The ride from Kanyakumari to Poovar backwaters can be described as highly scenic, to say the least. I kept riding past paddy fields, green hills, lakes, rubber plantations and a million coconut trees for close to two hours with the Arabian Sea making a guest appearance once in a while along this route. Poovar is at the confluence of the sea and the backwaters, making it naturally beautiful. Time to put my spouse’s Club Mahindra resort membership to use, even if it was only for a night. The property was located at the edge of the backwaters in a calm and serene setting. By the time I reached this place it was almost sunset. I barely had light to explore the resort but whatever I saw was immensely beautiful and etched in my mind. After spending a few minutes by the backwaters, I ventured out to a local restaurant for dinner. Mind you, I have a daily budget to adhere to so being frugal is part of the game plan. Post dinner I returned to my cozy hut, filled with every modern amenity, for a night’s slumber.
Day 3 Describing mornings in Kerala is beyond words. Waking upto the sounds of birds chirping, water flowing and melodious devotional music you can feel your heart smiling. If only every morning can be as refreshing as this! I was slowly getting comfortable with the routine of arranging things in my tail bag, knowing exactly what goes in where. Or so I thought until I found better ways to manage the space as days passed. After completing the flight check list and bidding adieu to the kind resort staff, I commenced the ride towards the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. The ride plan was to go upto Palakkad, a city at a distance of 360 kms, along the coast of the Arabian Sea for most part of the journey. I got to know about a local festival at Attingal and was told to expect a lot of traffic. As such it was a two laned densely populated highway, any traffic will only delay me further. Also, helmet mounted cameras are strictly not allowed in Kerala, so I was cautious to keep it inside my bag just after I reached the main highway. I rode past the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram with considerable ease and the Attingal traffic was negligible, not bad as people claimed it will be. Except for a few bridges with big fishing boats, it was a highway run for most part of the journey. The new Alleppey bypass gives you a glimpse of the sea and its white sandy beach from the road. The city of Kochi greeted me with a few bridges and sparse traffic. I stopped for lunch at an Arabian restaurant just after the famous Lulu mall. Though it wasn’t summer yet, it was still hot and humid. I had to quench my thirst with fresh sugarcane juice along the way. Crossed the impressive Kuthiran tunnel and reached the hotel in Palakkad town around 4 P.M.
Stepped out for dinner after doing my laundry, yes I had to do the laundry myself (remember the ‘frugal budget’ statement). Dinner comprised of super soft Kerala parrotas and egg curry in an old restaurant.
Day 4 After a fulfilling breakfast at the hotel, I was on my way towards Tamilnadu once again. I had an appointment with the Adi Yogi at the base of the Vellayangiri hills. I’d seen many pictures and videos of this place but never been there. It was a detour from my route towards Karnataka, but it was worth it. Upon reaching the border of TN, I was able to get the action camera back on the helmet again. The road to the Adi yogi statue is a two laned village road with coconut plantations on either side. Once you enter the ashram, you are greeted with cobbled roads, like the ones in Italy, all the way to the parking lot. I got the first glimpse of the impressive statue just before the parking area. As expected the place was serene and had a meditative calmness to it. I lost track of time and spent a good hour here.
It was noon by the time I was back on the highway towards Bangalore. The Coimbatore bypass road is two laned with a few tollgates and traffic lights . Once you cross this stretch it becomes a beautiful six lane highway till Avinashi before becoming a four lane stretch all the way upto Bangalore. After a brief pitstop for lunch and another short break for refreshments, I reached Bangalore around sunset. Time for a tyre and oil change, scheduled for the following day.
To be continued…
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