[KarthikK]

Weekend Ride to Kerehaklu Estate, Aldur (May 2024)

After a month of gap in April when the other steeds in the garage got their chance to stretch their legs on different trips, it was time for another extended weekend trip on the Ninja. The location of choice this time was a lovely coffee estate in the Chikmagalur zone bordering Bhadra wildlife reserve, roughly 40 km west of Chikmagalur town. This trip was to take us back to what we probably love doing the most among all our trip genres, hiking trails amidst nature. The better half had come up with a plan to stay and hike at the beautiful and rustic Kerehaklu Ecostay, nestled inside 300 acres of coffee, pepper and Avocado plantations. Kerehaklu estate supplies specialty coffee to many popular brands such as Blue Tokai, etc and I was told they have their own in-house brand too. Of course, lovely coffee aside, the main USP of this place (and the reason we were interested) was their concept of well-marked and colour coded DIY hiking trails inside the estate which anyone could take and complete based on their fitness levels and preferences. More on that later.

This was a simple extended weekend trip, so two nights and three days meant we had the first day for chilling around the property, the second day for a long hike and anything we wanted to do, and on the third day we would check out and ride back home. The bookings were done at least a month in advance, and it was a pleasure interacting with the owner of the property Mr. Ajoy Thipiah, who would later end up joining us on many of the activities later when we were there.

The distance wasn't much this time - just a simple ~290 km from home and an ultra-familiar route which has been beaten to death many times over. We decided to start a bit later than usual by around 6AM or so. There wouldn't be too much traffic on the highway anyway, because it was a Friday.

Our German shepherd didn't want to see us go out on another trip, and was lurking around the bike in the portico, trying to convince us not to go . On a lighter note, here is a wheelbase comparison of a MY 2019 Ninja 1000 and a MY 2021 German Shepherd Dog, almost evenly matched eh?



It was a gloomy morning, what with pre-monsoon showers setting in early over Karnataka in the month of May and bringing summer to a premature end here. The weather was pleasant throughout the three days of this trip, to our surprise. Anyway, here is the better half taking a break while I adjust some music playlists, after we hit the first toll roughly ~60km into the ride



We stopped at one of our favourite places - MTR which has a branch after Yediyur now. Needless to say, we enjoyed their signature Masala Dosas, Rava Idlis and filter coffee to wash it all down.



At a routine toll plaza 2-minute break before continuing the journey



Post this we had a relaxed ride to Hassan and Belur, following which we stopped at Growers' coffee house, a quaint little cafe on the Belur - Mudigere highway, just to take a short break. The better half had cold coffee while I settled for their tender coconut Souffle





After this break, we entered the Mudigere - Aldur sector where we were welcomed by the vast expanse of coffee plantations on both sides. We weren't very far from our destination, so we stopped at a few places like this just to catch some sights and sounds of the recharged (by rain) greenery



Soon we arrived at the fork where the last leg of the journey involved breaking off from the main road and taking this mud pathway to reach Kerehaklu estate. Thankfully the path was almost flat and didn't have too many sharp or big stones.





We reached the property and were soon welcomed by the owner Mr. Ajoy, who led us to our cottage. Here is an impromptu and temporary parking lot near the cottage area. Our good luck with crowd continued with this trip too - we were the only ones in the property that weekend, so we had the full place to ourselves!



From where we parked the bike, there was a flight of stairs which led to a group of four cottages set amidst thick tree and plant cover of the surrounding jungles, adjacent to each other at varying levels of elevation.



Narrow and steep flight of stairs set along a slope, for the cottage inhabitants to come back to the parking lot / dining area.



This was our cottage, rustic yet elegant and matched well with the rustic surroundings



The interiors of the cottage were typical of a wooden jungle log-hut cabin, rustic yet very clean and sufficient for a quiet weekend getaway in the midst of nature.





The bathroom was spacious and sufficiently equipped with all the necessary amenities too.



The balcony outside had a couple of easy chairs to sit and admire the idyllic surroundings, watching the rain while we sipped on some piping hot coffee





The cabin had nice mesh-covered (to prevent bug ingress) windows on all sides, increasing the airy feel and allowing a view of the surrounding foliage from all sides.



The host asked me to park the bike in his safe garage area, sharing garage space with his trusted steeds for the next two days.



Soon it was time for lunch, so we headed to the dining area which was located above the flight of stairs. Here is a picture of the dining room area.



There was also an open air bonfire area, but that was for the evening or night later on



The interiors of the dining room were cozy and well lit up. We were the only ones in the property that day anyway, so the lunch spread was kept simple yet delicious.





Food was again a very noteworthy aspect of this property - most or all of the dishes were of the local Malnad cuisine, with special attention to detail given on locally procured and organic ingredients and freshly ground spices for every meal. We had our first taste of their food with this lunch on day 1, comprising local (to this region) rice balls called Kadubus, with local styled gravy dishes and accompaniments.



