hiwayREBELS: 3 days of adventure – Ride to Kakabe and Bisle Ghat

Its 7AM on day 2, I got out of the tent and saw it was a beautiful morning. We never knew where we had camped until morning. The view was beautiful with the hills and valleys and the fog filling the valleys like whipped cream.

Mystic Hills

7 AM

The sun was already out and i must capture the scene in my camera before the scene fades away. I am no good photographer, so the photos may not speak much of what my eyes see. May be a DSLR camera will help?

Pic added by Rubert. Hubert is not a photographer???

Rubert got up just now and its time for a hot cup of tea. We made fire and used the vessel we had brought with us to heat some water for the tea. The tea is brewed and cheers! Today’s plan is go to Talacauvery first and see the place where the river Kauvery originates. Then head towards Bisle Ghat.

Here is the complete route of our trip:
View Larger Map

We packed the tent and all our stuff, which took a lot of time that i thought, and strapped them to our bikes and headed for the Kakabe village for breakfast.

Ready to roll

The road to Talacauvery was in good shape. The roads wind through hill sections and was like a treat to us. On the way we met a solo rider who was exploring Coorg on his Royal Enfield. He told us that he had been following us on day one on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. He was returning from Talacauvery and heading to Irupu falls and Rajiv Gandhi national park.

Rubert with a solo rider

One gloved man!!!

The view from the road side was beautiful and demands us to stop and photographs to be taken. As we rode these beautiful roads little we knew that the Talacauvery is a pilgrimage place and will be crowded like the Brigade road!

Road to Talacauvery.

The View from Talacauvery

It was a disappointment at Talacauvery because we had so much luggage on the bike which we can’t leave behind in the road or we can’t remove our foot wear. All it mattered to us is the ride, so we decided to head to Bisle Ghat.

Discussion about route.

Taken by a strange photographer!

As we were riding through the roads less travelled towards Sulya I was starting to feel tired all of a sudden. So we pulled over and we simply laid flat on the road. I wonder when i lied down on the floor in my house. There were trees all over the place and the climate was cool, so we hung up there resting and munching snacks.

Such a smooth road. loved it!

Rest time

The roads are a treat for any rider wanting to scrape his foot pegs. Its no exception for us. But this time we wanted to try and capture the moment. So here’s a picture of Rubert doing his usual stunt, making Chappathi as his biker friends call it.

Rubert.

On the way to Chemberi the road winds through the hill sections so beautifully. If only the roads are little more better then it will satisfy those who wants to ride in the Isle Of Man TT. On the way there was a “mini waterfall”. The water was so cool and refreshing for a drink.

The one by the the stream.

Chemberi is a town near the Kerala-Karnataka border, I think it’s officially in Kerala, since we crossed the Checkpost. There was a small hotel run by a woman from the village. The food was Kerala style, with brown rice, curd curry and fish fry. The best part was the food costed us just Rs 60.

a hotel at Panathoor

We are running behind schedule by now. We were supposed to reach Bisle Ghat and camp in there. It was already 4:30pm and we are still to even reach Sulya which is like 30 km away. The problem is not the distance but the winding roads ensure that we cant keep pace, however enjoyable it is. Add to the hill roads the bad condition of the road and our the scenery which calls for a break.

Nice ride

Extreme roads

Extreme roads 2

Since we were only two of us we had the liberty to pull over wherever we liked to. Here is one such break that i like to call the Coke break on the way to Sulya.

The Coke efffect

Suddenly out of the blue, lots of children in their blue school uniform arrived on the scene. Few of the boys, who would be bikers like us in future, stayed back for a chat and get to know us and the bikes. Then we waved them good bye and started rolling towards Sulya.

Sulya is a small but busy town in Karnataka, with wonderful people. The people here spoke Malayalam which was surprising. Many of them knew multiple language. Somehow we managed with our little Kannada and Malayalam we know throughout this trip. It was fun. It also gave me a reason to learn Kannada more.

Sulia's busy main street

The sun is setting now. We decided we will stay in a Lodge in Sulya itself instead of camping. That gives us a relief from pitching the tent and all those huddles. We treated ourselves well in Sulya, starting with a nice cool shower and the some tea and snack watching over the bustling main street of Sulya.

Sun setting on day 2

cheers!

Hi Tea

When it was fully dark we went around the town for some souvenirs. I felt except food everything else was expensive there. Take for example, clothing. The cost was as much as that of Soch in Bangalore. Sure the clothing was unique, with the local touch. So Married Guys, when you go to Sulya be sure to buy clothing from here for your lady. She will like it.

We bought our dinner from a hotel opposite our Lodge. Kerala Parota, Chicken Curry, Mathi Fish fry are the order for the night. The fish fry was so good that we went back to the hotel for even more. The best part again is our dinner costed a mere Rs 100.

Resting

What's next.

After food we took a walk around town as people started to settled down for the night. A fifteen minute walk brought us from one end of the town to the other.