In the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai, the song “Bandeh” by Indian Ocean suddenly makes lot of sense.

The lyrics of this beautifully written song are-

“Are ruk ja are thum ja

Are ruk ja re bandhe are thum ja re bandhe ki kudrat has padegi ho – 3

Are neendein hai jakhmi

Are sapne hai bhooke

Ki karvat phat padegi ho

Are ruk ja re bandhe are thum ja re bandhe ki kudrat has padegi ho – 2

Are mandir ye chup hai are masjid ye gumsum

Ibadat thak padegi ho

Samay ki lal aandhi kabristan ke raaste

Are latpath chalegi ho

Are ruk ja re bandhe are thum ja re bandhe ki kudrat has padegi ho – 2

Kise kafir kahega kise kayar kahega

Teri kab tak chalegi ho

Kise kafir kahega kise kayar kahega

Teri kab tak chalegi ho

Are ruk ja re bandhe are thum ja re bandhe ki kudrat has padegi ho – 2

Are mandir ye chup hai are masjid hai gumsum

Ibadat thak padegi ho

Samay ki lal aandhi kabristan ye raste

Are latpath chalegi ho

Are ruk ja re bandhe are thum ja re bandhe ki kudrat has padegi ho – 2

Are neendein hai jakhmi are sapne hai bhooke

Ki karvat phat padegi ho

Yeh andhi chot teri Kabhi ki sukh jaati

Magar ab pak chalegi”

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Sometime back I had introduced the concept of Binaryman- a superhero who helps programmers in need. In our Hindu mythology we have millions of Gods. Infact it is said that the cow has 360 million Gods in her; hence she is worshipped and considered to be sacred.There is a God for every possible thing that exists in the nature. But I have never heard of a Travel God.

Travel God doesn’t have any form. In hierarchy He is above all the weather Gods like the Wind God, Sun God etc. He controls all of them. His symbols are magnetic compass, Ipod and Digi-Camera…I must a say He is a gadget savvy God. Like our Lord Ganesha’s vehicle (vāhana) is a mouse our Travel God’s vāhana is an Enfield Bullet J.

 

Travel God is the one who takes care of travel freaks, who guides a traveller in his/her trips, treks and journey and helps travelers facing problems. Before a journey we should always pray to the beloved Travel God. Many times in our trips we say that “..and things just fell into place”. Have you ever wondered how and why these things simply “fall into place”? It’s because He is controlling them, the way we wants it to be. I remember once we had been to Munnar and it was raining heavily for the past two days. The moment we reached it stopped raining and the weather suddenly became very pleasant..idle for exploring places in and around Munnar. Even our guide said that it was the best weather of the season. Now why this happened? It’s only because Travel God was pleased with us…and that is very important. Travel God should always be pleased. He can be unhappy for even the silliest act like eating Paneer Butter Masala in a place like Goa. Always remember to follow the philosophy of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” to keep Him happy. He expresses his displeasure in different ways, like you might find your vehicle punctured and no one nearby for help or else finding yourself trapped in a traffic jam. For a safe and sound journey, the next time, show respect and have faith in Him.

Binaryman was supposed to be a ficticious concept, but Travel God exists, and I firmly believe in him.

“Kerala”!! This is one word we have been using each time we meet. This is one trip all of us have been dreaming of since a long time. Moreover it now seems practical too . Three factors that motivated this blog-

1. I have lots of time in office. I spend almost 7 hours doing nothing..believe me its an art to enjoy this phase of life and not be bored at the same time.
   
2. Before my 2nd trip to Kerala in mid-may I researched a lot about the road maps, places to visit etc. in Kerala.
   
3. And Ofcourse the purchase of My dearest Ävi.
   

The first time we discussed about a road trip to Kerala was 2 years before. At that time I had a Splendour, Avadhut had his antique CD-100SS, Mukul was planning to buy a new bike and Anmol was as always stubborn for a bike trip and Manmit preferred a car/train trip. We had decided to go by Konkan railway and load our bikes in the train, roam the entire Kerala state on our bikes and then return back by train. But today things have changed, a 350cc Bullet, a 500cc Bullet and two Avengers (If Anmol is willing to bring his motorcycle) are more than willing to hit the national highways.