After an early lunch, we lazed around in the room until 4PM or so. Then our host (and the estate owner) Mr. Ajoy met us in his 4x4 Bolero Invader, and took us on a ride through the massive estate, taking special effort to show us so many species of plants and trees and their significance in a coffee estate ecosystem. We also had fun tracking some pugmarks and elephant and bison telltale leftover signs left behind by trespassing wildlife in some parts of his estate on the previous day. This jeep ride lasted well over two lovely and informative hours, with tons of interesting trivia shared by the walking and talking encyclopaedia that Mr.Ajoy was, on any topics related to nature, flora and fauna and of course coffee plantation life.

Here are some random snaps captured during the informative jeep ride through the estate. Rustic trails treading through the coffee plantation



A tiny stream flowing through the foliage amidst diffused sunlight



Bamboo shoots forming a canopy



Sunset amidst the coffee plants



The mighty Bolero Invader 4x4 - a rare offroader sought after by many enthusiasts because it sold in very few numbers before getting discontinued. Our host seemed to love this vehicle too!



After this jeep ride ended around sunset time, we thanked Mr. Ajoy and he dropped us back at our cottages. We enjoyed some lovely in-house Arabica black coffee with homemade cookies while watching the sun go down.

[KarthikK]

Weekend Ride to Kerehaklu Estate, Aldur (May 2024) continued ...

The place had almost no network connectivity, so we spent some time in our cottages truly disconnecting from gizmos and instead admiring nature. The sudden and unpredictable torrential downpours were particularly fascinating to watch. Soon it was time for dinner - again simple wholesome dishes, with an aromatic Sambar rice and a couple of Rasgullas wound up a light dinner.



Kerehaklu had five different color coded trails, labelled white, blue, yellow, orange and red in increasing orders of distance, elevation variation and difficulty levels, with white being the easiest at ~1km across almost flat terrain, and red being the toughest at ~9km through a jungle and ascending a hill. Appropriate direction boards were put up for all the trails wherever there were forks in the pathways, so all one needed to do was keep eyes peeled for the particular trail color they chose and follow all the direction prompts related to that particular color and they would complete and make it back to the start point. We particularly loved this DIY trail hiking concept because it negated the need for a trail guide and gave us the freedom to explore at our pace.

We had already decided that we would go for the longest and most fun trail on their list - the Red trail on Day 2 after an early and light breakfast, which would then take us till afternoon to return. We were served some delicious Masala Dosas with home-grown assorted fruits for a simple breakfast by 7.30AM



After around 8AM, we departed on our hike trail, accompanied by Mr. Ajoy for a portion of the hike where he showed us some rare species of trees and plants in the estate, gave us some tips on the trail routes through the jungle and plantation trails, and informed us about regions to avoid because of some recent sightings of elephants in those portions of the estate.

Picking up these naturally growing Mulberries



Ajoy sir and his friendly Beagle Kiwi double up as our route guides for a short portion of the trail, until they bid goodbye to us and we continued on our way.



The sun was fully up in the sky, but the thick foliage cover meant hardly any sunlight was visible to us. However the weather was quite humid and uncomfortable. Thankfully we had carried sufficient water to quench our thirst whenever needed. Since the monsoon had not yet started in May, there were very few leeches in this time of the year. We hardly encountered a couple of them and even those were only near a stream in the valley, which we were anyway expecting and flicked them off after a quick check. Here are some snaps of the hiking trail through Kerehaklu estate, ascending elevation towards a hilltop clearing.





A dried up stream in the summer awaiting recharge in the monsoon



Sunlight peeking through the dense rainforest-like foliage



Bunches of wild mushrooms such as these were springing up after the first few spates of summer thundershowers on the parched land



A clearing in the jungle trail, giving a view of the western Ghats where this estate was located



Treading through coffee plantations



A spider luring prey with its web of deceit



Exploring a top of some hillock en route




We were done with the hike in around ~4-5 hours and were back at the cottage area, with this picture drenched in sweat, for the memory books, lol! The hydration backpack used on the bike journey came in handy doubling up as a hiking backpack for our water bottles for this trail.



After freshening up, we made our way to the dining area where lunch was ready. Simple Akki rottis (similar to rice Bhakris) with Sabji and Payasam (Kheer) for lunch helped satiate our appetite.



Post-lunch we retired to our cottages for some rest and timepass. The better half settled in with her kindle to read some novel, while I mostly just enjoyed time in the balcony watching random birds and animals showing up, and then a heavy burst of thundershowers kept me entertained for another couple of hours or so.

