So, it all started when two weeks before new year 2017, my friend Sarjit asked me to plan something for celebration! I started searching options on internet but then he only suggested to visit Coorg!!!
I am a travel enthusiast and generally never deny if I am comfortable with the persons travelling with me. So, plan was on...but...we needed few more persons. We talked to few friends but they had same old kind of plans... pubs, drinks, girls...but, fortunately we got Aquib and Shreyansh in! Though other than me, none of them are travel enthusiast but they were ready to give it a try!As always, where there is a will there are a lot of problems... and our case was not different. New year...last minute plan...no hotels...no rental bikes... I was dreaming of sleeping in camps in Coorg! Though I was on hunt on internet for hotels and fortunately we got one hotel in Kushalnagar, which is 30 kilometers from main Coorg ( Madikeri, actually). Now, since I killed one of problems and was feeling like a soldier, I proudly called Sarjit and told him that we are done with hotel but we need bikes. Actually we had 3 bikes, mine is awesome but other two's were old : Sarjit's Pulsar 150 and Aquib's Bullet 1980 model. Since we didn't get any rental bike and I was not confident on my four wheeler skills ( needless to say, others didn't even know) so, we decided to ride our bikes.Our plan was to start at 3-4 AM on 31st, and leave by evening of 1st but we started two hours late.
It was 6 AM in the morning and after starting job, there are very rare scenarios when I saw sun rise! Chillness of Bangalore's lovely weather was on its peak and I was having goosebumps. We made tanks of bikes full and soon we were on Mysore road. Shreyansh asked me if he can ride my bike and I was more than happy since I wanted to save myself from cold till sun rises fully! Starting from BTM layout we moved to nice road and soon after paying for toll, we were on road to Mysore. This was the first time my bike tasted 97 Kmph speed while my poor love didn't even know that it is not me who had done this. We stopped after 60 km for tea and when Shreyansh got down of bike , his hands were shaking due to cold. We ordered tea with snacks but when I had held tea glass ,I was not able to feel warmness. After couple of minutes, we became normal and ordered second round of tea. After we were done, Aquib suggested to stop again after covering 60-70 km to have tea. We nodded and engines of bikes roared again. We again stopped as decided and Kushalnagar was 100 more km away. We felt little hungry but decided to have something once we reach. After 4 hours of bike ride and crossing Mysore, Aquib asked us to stop saying Bullet needs oil and rest. Having an antique bike and maintaining it is a challenge. Our next stay was 1 hour before Kushalnagar and we had coconut and sugarcane juices there. We reached Kushalnagar after 6-7 hours of ride and 3 stops.
It was 6 AM in the morning and after starting job, there are very rare scenarios when I saw sun rise! Chillness of Bangalore's lovely weather was on its peak and I was having goosebumps. We made tanks of bikes full and soon we were on Mysore road. Shreyansh asked me if he can ride my bike and I was more than happy since I wanted to save myself from cold till sun rises fully! Starting from BTM layout we moved to nice road and soon after paying for toll, we were on road to Mysore. This was the first time my bike tasted 97 Kmph speed while my poor love didn't even know that it is not me who had done this. We stopped after 60 km for tea and when Shreyansh got down of bike , his hands were shaking due to cold. We ordered tea with snacks but when I had held tea glass ,I was not able to feel warmness. After couple of minutes, we became normal and ordered second round of tea. After we were done, Aquib suggested to stop again after covering 60-70 km to have tea. We nodded and engines of bikes roared again. We again stopped as decided and Kushalnagar was 100 more km away. We felt little hungry but decided to have something once we reach. After 4 hours of bike ride and crossing Mysore, Aquib asked us to stop saying Bullet needs oil and rest. Having an antique bike and maintaining it is a challenge. Our next stay was 1 hour before Kushalnagar and we had coconut and sugarcane juices there. We reached Kushalnagar after 6-7 hours of ride and 3 stops.
Hotel owner took sometime for room cleaning and then we took rest for sometime. I had few places in mind which we could visit but we needed to eat something. Aquib asked me for food but I said let's have it in Madikeri. I had impression that it will one town where we can visit sites nearby.