The plan is for 14 days in Kerala. Ofcourse it is just a rough plan and things are bound to change dynamically.

The basic outline for the plan is something like this.

Pune-Panaji-Mangalore-Munnar-Periyar-Alleppey-Trivandrum-Kanyakumari-Trivandrum-Kochi-Mangalore-Panaji-Pune

From	To		Activity	Day	Distance	Total Distance
Pune	Panaji		Bike ride	1	461	461
Panaji	Mangalore		Bike ride	2	402	863
Mangalore	Munnar		Bike ride	3	505	1368
Around Munnar	Around Munnar		Explore Munnar	4	100	1468
Reserve Day/ Optional Day. If everything goes fine then no need to wait in Munnar this day. But if stopped total days needed will be 14. However a stopover is recommended			Explore Munnar	5
Munnar		Periyar	Bike ride/ Explore Periyar in evening	5	110	1578
Periyar		Alleppey	Explore Periyar till afternoon/ Bike Ride	6	155	1733
Alleppey		Around Alleppey	Lazing in the backwaters	7	25	1758
Alleppey		Kanyakumari	Bike ride	8	244	2002
Kanyakumari		Trivandrum	Bike ride	8	87	2089
Around Trivandrum		Around Trivandrum	Explore Trivandrum/ Reserve or Rest Day	9	50	2139
Trivandrum		Kochi	Bike ride/ Explore Kochi in evening	10	220	2359
Kochi		Mangalore	Bike ride	11	402	2761
Mangalore		Panaji	Bike ride	12	402	3163
Panaji		Pune	Bike ride	13	461	3624
			Total Distance:	3624
			Misc	200
			Total Max distance to be covered in 13 days	3824

All distances are practical in a sense thinking of the highways traffic jams, weather conditions, offroading and its consequences . I know it is easily possible to complete 700kms in a day thereby saving a day and we might even do that.

Day1: Pune to Panaji: Distance covered is 461kms.

 

NH-4 Road Map

 

Everytime we goto Goa it is from the Kolhapur-Amboli-Sawantwadi route. However since we are interested in going to Panaji directly and not to Calangute, the route from Kolhapur to Panaji via Belgaum is the shortest.Till Belgaum we take NH-4 and then we turn towards Panaji to join NH-17.

 

Day2: Panaji to Mangalore: Disatance covered is 505kms.

 

NH-17 Road Map

It’s riding only on the NH-17. Seems to be a beautiful ride through coastal Karnataka.What I like most of such bike trips is not just visiting the places but the travel time too.

 

However there is a high probability that we will cross Karwar on the first day itself. Karwar is about 550kms from Pune.

 

Day3: Mangalore to Munnar: Disatance covered is 402kms.

 

Mangalore (Mangaluru) to Munnar Road Map

 

Till Calicut we still continue to ride on NH-17. From Calicut onwards we turn in the interiors of Kerala towards Idukki district for Munnar.

Now the real journey starts. 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 hillstation in India.

 

The route is Mangalore – Kasargod – Kangangad – Neeleswaram – Payyannur – Thalipparambu – Cannanore – Thalassery Mahe – Vadakara – Quilandy – Calicut – Kottackal – Kuttippuram – Edappal – Trichur – Chalakudy – Angamalli – Kalady – Perumbavoor – Muvattupuzha – Kothamangalam – Adimalli – Munnar

 

Day4: Explore Munnar and complete rest. Our biker souls will need a much deserved rest and Munnar seems to be the most idyllic place for that. There are thousand of spots in Munnar and I hope we cover almost all the major ones. I am expecting just 100kms this day exploring around Munnar since rest is on top priority.

 

Day5: I recommend a rest/reserve day here. Or else one can also explore the unlimited beauty offered in God’s Own Country. For more info on Munnar click here http://wikitravel.org/en/Munnar

 

Day 5: Munnar to Thekaddy (Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary). Distance covered is 110kms.