By around 5PM or so, we stepped out to a large drying yard within the estate to try and take the drone up for some aerial shots of the location. The pathway inside the estate



The coffee berry drying yard where we could see the rain gods clearing up and opening up a portion of the skies during sunset



I proceeded to fly the drone here to capture some mesmerizing views of the Western Ghats and the surrounding Bhadra forest from inside Kerehaklu estate.

The estate bungalow location





Views all around of the western Ghats











After the sun went down, we passed time till dinner. We had specifically requested for a simple dinner after all the over-eating of the past two days. There was just some simple Rotis with Egg Masala and another mixed vegetable. Lovely Gulab Jamuns completed the meal. We retired for the night following dinner.



We woke up a bit late on Day 3, had a leisurely breakfast and relaxed for a while until it was time to check out and depart homewards. Simple breakfast of Rava Idlis and a couple of other local dishes that I forgot to capture.



A couple of departing pictures with the Ninja in front of the property as always





The return ride was largely uneventful and was just a simple ~300km distance back home along the Hassan expressway. This trip added a simple ~580 km on the odometer to wind up the quota for the month of May.





That's all I had for this trip. Until my next ride report, thanks for reading!

[AKSO]

Nice ride and well done. Those pictures of the south indian breakfasts with filter coffee make my mouth water and always bring a smile to my face when I reminisce about my rides down South.

[KarthikK]

Ride to Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu (July 2024)

June month had our hands full with a wedding in the close family, and a couple of other trips with our Brio and our shepherdess (read - GSD) at home, so the Ninja didn't get a chance to clock miles the entire month. Elsewhere in the western ghats, the monsoon season had set in and how! The rains were in full blast, and we weren't up for a fully washed out ride yet (more monsoon rides are coming up for that anyway). The better half selected a place which wasn't yet hit by the monsoon season in July - the next place to tick off on our Ninja ride calendar for 2024 was the quaint little town of Kumbakonam in interior Eastern TN, famous for its history dating back to the Chola empire era more than 800 years ago. It is also famous for its rich art and culture scene, varied flavours of traditional Tamil style food and of course, Kumbakonam Degree Coffee! The better half's place of choice this time was CGH Earth's Mantra Koodam, a resort located just outside of Kumbakonam town amidst greenery. This property promised to offer a glimpse into Kumbakonam's art and culture scene, visits to the historical monuments of the Chola era, some interesting in-house activities to go with the local regional culture, and last but not the least, some culinary delights from the region to satiate our taste buds too while we were there!

In 2022, we had covered Tanjore and in 2023, we covered Chettinad, which were arguably similar yet added their own specific regional touches and intricacies to our experiences there. Kumbakonam completes that triangle circuit of culture-based TN trips for us in a way. While neither of us is religious, somehow we ended up covering all three of these temple-centric zones from a history and art and culture angle and enjoyed every bit of it.

Coming back to this trip, Kumbakonam being in Eastern TN means it is not rainy season there in July. Most of Eastern TN gets rain from North Eastern monsoons (prevalent between October and December) rather than the South Western monsoons which attack the western coast (and the entire state of Karnataka) from June to October. While we Bangaloreans hardly even saw any direct sunlight in the whole of June and July because it was gloomy and rainy almost every day with frequent news of red alerts and orange alerts for heavy rains and waterlogging in Karnataka, I was pleasantly surprised to open the weather forecast for Kumbakonam (in the run up to the trip) and see a red alert for a heat wave, and ‘severe heat’ alerts instead ! Talk about extremes in the same time of the year in a place not so far away from home. That's south India's diversity for you!

This was planned to be a 3 night, 4 days trip on a stretched out weekend. The one way distance was around 400+ km. We started a bit early like we usually do anyway. We left Bangalore by around 4.30AM, hoping to touch Krishnagiri in an hour as usual. To our surprise, there were tons of rumble strips dug out (as opposed to erected) in the highway at 25-26 points between Hosur and Shoolagiri. These dug-out rumble strips were quite deep and many car drivers were trying to zig-zag and avoid them or slow down, causing many heart-in-mouth moments for onlookers such as us. The shoulder was spared this torture, so we were slowing down to the core and taking the extreme shoulder lane to avoid these suspension death-traps. I am told at the time of writing this report that the NHAI has fixed these horrible rumble strips after multiple incidents and complaints from highway users. Thanks to all this confusion, we took almost 1.5 hours just to reach Krishnagiri toll. Here is the first break stop after Krishnagiri toll



Breakfast stop was after another hour of riding, at our usual haunt on this route - Radisson Salem. Since the next 4 days at Kumbakonam were going to be full of south Indian fare anyway, we thought why not enjoy some continental stuff en route, lol!





After crossing Salem's weekday traffic and a quick refuel stop, we crossed over Vazhapadi and towards Attur. Traffic soon thinned out, and the four-lane road to Thalaivasal was a lovely stretch to ride on, with greenery and far-off mountain-scapes for company on a pleasant windy morning.





