Roameo on the Emerald Route

[Majic]

Wow, splendid narration Roameo, hey looks like RK bug had bitten you, any idea of writing something on the lines of the Malgudi Days, i will assure the purchase of one by me, Looking forward to the rest of the journey!

[Roameo]

Home Run

We checked out of our lodge in Kalasa by 7.30am and after a breakfast of masala dosa and coffee, drove to Horandu. The lushgreen landscape wet after the rains in the night was a beautiful to behold. We stopped at the bridge to admire the majectic flow of the Bhadra river and we met a gushing stream on the way. It was a charming little drive.







There were already a lot of piligrims at the Annapoorneshwari temple at this hour.The parking lot was almost full and there was a long queue that we joined for a darshan of the beautiful golden statue of the goddess. But I found the place too crowded for my liking. The unhurried visit to the Kalaseshwara temple felt more like going to a temple.



Returning to Kalasa, we took the road to Chikmagalur via Balehole, Balehonnur, Vasatere. Majestic mountains, verdant valleys and coffee estates streamed past . It started raining and soon we crossed the Bhadra bridge at Balehonnur and turned right.



The thatched roof of the Bhadra coffee Shop zoomed into view. It was time for a break. There were many cars parked and business was brisk. A generous helping of hot paddus (also called appey) with chutney and coffee pepped us up and we were good to continue.




Paddu (Appey)

We went through Chikmagalur with memories of our previous weekend visit earlier in April this year. The homestay facility at a coffee estate in the hills had been excellent. Delicious food, beautiful places to see and a great place to relax.


Perfect place to retire to. Wife thinks otherwise.


View from Muliangiri


A stroll through the coffee estate

What a refreshing difference seven beans of coffee smuggled in from Arabia by Baba Buden 300 odd years ago made to this region and half a country! Little wonder coffee is so holy a beverage for us in south India, most of us really come to our senses only after a hot cup of it first thing in the morning, and not imbibing it within 15 minutes of waking up can severely affect our humour for the rest of the day.



Now, as we passed by a particularly scenic view, I put it to my wife that this seemed a spot to build a cottage and retire to. She gave me a stare only a wife can give her husband.

Belur Road was a pleasure to drive on and we reached Hassan at about 2pm. After a quick lunch at Kamath's we resumed our journey. Surprisingly, there was far less traffic than what I expected and we throughly enjoyed the drive.



Belur Road

Past Hassan





The nightmare of crossing Nelamangala from our previous trip was already on my mind and I wanted to avoid it at all costs this time. A few kilometres after Kunigal, we turned right towards Magadi. What a big difference it made! Not only were the roads excellent, there was little traffic on it. The icing was that it turned out to be an extremely scenic drive through a landscape quite different from the ones in the mountains. There were some others like us who had taken this diversion and ours were the only vehicles on some streches. A few even stopped by the roadside to buy vegetables that couldn't get any fresher- they were straight from the nearby fields.


Magadi Road. Great for a weedend drive.

We got on to NICE road, got off it at Kanakapura Road and were soon in front of our apartment block in J.P Nagar. It was 5.30 pm. We were home.

NICE to be home.

[Ravveendrra]

LOL, you do like to live dangerously - don't you! First you keep taking pangas with your wife, then you take pangas with gods own hand-picked pujari...... Forget looks that only a wife can give you, if you do not watch your step you just might get the kaapi we all so crave - within 15 minutes of waking up - on your head!

Loved your travelogue. Keep driving and regaling us with your writing.

Cheers,

[pjay_in]

Very informative and entertaining report, Roameo. I had in fact gone as far as Kudremukh a couple of times, but haven't been to Kalasa. The stories and legends add interest to your report.

By the way, isn't the Vindhya range largely in Madhya Pradesh, way up north, forming the northern boundary of the deccan plateau? I wouldn't have thought the Vindhyas featured here on the Western Ghats.

[Roameo]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

LOL, you do like to live dangerously - don't you! First you keep taking pangas with your wife, then you take pangas with gods own hand-picked pujari...... Forget looks that only a wife can give you, if you do not watch your step you just might get the kaapi we all so crave - within 15 minutes of waking up - on your head! Cheers,

Yeah, I better watch out. I love kaapi as much as any south india, but not my head.

Originally Posted by pjay_in

By the way, isn't the Vindhya range largely in Madhya Pradesh, way up north, forming the northern boundary of the deccan plateau? I wouldn't have thought the Vindhyas featured here on the Western Ghats.

Thank you for exposing my ignorance of national geography . Need to start reading Sonny text books to refresh my memory. Guess I got derailed badly with a leap of faith here by committing the cardinal sin of jumping to a conclusion based on the fact that Agastya muni was from Kalasa. May be the affect of his curse also affected the ghats around.

[sushrutha]

So your son also gets to drive your car ;-). (Pic of him driving on Bhadra bridge @ Balehonnur). How old is he ?

[Roameo]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

So your son also gets to drive your car ;-). (Pic of him driving on Bhadra bridge @ Balehonnur). How old is he ?

Yes, but rarely and not for more than 15 to 20 minutes on roads where there is little traffic. He actually drives very well. He is 15 years old.

I also let my wife drive similarly. This way it gives me short breaks in between on long drives.

[Safari Avid]

Amazing post. The pictures have come out particularly nice. I would definitely like to go through the same route and ofcourse, your experience will definitely provide me the guidance i always need

[Indian Ranger]

paddu,, mmmmm...... I am missing them. Its really refreshing to have the filter coffee along with it at Bhadra coffee shop + nice weather to travel in the western ghats..

I must appreciate you for covering the entire journey so nicely with good narration. I sure have couple of places to cover next time when I visit Horanadu again.

Will look forward to your future travelogues.

[Majic]

Thank you very much for this lovely travel experience, this is the first of its kind, which has inspired me to come in search for this land! And in between the mention of the food has made this travelogue very interesting, in midway your passing thorugh the Malgudi village had me looking out for the RK Malgudi days! I am now looking out for your next travelogue!

[Roameo]

Thanks everyone for reading my travelogue and encouraging me to keep writing. It is a wonderful way to relive the moments of your journey as you write and look at the pictures, and a great way to share if with a bunch of people who like driving and travelling. What a great forum this is!

Majic, special thanks to you for your comments to every post and you kept egging me on for more. That had 'majical' effect on my motivation.

Now I can spend more time enjoying going through travelogues of other BHPians. There are some wonderful ones going right now. Will try to recollect and do a couple of travelogues sometime on shorter trips I did .

Till then, Cheers and keep revving!

[hillram]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

looks that only a wife can give you,

Vishy..just for statistics,can you tell me how many stares did you collect from your wife at the end of the trip?

[laluks]

Roameo, enjoyed the logs.
Keep sharing with your good writing.

5 starred the thread.

[Roameo]

Originally Posted by hillram

..just for statistics,can you tell me how many stares did you collect from your wife at the end of the trip?

Lost count of them

Originally Posted by laluks

Roameo, enjoyed the logs.
Keep sharing with your good writing.

5 starred the thread.

Happy to note that you liked my travelogue. Thank you for your encouragement.

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by Roameo

Yes, but rarely and not for more than 15 to 20 minutes on roads where there is little traffic. He actually drives very well. He is 15 years old.

I also let my wife drive similarly. This way it gives me short breaks in between on long drives.

That sir is a big no no. If he must drive, let him drive on a private road with no traffic (go karting would be a good option). Besides being dangerous, it is illegal for any person without a valid license to drive a car and the owner of the car can be punished.

I am sorry to bring up an unpleasant topic in a wonderful travelogue but thought that I should.

Cheers,