[vrprabhu]

You know what?

Enough has been said, written, photographed about the vast expanse of our country.

In fact, never knew our forum could be a treasure trove of so much valuable information.

So here is a BIG THANKS to all those who posted their experience here - it made by task and trip much easier and much more enjoyable.

Special thanks to MX6 - he let me piggyback on his thread and also eloquently described the mega trip from Pune to Tirunelveli. Thanks, to him I was quite captivated by Karnataka! (It was my backyard, and boy have I neglected it - Oops, have I let the cat out of the bag?). Anyway, MX6 though not apparently busy at work is busy with other things - translations, points to ponder, keeping others hanging in suspense, to name a few.

Speaking of cats, do cats hibernate? Smartcat seems to be doing so nowadays, and there are no new places / pictures. Piggy-backing on him will be a strict no-no. After all, how can one compete with a master?

And ravibhat also seems to be busy - as are paragsachania, longdrivelover...

Grateful to all other posts which have explained places / items of local interest. Especially, Samurai - finally made it to Diana - wife and daughter were perplexed about my fixation - but the moment icecreams were served, all the doubts vanished!!

To start my story -

Is another travelogue required? I guess not...

So how do I go about sharing the pictures - what I have seen may or may not be what others have seen. And, these might be some gems which could captivate others .....

Instead of going on a long-winded monologue on how I drove, where I stopped, what I saw, how I felt, etc. etc., why not use the pictures themselves and see what other make of them, I thought.

Here goes - these are in no particular order.

Just to keep it interesting, people who know the places please don't jump the gun - a few wrong answers / guesses will make it more interesting. After all, how many people would have seen everything there is to see?

Secondly, my posts will be spordiac. I am free today - at the cost of being busy tommorrow :-D

Here are the tips - not that they are needed!

These bamboo plants (trees?) form a canopy on the road. Wonderful. Stop your car and enjoy them beating against one another while swaying to the rhythm of the wind. Is it true that this stretch of road is closed between 6PM to 6AM. One of the best stretches I have ever driven. Would love to take my bike here....


Please, please don't jump the gun here MX6, Samurai... this is a work of art. Felt divinely blessed as we arrived on the spot at the exact time. In fact had darshan daily on the three days we stayed here. Is it true that the idol was recovered from the sea?


The fag end of the bamboo canopy. See what I mean when I feel like taking my bike here?


I call it trunkpower! Think bigger vehicles should be rated in this manner rather than HP. You have to see it to believe it. No amount of horsepower will equal the power of an elephant.


Easiest of them all. Too bad couldn't catch the rest of the places - no time. No crowds - Sriperumbudur seems to attract more crowds. MX6 - if you are reading this - is it true that Tipu built a tunnel between Gingee and Pondy?


If you haven't driven down this stretch, then you haven't experienced motoring nirvana. This stretch has everything. Thankfully, the crackdown on mining has helped to get rid of the obnoxious monster trucks off this road...


Now this stands as a beacon - and surely commands your attention!


Imagine the beach where you can drive down!! Leave all your baggage at home and roll down the windows and enjoy!!


Can't believe that this placid stretch of water is a rapid torrent attracting hordes of people. A perfect location...


An oft seen place - couldn't avoid circumventing it. fortunately, traffic was not as bad as expected and could get through the city within 15 minutes!!


To be continued......

[arindamray]

going by the start, surely be a stunner. will be glued.

Guessing by the clue, number 1 would be Nagarhole.

Number 5 is a giveaway, Srirangapatnam.

[MX6]

Excellent teaser. I'm flattered to see my name figure up along with greats like Samurai!
Diana is not for icecreams. ideal is for icecreams. Diana is for batata vada.
I've seen the udupi temple elephant (ex temple elephant) go crazy and flatten a maruti in car street in seconds. They've, I guess, shifted the old one to the jungle.
When I first saw the two elephant cubs in udupi (Lakshmeesha and shubadra) in 1993, they were cute babies. I lost contact with them since last 12 years. But as they say, the elephants got amazing memories!

