Valparai..!
Wanderlust.
Tambaram – Valparai – Tambaram – 1248 kms
Date: 09, 10 and 11 October, 2015
Prologue
The plan to go on a bike trip to
Valparai was in our minds ever since we headed off to Munnar in the month of August,
2015. The cold air, the tea plantations and the curvy treacherous hill climb(and
down hill) is just simply intoxicating and mesmerizing for any soul on God’s
green earth. Thus, we looked at our options which included travel for one day,
sightseeing for the next day and return journey on the third day. We had set our
eyes on Kodaikanal, Ooty and Coorg in the western Ghats of Tamil nadu and
Karnataka, IND. But we scheduled the latter options for later. Anyway, going
into the planning, I called up my friend Andrew Prem to set the plan in motion for
the ride to Valparai as he was desperate to ride after the awesome trip to
Munnar. With that done it was the matter of sorting out the dates, the
accommodation and places to visit. Meanwhile a friend of ours, Ashwin Raj also
wished to join us along with Suresh and Moncy and a couple of his office mates who
would be coming by car. But as they couldn’t get the green lights for their
office schedules, Him and along with the others declined from the trip. So, we
proceeded on by themselves. We decided to go on the 2nd, 3rd
and 4th of October as we would get a day off on 2, October. But my
office plans were different, so we shifted to go on 9th, 10th
and 11th of October 2015. With that sorted we began ground nosing in
the choices of hotels that are available in Valparai. There are not many
options when you look at the price and the parking facilities available. You
have wood Briar which is the best one there but it is also the most expensive
of the lot. After much searching we decided on Hotel Green Park as it was cheap
and costed only 990/- per day. And there was our blessing from the travel gods
as Andrew had booked the rooms through Goibibo app, they had a 50% off for that
hotel when it is booked thru the Goibibo app. So the cost of the accommodation,
what should’ve been 1980/- for two days, came upto only 990/- for two days.
A.G.A.T.T
Prepping the bikes and gears was
the next thing to be done. Andrew decided to go for a saddle bag for his RE
TB350 and got the Long Ranger model (45 lts) from DirtSack with set him back a
good 3800 Rs and I just went ahead with my Viaterra claw bag(55 lts). Note: A
Saddle bag is much more practical and comfortable than a Claw bag Then again,
Touring isn’t meant to be done on sports bikes. We each carried 2 Liters of
fuel for any emergency (as in the tiny pipette that the RC has for a fuel tank)
and filled the bikes up to the brim. Also nitrogen was pumped in the tires for
better ride and wear and tear. We charged all electricals and we were set.
Grand Sport Tourer
The day of the ride. As the
thunderbird is not capable of going at speeds above 90kms comfortably with
control (this could be due to the incompetence of the rider also: P), we
decided that Andrew should start earlier than I do. He started at 3 am and I started
at 5 am on the cold morning of October the 9th, 2015. To his bad
luck, it had rained after an hour into his journey and that hindered his
progress. I started at 5am from my house and managed to catch up to him on
highway 68 somewhere near Attur, Salem, Tamil Nadu. After a short chat and
Parle Hide n Seek for breakfast, we were off to Valparai. I sped off with my
orange 43 austrian horses and Andrew followed behind in the ‘Bird. We took the
Chennai – Ulundurpet – Salem – Bhavani – Avinashi (Bypass) – Pollachi –
Valparai Route. The roads were all really spectacular and smooth all the way to
valparai and lined with eateries and petrol stations. During the ride, I missed
the left turn to palladam off the highway and had to go thru Malumichampatty to
get top pollachi, which was crowded with heavy vehicles and the road was poor
compared to engineering leviathan that is highway 47. Therfore, My route was 12
kms longer than the one Andrew took thru palladam to get to pollachi. I managed to reach Aliyar Dam 45 minutes
before the ‘Bird in my orange bomb.