 

Assuming that we don’t take a rest day because of some or the other reason then we head to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.This might turn out to be the best drive of the trip.Only 110kms, but the road takes you through dense forests, slopes cornenerd by waterfalls admist greenery. Since 110kms can be covered in just a few hours we get the whole of the evening for ourselves. We can shop in the bazaar and at the same time go for the boat ride in the evening in the Periyar lake. This is one of the most unique sanctuaries in India. Although the option of exploring the 777sq. km sanctuary by car /foot is always open; but still the most preferred means for exploring the sanctuary is the boat ride 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.

 

Munnar to Thekkady Road Map

 

Day 6: Periyar to Alleppey. Distance covered is 155kms.

 

Most of the tourist stay in a town called Kumily which is situated just next to the sanctuary. There are hotels inside the forest too, but they are expensive.

Periyar is also famous for its spice gardens and it offers guided tours to these gardens..but I am sure we might not be interested in it. There are shops which sell the best quality spices in India. Also lots of shops offer souvenirs made by the tribals/ locals. We can spend the morning shopping and visiting the park and then in the late evening we can set off for the land of backwaters- Alleppey. 155 kms by the side of the backwaters.. Oh!! I am simply going to love it.

 

Periyar to Alleppey Road Map

 

Day 7: Around Alleppey. Distance covered is 25 kms.

One of the main purposes of this trip is that it should be a laid back trip. There should be innumberable moments when we do nothing. And the backwaters of Kerala are the perfect gift of nature to enjoy this very feeling. I think we should dedicate one day to master the art of doing nothing. There are customized tours as per the need, as per the budget to fit the requirements of every tourist. There are backwater rides from 1 hour to a 3 day package.. from an AC 5 star boat to the most simplistic house boat (my personal fav.). I am looking forward to eat lots of fresh water fish here J

 

Day 8: Alleppey – Trivandrum- Kanyakumari- Trivandrum. Distance covered is 333kms.

 

Road map from Alleppey to Kanyakumari via Trivandrum (part of NH-47)

 

 

After being rejuvenated (MS-Word corrected the spelling for me ) at Alleppey it is time to reach our destination- Kanyakumari. Actually Kanyakumari and Trivendrum did not feature in my original Kerala plan since I was of the opinion that going till the southernmost point is too much of time consuming. However, I realized (after Mukul’s disapproval) that going to Kanyakumari is the biggest kick for keep the trip going.. I mean just the thought of reaching the southernmost point of India gives so much of satisfaction.

Drive till Kanyakumari is on NH-47 via Trivendrum. Once we reach Kanyakumari and after watching the Vivekanand Rock Memorial and the sunset I don’t think there is much to do here. We would have travelled only 244kms that day. Since Trivendrum is just 87kms it is better to return back to Trivendrum.

 

Day 9: Explore Trivendrum. Around 50kms

 

All capital cities have their own charm and so does this one. Kovalam beach is the most famous here. Eat, drink and a day dedicated for complete rest. We can also use this as a reserve day.

 

Day10: Trivendrum to Cochin. Distance covered is 220kms.

 

The only city left in the itinerary is Cochin. For that matter every part, every district of Kerala is worth a visit, but then we have only 14 days with us. Cochin can also be skipped and we can start our return journey from Trivendrum itself. If we reach Cochin we get time to shop and most important is we get time to bid a final goodbye L. Refer map of NH-47.

 

Day11: Cochin to Mangalore. Distance covered is 447kms.

447kms ride of pure bliss. The entire road is through coastal Kerala entring southern Karnataka.

 

Day12: Mangalore to Panaji: Disatance covered is 505kms.Repeat of Day2

 

Day13: Panaji to Pune. Distance covered is 461 kms. Repeat of Day1.

 

Refer to NH-17 road map.

 

Here is a distance chart © of the major cities we will try to cover

 

	PU	PN	ML	CO	MN	PE	AL	TR	KA
PU		461	863	1221	-	-	-	-	-
PN	461		402	842	-	-	-	-	-
ML	863	402		447	505
CO	1221	842	447		130	191	64	222	309
MN	-	-	505	130		110	191	146	843
PE	-	-	-	191	110		155	253	340
AL	-	-	-	64	191	155		157	246
TR	-	-	-	222	146	253	157		100
KA	-	-	-	309	843	340	246	100

 

PU- Pune

PN- Panaji

ML- Mangalore

CO- Cochin

MN- Munnar

PE- Periyar (Thekaddy)

AL- Alleppey

TR- Trivendrum

KA- Kanyakumari

 

I hope our (Manmit, Anmol and ofcourse myself) leaves are approved for the 2 week Kerala trip. Worst.. I sincerely wish that at least Mukul and Avadhut make this trip and use this post as a reference J.

