Exploring Madhya Pradesh-Pachmari and Ratapani

After exploring quite a lot of south, and on a long holiday at home, i was a little bored until this friend of mine rode all the way to Bhopal on his sexy Enfield just to meet me. I wanted to take him around and show him a little of the state I was brought up. So yes, after a lot of confusion on where to go, we settled on to Pachmari. First, it’s a hill station( even though equally hot as Bhopal) and second, there are waterfalls to jump in to after roaming in the hot sun.

Rata Pani Wildlife Sanctuary

So this is how the plan was made-

A night before, the four of us(Mona, Kiran, Anand and me) went out for a drive at the Bhopal-Pachmari road and saw a board that said Pachmari 195kms, and we knew it all!

 I love how random trips could get. It was just Pachmari anyways. Staying out of home all these years forgot what it is like to go out on a trip with friends being with parents. We woke up in the morning and were all set to go, but my parents weren’t. With no plans at all, I just happened to answer a rapid fire game by dad. My answer was pretty much constant "Ehh..i dunno..we'll figure out something". So yea, dad had to book the rooms and a driver to pick us up half way and mum could not let us go out empty stomach. And for bonus she packed up a lotta food too.” Mom please! There is something called a restaurant!”

1,2,3

 Anyway we let them do their chores and left home at 8am, happily driving our way through this single lane road with my sister and her brilliant history of no driving experience on the highways. So the adventure had already started. I guess we were all pretty strong hearted. Thank god mum packed food, there is nothing called  a “restaurant “on this route. 

click :D

So yes we picked up the driver from Piparia, around 60 km away from Pachmari and drove our way through the dry leaf fields around those sexy curves. 

The best way to enjoy curves is to turn back and to watch everything go away from you through the rear glass. It gives a weird satisfaction. Everyone knows it, we’ve all done that atleast once in our childhood.

We stopped at Nandan van around 2pm. That’s where we were to stay. Threw our bags in our rooms and left for the waterfall.There will be guides waiting to take you around the place.You could hire them if you want, or just explore the place yourself. A jeep drive down to the falls, almost falling off the cliff and here we were " Bee Falls"

That was just the beginning

drive to the falls

 

our personal chaiwali

A lot of walking and 190 steps definitely scared Anand, but it wasn’t too tough. Rather, getting into the water was. Freezing cold! I can feel the icy-chilled water hitting me while I type this.

But we didn’t wanna come out of the water, not coz we were enjoying too much, but coz we’d have to climb those deadly 190(felt like 400), 2’ high steps. Staring at them didn’t help and no strategy would work. “Just climb lazy bums”.

After 20 minutes of pain in the right knee, we got a slight view of the jeep waiting for us. I wanted to go hug the jeep guy but somehow controlled my feelings.
Pachmari is a day place, and unlike other tourists, we didn’t wanna go to our hotel after sunset and chit chat on the swings. Rather we decided to know the city a little better, and so we headed to the market. And we saw Neelam tea stall. Hot refreshing ginger tea is all we craved for and Mona decided to add some glamour to the stall. But we had a horrible bad luck with food. After the burnt-eggless-egg biryani at Khalsa plus the stale cheese Pizza and the hairy burger at “Pizza Café chino” (the place was cute though), we kinda lost all hopes. Maggi was such a savior! It saved me the pain of getting up at 3 in the morning and going for a treasure hunt to satisfy my tummy to continue dreaming.

Pachmari catholic church

Feeling satisfied as hell, we reached our hotels and jumped onto our beds. Before sleeping, we had a very healthy discussion about ghosts and spirits, about real life experiences, and what we know and have heard about them. We kinda got a lil too involved in it and scared the shit outa Mona with our ghost stories who had to listen to Hanuman chalisa before she slept. Poor girl with that puppy face was trying to defend herself, saying she was not scared just that she didn't want the lights off. With that Hanuman chalisa in the background, even a retard could tell.

We did get some sleep though without any of those "Highly awaited ghost rendezvous" . Early morning, we went to this tiny church nearby to put those thoughts away from our minds. Actually no,we went there for a not-so-tiny photoshoot. Ahh..these girls u know :P

Out of all the tourist attractions our driver had planned for us (Dhoopgarh, Chauragadh,Gupt Mahadev, Jata Shankar, Handi khoh), we went only to 2 of them “Handi Khoh and Gupt Mahadev”. We were too lazy and exhausted to go anywhere else. Plus, I had something else on my mind- Rata Pani.

So we drove back, dropped Mr Driver at Pipariya and headed towards Bhopal. Rata pani was just 40 km before Bhopal. To our luck, we knew nothing about that place. I forever thought it’s a dam where I’d already been and that’s it. I mistook it as Kolar dam. So what we saw and experienced was totally unexpected. After asking a few people and convincing the guards with our theatrical skills to let us in the sanctuary since we were half an hour late, we finally drove in. 

