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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

A Bull ride

The sun was gearing up to recommence his day at work. Chirping all along, birds winged out of their nests. Like wandering souls, I and VJ (Vijayananda SB) set out for an enthralling journey for the next two days on his red bull, a 350cc Royal Enfield. After initial hitches, synchronized with the swiftness of breeze, we were on our path to a serene place, Coorg. Better known as Kodagu, it is one among many attractive geographical locations in Karnataka.


Route for two wheelers: Bangalore – Mysore – Hunsur – Gonikoppa – Ponnampet – Kutta – Sreemangala (homestay). Two wheelers are not allowed inside the forest range. It takes 40 more kms to reach Nagarhole via this route.
Route for four wheelers: Bangalore – Mysore – Hunsur – Nagarhole – Sreemangala (homestay). No vehicles will be allowed after 5:15 PM.

Our first break was at Maddur to end our overnight fast. Crispy Masala Dosa and Maddur vada was the common preference for our platter. From here, smooth roads greeted us all the way till we reached Hunsur. Next stretch of about 40 kms, till Gonikoppa, was rough & bumpy. It was tough for me, the pillion rider. VJ, please add more cushion on your bull.

Ten of our friends who had reached Coorg a night earlier were waiting for our arrival at a hotel near Sreemangala. We had booked our accommodation at pristine homestay, 2 kms from here. It was an hour past noon as we finished our lunch and headed towards Nagarhole National park.

Known for its numerous streams, dense forest, valleys and waterfalls, it is also declared as one of the several tiger reserves. Indian bison and Elephants are highly populated in this region. We considered ourselves lucky to have spotted many elephants and a few bisons, if not the tigers. Safari timings: 6 AM to 8 AM and 3 PM to 5 PM.
Nagarhole
Bonfire music dance and delicious dinner followed by a lengthy chat was the order of the night. Around midnight we allowed angels of sleep take over our tired souls. Next morning we were to visit Irupu falls.
Irupu falls/ Tea estate
Beautifully maintained by forest department and also the temple trust, Irupu is a fascinating place. A small trail leads to the concrete steps which will take us to the water fall. As we saw a thin layer of gushing water hitting the ground, a sense of joy prevailed. In no time both of us stripped to bare minimum clothes to let biting cold water to peck our face and then our entire figure. I don’t have enough words to express the joy I had at that very moment. Marvelous!

Little did we know that our enthusiastic expedition of Irupu would be cramped by unpleasant episodes of ignorance? We had committed two sins, please note sins, while we entered Irupu premises. First, we had violated the visitor timings. And the major of the two, we had parked our bull in extremely dangerous parking lot, that is the dense forests. It was only then I realized that ignorance is bliss. We ignored these two facts and experienced bliss. Now it was time to repent. We were made to pay a fine of 500 rupees and let go. Apart from the fine we were looked at as aliens by the kids who lived in the surroundings. Feels good :-)

Our next destination was a lone tea estate in the coffee dominated area. After taking some photographs it was time for us to head back. I believe pursuit is always longer. This was apparent while returning since we took lesser time. Clock ticked fifteen minutes past six when VJ smiled and said it was a nice time.

36 comments:

  1. Such vacations are so refreshing. You should post more photos here Mak. I wish I can explore the place like you guys did...

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    1. Posting photos on blogger takes a lot of time Saru. Will put some more soon. Thank you :)

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  2. That is as rejuvenating a post as your expedition. Well-narrated too. All thumbs up!

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  3. Wow Mak.. Wat a nice experience!! I wish to have been there too!! I lived the two days with your words!! Too good narration!!Your sins forgiven!!!:)

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    1. BTW wats the eatable in the hotpot?? Could not guess it??

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    2. I am glad that you liked this Echu. Indeed we had a great vacation out there.

      It is a dish prepared in rice (kadabu) for breakfast at the homestay. Served hot with vegetable curry. Very delicious.

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  4. Your pictures are alive, i could see so much just staring at them :)

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    1. Pictures do speak a lot Ghazala ji. I wish i had a few more posted here. Thank you for your visit :)

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  5. Always wanted to visit Coorg. Never got a chance so far. Hey Mak, whats that in the pic next to the moon?

