photos than admiring the beauty in front of us.
Even though the water stream was less, it created a picturesque view. We could
not spend much time due to time constrains. Started towards Honavar. Ghat roads
started.
Crazy Anesthetists!
On the way, few viewpoints were there to see downstream
Sharavathi River. One wonderful view we (Karthi and I) missed. Shankar and
Arvind had captured that. They had befriended with one family during that
stopover. We met them again at another view point. A youngster from that family
was impressed with our bikes – mainly with Honda, started enquiring about our
rides. When our conversation grew further we were surprised to know he was a
medico. We could not control LOL when we heard he was doing his masters in
Anesthesiology. Crazy Anesthetists – probable gas (Nitrous Oxide) effect! We overheard, he was ambitiously telling his parents,
“I too would go like this, one day”. Helpless parents looked at us like -Pattha vachittiye paratta. Edho engalala
mudinchadu!
When we hit Honavar – plains from ghat roads, we were
welcomed by ordinary two lane roads, heavy traffic, smoke, dust and heat. It
became painful to drive thereon. We became tails of 4 wheelers to avoid overtaking
risks and at the same time to maintain a reasonable speed. We happened to see
few accidents on the way.
Had a photo session near Karwar beach.
Eyes can’t see what the mind doesn’t know
Had late lunch at an Udupi Restaurant.We met one more interesting group of people over there. By
seeing TN registration, they started enquiring us.
One of them asked Arvind,
“Where
are you from?”
“Coimbatore” – He calculated the distance between Coimbatore
and Goa.
“What is your bike’s mileage on highways?”
“25 kms”
“Only 25kmpl?”
He was seriously thinking for a few seconds and told “then
train would have been cheaper than bike, why did you come by this?” It was not
a question but advice. His demeanor looked like he intelligently found out the
truth which we did not know, how foolish we were!
Arvind became violent. He is sensitive on these issues.
“Do you know the cost of this bike?”
“Do you know where do we stay?”
“Do you know what car I drive?”
Series of question bullets holed him like a sieve.
But, I am sure he would not have understood why we travelled
by bike.
 |
| Karwar Beach |
From Karwar we needed to travel another 120 kilometers. It
was already 4 pm. We had to cross Goa, through city traffic to reach our
destination, Anjuna beach in North Goa. I had bad remembrance about Goa traffic
during my previous visit. Like any other growing city of India, unable to cope
with the growing vehicle population. Traffic rules – ha…ha…ha…probably none of
them heard that before! With carefree life style, free flowing alcohol one
needs to be extremely cautious. I had doubts whether we would be able to reach
before sunset.
When we entered Vasco- south Goa, we found it difficult to
travel together. I had my ear phones connected to hear google navigation
instructions. But now and then I had to stop and reconfirm with the Map. Not that
easy like following visual instructions. Even if you choose wrong route google
intelligently (??!!) reroutes from that point, makes sure you suffer.
Still I wanted to trust navigation than enquiring strangers on the roads. We
met at Panjim, central part of Goa. By that time it was 6:30pm, dusk settled in. Another 20 kms to go. Our stay was booked at Tamarind Hotel, near Anjuna Beach.
We got separated by city traffic again.
Nervy Night Journey
Many small villages together form the state of Goa. And many small narrow roads connect them. Nearing Anjuna beach, google instructed me take one
such desolated narrow road to reach Tamarind hotel. I stopped at main road and
waited. In a few minutes Arvind and Shankar joined me, but no trace of Karthi.
We gave him ring, texted him. No response for about 10 minutes. When we got his
call back, he had already reached Anjuna beach. He had to take another route to
reach Tamarind.
We prayed God and started riding through that narrow road. It was scary. Perfect horror movie backdrop. The silence and
darkness enhanced the scene. I’m sure Shankar and Arvind would have scolded me,
at least in their minds, for selecting that road. Blindly followed Google’s
instructions,after 20 minutes of adrenaline rush we reached our destination
successfully. Karthi reached few minutes later. It was 7:30 pm.
Wow! Finally we
reached our destination. Almost a thousand kilometers journey, well done – we
congratulated ourselves.
Exploring Goa Night Life- Cultural Shock!
In no time we decided to explore Sunday Goa night life. Took
bath, had spiritual loading dose and proceeded towards north Goa night clubs.
When we entered Tito’s lane on Baga beach, we could not
believe our eyes. Looked like a paradise on earth. Festival vibe was palpable.
Chilled out Europeans, Russians and a few Indians like us, thronged on to that
street. It resembled a European street, Amsterdam like. Loud thumbing music overflowing
from restaurants created a music-river on the street. We started swimming on that.Felt surreal.
Bare chested macho bikers were flaunting.Stags were not allowed in many good
Discotheques. The one we went in was too crowded but enjoyable. Even the
spiritual fluid could not disperse my inhibition for dancing. Arvind, Karthi
and Shankar tried few steps. Had dinner at 12mn in a jam-packed restaurant.
Celebration mood, enthusiasm was refusing to die off even at 2am, when we started back
towards Tamarind Hotel.
Return paths are filled with sadness, always. Is it real
sadness or less happiness?
I felt down on my way back to hotel. Effect of spiritual
fluid was drying off; reality became visible. Life should be full of
celebration – like what we saw on the Baga beach. But, we are forced to be contented with these desert springs.
Finally,three days of sleep deprivation and long journey knocked us down.
At early
morning three we slept off with guaranteed vivid dreams!
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