We are planning to go after the 10^th day of Ganesh utsov..thats when the rains start to recede. Anant Chaturtithi(the 10^th day of Ganeshutsov is on 14^th Sept which is a Sunday.). I think 13-27 Sept seems to be the perfect time for the trip…

Note: In Kerala almost each town has two names, one in Mallu and the other in English (which the British Govt. kept since they couldn’t pronounce them)

Cities with the same name:

1. Alleppey and Alappuzha
   
2. Kochi and Cochin. Also Ernakulum is the also used. I dont exactly know which is used when…but all 3 are almost the same.
   
3. Calicut and Kozhikode
   
4. Trivandrum and Thiruvananthapuram
   
5. Mangalore and Mangaluru (in Karnataka).
   
6. Kanyakumari and Kanniyakumari
   
7. Moreover Periyar is not a district. The wildlife sanctuary is called by that name. But it is in the Thekkadi district and in a small town called as Kumily. So basically when I refer to Periyar it is actually Thekkadi. Kumily in some 4 kms from Thekkadi.
   

 

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website can be used by anyone..however I will love to see a “Thank You” comment. The distances might not be accurate and the spellings of some towns in Kerala might be atrocious. I hope the CPI (M) don’t go on a strike or order a ban on my blog.

PS: This is till date my most reasearched blog.

PPS: Most of the images are taken from http://mapsofindia.com and edited in MS-Paint (I love the simplicity of this tool). I have also used http://wikimapia.org extensively in my research. Although the former is a paid site I don’t intend to use the maps for any commercial purpose and use is only for personal research. I have used the distance calculator of http://www.kerala.com/distance.htm. I thank this website too. However the distance chart is not copy-pasted from any website as you might have assumed. It is done in a liscenced copy of MS Excel. The Microsoft Office Picture Manager comes handy for cropping and resizing the images.

PPPS: A big thanks for the testing team, QA Team, Client and everyone involved in testing our application and reporting 1 bug/3 days which has given me so much of time. And a bigger thanks to our team for coding the application in such a manner that there are hardly any bugs

I am a proud owner of Bajaj Avenger 200cc DTSi since 7th May. Already completed more than 1200kms …and I have already started this blog.
I love its header..

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Mom is staying with my maternal uncle since a few days and grandmom is staying with my eldest uncle. My dad is enjoying every bit of this never-found freedom . We were discussing our dinner place yesterday at around 5:30pm when dad suggested of ARDE’s (thats the place where my dad worked for 38 years) mess with my friends. This is one place all of us love. Don’t go by the word “mess”. It is a beautiful place next to the Pashan lake with a huge lawn area and a typical Defence mess atmosphere. Not to forget our dear Seema’s wedding reception was here.

By 8 we (dad, Manmit, Mukul and myself) reached there. We went straight to the bar. Since the last 20 years the same protocol is being followed. I follow my dad in the bar, my dad orders for a large peg of either rum or whiskey and I am given a soft drink with waffers or peanuts. But this time the protocol was programmed for an upgraded version. Dad first asked Mukul whether he will share a drink with him and expectedly Mukul nodded with excitement. We went to the bar. Manmit had told me he won’t drink a beer but will share a Vodka with me, if I was going to take it.

Mukul wanted a beer. However, it was not chilled. So dad asked him whether he would go for any hard drink. The bar tender said that he will serve the beer with ice cubes for which Mukul agreed. But dad was in some other mood. He made fun of Mukul that no one drinks beer with ice cubes. Still Mukul went ahead with the same plan. Then came the real big moment.

Dad: “Tu kay ghenar” (What you will have?)
Me: “Te kay aahe” (What is that?) .. pointing towards dad’s glass.
Dad: “Bacardi White Rum.. the best alcohol“.

