Occasion: 4 day 2007 Christmas weekend
Destination: Wild Haven, Bokkapuram

Started out quite late in the morning because of last minute packing. This time, the bike decided to be a little more considerate an broke down just as we got to Banashankari on the ring road! :-| Abhi checked the clutch cable and found that to be working fine. The problem seemed to be a broken clutch cam which now had to be purchased to be replaced. It felt like the bull had a mind of its own, and it was deliberately conking for some extra attention! I figured that it was going to be another long wait on the stairs of a Bata shoe shop. Abhi called a few places and Prashi to check for availability of the spare. Prashi offered to get the spare and help fix it. Once he got the spare, the guys started to fix the bike and in the process realized that the cam was a different model! Talk about bad luck! Abhi then rode to the Royal Enfield showroom and managed to get the right model and the guys finally fixed it. Once the bike was ready, the next problem at hand was to find a place to stay for the night at Mysore since the resort in Masinagudi was booked from the next day. While waiting for Prashi, we were looking for places to stay and as anticipated, since it was a long weekend, there were no rooms available anywhere including Dasaprakash where we stayed during our Waynad Ride. Santosh, who had got there by then along with Anupama, was heading out the same way, suggested we could join him and he would arrange the stay.

By the time we hit the highway, it was noon. Thankfully it wasn’t sunny and we could ride pretty comfortably. Filled stomach reduces oxygen supply to the brain, and both of us started to doze off on the bike. Splashing cold water on the face helped to keep us awake till we stopped for a kadak chai at hotel Indradanush adjacent to Cafe Coffee Day. We have done the Bangalore-Mysore route several times by now and whats interesting is that depending on time of the day , the mountains and the trees along the route look different. It was evening when we rode through Mandya. Sugarcane fields laced on either side of the road with its white inflorescence swaying ever so gently to the soft breeze in perfect synchrony. Golden sun rays highlighted the pretty pink colored weeds lining the highway, which we would have normally missed at any other time of the day.

Crossed Srirangapatna to find Santhosh waiting for us at the Kiranguru – Baburayana Koppal junction. Got off Mysore road, rode through Kiranguru town passing Pandavapura Sugar Factory and railway station along the way to get to a junction. Continued on the road that goes left to Kannambadi. The owner of the place met us and we followed him to Sunset Bay. The road that leads to the resort is parallel to KRS backwaters and we were just in time to catch the setting sun in the horizon. What a view that was! Unfortunately it dint last long enough for me to capture it in my camera. We got to Sunset Bay, a beautiful property with a huge waterfront, where we stayed for the night. The plan for the next day was to leave early and visit Pegasus Farm – Art Bristo on Hunsur Bypass and then ride on to Bokapuram near Masinagudi.

After a refreshing night in Sunset Bay, we were reluctant to leave the place in a hurry. Finally after a good breakfast, we managed to get ourselves moving. The sight of towering of KRS dam along with its spillway was superlative and we could only imagine the massive volume of water held back by those walls. From here Art- Bristo was half an hour’s ride through Paper Mills circle and Ilavala junction. The peace and quiet of the farms at Art-Bristo and a huge deliciously served lunch by the host made us laze around a bit too much. We had another 200kms to go and we decided to leave. Bid goodbye to Santosh, promising to meet up the next day at his place in Kalhatti.

Got back to Ilavala junction and took the road towards Mysore. The roads here are pretty well preserved, probably due to the presence of Infosys. We cruised along and got to the ring road. After a brief visit to the city for a small errand, we continued down the Ooty road. Pleasant weather made riding a pleasure as we rode through Bandipur. The sun had set when we reached Mudumalai check post. Across the check post there was a flurry of activity with loads of vehicles honking and people screaming their lungs out. A tamed tusker bathing was the only ‘sighting’ we had had that day and whatever wee bit of hope that I had of catching at least a glimpse of wildlife went down the drain. No animal would venture close to such a chaotic nuisance! bah!

