[theRRguy]

Hi guys this most likely is going to be a brief post on my experience travelling to Munnar from Bangalore four a duration of four days.

Initially the plan was supposed to be Bangalore->Munnar->Thekkady->Vagamon->Allepuzha->Kochi -> Bangalore; covering major places in kerala we always wanted to go but us being broke college students it seemed a little out of reach for now :(

After meticulous planning, here's how our travel itinerary looked:
Day 1:-
Bangalore- Salem - Erode - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Kuttampuzha - Mamalakandam - Adimali (K mansion)

Day 2:-
K mansion - top station Munnar - Yellapathy grasslands- Devikulam - Skyfall view point - the Hosteller Munnar

Day 3:-
Kolukumalai sunrise view point (should book jeep and go) Hosteller - Chinnakanal - Anayirankal Dam - Athukad Waterfall (nothing to see there as there was no water but good route to just have fun).

Day 4 & 5 (that was supposed to be):-
The hosteller Munnar - Thekkady (stop for one day) - Bangalore

Day 4 (that was executed):-
The Hosteller Munnar - Theni - Dindugul - Salem - Krishnagiri - Bangalore

Day 1:
Getting to the meat of it, I left home (I stay in Bannerghatta Road) around 4:30 in the morning to meet up with my friend after the E City flyover toll. Met up with him around 5 and started the journey towards KERALAAAA. We were very excited as this was probably the longest ride we had ever done around 1300kms. The ride till Krishnagiri was very cold but the luckily there was not much truck traffic so we could maintain good pace throughout. Crossed the Krishnagiri toll pretty early and the roads till the Dharmapuri toll was amazing. Empty, well laid roads, what more can a man ask for . Stopped for some chai and a nature call break at the toll. I think we stopped around 6:30.

Some good chai later we continued our journey towards kerala. One thing we probably didnt account for was the heat dammit. Stopped for water break every 1 and a half hours and god damn we felt the heat come through. Had breakfast on a restaurant on the erode highway. The stretch from erode to coimbatore was pretty damn good with the odd road patchwork here and there but nothing too dangerous like a big pothole or any sorts.

Covered distances like it was nothing and finallyyyy we entered the kerala border, truly gods own country. The roads, the scenery everything was a complete change. Eight lane highways that was perfectly paved, our cruising speed felt even slower. If I remember right, near Thrissur we also passed through the Kuthiran Tunnel, only time I wish I had a 1000cc monster under my pants. Took a deviation towards Kuttampuzha. Intially there was some thick traffic put as we went on, traffic thinned out and the famous twisty roads of kerala showed up. We rode so far to experience this and man was it worth it big time. Kuttampuzha also showered us with some god blessing views unfortunately we didnt stop for pictures as the heat was kind of getting to our heads.

Attaching few pictures that we managed to take in the Kuttampuzha to Mamalakandam route




I remember that the river view we got was the view of the Periyar river correct me if I'm wrong.
Now the worst part of day 1, the initial 30 to 40 mins after we deviated to head towards Mamalakandam was the worst. Essentially we were just going on top a hill that was mild off-roading and me on my sport bike i suffered big time.The off-roading was not even the worst part, the lack of any signs of human life or anything even was the worst as we thought we got lost in some random place with no network. Decided to push on a little more and we reached heaven. All of a sudden we saw life, roads everything. Felt so good to know that we infact were going in the correct direction and not somewhere else. Maybe this stretch of road that we rode on was the 3rd best stretch in the entire trip. It was so beautiful and twisty roads mean only one thing for a biker i.e VR46 feels.

After riding and riding we reached our hostel, K Mansion located in Admali. No comment to say about the conditions of the roads as go anywhere in kerala and it bound to be good. Got a good rest there to continue the trip for the next day.

Day 2:
Leaving Adimali, we were literally spellbound by the place that was surrounding us as we were heading towards top station Munnar. Instantly stopped after 200m to take a picture.



The roads toward Yellapathy and top station was really good and scenic. When we were heading from top station towards Devikulam, a cloud just happened to pass through us and it was all that we wanted in that moment. Halted for another good 30 mins to take some pictures and you know just take it all in.



There wasnt much to Devikulam when we went and unless anyone plans to visit during the monsoon i would recommend to not go there as it would pretty much be a time waste.

We then rode on the GAP ROAD which is probably the best roads to drive on in south india. Saw toll booths and seems like they are planning on making it an official national highway. As of now the toll booth isnt functional but may change soon so whoever is yet to bite the plug, DO IT!



I cant stop talking enough about this road but feels like I have already gone past the limits of how 'brief' I was going to make this post so I should maybe stop :-)

Day 3:
The hostel we stayed at had arranged the jeep to watch the sunrise at kolukkumalai. We paid 2100 (750 per head which I thought was reasonable).

Will be attaching some pictures of the sunrise and the views while coming down. Y'all going to be drooling now hehe








Day 4:
Left the hostel around 7 am. Google Maps showed us an estimated arrival time of 5pm without any stops. Here comes the twist. The road till Bodimetu was really good so we had some pace there. But instantly everything switched up, the roads got too narrow for comfort and lets just say it wasn’t well paved as the roads we had been riding on for so long. Took a long time to descend till Theni but we just enjoyed the view and weather for a change.



This was shot as we were half way down the hill and yet again we passed through a cloud.
Stopped for breakfast near Batlagundu. Solid 45 mins of food plus rest and for what it was worth, the food was really good there and not that costly. Cant remember the name of the restaurant but it was on the opposite lane right next to a Bharat Petroleum petrol bunk.

From here onwards, we were fully energized and decided to make good use of the empty roads and our bikes.
After we got closer to Dindugul, we maintained speed as the roads were pretty much were empty and in wonderful stretch.