I deserved an Oscar for my performance. I was acting like a batsman in a boxing arena. Then I asked for a Vodka. I had to… I had to break that thin wall some day.. and I did. My dad even asked me whether I had it before. I said “yes, sometimes we have it in our office parties”. I knew of dad’s perception of Software company parties. I said it because I didnt want dad to assume that we friends have it regularly. And as a matter of fact our maha-kanjoos company has never kept alcohol in any of its parties.

Little did dad knew that I had it in 12th Std. first. Hello, hello now don’t assume I have it regularly. We drink very rarely say once in a month or so… that makes it just 12 times in a year. (except for Goa trips ).

We took our glasses (btw Manmit also had vodka) and we went on the lawn with some chakna of shev. Now dad started talking on various issues ranging from caste system in India since the era of Shivaji, political scenario in India and slowly he moved to bolder topics like extra marital affairs and on characterless people. I think I should discuss topics of dad’s interests often.

Expectedly he asked us of our frequency of having drinks. Again I dismissed his assumptions that I rarely have it and I have started it after joining Satyam.

Then dad told me the real art of drinking vodka.

1. Pour Sprite/7up or Soda and water in a vodka peg.
2. Add lemon drops to it.
3. Cut open a green chilly vertically and add it to the glass.

I imagined the consequences of dad if mom comes to know of this . My dad also mentioned that Anmol won’t like the fact that he treated us in his absence. I hated this new-found respect for Anmol. He didn’t deserve it. Then dad continued by saying that whenever he has seen Anmol he is always with a different girl. We laughed on that.

Dad continued with 3 more pegs. We, like good boys didn’t ask for even the second peg. Mukul finished the entire beer bottle and we had 2 XXL plates of french fries and 2 plates of peanut and 1 plate of green salad for snacks. I feared for Mukul as we knew his capacity. Fortunately he was okay.

Another memorable evening, an evening when my relationship with my dad moved up one more level.

This weekend we went to a place suggested by Mukul. It was somewhere near Mulshi backwaters. As decided by us we are going to keep the details of the place a big secret.

We reached there on our bikes. The road was through semi-dense forests with steep mountains on one side and Mulshi backwaters on the other. Once we left the main Mulshi road we didnt see a single vehicle in the journey. Then came time for the last 1 km of the journey.. time for some serious offroading. The road(was there any??) was through bushes, large pebbles and stones.

We finally reached the place by around 9pm. Honestly I was totally chickened out. Imagine just 5 of us, on a secluded spot, totally disconnected from civilization. Bhajans were being played in the nearest village and I actually I liked it; felt a bit secure. We(rather everyone except me ) put the grill (which a simple steel mesh) on the stones placed around the small pit and in no time WOOOFFF .. the fire was all set. Immediately we started boiling water for the maggi and put some chicken pieces on the grill.

By mistake (remember–> BY MISTAKE) my legs touched the kerosene which was kept on the ground in a cup spilling it all. We had to use our bike petrol as fuel for cooking. I don’t know why these things happen with me. Once in Nagoan, Konkan we had searched for 45 mins for a shop selling Vodka, we purchased it for 50% more than MRP and just before having it in our hotel room I spilled it . Anyways my achievements deserve a separate post.

The chicken was awesome. A BIG THANKS to Mukul, especially bcoz even for Manmit’s sarcastic remarks he prepared it without any chid-chid. (although once he threw a little bit of tantrum by saying he wont do it, but calmed down in seconds ).

Anmol meanwhile tried his best to help him and to a certain extent did help Mukul. Talking about Anmol he has put a moustache which is really looking stupid on him.

We were lucky that it was the night before full moon. The moonlight really helped although sometimes the moon was being covered with clouds. The light was bright enough for preparing the food.

We covered the place where we were going to sleep with our bikes..a psychological security for Anmol. After a fight over the places as to where we should sleep (in which I lost and was “Ordered” to sleep in the corner) we slept in no time. The below snap is of our bedroom.

I remember getting up at 6:30am and saying to Manmit that I could hear someone’s footsteps. I was completely in my sleep and I again slept. I could hear Mukul and Manmit getting up and going towards the water to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. I really missed it.