Note: The road from palladam to pollachi is simply
stunning. (highway 19)
I started to take some pictures of
the landscape and my RC while I waited for him to get there. After he caught up
we proceeded to climb up the winding staircase up to valparai town. The road
from Aliyar dam to Valparai is one that shouldn’t be missed by any biker. It
takes you thru villages, forests, mountain terrain, and tea plantations. It has
everything from fast sweeping corners, treacherous hairpins and blind turns
that would put any skilled driver in the mercy of the reaper and yet it is
still gorgeous and sublime in its own perilous way. With that said, I still
maintain that the best road to ride on in South India is from bodi mettu to
munthal in the foothills of munnar. As we climbed, we had a spectacular
demonstration of climate variation. It went from warm and sweaty to cold and
pleasant. One could also see a lot of wildlife en route to valparai and have
close calls with them too. Monkeys are in abundance and I had one such
experience with a monkey when I parked my bike for taking pictures and kept my
keys in the ignition. The primate climbed on my bike and started to chew my
bag. Little did I know it would go for the keys. But before it could take ‘em I
shooed it off … Had it taken my keys I would’ve been a sitting duck. Stranded
and lost :P. After taking a ton of photographs we reached our hotel by 4 in the
evening. We rested for a few hours and went to have some tea and snacks nearby.
And after that we had to have our dinner and there arose the first obstacle.
The beautiful town of Valparai has only two very average restaurants. Make that
only two restaurants altogether. You have the Plaza family restaurant and a
chettinadu restaurant near the bus stand. Both places served veg and non-veg. We didn’t notice the latter restaurant and
went ahead to have our dinner at the plaza restaurant. Which went well (insert
sarcasm). Have you ever had the weird feeling about the food that you eat?
Well, that was the feeling we had at that place. But hey, it was the only hotel
that we could find on that evening. We
had parottas with chicken gravy and settled in for the night.
The next morning we got up early
and started from our hotel at 7am. We had decided to go to the Akkamalai Grass
hills which is a grassland on top of the hills at a distance of about 14kms
from our hotel. However the road to get there was the toughest terrain I’ve
ever seen and ridden on. The road to the hill top was narrow (with a width of
about 6 or 7 feet) and rough with the mountain wall on one side and cliffs on
the other side which made it seem like the last time it was laid was 25 years
ago. There was no tarmac literally. It was bumpy and could make your bones
shatter and pop out of your joints. The amazing thing was that the state
transport corporation operated buses on this route. The fact that the driver of
the bus had to go by this route everyday sent chills down our spines. Respect
to whoever he is !. We carried on
forward in the bumpy potholed road for some few kilometers before we lost GPS
connection on our phones. We were lost.
After asking a local about the way we made our progress. The bumpiness
made it painful and miserable especially for me on my RC with its sporty
seating and sports suspension. And the tires on my RC were weak with cracks and
most of the tread had gone from the classy metzelers. After meandering about on
the only pathway to the hill top we reached Karamalai forest check post only to
be told by the cops that the road has been shut and one has to get permission from
the Annamalai reserve forest guards or from Pollachi police station to get into
the grass hills (in actuality they expected a bit of currency). We were
previously warned by our hotel owner that mostly people won’t be allowed into
to grass hills owning to the sightings of bears, jackals and tigers. Thus we
made our return downhill which was much simpler than the uphill climb. On our
way back we decided to go to the hotel, have our brunch while the GoPro and the
camera charges. We reached our hotel, had our brunch at the plaza restaurant,
geared up and we were off again. We decided to head out to Nirar Dam in the
Cinkona route. We ditched the sholayar dam route cos it was far away and we
didn’t have the time or the energy to make the trip. The way to Nirar dam past
Cinkona village is part tarmac and part rugged cement road and was full of
potholes and bumps. After some grueling 9 odd kilometers and shattered bones we
reached the Nirar Dam which was much much smaller than what we pictured in our
heads. It was only 14:30 in the afternoon and we were tired and the sun was in
its full glory. It was warm and the humidity was very high which took a toll on
our fitness. We took some pictures and decided to head back to our hotel and
call it a day. On the way back we stopped in some tea plantations and had a bit
of a photo session during which there was a bit of a drizzle. This reduced our
fatigue and motivated us to carry on for a few more hours. After the photo
session we headed back to the hotel by 5pm in the evening.
By this time we were dog tired and
went for some evening tea. After tea we sorted the pictures, rested a bit.
After dinner at the chettinadu restaurant which was miles better than the plaza
in taste and cleanliness, it was time for packing our luggage and going to
sleep. Thus a day in valparai came to an awesome and peaceful end.