After crossing Thalaivasal and heading towards Virudhachalam, the road changed from four-lane to single lane but the surface was incredibly smooth and it was a blast to spiritedly ride the inline 4 beast on this stretch.







We didn't stop anywhere barring once for sugarcane juice at some roadside vendor. Once we crossed Virudhachalam and headed towards Jayankondam, the roads once again became four-lane, and this stretch seemed to have been recently laid out. There was some occasional village traffic but otherwise it was a nice, free stretch again, with tons of sugarcane and paddy fields for company

The recently expanded four-lane highway between Virudhachalam and Jayankondam



Stopping for a quick break near some picturesque sugarcane and paddy fields





We reached the property around noon. The approach road was narrow and scenic but the surface was of good quality. This was at the entrance of Mantra Koodam



The manager of the property was kind enough to give a nice parking space for the Ninja. After we unloaded the luggage, we spent some time at the entrance lobby for the check-in formalities, while they prepared the room for us (thanks to Ninja for making us reach earlier than their check-in timings, lol!)



Some timepass clicks at the reception lobby area, themed in antique Tamil style furniture and decor







After a refreshing welcome drink and some chit-chat with the reception staff, we were off to our cottage. This was a 15-acre property, so the space was vast and expansive, the cottages were spread out nicely and there was lush greenery everywhere.

Cottages were located row-wise in one section of the property, through concrete alleys such as these, resembling what are called Agraharams in TN (closely knit residential localities)





Signboards to the various parts of the resort



There were two categories of cottages here - one was the twin-joined type cottages and the other type was stand-alone type cottages called Illam (Tamil for 'House'). We chose the Illam type cottage, which we were guided to. It had a traditional Tamil style architecture from the outside



Nice of the staff to put this signboard outside the door



The heritage style decor carried forward to the interior of the cottage too. While being equipped with the necessary amenities, the antique furniture added a unique touch to the look and feel on the inside too.







The bathroom had a semi-open-air setting



What was also unique was this open-to-the-sky, waterfall style shower in the outdoor area which was in addition to the regular one on the inside



The cottage had a nice sit-out in the front porch facing the greenery outside, to enjoy a hot cup of chai or coffee in the mornings or evenings.



After freshening up and relaxing for a while, it was time for lunch. The restaurant was located around 200 metres away from the cottage, so we had a nice walk through the alleys and grassy lawns, passing some more lovely buildings such as these.



A board on some local Arachnid (Spider family) trivia in one of the lawns



The restaurant had an outdoor and indoor area. Since it was pretty warm outside, we chose the indoor section for our lunch. The antique elements and traditional interiors made themselves felt inside the restaurant area too.



While the better half tried a local concoction of Eggplant gravy cooked in local spices with steamed rice, I opted for their traditional Kumbakonam Thali, resplendent in local flavours and delicacies. Needless to say, we were blown away by the fantastic taste and simplicity of the dishes.



Post lunch, we relaxed for a bit and then stepped out for a stroll around the property once the searing afternoon heat started showing some respite. Every morning and evening, Tea, Coffee and some yummy snacks were served (similar to high tea) for all the guests in a village-shack-styled hut called 'Tea Kadai' (Kadai in Tamil literally translates to 'Shop'). Throughout TN state, it is not uncommon to find such shack-styled tea shops in the rural landscapes, usually with benches for customers to sit and chit-chat as they enjoyed their cuppa over a snack or two. Tea Kadai in Mantra Koodam seemed to be a modern take on that popular concept. We found this to be a nice and unique touch added to the stay experience here.







Hot ginger Tea with some piping hot Bajjis for an early high-tea



Yet another unique experience in this property was a large number of well-behaved peacocks roaming around in the property. They never bothered the guests in any way, were not fishing around for scraps or anything either. But there were so many of these majestic birds foraging or chilling in the lawns and minding their own business.





One of them was quite curious to hear my camera's shutter sound and came close to investigate what that was! Thanks for posing patiently, buddy!



After this high-tea, we were strolling through the property when we came across a pottery shed, where an artisan was volunteering to teach guests about pottery. The better half wanted to have a go at it, so she proceeded to try out and learn pottery and in the process made some varied shapes of pots and vases such as these.







After this pottery activity, we passed some time till dinner and headed to the restaurant to try something light, as a result of the heavy lunch crippling dinner's appetite. We settled for some simple yet satiating Dosa, served with an amazing myriad of accompaniments.



Post an early dinner, we hit the sack and called it a day.

[KarthikK]

Ride to Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu (July 2024) continued ...

Days 2 and 3 were for sightseeing. Day 2 was a proper sightseeing day with fixed places to cover, while day 3 was for aimless wandering on the bike. On the second day, we had a well chalked-out itinerary of places to cover in and around Kumbakonam town. We woke up to a leisurely morning, and spent some time strolling around the property.







