Coorg!! The place full of sceneries and splendid twisty roads the dream of many a bikers! Had been to Coorg on the long weekend Apr 6, 7, 8. In the wrong season; people advised against it but had no other choice as an employee in a software company [:(].This was my first solo ride as the people in the car travelling along with me were far behind all the time [:)].
As expected the temp was high and the humidity was intolerable; but my enthusiasm for twisty roads got the better of it!
Started off real early 0530hrs to avoid the heat of midday. Reached Mysore by 0800hrs after a butt break at Mandya Coffee Day waiting for Car wallas. Mysore to Hunsur and then on to Bylakuppe. Bylakuppe is one amazing place; it is the settlement for displaced Tibetians and almost like a mini Tibet. Had breakfast here and continued to wait for the car wallas!. Got a nice pic of a Tibetian girl there standing near my bike. Had to bribe her with my Gatorade to get her out!
After that we headed to visit the monasteries or better known as "Gompas". Here we were amazed by the beauty of the paintings and sculptures and the Dragons.
After this we went ahead straight ahead to Madikeri and were welcomed by the statue of Major General Cariappa at the entrance of Madikeri. Straight away we were taken to our homestay which was set deep inside a coffee estate.
The guy who was the caretaker of the Coffee estate was a very friendly an helped us buy booze and snacks for the night. He was extremely friendly and even cooked lunch for us. And wat a spread it was: pondi curry(pork curry), chapathis, rice, daal, baingan curry for my veggie friends and payasam.
After a little nap we started the local sight seeing. I must say the place is carved out of heaven!! In the evening "Raja Seat" is the place to be: absolutely breathtaking view from here. Also if your guide is enterprising enough he'll take you to the top of the hill where BSNL tower is located and the view from here is again splendid. On the other side is the view from near the garbage dump!! Yeah i spelt it correct. The hillock near garbage dump also provides a very beautiful view if you can stand the stench. Why the hell does the Madikeri Municipality dumps the garbage in such a scenic place was a big wonder for us. After this we headed back to our homestay and the ride back into the estate literally freaks you out!! You have thick jungle on both sides and after dark the caretaker had advised us not to venture there as elephants and leopards come there to drink water as in the middle of the estate was a small perennial lake.
Next day early morning the caretaker guy:Sathish took us on a tour of the estate. Man the size of spread of the estate was like 15 football fields put together. Here he gave us the samples of the various produce of the estate like ginger, turmeric, coffee, cardamom and pepper. Early morning in the fog in the estate is an experience to cherish. The coolness of the slight breeze, the fragrance of numerous wild flowers hanging in the fog is so tantlizing! If heaven existed then it must be something like this!
Later after more sight seeing that is Bhagamandala and Talakaveri we returned to our coffee estate(atleast for 2 days I could call it mine!!). Talakaveri was under reconstruction so was not very enjoyable. Bhagamandala was also no fun. But the road from Bhagamandala to Talakaveri if laid with a fresh layer of tar would be so amazing!! After this went back to my estate and crashed for the day after a sumptuous meal cooked by our host Sathish.
Next day returned back to the hustle and bustle and innumerable traffic jams and pollution. Wish I could work from that coffee estate and never have to come to Bangalore again!! Huh!If wishes were horses??!!!
Ciao then Coorg, will come to savour your beauty again soon.