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  6. I am sure you will enjoy visiting coorg Jaish. Very beautiful place.

    It is rice kadabu :) hope you know it? (rice balls)

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    1. Nopes, Have no idea. These parts of Asia you get similar looking white round food stuff, made of fish. Have only seen it as I am vegetarian :) Kadabu is something new to me...People of Coorg have a very unique way of tying the saree rt?

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    2. Yes Jaish, Coorgis wear saree in a unique traditional fashion. They look so so beautiful. During weddings they do dance which is a treat to watch. I missed attending one of those weddings recently :(

      This dish which i mentioned is made of rice. During your next visit to India, include coorg too :)

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  7. I visited Irupu falls twice.You enjoy even more if you go for trekking in jungle. Plan for it...and don't forget to invite us for trekking.

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    1. I have been trekking many a times with overnight camps. Enjoy them.
      Sure will plan something next year Dee :)

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  8. Excellent EXCELLENTTTTTTTTTTt , reminds me of my trip long time back from chandigarh to ahmedabad :) and the bike rides uphill..

    planning to go to chicago sometime end of year and drive to Vancouver via Toronto .. 7 days of pure riding on a harley

    but BULLET is BULLET MERI JAAN , manzilon ka nishaan

    I imported the Enfield here in uk..

    Bikram's

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    1. Thank you Bik :)

      Oooohhh 7 days of bliss. I am waiting to read & see your pictures of that journey of yours on Harley. Enjoy

      I have read in one of your comments about you importing your bullet. You are living your passion out there Bik. Nice to know.

      Bullet meri jaan :) sahi hai sir

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    2. And sir ji If I am not wrong .. Happy birthday to you.. I told you i will remember it :)

      many happy returns of the day

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    3. You are not at all wrong Bik. I am delighted with your wish. Thank you so much :)

      You made my day which was rather running on a dull note :) Thank you.

      From now on i will not address you as 'sir' so that you won't call me the same :) it makes me feel older :) lol

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  9. Wow Mak! what super pics and a wonderful write:) Loved it all..and want some more..please:):)

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    1. Pictures being appreciated by a versatile photographer is indeed an honor. Thank you so much Amit sir :)
      Sure will post more photos on this soon.

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  10. Ah..too good to be felt..i can just imagine how nice it would have been in reality.Have you clicked the pics yourself?

    an awesome description there :)

    P.S.-I know i know i am really late but i'll read all :P

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    1. Hi Alcina, pardon my late reply.

      Yeah, it was very amazing. :) A few photos were clicked by my friend VJ too.

      Thank you for assuring me that :) please read soon.

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  11. Amazing experience Mak! And you narrated it so wonderfully with such gorgeous pictures :) Enjoyed my ride to Coorg here... you should definitely post more of your travelogues often, I would love to read them all :)

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    1. Ah Arti :) This is so incredible. An international traveller praising my travelogue. An honor my dear :) Thank you so so much.

      Much more coming soon, for sure :)

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  12. Replies
    1. It tasted even more delicious Ajeya :)

      Pundi is the dish name??? oh thank you for that information.

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  13. I have been to Coorg :) I did not know about the dense forests :) I like the coffee there!

    love
    http://www.meghasarin.blogspot.com

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    1. Yeah Megha, Coorg is known for finest coffee. You must visit again :)
      Thank you for being here. A pleasure to have a beautiful lady here :)

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  14. Exciting trip, eh. :)
    Did you get to have some traditional Kodava food at the homestay? (Kodamputtu and Pandicurry, maybe?)

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    1. It was indeed very exciting D :) Taking bath at Irupu early in the morning was awesome.

      We did have those rice balls (in the pic) for breakfast. I think that was the only traditional kodava dish we had. Will visit again to have that :)
      Thank you D :) Delighted with your presence here.

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  15. Thar was a refreshing travelogue!

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    1. Thank you Deepak sir. It was indeed an exciting expedition.

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  16. I am extremely impressed along with your writing abilities, Thanks for this great share.

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  17. I certainly agree to some points that you have discussed on this post. I appreciate that you have shared some reliable tips on this review.

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