Morning tea and coffee were served and savoured at the Tea Kadai, as usual. The now-familiar feathered friends were loitering around as usual.





Soon it was time for breakfast. The buffet spread wasn't very large, but there were some nicely prepared local dishes which we settled on, such as Podi Idli, Pongal, Vada, Halwa, etc



This was a fountain setup just outside the restaurant



It was a noticeably hot day, compared to our cool and wet monsoons in Bangalore . While Bangalore's daytime temperatures rarely cross 27-28 degrees in monsoon months, we were in the middle of a 39-40 degrees day! From red alert for rain, to red alert for heat!

Post breakfast, our actual day of sightseeing began. We had arranged for the property to book us a cab which would ferry us to the different points of interest through the day, and then bring us back to the hotel by evening. We proceeded to the reception area to await our assigned cab. Passing time at the entrance lobby while waiting for our cab



Our next stop was the almost-thousand year old temple dating back to the Chola empire era - called Gangaikonda Cholapuram. I won't go to the intricacies of this monument. Interested folks can always find trivia on the web. I'll proceed to just dump some random pictures taken while browsing around the monument.





















We couldn't spend too much time at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, because it was extremely hot. We did however hire a guide and we got to learn about some fascinating trivia about the history of the monument.

Post this visit, we proceeded to our next stop for the day - a small group of artisans partaking in 'Kalamkari' art and handicrafts. It was interesting to see a lot of their laborious hand-painted work. We were surprised to hear that even something like a table cloth or bedspread takes more than a month to complete. It is always an interesting experience to interact with artisans of any kind, and to see the passion they have for their art work and profession. This place was no different. Seen here in this picture are a group of artisans painting a Kalamkari table cloth by hand.



After the artisan colony visit, it was almost time for lunch. On our request, our friendly local cab driver suggested a famous eatery called Sri Balaji Bhavan in the middle of Kumbakonam town to try out local Kumbakonam style meals for lunch.

Simple yet delicious Kumbakonam style meals for lunch at Balaji Bhavan.



Kumbakonam is famous for Brass, Bronze and Copper art work, as we found later. It is also called Lost Wax Casting in Kumbakonam. Post lunch, we visited a famous Brass article factory and browsed through their catalogue to find some memorabilia to take back home.





A group of Brass art sculptors at work, carefully hand-crafting idols to perfection.





The third form of art (apart from metal casting and artwork) that Kumbakonam is famous for is Silk saree weaving. There are many small household weavers of Kumbakonam style Silk sarees, and there is an entire colony of such weavers and artisans engaging in silk saree weaving. We made a brief stop on the insistence of our driver, but we learnt a lot about their lives and the deteriorating interest in these crafts (in the present generation) through our interesting conversations with the weaver families.

A Silk saree weaver at work, weaving a Kumbakonam style saree.



Colored silk threads which form the raw material for the weaving



After this short visit and a short shopping session by the better half, we proceeded to another famous historical monument / temple called Darasuram (another Chola empire era construction), located in the south west of Kumbakonam. Our chauffeur suggested to do this place in the evening, since the mid-day searing heat would render the place almost impossible to explore. Here are some random pictures from the architectural marvel of the thousand year old Darasuram complex.



















Post this sightseeing, our friendly chauffeur took us to a very famous and old eatery in the heart of Kumbakonam, called Mangalambiga Coffee and Tiffin Centre.




On the localites' recommendation, we tried their famous Rava Dosa, Adai with Avial (a kind of Dosa made of mixed Lentils, served with a vegetable stew in coconut milk). Last but not the least, they claim to be the ones who introduced Kumbakonam's famous Degree Coffee to the world. We ended up having an evening supper here with these delicacies.



After all of the sightseeing and this early supper, we made our way back to the hotel just before sunset. We took to the resort's pool to enjoy some relief from the searing TN heat of the entire day.



We were anyway stuffed with the evening supper in the heritage eatery, so we had very little space for a full fledged dinner. The chef at the restaurant was insistent that we should try one of his recipes, even if it meant we shared one dish, and so he cooked up his take on grilled vegetables with herb rice, garnished with mini Dosas, with a burst of spice flavours from the Kumbakonam region. As always, this unique dish was also lip smackingly delicious. We washed it down with some iced tea and Dumroot, a kind of halwa made of ash-gourd / pumpkin.



That brought an end to the second day of our Kumbakonam trip.

[KarthikK]

Ride to Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu (July 2024) continued ...

The third day was for some leisurely local exploration on the bike. We didn't have any set plan as such. We woke up a bit late and headed to breakfast. The buffet spread was very similar to the previous day, not the best thing. We had a few dishes and wound up quickly



Post breakfast, we took the Ninja out for a spin to the southern outskirts of Kumbakonam where we were told there were a few ruins of Chola monuments and temples still left behind, albeit in ruins. The Ninja running in leashed mode on the narrow bylanes of Kumbakonam outskirts.



