A BIKE JOURNEY OF FOUR FRIENDS ( 5 STATES AND 2605 KM)

AJ in Thekkady

     I am Azam, living in Gadwal Town, Mahabubnagar (Dist), Telangana State. In My life I traveled in trains, buses, cars etc on longtime to see the different places of India. But I never traveled before on bike for long journey. now a days due to some hard work I feel very bored here. so i thought that I have to do something different for kick in my life. subsequently i gathered three more friends Ravi, Narendhar, Venkat Reddy. we discussed about a long bike trip. then finally we started a Motor Bike trip on two bikes from Gadwal to Kerala which is nearly 2600 km in 6-7 days.

            "Kerala"!! (Gods own Country) this is one word we have been using each time we meet. This is one trip all of us have been dreaming of since along time. moreover it now seems practical too."

       This plan is for 6-7 days in Kerala. of course it is just a rough plan and things are bound to change dynamically.  

Road map of Kerala

Day I (Gadwal to Salem) :

    This trip started at 5:45 AM which sun is still not visible on 29th November 2014 from Gadwal (Telnagana State) after 25 kms we had break for tea at Itikyal Village then we drives the bikes up to Dhone (Andhra pradesh) at 8:00AM. here we had Breakfast in a Restaurant with Dosa and poori. then we started our journey.. after some hours we entered in Karnataka State which is 3rd state today. we reached Bangalore city at 2:30 PM and had Lunch in Kabab Magic Hotel with Good spicy Food. then we crossed this and entered in Hosur (Tamilanadu) here we have taken a Tea Break around 6:00PM after two and half hours journey we reached salem. which is a one of the big city in Tamilanadu. but when we are about 68 kms away from salem small rain drops are fallen. but luckily its not converted into heavy rain. i have to say thanks to god because we are traveling on bikes. First day we covered totally 665 kms distance. after dinner we check in a Hotel Annapurna which is center of Salem.

Day 2 (Salem  to Munnar) :

           After checkout of the hotel around 8:00AM on 30 November 2014 we had Tea and started our journey to Munnar. we taken a break for Tiffin in Bhavani at 9:00AM further we travel to Palladam  and had a Lunch here. we drive via Udalpet village which is 72 km away from Munnar there is a Forest Check Point in this point we entered our names in their Register and signed for entry in Kerala Forest. while My friend told hey we entered in Kerala Border. Its amazing. This 72 km of driving is difficult because In some places the roads were little narrow and have long curves but good and mot arable.

Munnar Roads

          "Munnar will be the first place we will explore in Kerala. I hope the weather will be great since this is one of the most scenic hill station in India. There is a doorway to heaven and I can tell you now it looks like heavenly swirls of clouds passing beneath you, amidst the greens and vast mountains. Also luscious reds and purples, beautiful flowers with shade of yellow and pink. Munnar is wildlife paradise. make sure you take a camera to capture this classic beauty. A walk around the place is something you wouldn't want to miss when you are at Munnar. Nature at best and sync with all universal beauty.. that is Munnar."         

In Munnar

After reaching Munnar city center at evening both of us were hungry then we went to Tandoor Hotel and had Tandoori roti, Chiken and Gopi fry. The quantity was enough for us. Munnar city center is little crowded and concentrated. Hotels there are cheap but since we wanted to stay a little closer to nature so we choose Hotel Green which is a little far from the city center and as we had two bikes with us. so communication was never a headache. 

Day 3 (Around Munnar to Kumily) :

After tiffin with Kerala Special Appam we drive early as usual around 8:00AM. Our first stop was Photo point here we taken some photos because here Tea plantations are very nice and can observe all sides was greenary. Next stop was Mattupetty Dyam. Its a very big lake and looks very beautiful as well as boating facilities are also available for tourists. we crossed the dam for Next destination was Eacho Point, Its a lovely lake with lot of fog. here we ate some fruits and moves to kundala lake.

We are with Old Women Mary

           From kundala Lake we went to Top Station. Its nearly 6500 foots above from sea level. by the way it is in Tamilanadu. and the view is stunning from here. there are hundreds of unbelievable and mind blowing scenaries are there. I thought that we came to a new planet on Hill station. on there we are in between clouds. here all mountains are covered by huge fog. Afternoon heavy rain has fallen. while we reached the place which is our bikes was parked. we observed that  one old women covered our two bikes and bags with plastic covers. so we buy different types of fruits from that old women named Mary. She is very kindly and pretty so further we given to her some money for protecting our bags from rain.  