And lastly, they are bamboo shoots

Yes, the idol was recovered from actually a ship that was stranded.
Krishna and Balarama idol were stuck in the sands of gujarat when Dwarka was submerged. This Krishna idol is supposedly the personal one which rukmini had worshipped.
A sailor dug the sand (nama katti in tamil) which is used to smear on body like a vibhooti and was sailing from gujarat when storms forced him to dock near Udupi port.
Madhwacharya had the divine vision that Krishna has arrived and he helped abate the storm and in return took a couple of blocks of the sand from the ship leaving the captain perplexed (why only sand?)
They installed the Balarama in vadabandeshwara near malpe and krishna in udupi.
The idol is identical to the one in Dwaraka which is supposedly worshipped by Satyabhama.

There are secret tunnels from gingee. Not sure whether tipu built one from gingee to pondy.

[ampere]

Amazing snap of the water body! Every time I look at it, the nicer it looks.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by MX6

Diana is not for icecreams. ideal is for icecreams. Diana is for batata vada.

And lastly, they are bamboo shoots

Err, isn't Diana for cutlets? Now how to eat all these in one sitting - must configure menu now.

BTW, too many icecreams now - ideal (Tiramisu - or whatever - couldn't finish it), hangyo.... where can we get the best gadbad?

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

Err, isn't Diana for cutlets? Now how to eat all these in one sitting - must configure menu now.

BTW, too many icecreams now - ideal (Tiramisu - or whatever - couldn't finish it), hangyo.... where can we get the best gadbad?

Wonderful teaser pics Prabhu.. Looks like you had a good drive. The pic where you want to take the bike is now tempting me to ride on that road as well!!

I don't know best Gadbad but everywhere in udupi/mangalore i have had gadbad, it has tasted just too good. But i guess Ideal is the best option though Diana is equally good. Like i said, hard to rate it!!

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Wonderful teaser pics Prabhu.. Looks like you had a good drive. The pic where you want to take the bike is now tempting me to ride on that road as well!!

Thanks, abhinav!

Yes, I had a good drive. In fact, when we set out, I had planned to make my wife drive for a couple of spells, so that (a) she gets used to driving on highways (b) I get some rest and (c) my daugther gets to know what to do when travelling a co-passenger while sitting in the front with the driver.

Unfortunately item 'a' remained only on paper

I particularly enjoyed that stretch - the traffic was very thin (absolutely no heavy vehicles or buses) and silence except for the sounds of nature. The bare tree amidst greenery was inviting for a shot!

Thanks for the tip on Gadbad - I too feel the same as you did! I am trying to see whether there is something like 'original' or 'authentic' gadbad!!

[MX6]

You said you are free today. 3 hours since the last (rather the first set of photos) were uploaded. Nothing hence.
I will reveal all those places (except the resting place of tipu as someone already found that out).
(didn't find a devil emoticon)

[vrprabhu]

Some random points -

Total distance covered : 2700 kms+

Petrol filled : 180 litres (almost four tankfuls)

blah... blah... blah... blah...

No in depth 'auto' talk here...

So, some real tidbits -

a. Least toll - Rs. 5.00 (kerala); Max toll - Rs. 52.00 (maharashtra)

b. Max food bill (for 3 people : eat what you can/want style) - Rs. 253.00. Didn't quite like it also. Somewhere in Karnataka. Usual stuff like roti, sabji, rice, dal etc. (a la carte'); Min. food bill - Rs. 52.00 (wife didn't have coffee, so add Rs. 8.00). Relished it. Usual stuff (for people like us) pazham pori, appam, stew, green peas curry, tea. Am thinking of relocating to this place (somewhere in Kerala) - seems unaffected by inflation!.. he..he..he..he..

c. Railway Crossings - Only one while going and two on return. Where have those days gone, when waiting at the crossings for a train to pass itself was a high point of the journey?

d. Most friendly person we met - the owner of BP bunk in Udupi enroute to Manipal. Very corteous and helpful. (The parking lot attendant at Murudeshwar takes the award for the most grumpy person we saw!)

e. Most surprising fact - Mangalore autodriver replying in 'shudh' hindi to our query in 'broken' kannada!