The traffic got nasty as we proceeded and we were praying this was not the case in Masinagudi. It was pitch dark except for the lights from the oncoming vehicles. This probably along with the pot-holes were the reason why the traffic thinned out as we neared Teppakaadu. We were the only ones on the road by the time we crossed the town of Masinagudi and rode towards Mavanalla. Abhi slowed down a bit from there as we dint want to miss the turn at Chadapatti that would take us to Wild Haven. After about 10 kms, a sign board appeared with ‘Wild Haven’ on it. We got off the road, into a muddy path and Abhi whispered ‘Scream if you see Elephants’! Yeah, sure, with the tough luck I have with wildlife. He spoke too soon since just a couple of seconds after he said that, about 100 mtrs straight ahead from the bike I saw a big animal, and I was sure it was a cat, lunging across the mud path at lighting speed! Whoa! That was a sighting, my first one at that! I was so excited and told Abhi what I had just seen, but according to him, it was all hallucinations :-| Arguing animatedly that I had definitely seen something on the road and he saying that I need some sleep, we reached Wild Haven. Our three-day eventful stay included a leopard sighting in Wild Haven, which is recounted here in an article coming soon.

We were up early next morning and rode towards Kalhatti, to get to Santhosh’s place. Since the bike was running on the stock silencer, it wasn’t as powerful and this was more evident during the climb to Kalhatti. The climb to Ooty through Kalhatti has 32 (36?) curves. The combination of cold wind-soothing sun made climbing the Nilgiris a nice experience. We got to curve 10 and took the path off the main road. We weren’t sure of the route from here, and thought we would call Santa and figure it out, but we were out of coverage area. So we rode down to curve 16, Kalhatti check post, only to find the phone booth closed! So we climbed back up the mountain and stopped at a small store with a public booth after curve 6. Tried calling again, but couldn’t get through. My tummy had started to growl by then and we thought we would ride towards Ooty and call when we have the signal. Checking for the signal on the phone we rode on and reached the outskirts of Ooty! Heck! Finally, as we entered Ooty, we called and got the directions and it seems that we were actually taken the right route at curve 10. Thumped downhill to curve 10, got into the path, and saw Santosh waiting for us a km later on the mud path. Since there were tight hairpins and the path was full of wet mud and loose gravel, Abhi suggested that I come walking with Santosh, while he would ride. As if I dint understand that he wanted to have all of the off-roading fun alone, without having to worry about balancing the bike with me! heh! We walked for a couple of kilometers and by the time I climbed the last bit, my rusted legs had turned to stone and I was huffing and puffing like crazy! What the hell happened to my ‘fitness’ levels?! The path then became a grassy descent that lead to a mind boggling view of a beautiful valley in the Nilgiri mountain range. Had simple but nice breakfast of French toast, noodles and some plum cake too.

Later, plans were made to pack Biryani for lunch from Ooty and head to Wild Haven. We headed towards Ooty for the second time in the day, but this time through Sholur. Nice winding roads through lush green tea estates and pine forests. The town had a local cricket ‘Federation Cup 2008’ on and the village grounds had a huge turn out of people to watch the match who lined the mountain side! Pretty cool huh? :) Repair work after the town had made the roads dusty and ride was pretty rickety till we reached Ooty town. We parked ourselves in Cafe Coffee Day while the Biryanis were packed and started downhill descent to Masinagudi. Rode till Bison Point and stopped for the Biryani break since the spot had no tourists surprisingly. Hung around for a while watching a bunch of Asian Fairy Bluebirds. The place soon started to get crowded and we got going. Reached Wild Haven just when the sun had begun to set.

The next day, we packed and accompanied Santa to check out his new house that was being built in Bandipur. On the way out from Bandipur we got to see a kill being feasted on by a Vulture and a Mongoose just 25-30 mtrs from the road. We could not ascertain what the kill was, but the both scavengers were oblivious to the presence of people. As the crowd started to get bigger, it was time to get going and started riding back to Bangalore.

All good things come to an end, and so did this trip. To get back to the city from some place so peaceful is not a good feeling, and every time, it only worsens. Cribbing and ranting about it, we got back home, but with a thought that there are untouched abodes to which we can always go back to soothe our overworked minds.