Our bikes roared again and we were en route to Madikeri. This time I was driving and though I didn't drive whole way from Bangalore to Kushalnagar, my eyes were little bit sleepy ( I wondered how Aquib and Sarjit were driving). Road from Kushalnagar to Madikeri is one of the dream roads. Full of greenery...shops selling local chocolates, wines, handmade assets etc. This was my only second experience of driving on hills ( Yes, I have visited Nandi hills!!! ). Snaky road and flora surrounding it made me amazed and I wanted that road not to end. On left side, I saw coffee plantations on left side of road and plants were full of coffee fruits. I tried to fill my eyes with the scenic beauty of this road. After 10-15 Km, I stopped and indicated others too. There was a Chocolate shop on left side of road. I rushed into it, explored some chocolates, and asked my accountant Shreyansh to pay. We tasted...it was very different from what we eat in general. Though I can't say I would prefer them always but yes...we can have them for couple of times. We started again since our first target was Abbey falls.
Abbey Falls
I was having little difficulty adjusting bike speed and clutch-gear combination while driving but I was more into scenic beauty that I realized later that I shouldn't have chosen 135 cc bike for this much long tour. We were near Madikeri ( at least Google map was showing same ) and then on left side I saw one board mentioning Abbey falls is on the right turn. We turned right and speeded up our bikes. Thanks to Google map ( our actual guide ). After few kilometers we discovered that road had sharp turns than earlier and we started using horns also. But this extra protection didn't help much and by God's grace I saved my bike while a tempo was coming from opposite direction and somehow I adjusted bike from falling in ditch on my left side. Sarjit shouted from his bike, " be careful lad!"
I nodded ( thinking do I really look like a lad? ) and after crossing uncountable similar turns, we reached. After parking our bikes we trekked for few meters to find the source of noise coming from water falling. Frankly telling, what I saw was disappointing!!! Before we left hotel, I ensured everyone should have an extra pair of clothes and towel so that we can go and bath. But, this place was surrounded with iron boundary and was full of crowd. Most of them were with girls or family and we 4 morons were looking at each other thinking what to do now. We covered our disappointment by clicking selfies. Though place was a scenic beauty but crowd and iron net was not something that we expected. We headed back to parking. Everyone was hungry ( though we had chocolates and chips etc and of course it was not enough) but I was totally in mind to explore other places.We returned back...and while I was coming out of traffic from parking Aquib and Sarjit took bike and moved forward.
I spent next hour to find them on road and later when my mobile gave some signal I called them. Sarjit told they reached half way to Kushalnagar. I was disheartened! I thought of exploring Madikeri...that day only. Without having a way, me and Shreyansh headed back to be with them. They again called after few minutes telling that they are waiting at some good restaurant. While reaching restaurant, we purchased some Coorg special oranges. Food was tasty at Empire hotel while returning back to Kushalnagar. After food everyone was drowsy.
My sleep broke by noise of crackers and shouting. We wished each other for new year. Aquib brought some cold drinks. I had it and came out of room. Room was on 3rd floor and near that there was a chimney where coal and wood was burning. I jumped over the iron stairs and reached over the roof. Sky was full of crackers!!! On one nearby building one group was celebrating new year with drinks. It was little chilly outside and I had covered myself with blanket provided by Hotel. On other side I saw one mad group of boys dancing like hell in a big hall. Most of them looked drunk. Crackers filled whole sky and everyone was shouting "Happy new year" "Happy new year" ... I filled my eyes with these scenes. I sensed goosebumps ( though later I realized those were because of cold).
Next morning, I woke up early and saw Shreyansh was already in washroom. " Did he sleep there? " I thought and waited for him to come out. I knew Sarjit and Aquib will take time to get ready so I asked Shreyansh for visiting Namdroling Monastry .
Namdroling Monastry
Abbey Falls
I was having little difficulty adjusting bike speed and clutch-gear combination while driving but I was more into scenic beauty that I realized later that I shouldn't have chosen 135 cc bike for this much long tour. We were near Madikeri ( at least Google map was showing same ) and then on left side I saw one board mentioning Abbey falls is on the right turn. We turned right and speeded up our bikes. Thanks to Google map ( our actual guide ). After few kilometers we discovered that road had sharp turns than earlier and we started using horns also. But this extra protection didn't help much and by God's grace I saved my bike while a tempo was coming from opposite direction and somehow I adjusted bike from falling in ditch on my left side. Sarjit shouted from his bike, " be careful lad!"