They said the dam was 11 km from there and that we would take time to reach. We started at 4:30 and trust me those 11 km took 45 min to cover, with the condition of the car and the roads and also,all our waste efforts to capture flying peacocks. But it was all worth it! What we saw then, after the 11 kms of deadly slow driving, is stamped on my heart and brain. It was exquisite! How could I never know that a place so serene and mesmerizing sat so close all the time? Well they say it right, you need to have an open eye and an open mind to explore the beauty around you. 

Breathing serenity

We sat there quietly with our feet inside the water watching those puddles creating a pattern on the setting sun’s reflection. Inner peace kinda stuff!

There was even a tower from which you can see the entire 360 degree panaromic view of the water forming an abstract art on the surrounding land.

Stuffed with a picturesque memory in our brains, we left Rata Pani at 7 pm and by 8pm, we were back home.

PS: There is a resort inside the Sanctuary, staying there for a day could be a pretty good idea.

Doodhsagar Waterfalls

Getting up in a tented suite with a forest-like feel around is just awesome, but lazying around there is even more blissful.That was what Doodhsagar Spa Resort was like.

 “So what’s the plan for today?” None of us had really thought of anything. “Why don’t we go to Doodhsagar falls and decide the rest later.” So be it.

That's Bhabhi on the backseat !

Totally unplanned for the days itinerary, we left for Doodhsagar. The only way to go to Doodhsagar Falls is to go in a Jeep or a 2-day trek (which was clearly not happening). On some days, if you are lucky, there are bikers who take you to the falls. But we weren’t all that lucky. The resort people promised to provide us a Jeep there, so we save time but that also didn’t happen.

Anyways, we rode for some 18km and reached the base where we had to park our bikes and go in Jeeps further on. That place was crowded!! So we had to wait for almost 1.5 hours, which was quite a pain for me but not for these two guys happily searching for my “Bhabhi”.

The route to the falls

It was our turn now. We sat in the Jeep and in the next 2 minutes I understood why other vehicles are not allowed there. Jumping on that muddy and rocky road, going through 2ft deep water puddles and climbing up a 45 degree slope on that not so even track is not something other cars/ bikes can do. Boy was that fun! We even found some Youth Hostel people trekking their way up to the falls. 

Doodhsagar was just how I expected it to be-mighty!! Well it’s mightier if you go in the monsoons. With all heads up looking at the crest and clicking pictures, a train just passed by the track right along the middle of the falls. I wished I was in that train, to be so close to the waterfall. It’s dreamy!

We went ahead and without any thought, jumped into the still water with our life jackets on. Swam to where the waterfall could hit our heads and make it difficult to breathe. There’s nothing like swimming in cold fresh mountain water on a hot sunny day. 

With some 100 people at the falls, only a few would actually jump into the water. And it’s funny how the others just watch, standing out with their life jackets on. After all that fun, all refreshed, we headed back to the resort.

Ride to Goa !!

I always wanted to travel the western ghats. To feel what its like to experience the borders of your country with the blue waters of the Arabian sea on one hand and the beautiful countryside on the other. And yes to see the vast greenery and stroll through the uncountantable number of beaches. Unlike the last time, this time we were prepared with a full-proof plan. And the plan was something like this

Bangalore-Bandipur-Udupi-Gokarna

DAY 1

We left on Christmas morning with our heavy backpacks. Went to St Peters Church, MG road which was beautifully decorated and then set off for the real journey.

As always, we started late because of my excitement-related-digestion issues. And so the plan got a lil twisted(as all great plans always do)-

Bangalore-chitradurga-RaneBennur-Hubli-Belgaum-Goa

Ahh..riding an Enfield on those wide roads of NH7 to Chitradurga feels like you own those roads and nothing around you bothers. There’s a connection which pushes u more and more to travel. I’m sure all Enfield lovers would know. So yes, with that love and pride and a clear head, this journey was gonna be one crazy exploring ride. We had breakfast in Kamat and were back on the roads. After a long 4 hours and a lot of tea and bum breaks, we reached chitradurga around 2pm. Watching all those windmills made me go back to my childhood days. Always wanted to  go close to them.

A lot more riding and less bum breaks now, we rushed to Ranebennur, after which the roads got narrower. Its at this this time in the afternoon that u start feeling all drowsy. We were desperately waiting for a good coffee break and guess what, we found a CCD at Hubli. Another lone rider was taking a break there. You see anyone wearing a rider jacket, an LS2 and a backpack and you know he’s a rider too. So these people had some rider talks about the roads, routes and places, we had some yum coffee and dessert in the hot weather and left for Belgaum at 6:30pm.

The roads to Belgaum are beautiful, with trees,hillocks and vast land all around. Because of our horrible timing, we entered that road an hour after the sunset. Any which way, it was fun riding there even in the dark. We had a little celebration too- “Lighting a glow lantern on a Christmas night on the highway”.