Passing by Darasuram complex again (unintentionally) to get to the southern outskirts of this town



After some loitering around, we came across one such place with ruins of an arch, with a relic shrine inside. Here is the Ninja in front of the arch ruins





Kumbakonam, a town where time stands still!



Some snaps of the temple inside this arch complex





Closeup of the arch in ruins



After spending some time there, we proceeded to aimlessly wander around some of the narrow village roads around southern Kumbakonam. This was the bike taking a break next to some paddy fields.





Upon interacting with some locals and passersby, we stumbled upon a Doll-making factory. Yet another art form that Kumbakonam is great at - while its sister town Tanjore hogs all the limelight for paper mache dolls, it was interesting to see that Kumbakonam dolls are famous with their own differences.



Groups of artisans in the doll factory, busy painting out the intricate details of this unique art form.





We soon took some picturesque detour route to make our way back to the resort by noon. The resort staff served us some Nannari Sherbath, a refreshing cold drink native to TN.



Lunch was an elaborate affair trying out more local flavours of Kumbakonam. I'm leaving out all the details of the dishes, but it was heavenly from soup to appetizers to main course to dessert.



After a leisurely afternoon, we spent some time chilling in the property and playing some outdoor games in the early evening. Loitering around the lawn area under shade of the trees was lovely



A large version of human Ludo in the garden (I figured we were too old for this now, lol!)



A tiny lily pool



Enjoying evening tea, coffee and snacks at the Tea Kadai for one last time



The indoor games area behind the reception lobby of the resort was also themed in traditional Tamil temple style decor, with a shrine of Lord Krishna in the middle of a pool









Trying our hands at some ancient traditional games (and failing miserably) . The resort's efforts to revive and keep these games alive was commendable though.



A themed picture of the better half for the memory books, with CGH Earth's Mantra Koodam, where time stands still



Another shrine near the reception lobby with a pond and fountain.





The better half proceeded to do some memorabilia shopping at the resort's in-house shop



While the enthusiast in me proceeded to do what I do best when I am bored - try to take some timepass pictures of the Ninja in the property.











Soon it was time for a light dinner. This time we tried the outdoor ambience which seemingly no other guest wanted to try. I found the outdoor space quite pretty and tastefully done.





Table overlooking the lawns at night



We went for their amazing Dosas once again, with iced tea and kumbakonam degree coffee to accompany.



Kumbakonam Degree Coffee, is the hype real? I say yes



Post dinner we called it a day and took a good night's rest. The next day we would be returning homewards.

On the fourth and final day, we woke up early and proceeded to pack and prepare for the departure. A light breakfast was done and dusted quickly, with some byes said to the amazing chef and staff at the restaurant in Mantra Koodam who had gone out of the way to help us try a variety of local flavours and delicacies over the past four days.



We left from the resort at roughly around 10AM, after bidding our goodbyes to all the wonderful staff at Mantra Koodam resort. Not without a departing picture of course.



On the way back we stopped at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, which was anyway en route. Here are some pictures from the road passing by next to the monument, from where we just stopped and admired the monument from a distance. Anyway we had visited it in detail on the previous day so we did not again get off and go inside, etc.







Continuing our return journey towards Salem from Virudhachalam, along desolate but enjoyable motoring roads such as these.





We had a quick lunch break at Saisangeet restaurant, Dharmapuri and proceeded to reach home by 6PM. Fortunately it was a cloudy day and neither rainy nor sunny, so it was a pleasant return journey back home.

And that brought an end to a fabulous trip with so many diverse experiences spread across the past four days. The tripmeter clocked a humble 830+ km for this trip, opening the account for the second half of this year's Ninja riding calendar.



The annual service visit will happen shortly, in which there are quite a few pending actions to be done on the bike. The service update will be posted shortly after the visit. There are also some small and insignificant non-service updates pending which I will collate and post about in the coming week .

That's all for now! Until my next report, Thanks for reading!

[Shan_Kmu]

@Karthikk, Very happy that you visited and enjoyed in our hometown. I'm totally embarrassed of not knowing of this beautiful resort, Mantra Koodam, located in our town . Usually people from outstation love to stay in Indeco, Swamimalai for the heritage feel. Thanks to you, I found a new one to recommend.

BTW, more than you, I really want to know how your wife travels this much distance in pillion seat. Forget bike, my wife doesn't want to sit in our Bolero for long journeys. She annoys me always by saying a bus is more comfortable than our Bolero and it reaches the destination faster than me

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Shan_Kmu

@Karthikk, Very happy that you visited and enjoyed in our hometown. I'm totally embarrassed of not knowing of this beautiful resort, Mantra Koodam, located in our town . Usually people from outstation love to stay in Indeco, Swamimalai for the heritage feel. Thanks to you, I found a new one to recommend.