I nodded ( thinking do I really look like a lad? ) and after crossing uncountable similar turns, we reached. After parking our bikes we trekked for few meters to find the source of noise coming from water falling. Frankly telling, what I saw was disappointing!!! Before we left hotel, I ensured everyone should have an extra pair of clothes and towel so that we can go and bath. But, this place was surrounded with iron boundary and was full of crowd. Most of them were with girls or family and we 4 morons were looking at each other thinking what to do now. We covered our disappointment by clicking selfies. Though place was a scenic beauty but crowd and iron net was not something that we expected. We headed back to parking. Everyone was hungry ( though we had chocolates and chips etc and of course it was not enough) but I was totally in mind to explore other places.We returned back...and while I was coming out of traffic from parking Aquib and Sarjit took bike and moved forward.
I spent next hour to find them on road and later when my mobile gave some signal I called them. Sarjit told they reached half way to Kushalnagar. I was disheartened! I thought of exploring Madikeri...that day only. Without having a way, me and Shreyansh headed back to be with them. They again called after few minutes telling that they are waiting at some good restaurant. While reaching restaurant, we purchased some Coorg special oranges. Food was tasty at Empire hotel while returning back to Kushalnagar. After food everyone was drowsy.
My sleep broke by noise of crackers and shouting. We wished each other for new year. Aquib brought some cold drinks. I had it and came out of room. Room was on 3rd floor and near that there was a chimney where coal and wood was burning. I jumped over the iron stairs and reached over the roof. Sky was full of crackers!!! On one nearby building one group was celebrating new year with drinks. It was little chilly outside and I had covered myself with blanket provided by Hotel. On other side I saw one mad group of boys dancing like hell in a big hall. Most of them looked drunk. Crackers filled whole sky and everyone was shouting "Happy new year" "Happy new year" ... I filled my eyes with these scenes. I sensed goosebumps ( though later I realized those were because of cold).
Next morning, I woke up early and saw Shreyansh was already in washroom. " Did he sleep there? " I thought and waited for him to come out. I knew Sarjit and Aquib will take time to get ready so I asked Shreyansh for visiting Namdroling Monastry .
Namdroling Monastry
It was just 4-5 km away, so we asked others to get ready and we rushed towards that. Guru Rinpoche build this place in 1963. This was my first ever visit to any buddhist place and I was very keen to discover it. It was little bit cold and I regretted on not wearing shoes while on bike.
Golden Temple
First time I saw people in red and yellow special dresses and we entered by the designer gate after parking our bike outside. There was a big courtyard surrounded by building with 3 or 4 floors. I noticed most rooms in building didn't have doors and covered by tibetan curtains. On opposite side of courtyard there was another entrance. After crossing that, I was able to see very beautiful building having arch ( I wondered how they made in 60s-70s and felt respect of civil engineers of that time) and it was covered with very big picture of Guru Rinpoche. Since it was closed, we turned left and found one buddhist temple. We took off our shoes and crossed stairs to reach doors. There were many doors covered with wooden frilled curtains which looked very beautiful. We entered from one of the doors and I found myself astonished by seeing gigantic idols of Lord Buddha with others. Temple was very beautiful from inside ,full of golden color ,so serene. We sat there for sometime. Shreyansh clicked some photos ( photography is allowed ). Actually I had seen many bikers tying a string of colored flags on their handles and I wanted that for our bikes too. So, I investigated two shops in courtyard but they didn't have it for bikes. We came out from there and then left for hotel. While we were passing by a stall on road I saw some bizarre fruit. I immediately pressed break and purchased Ramphal.