f. Most fearsome event - A bus overtaking us from the left side between Udupi and Mangalore No wonder there is a thread dedicated to travelling between these two places.

g. Most intriguing happening - seeing the rain pouring down (between Belgaum and Kolhapur) and not a drop after a certain point!

h. Most interesting phenomenon - Saw a rod with hook kind of device used by the person manning foot-wear stand in a temple. He is not required to handle the foot-wear by hand. Just imagine what his plight will be if he has to use his hands for the job - handling the foot-wear of all and sundry, especially in the monsoon... now I understand what 'kar seva' is going to teach a person : humility and service, for sure.

Originally Posted by MX6

You said you are free today. 3 hours since the last (rather the first set of photos) were uploaded. Nothing hence.
I will reveal all those places (except the resting place of tipu as someone already found that out).
(didn't find a devil emoticon)

I have already appealed to the likes of you not to jump the gun

Was it not you who taught me to exercise some patience and let the people slowly come over to what is happening in this section?

Anway, only one set of pictures a day. Answers only on the next day.

BTW, by what time is the mega meet expected to get over? Would it be possible to get back on 17th? Have to get my vehicle serviced for the next trip, that is why I am asking.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

f. Most fearsome event - A bus overtaking us from the left side between Udupi and Mangalore No wonder there is a thread dedicated to travelling between these two places.

The drivers of these private and govt. buses are notorious for rash driving. They would overtake you left right and center and care damn for the rules. I become doubly alert when I am covering any distance, short or long, in this stretch all the way from Mangalore till Murudeshwar.

[MX6]

There is no declared end time. You are free to leave at times you feel is convenient for you. I intend to leave by 10 pm so that I'm home by 11.

I'm not waiting for answers. I know those places. I'm waiting for photos. 1 set per day is fine as long as it's a BIG set.

[paragsachania]

VRP,

This is certainly going to get me hooked to this thread for long for it has Ideal and takes me back to the days when I was academically associated with Karkala.

Incidentally Ideal (though not just Ice cream) reminds me of Vishal, Manjunatha, Durgamba, Sugama, Ballal, Navami and their competitions in making it to Point B in the shortest span of time with maximum stops!! The TATAs ruled.Boy, I still chersih those days. (not for their rash driving of course!!)

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

d. Most friendly person we met - the owner of BP bunk in Udupi enroute to Manipal. Very corteous and helpful.

Even today, I just love DK and Udupi for this very reason. Not sure of the latest but in 1995-97, I could see people leave their keys in two wheelers and do grocery shopping! The Mangalorean Kannada is something that almost matches the text bookish Kannada with 100% importance given to pronunciation.

e. Most surprising fact - Mangalore autodriver replying in 'shudh' hindi to our query in 'broken' kannada!

I tell the same to my wife that Mangalore and adjoining places have a long association with Mumbai/Pune and hindi is never a problem at all. Ironically, Most of the restaurants I have visited in Pune and Mumbai, I somehow have managed to speak in Kannada/tulu and become more happier and when I share that I am closely associated with DK and Udupi, it makes them happier as well!!

Even my Dad has an association with Mangalore since he was admitted twice in a gap of 14 years after an accident and he insisted the same hospital even though I was working in Bangalore and I am glad that we took the right decision.

Having born and brought up in Belur, it was more of Mangalore/Udupi than Mysore/Mangalore for us to travel and Charmadi Ghat with those 11 hairpin curves was breathtaking!!

Awaiting the rest

[lohithrao]

One more coastal travelogue, nice!

Bring it on

the bamboo shots is between Sagara and Shimoga right, looks nice when its cloudy and love the twisty road on bike

How did the Palio behave in the entire trip?

[pjbiju]

Good start Prabhu. Waiting for the story and photos to unfold. I believe a part of your route is what I have been planning to do sometime this year. And what remained only on paper for you, I have got converted to reality. My wife has already driven around 300 km on NH4 and the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

-Biju

[MX6]

Minimum toll of 5 bucks reported in kerala. So you didn't cross the sharavati on NH17? That's 5 bucks too!