It was an hour since the sunrise but still I was sleeping in my MADE IN USA sleeping bag. I knew Anmol was jealous of it. It was so very comfy comfy. I like such sleeping bags…u just need to slide in it and zip yourself from inside.

Mukul boiled water for some tea and coffee. He had the same enthusiasm after all things were going his way and was enjoying the creative liberty.

The crystal clear clean blue water was too tempting. I decided to swim with Mukul. About 100m from the bank was a very small island. We decided to swim till there. But as I started to swim some kind of fear gripped me. What if I get a cramp like the one I get while doing “Leg curl” exercise in the gym, what if some poisonous reptile or insects bites me, what if I don’t make till the island and worse what if a beast like the Loch ness monster catches hold of me?? I was shit scared. And as I was in the middle of it I realized my stamina had reduced by half. Mukul reached the island and it was a big motivation for me. But I preferred gliding more than swimming and conserving my stamina since I had to return back. Once we reached the island we decided to relax. Now I really missed Avadhut. I mean this guy loves swimming even in canals and here we were swimming in blue waters. It was such a refreshing feeling. A white bird kept hovering around us and made extremely irritating shrieking voice. Adamant Manmit finally photographed us. The one in the front is Mukul and behind him is me and behind me is our small private island. Having said that Manmit clicked a snap of every memorable moment and that must be appreciated.

We packed our bags, cleaned the place (mind u not even a small piece of plastic did we left behind) and rode off on our bikes. Again chance for some off-roading.We wondered how we managed to ride so easily in the night! This was our road..just imagine!!

Manmit clicked this snap from some height. It has come up beautiful.

Now we could enjoy the scenic beauty in the real sense since the previous night we could only knew that we are driving alongside the backwaters. We realized that the huge mountain behind our small private island was another island. We dreamt of purchasing the entire island but we jumped back to reality after the thought that Anmol might help us for the land deal
But imagine, how beautiful it would be to own an island some 50kms from Pune. WOW!!

This superb trip although had a sad end.. I lost my wallet and ofcourse my driving licence . Luckily for me, I had kept my credit and debit card at home.

With Mukul showing no interest in Konkan and the new found craze of bike trips I think forts and such random trips are the future of our group.

From L to R: Manmit(with a duplicate Ray Ban ), Mukul(with all biking accessories like a jacket, gloves, knee pads, saddle bags) and Anmol on my future bike hopefully…

I was reading Srinidhi Hande’s blog a few days back. He is India’s one of the most profilic blogger, but the main reason for me to read his blog is that he is a Satyamite. He has written one blog on Big Bazaar and other which gives a word of caution while shopping at retail outlets like Big Bazaar.

It states that retail outlets like Big Bazaar display attractive offers on the shelves, however the same discount is not reflected in the bills since the billing software is not modified accordingly.

On Saturday (12 April) Manmit, Mukul and myself shopped at Big Bazaar. Manmit was looking for Maggi Cup (thats their latest product) and the shelves proudly displayed 5 Rs. off if we buy 4 Maggi cups (25/- for one and 4 for 95/-). Manmit, like any other consumer, was tempted to buy 4 Maggi cups although he wanted only 2.

At the time of the billing I had a strong intuition that the 5/- discount wont be reflected in the bill. After a thorough check of the bill my intuition turned out to be true. We went to the Customer Help desk and once the so-called sales manager confirmed with the floor manager for the discount and after a 15minutes wait our precious, hard earned 5/- were returned back.

Here the question is not of those 5 Rs. It is about the fraudulent practices carried by these retail chains like Aditya Birla More, Reliance Fresh etc. These retail chains have studied the psychology of the Indian consumer and have mastered the art of fooling us. Almost each and every shelf/ rack offers some discount. And now imagine the profit margin if 20% of these discounts are not reflected in the billing software. We generally don’t recheck the bill and with the habit of payment by plastic money the probability is even more.

Just now my PM asked me what I am writing about and I told him about the same. He had similar experience in More Retail Store, however in his case he was given a note which stated to deduct that amount the next time he shops. By carrying such practices they fool the already fooled consumer to again shop at their store.

My advice is ALWAYS CHECK the bill to check whether the offers and discounts are ACTUALLY REFLECTED in the bill when shopping at all these retail stores.