Top Station View

Crops in Munnar Valley

   
       We return from Top station and drive nearly 30 kms in rain. so we are all wet. further we stopped our bikes at nearly lake and entered in a hotel for lunch. Hotel owner is very nice person he arrange so many kerala food Items for us. they are very tasty like home food.



       after reaching Munnar city center evening at 4:00PM we started our journey to Kumily. This way was very dangerous between the mountains. we reached the kumily around 8:00PM. we check in Hotel and had dinner beside the hotel further we stayed overnight there. 

Day 4 ( Kumily-Thekkady-Kollam) :

    

Periyar Wild Life sanctuary - Thekkady

Our Fourth day we went to Thekkady which is 5 km away from kumily. when entering in Periyar Wild life sanctuary we paid Rs.250 amount for entry tickets for us and also for our bikes. It is a one of the most unique sanctuaries in India. here boat ride is available in the lake. which is situated in the middle of the forest. The boat rides are open throughout the day, but the probability of spotting wild animals is the most in early morning or in the late evening.

      

Kollam Beach

Afternoon we started our journey to Kollam city via Trivendram Highway. after very long journey we reached Kollam city on evening 6:00PM. we check in a Hotel room and had dinner in Restaurant with Fish fry, Chicken, Gopi Items. consequently late nights we  visit the kollam city on our bikes. Its nice and memorable night for us.

 Day 5 ( Kollam- Alleppey-Coimbatore) :

In Boat

 Early morning 6:45 AM we went to Kollam beach and had Coffee there. The beach is very peaceful, so many people and walking, breathing fresh air beside the beach. Its simply nice to watch. we spend sometime there after that we are ready to go alleppey from Kollam. up to alleppey we just taken only one break. we arrived there at 10:00 AM.
       

At Photo Point - Munnar

After enter in Alleppey city center we decided to head to the Alleppey beach. that probably the only other tourism attraction available. since the beach was at the other end of the city. There was not much of crowd so we spent two hours or so there-feelings the sand and waves on out feet and taking some customary beach pictures. At beach one person met and describe about boating on backwaters. after some discussion with him he agree to give his boat for 2 hours rent in Backwaters.  
       

Alleppey Back Water

on bikes we reached the backwaters of alleppey which is a boat station available. In boat we spent more than two hours. It is a awesome experience and it was a relaxation tour among very beautiful water scenaries. on there we have breathtaking memories. And the Backwaters of kerala are the perfect gift of nature to enjoy this very feeling. In Backwaters we had lunch in Hotel with rarely availabe Kerala fish which is each fish cost is Rs.350.
                On evening we started our drive to Coimbatore via cochin. after some hours journey while we are crossing Cochin we saw some places there. subsequently again we start our drive to coimbatore and arrived at 10:00 PM and checked in a Hotel which is beside of Main Road in Coimbatore and stayed overnight there.


 Day 6 ( Coimbatore - Kadiri) :

At Munnar with Foreigners

        Early morning after check out from hotel we started our return journey to Bhavani. In this town we changed the oil  and had some minor repairs to our Bikes with local  mechanic. From Bhavani we reahced Kuppam (AP) via Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri(TN) at afternoon 3:00PM. and lastly we reach Kadiri (AP) via Palamaneru around 9:00PM. we had dinner in Annapurna Hotel and check in a Hotel and stayed overnight there.

 Day 7 (  Kadiri - Gadwal via Kurnool ) :

            

In Alleppey Beach

After checkout hotel room directly we drive to Ananthapuram (90kms) from Kadiri without any break. we had tiffin in Ananthapuram and again we are continue our journey to Gadwal via Kurnool at 1:00PM.
      One of the main purposes of this trip is that it should be laid back trip. We got innumerable moments and kerala has given the perfect gift of nature to enjoy the very feeling. 
     " Finally we have successfully completed. Our kerala trip distance is exactly 2605 kms. Hence I have to say special thanks to my friends Samar and Fayaz Baig who is given us good support to successfully complete this trip."
        
I hope my next trip will be on bicycle... It should be next year in Europe... 

Our Kerala Trip Photos