Indeco is a great place too with its heritage appeal. But Mantra Koodam is in a different league in terms of luxury. Even the location is awesome.

Another reason you may want to stay here is the access to the temples on the KMU-Mayavaram side. Also given its close to Anaikarai, it's a great location to reach fast without entering the Kumbakonam town.

Great report Karthik. Mantra Koodam is an amazing great property. It's a staple for me too whenever I visit Kumbakonam. It has some fond memories.

[AKSO]

Good to see you back in the saddle Karthik. I am in the search for a tank bag and it looks like you are using Givi with the tank lock. Would appreciate any feedback, size, stability, ease of operation whilst filling fuel etc.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Shan_Kmu

@Karthikk, Very happy that you visited and enjoyed in our hometown. I'm totally embarrassed of not knowing of this beautiful resort, Mantra Koodam, located in our town . Usually people from outstation love to stay in Indeco, Swamimalai for the heritage feel. Thanks to you, I found a new one to recommend.

Hey thanks a lot for the kind words Shan_Kmu!
Indeed Mantra Koodam was a good find even for us. The CGH Earth group does seem to have some more interesting properties in south India which we would like to try out in future too.

BTW, more than you, I really want to know how your wife travels this much distance in pillion seat. Forget bike, my wife doesn't want to sit in our Bolero for long journeys. She annoys me always by saying a bus is more comfortable than our Bolero and it reaches the destination faster than me

Haha, it is just about getting used to it. The wife and I were into long distance cycling a few years ago, that helped a lot. Plus a lot of frequent bike rides over the years have got the bodies used to long distance rides.

I would say just start off with smaller distances and gradually increase the distance, as in any other physical activity one will eventually get used to it and muscle memory will kick in .

Originally Posted by ampere

Indeco is a great place too with its heritage appeal. But Mantra Koodam is in a different league in terms of luxury. Even the location is awesome.

Another reason you may want to stay here is the access to the temples on the KMU-Mayavaram side. Also given its close to Anaikarai, it's a great location to reach fast without entering the Kumbakonam town.

Great report Karthik. Mantra Koodam is an amazing great property. It's a staple for me too whenever I visit Kumbakonam. It has some fond memories.

Completely agree with the location suggestion. Thanks a lot ampere!

Originally Posted by AKSO

Good to see you back in the saddle Karthik.

Thanks a lot AKSO sir!

I am in the search for a tank bag and it looks like you are using Givi with the tank lock. Would appreciate any feedback, size, stability, ease of operation whilst filling fuel etc.

I use the Givi ST602B 4 litre tank bag with tank lock on the Ninja and CB500X. This bag is sufficient to carry your valuables such as phone, wallet, bike documents, powerbank and charging cables, etc. It can be carried when parking anywhere and leaving the bike unattended.

For longer trips on the 500X, I also use the Givi XS307 which is of 15 litre capacity. Both of these also come with rain covers for wet touring days.

For fitting Givi tankbags you will need a Tank cap ring flange specific to the bike's fuel tank cap. In the Ninja 1000 case, you will need the flange part number BF04. Details of this installation can be found in one of my earlier posts here.

Feedback / stability - Absolutely no issues whatsoever. I have been using these on short trips as well as long haul trips. There is no rattling, bag not seated correctly, etc. The snap fit on the ring lock works seamlessly every time, all the time. The release latch is also easy to operate and disconnect the bag whenever needed. If you're considering going for one of these, I would gladly recommend the Givi tankbag range. It is well worth the investment.

Only one word of advice - The bigger bags don't suit the Ninja much, please try out the smaller capacity bags at a local dealer (if possible) by attaching on the bike and checking how it feels. The Ninja being a sportbike, attaching a slightly larger tankbag will hinder your ability to crouch or see the console, etc. The model I have - ST602B definitely does not have any issues and is proven over many years of usage, you can blindly choose that model if you are okay with the capacity.

Operation while filling fuel - you will need to disconnect the bag and remove it when you want to fill fuel. There is no way around this, because the bag sits exactly on the tank cap ring. It is not an issue though.

Hope this helps, do let me know if you have any other queries and I would be happy to assist.

[AKSO]

Thanks for the detailed and timely reply Karthik. Your feedback covers all the questions that I had in mind.

[KarthikK]

Living an evolved dream? Or did the evolved dream evolve to include the original dream? (The Ninja 1000 gets another 1000cc Ninja sibling)

Sport bikes have always been a lot of fun for me, they have always been part of my petrolhead childhood dreams (read as wall posters and scale models). It has been no surprise then that there were always times that I indulged in acquiring a fun sport bike that the wallet could permit, at various stages in life. Back in 2015, I wanted a Daytona 675R but my wallet could only afford a RC390. In 2018, I wanted a sportbike which could even tour with the better half, and thus we ended up with the Ninja 1000, and with this ownership review's title line. What an ownership experience it has been, over ~6 years and 35,000+ km of exploring our part of the country on a sportbike!