Stopped for a quick full tank at Salem and then reached home in another 2 hours. Google estimated our arrival time at around 4:30 - 5:00 but we all made it home by 2:30. NOTE WE DID NOT RIDE RASH AND SLOWED DOWN NEAR JUNCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY.

Overall it was a wonderful journey that we had, met a couple of startup founders to riders who were on a south india trip. Good chats, good times, good ride is all us men need in life.

Signing out,
the RRguy

[TheManualGear]

I have questions that why so many people on team bhp are using sports bikes for touring purpose and not cruising ones with similar displacement. For eg. H'ness 350 in place of RR310. Must have been more comfortable and pleasing.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by TheManualGear

why so many people on team bhp are using sports bikes for touring purpose and not cruising ones with similar displacement. For eg. H'ness 350 in place of RR310. Must have been more comfortable and pleasing.

1. Young crowd
2. Personal choice
3. Lack of multiple motorcycle ownership
4. Corruption due to power

The essential aspect of motorcycle riding is the bond between the bike and its rider, unaffected by the type—be it a cruiser, sports bike, sport tourer, dirt bike, or classic. The choice of a motorcycle is subjective & rooted with individual preference.

PS - Try a CBR 250R, especially on pot holed {not even bad roads}, its comfort beats even the Showa-equipped Meteor 650. Contrary to popular belief, classic motorcycles, though appearing comfortable, can cause discomfort over time by transmitting vibrations to the rider's tailbone on a long term harm. But, the forward-leaning posture on sports bikes distributes vibrations across the muscles, potentially reducing harm with a discomfort riding stance.

PPS - There're many folks touring with RE 350 as well, just that they may not be posting it here & we all know how large is the RE riding community is in India

[TheManualGear]

Originally Posted by aargee

PS - Try a CBR 250R, especially on pot holed {not even bad roads}, its comfort beats even the Showa-equipped Meteor 650. Contrary to popular belief, classic motorcycles, though appearing comfortable, can cause discomfort over time by transmitting vibrations to the rider's tailbone on a long term harm. But, the forward-leaning posture on sports bikes distributes vibrations across the muscles, potentially reducing harm with a discomfort riding stance.

Of course I will try when I get my license. Also I forgot about the bond that I have with my CYCLE . BTW I have only ridden a new Honda Livo belonging to my father and that was the bike which gave me affection of cruising.

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by theRRguy

I remember that the river view we got was the view of the Periyar river correct me if I'm wrong.
Now the worst part of day 1, the initial 30 to 40 mins after we deviated to head towards Mamalakandam was the worst. Essentially we were just going on top a hill that was mild off-roading and me on my sport bike i suffered big time.The off-roading was not even the worst part, the lack of any signs of human life or anything even was the worst as we thought we got lost in some random place with no network. Decided to push on a little more and we reached heaven. All of a sudden we saw life, roads everything. Felt so good to know that we infact were going in the correct direction and not somewhere else.

Thank you for this lovely travelogue. Yes it is the Periyar river. Mamalakkandam road can be confusing, we also lost our way first time we went there. There was no cell signal and the offline map was struggling to find our location in the middle of the forest. 😂 And it is very surprising when we make it to the town, suddenly seeing the school, shops and all the people.

Originally Posted by theRRguy

We then rode on the GAP ROAD which is probably the best roads to drive on in south india. Saw toll booths and seems like they are planning on making it an official national highway. As of now the toll booth isnt functional but may change soon so whoever is yet to bite the plug, DO IT!

Eventhough we live just 70kms from Munnar we haven't travelled through the gap road. After reading this I'm really tempted to go. 😄

[16000rpm]

Originally Posted by TheManualGear

I have questions that why so many people on team bhp are using sports bikes for touring purpose and not cruising ones with similar displacement. For eg. H'ness 350 in place of RR310. Must have been more comfortable and pleasing.

Although the slower paced bikes like the CB350 may be more comfortable in the short run; from my personal experiences, it's better to have a slightly quicker motorcycle especially if you're on the saddle for quite a few hours.

Additionally, I personally believe that the ease that the RR310 offers in its agility will add up as the hours pile on. So, to me personally a sport touring/ adventure motorcycle is far superior for long rides than any of the old-school offerings of the 300-440cc market. (Not counting the Triumph 400 Platform of course, as they're more Neo-Retro than properly old school).

[theRRguy]

Originally Posted by TheManualGear

I have questions that why so many people on team bhp are using sports bikes for touring purpose and not cruising ones with similar displacement. For eg. H'ness 350 in place of RR310. Must have been more comfortable and pleasing.

I have had cruisers in the garage before and no matter what anyone says, they just arent as comfortable to ride on indian roads even comparing it with normal naked bikes. For me, sport touring/sportbikes all the way as I am bit of a track junkie and plus the wind protection and the comfort a sport tourer offers for our country roads are much better than the run of the mill cruiser bikes

Originally Posted by Joe367

Even though we live just 70kms from Munnar we haven't travelled through the gap road. After reading this I'm really tempted to go.

Living 70kms from Munnar is probably me dream scenario, Sunday rides/drive with the boys going to be too good.

Originally Posted by 16000rpm

Although the slower paced bikes like the CB350 may be more comfortable in the short run; from my personal experiences, it's better to have a slightly quicker motorcycle especially if you're on the saddle for quite a few hours.

This is so true because I have also got a CB350 with me and no matter how long I plan on touring, I tend to pick up the keys to the RR every single time knowing that for my riding style, it tends to be more comfortable for me (got a little back issue where I can't sit perfectly upright for a long time) and more so because of the extremely good suspension setup that the RR310 offers which in turn gives it one of the best handling characteristics in the 300-500 cc segment of motorcycles.