While we came back, others were ready but Aquib said he needs to reach home by evening ( due to some official work). I calculated 6-7 hours and thought we will miss to visit few places. So, we rushed and since river rafting was 75 km away we thought of drop it off ( anyway I had already experienced it in Rishikesh ). We sipped tea after checking out from hotel and rushed back to Madikeri to visit places. Though day was bright but while driving between greenery I was able to feel little chillness. Our first target was Madikeri Fort. It is said that Madikeri fort was build by Mudduraja in 17th century. This was our first visit to Madikeri town and while entering ,sight on the right side of town brisked my joy of journey. Hill was full of greenery and beautiful buildings ( which I had seen only in pictures ). Ibn Battuta of my inside was very happy! We reached to the place where Mr. Google was showing that we are in fort. But only thing that I was able to see was busy road on my right side and a hilly way to upwards on my left side. Aquib got down from bike and asked one person. We were supposed to go to hilly path. While me and Aquib were deciding not to take bikes there ,Sarjit raced his bike and in few seconds he was out of sight like a daredevil. Me and Aquib smiled ( we were habitual of his style ) and parked our bikes under a tree. Me ,Shreyansh and Aquib walked 100-200 meters to reach main gate of Fort where Sarjit was waiting for us under a group of trees. "Come oldies come" he tried to be sarcastic but I didn't give a damn. Fort is nothing but a group of building surrounded by old but strong wall. Campus has a pair of statues of black elephants, some trees, a big Palace, few other buildings, and very strong looking wall ( containing a temple inside). We sat there for some time ( though frankly telling I was not too impressed with place) and ate oranges and ramphal. Later I found on internet that ramphal is very helpful for cancer.
Our next target was Raja's seat. It is said that it looks beautiful if we visit at sun rise. When we reached place was full of crowd. It was looking like some park at top of the hill. We parked our bikes and a capped man emerged from somewhere to charge INR 30 for 3 bikes. Sometimes I think do they really care for any of the bikes? Why we are supposed to pay for non-government parking? Anyways, Shreyansh gave money, took receipt ( of safety of bikes...huh). Raja's seat has some entry fees and after paying it we entered. It was like some ordinary park ( with a small building to sit inside)till we crossed systematically trimmed grass and plants. Though I should accept that I noticed a toy train on my left hand side of park but I should also accept that I consider myself as a matured man, so, I looked at Sarjit to check if he was interested in toy train but he also tried to look matured ( cheater!!! ) and we moved forward. After reaching to a point where we thought it is end of park, I saw that actual beauty! So, we were on hill and I saw green cliffs in front of me. There were stairs on my right hand side and I rushed through them to feel the beauty till my satisfaction. This place was also crowded with selfie freaks. When I got down of all stairs I saw ultimate scenic beauty. There was an arch type concrete platform from where we can see hills, farms and beautiful fauna around us. On our left side there was a desire path to go to the last of the hill where I saw few couples were enjoying! While I was busy in watching greenery Sarjit, Aquib and Shreyansh were busy in clicking selfies. We spent some time there and then left!
Raja's Seat
Google showed golden temple as a tourist spot in Madikeri also but later when Shreyansh confirmed with few localites they confirmed that temple is same which we visited in Namdroling Monastry in Kushalnagar. It was about 12 in the noon and we had to leave by 3 so, we planned to visit Nisargadhama which is around 3-4 kilometers from Kushalnagar. We stopped at a hotel for lunch ( where I purchased locally made soaps also ) and then at around 1.30 PM we reached Nisargadhama.
Nisargadhama
While we came back, others were ready but Aquib said he needs to reach home by evening ( due to some official work). I calculated 6-7 hours and thought we will miss to visit few places. So, we rushed and since river rafting was 75 km away we thought of drop it off ( anyway I had already experienced it in Rishikesh ). We sipped tea after checking out from hotel and rushed back to Madikeri to visit places. Though day was bright but while driving between greenery I was able to feel little chillness. Our first target was Madikeri Fort. It is said that Madikeri fort was build by Mudduraja in 17th century. This was our first visit to Madikeri town and while entering ,sight on the right side of town brisked my joy of journey. Hill was full of greenery and beautiful buildings ( which I had seen only in pictures ). Ibn Battuta of my inside was very happy! We reached to the place where Mr. Google was showing that we are in fort. But only thing that I was able to see was busy road on my right side and a hilly way to upwards on my left side. Aquib got down from bike and asked one person. We were supposed to go to hilly path. While me and Aquib were deciding not to take bikes there ,Sarjit raced his bike and in few seconds he was out of sight like a daredevil. Me and Aquib smiled ( we were habitual of his style ) and parked our bikes under a tree. Me ,Shreyansh and Aquib walked 100-200 meters to reach main gate of Fort where Sarjit was waiting for us under a group of trees. "Come oldies come" he tried to be sarcastic but I didn't give a damn. Fort is nothing but a group of building surrounded by old but strong wall. Campus has a pair of statues of black elephants, some trees, a big Palace, few other buildings, and very strong looking wall ( containing a temple inside). We sat there for some time ( though frankly telling I was not too impressed with place) and ate oranges and ramphal. Later I found on internet that ramphal is very helpful for cancer.