In 2023, I got myself an energetic pocket rocket with the Ninja 400 and had a lot of fun with that bike over the past year. When news of the ZX-6R launch came out early this year, once again the itch to own a fun, inline-4 middleweight supersport bike started. This was accelerated by a constant thought in my head "If not now, when?", considering the petrol guzzlers are slowly dying a painful death over successive iterations of emission norms getting tightened, and the threat of EVs taking over the industry and killing these purist enthusiast vehicles when companies eventually find it illogical to invest in any more of these dying breeds of fuel guzzler rockets.

I had initially booked a ZX-6R after quite a bit of research and convincing myself about how a 124PS middleweight supersport has way more enjoyable power than what I can ever use, and all that jazz, but after three months of waiting there was still no clarity on when their next supplies would arrive. Upon discussing with the dealership staff, I came to know there was ready stock of its scarier elder sibling though - the ZX-10R. I know that with my limited skills, I probably wouldn't even be able to scrape the surface in terms of exploring this machine's real abilities but anyway, sometimes a wish is a wish, and I thought, to hell with it, maybe I'll eventually go to the grave a happier man, so why not try? Surprisingly, some stars aligned, HDFC approved a superbike loan with favourable terms and conditions, the numbers added up, the better half also approved and helped with the purchase and lo and behold, I was soon staring at the invoice and keys of a MY2024, 213PS Ninja ZX-10R, lol! More on that later in a full fledged ownership review.

Did I consider anything else in this segment? I would have loved some more brand variety in the garage instead of another Kawasaki. Given a choice I might have probably looked at a striking red and blue CBR1000RR-R Fireblade or a white S1000RR MSport too. However one is discontinued and the other is 35% more expensive than the 10R for somewhat similar specs and included a 4-month waiting period, so I settled for the 10R itself. As for the Panigale V4S, it is almost double the price (again, felt somewhat ripped off for relatively similar specs) and was out of budget anyway, so I didn't have any other viable options apart from the 10R at this price point (I didn't want to go the preowned route).

Long story short, one childhood bucket-list item ticked off, with a full blown litre class superbike replacing the middleweight supersport plan.



Earlier this month, we took delivery of the ZX-10R, along with some regular BHPian biker friends who were there to celebrate this tiny occasion with a dinner after the delivery.



Yours truly and the better half with the superbike missile





None of these would have been possible without my ever supportive partner-in-crime .



Back at home, the litre class sport tourer got a litre class supersport for company. Both of these will happily co-exist in the garage, with the Ninja 1000 continuing in sport-touring role, while the ZX-10R will complement it by offering solo thrills and some track action when time and money permit.



Litre class double trouble firepower!



The ZX-10R is almost equal in heft and dimensions to the Ninja 1000 but is marginally more nimble at parking speeds due to ~30kg lesser weight. The ergonomics on the 10R are extremely committed though, and need a fair bit of getting used to, as well as me needing to get fitter to be able to enjoy this missile properly. No auspicious or superstitious connection with the number, but since I had a choice I took the same number as the N1k, easier to remember for me!



The KRT Ninja 400 meets the KRT ZX-10R! Sadly though, while I would have liked to retain the N400, there is neither space in the garage to keep a fifth bike nor will I be able to do justice to its presence even if I retain it. Unfortunately for me, the baby Ninja will have to make way for the big daddy Ninja, so it will soon be goodbye time for the baby Ninja.





I did just one ride so far (because there were other touring plans made with other vehicles in the garage for the past few weekends), and the ZX-10R ride experience can be described in one word as - Terrifying!

It is happy to potter around in low and mid range RPMs just as its sibling the Ninja 1000. Open the throttle a bit more, it emits a loud growl and the thrust after say 5000-6000rpm is brutal and fearsome.

A full fledged ownership review will follow in due course of time, so I'll end the rambling here and go back to the Ninja 1000's updates from the next post. Until then, Thanks for reading!

[krishnaprasadgg]

Congrats Karthik on the Awesome 10R addition to the garage. And if your thread on enjoying motorbikes is to be considered I'm fully convinced the 10R will have some really good adventures and track time for sure!

Let's catch up soon and squeeze in a ride too while at it!


Heres to wishing you many many happy miles with the 10R!!

Cheers
Krishna

[TheCelestial]

Congrats Karthik! Wish you many happy miles on the 10R!

[Rahulkool]

Congrats Karthik, what a fantastic acquisition. Your seems to be perfect bike garage. Please post some comparison of the both bikes suspension and comfort as well, it could be very helpful to some folks. Waiting for the full ownership review eagerly.