The next day, the day of the
return journey home. We woke up by 5, refreshed and geared up and left the
hotel by 630 am. Andrew decided to mount the GoPro on his Thunderbird and we
were off. Reached Pollachi by 07:30 am way behind schedule and from there on, we
decided to go our separate paths. I decided to head off thru Palladam and on
ward to Avinashi where I got on highway 47. Andrew followed his own route. En
route just after Palladam junction, I faced my first issue with my bike. The
engine suddenly went silent. I tried to start it, but it wouldn't. Every time I
turned the keys it only screeched. It had over heated and a “High Coolant
Temperature” warning came up on the console. This was the time for me to what I
do best. PANIC !. I parked it by the side of the small road thru the village
and informed Andrew about my predicament. I then searched in the internet thru
my phone about what the issue could be. And read in a forum that a guy had the
same problem and it resulted in a seized engine. I was Spooked. (Note: Lesson
learnt. Never go on the internet for answers when you are in despair). After a
solid five minutes, I tried to start it, and like a phoenix outta of its fiery
grave the bike conjured up into life and I was on my way again. After reaching
Avinashi thru small towns and villages I was on my way to Salem and eventually
home. It was fairly normal after this
and reached home at exactly 2 pm. Andrew had reached home by 15:45pm. Thus an
epic adventure with countless memories that would stay for a life time came to
an end.
My RC390 with the Aliyar reservoir in the backdrop
Location : Indira Gandhi Reserve Forest and National Park
En Route : Valparai
En Route : Nirar Dam Via Cinkona
En Route : Nirar Dam Via Cinkona
En Route : Nirar Dam Via Cinkona
The Path to the Grass Hills
LS2 Voltage
En Route : Valparai via Avinashi(coimbatore)
Somewhere near Salem
Via Salem, IND
Crossing sign for Mountain Goats
View of the Town of Valparai from our Hotel.
Route that leads to the Grass Hills
Costs :
Fuel : 2300 Rs
Accomodation : 990 Rs
Food : 800 Rs
Friday evening
:
Mutton soup – 10Rs
Vada and Bhajjis – 10 Rs
Parottas and Chicken gravy– 250 Rs
Water Bottle – 35 Rs
Saturday
morning :
Tea : 20Rs
Brunch :
Ghee Roast, Parottas – 160 Rs
Saturday Night
:
Tea, Vada, Bhajji and Mutton Soup : 50Rs
Ghee Roast, Onion Dosa and Parotta – 180Rs
Gears :
Spartan Pro Gear Aspida Gauntlet – rs 2850/-
Rjays swift Riding jacket – rs 5999/-
LS2 Voltage helmet – rs 5000/-
Viaterra Claw bag 55 liters – rs 2400/-
Royal Enfield Continental Gt Gauntlet – rs 3400/-
Vega Boolean Helmet – rs 1800/-
Spartan Progear Aspida Nemises Jacket – rs 5000/-
Dirtsack Longranger Pro 45 liters – Rs 3850/-
KTM RC 390
2300Rs for fuel
Max efficiency: 33kmpl
Top speed: 148kmph
Avg speed: 98kmph
Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350
On smooth road the KTM RC390 is a peach to ride on.
It can munch miles in a flash while being safe with the ABS brakes. That being
said it does put a stress on the shoulders, upper back and the wrists. It will
test the rider’s fitness as a whole. On Mountain Ghat roads it really came into
its own element. Easing and gliding thru every corner. It can settle down
comfortably on the highway at speeds above 125kmph which makes the ride time
much much shorter.
The Thunderbird on the other hand is a long distance
cruiser. With its laid back seating and soft seats and wide handlebars, it
boasted of being a forgiving tourer. But it has its disadvantages. Long
distances mean longer travel durations. And with a large front tire and only
19.5 BHP it wasn’t capable of going beyond the 90kmph mark comfortably. It
doesn’t give the rider any control when riding above 90kmph. This means the
riding time has to be increased which ultimately puts a stress on the riders
fitness and his mental patience.
Issues:
The side panel had snapped and was rattling in the
vibration .Was unsure of the reason behind this. (Could be a mishandling during
the service or just came undone due to the vibration)
Tires – Developed tiny cracks. Eventuality of
changing the tires loomed large in the near future.
Engine – High coolant Temperature warning.
Probability of checking the cooler fans and the Coolant levels.
Places to visit in
Valparai – (distance is from valparai Petrol Bunk and Bus stand)
Karamalai
Route :