Our next target was Raja's seat. It is said that it looks beautiful if we visit at sun rise. When we reached place was full of crowd. It was looking like some park at top of the hill. We parked our bikes and a capped man emerged from somewhere to charge INR 30 for 3 bikes. Sometimes I think do they really care for any of the bikes? Why we are supposed to pay for non-government parking? Anyways, Shreyansh gave money, took receipt ( of safety of bikes...huh). Raja's seat has some entry fees and after paying it we entered. It was like some ordinary park ( with a small building to sit inside)till we crossed systematically trimmed grass and plants. Though I should accept that I noticed a toy train on my left hand side of park but I should also accept that I consider myself as a matured man, so, I looked at Sarjit to check if he was interested in toy train but he also tried to look matured ( cheater!!! ) and we moved forward. After reaching to a point where we thought it is end of park, I saw that actual beauty! So, we were on hill and I saw green cliffs in front of me. There were stairs on my right hand side and I rushed through them to feel the beauty till my satisfaction. This place was also crowded with selfie freaks. When I got down of all stairs I saw ultimate scenic beauty. There was an arch type concrete platform from where we can see hills, farms and beautiful fauna around us. On our left side there was a desire path to go to the last of the hill where I saw few couples were enjoying! While I was busy in watching greenery Sarjit, Aquib and Shreyansh were busy in clicking selfies. We spent some time there and then left!
Raja's Seat
Google showed golden temple as a tourist spot in Madikeri also but later when Shreyansh confirmed with few localites they confirmed that temple is same which we visited in Namdroling Monastry in Kushalnagar. It was about 12 in the noon and we had to leave by 3 so, we planned to visit Nisargadhama which is around 3-4 kilometers from Kushalnagar. We stopped at a hotel for lunch ( where I purchased locally made soaps also ) and then at around 1.30 PM we reached Nisargadhama.
Nisargadhama
Just as we reached, Aquib noticed that a wire from front break of his bullet was hanging. We tried to fix this but couldn't. So we thought of visiting some mechanic and asked Shreyansh to purchase entrance tickets. In terms of geography, Nisargadhama is an island formed by holy river Kaveri. After ticket checker allowed is to enter, we passed by a hanging rope bridge. Greenish water under the bridge had a lot of fishes and few were so big. Boats were there and families were enjoying boating. Bridge was shaking so much and a self made ( or may be real) guard was shouting at visitors to cross bridge soon. Some snack's shops were also there. We saw deer, rabbits and peacocks. Basically this is a forest of bamboo tries ( other trees were sandalwood and teak, which I got to know when I googled ). We walked around and after few hundred meters, we heard some hustle and bustle. We followed it and soon we discovered flowing water and people were bathing. It was so crowded there so we moved on to find some less crowded ( obviously it's hard to find no man's land at such beautiful place ) place. After walking for some time, finally we found a place where there were less people and water was little deep. I don't know why but water attracts me a lot and same happened here. In a few minutes I had only boxer and vest on my body. I saw others and Aquib and Shreyansh weren't interested to have fun. But, as always, Sarjit was ready to be my partner in crime. We slowly moved and tried to understand the deepness. To be frank I am half trained swimmer and Sarjit doesn't knows at all, so we were very careful. But later we realized that was was shallow and full of stones. We spent some time there and came out of it. Aquib asked us to get ready while he left to search for some mechanic since we had to ride a long distance and it was dangerous to ride a bike with break problem.
While we came out of the place, Aquib called and told it can't be repaired. So we decided to leave early!
Though we missed Dubare Elephant Camp and few falls like Iruppu but it was a memorable trip! Thinking to visit this beauty again we left to reach our own... Bangalore : the beautiful!
Pictures Credit : Shreyansh
Trip Credit : Aquib , Sarjit
While we came out of the place, Aquib called and told it can't be repaired. So we decided to leave early!
Though we missed Dubare Elephant Camp and few falls like Iruppu but it was a memorable trip! Thinking to visit this beauty again we left to reach our own... Bangalore : the beautiful!
Pictures Credit : Shreyansh
Trip Credit : Aquib , Sarjit
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Twitter: @Tomar_official
Twitter: @Tomar_official