 
Well it required a bit of a patience because the wind would just hit when the lantern is lit, but then we made it happen. Imagine a blue lantern right above a highway surrounded by vast lands, flying away with the sound of trucks passing by and the crazy cold breeze. We stared at it until it vanished somewhere among the stars, and then with smiles on our faces, moved ahead to reach our destination.

Highway Talks+late night chai

Dark empty roads

Till now, everything was good. But a little ahead there was a 30km stretch which was horrible. It was 10:30 in the night and we were struggling on that ghat road full of potholes. That’s when we decided we would stay the night somewhere close by since we had no clue of how the roads were gonna be ahead. To our luck, we found a resort- Doodhsagar Spa Resort. We thought we’d continue to Goa, but the tents in that resort were so good, we just wanted to stay. A much needed break for our backs and bums. 

DAY2

Well, Doodhsagar Waterfalls does takes off an entire day (the next post is all about it).

It was 5pm by the time we reached back to the resort. So we hogged, checked out and left for Goa without wasting a minute. Another 80km of beautifully lit houses with Christmas star-lights (kinda obsessed with those) and the celebration mood gave me a slight kick even before reaching our destination - Baga. We Checked in into a hotel called Ancore Beach Resort and rushed to the beach. Ate in a beautiful blue- lit canopy, stayed on the beach until our eyes started to close and then went back to the room.

Day 3

GOAAAAAAA!!

Waking up anywhere in Goa is like waking up on a beach. You can smell it from miles away let alone being 100mts from there. A refreshing coffee with some food and we were off to Arambol ( 20 km from Baga towards the North of Goa). I won’t say its deserted, because there are quite a lot of people there. I would neither say it’s like any other beach in Goa, because Arambol’s got its own charm.

Anand's hardwork paid off

Pavan bhaiya with Yogi

Arambol beach from the top

Watching the endless waters

A refreshing swim in Sweet Lake

Pavan bhaiya and the freaky guy

That's me paragliding

Sunset at the beach

Some cold lime juice on a hot sunny day, a small little trek to para glide down to the beach and a rejuvenating swim in the sweet lake with a beer. That’s like it- a summary of one hell of a day in Goa. And yes, you get brilliant food in some of the shacks there. I wish we could stay there for the night, but we had to go back to Baga. I so totally didn’t miss it. But yes, the next time I go to Goa, Arambol’s gonna be my destination.

PS- Don’t forget paragliding. I fell in love with the sunset at the beach all over again (with just a tiny angle change).

For paragliding information, contact Yogi(instructor)-0959214187

Or, just reach the sweet lake somehow and you’d know what to do.

DAY4
Getting up with a depressing thought of leaving Goa and the not-so-depressing thought of the ride along the western Ghats, left mixed feeling in my heart. It was 11am, and we were out of Goa. The roads to Karwar is a rider's paradise.With endless beaches and tiny villages all in the Christmas mood, we found a lot of interesting things on the way.

Our new friends :D

We made a few friends too. A short nap under the tree, chit-chatting with these new friends and some posing for beautiful memories.We had lunch in Karwar and then just followed that one road along the Coast. Navigation is just a waste of time there.We crossed Gokarna and watched the sunset on the beautiful bridge before Murudeshwar. With our horrible experience of night riding near Doodhsagar, we did not want to take a chance. So the plan got twisted a little and rather than staying the night in Udupi, we planned to stay the night in Maravanthe, around 50km from Murudeshwara.

The only thing we knew about Maravanthe was that theres a lake on one side and the beach on the other side of the road, that there are very few accomodation choices and few tiny places to eat. So we decided to stay in a hotel called Sagar Kinara Resort. It wasn't really a resort, but the beach was right in front. What else do you want. Plus the owner had an interesting ancestral story.Shockingly, he had a family history of 1040 years. The king then in the year 1240, had given the entire village of Maravanthe to his ancestors. "We survived with Dharma" is what he said.

Wow! A 1040 years of history is not a joke. All I know about my ancestors is that they ran from Pakistan and settled here during the partition. This wasn't it. There was more fun to the day. There was a wedding reception taking place right next door with brilliant music to dance on. So we danced our hearts out in the room. All hungry, we wandered for food and finally found a dal-rice place after a lot of efforts, after which we came back to room for a nice good sleep.

DAY5

Staying in Maravanthe was probably the best decision we took in the entire trip. Watching the sun rise from behind the lake on the left, to shining on the waters of the beach on the right is a completely different experience. You wouldn’t want to miss it.

And the bike got stuck

After the whole sunrise scene and a silent walk on the beach, we started for home at 9am. In no time we reached Mangalore and had breakfast. After that was a long ride on a 50km stretch of horrible roads. It took more than 3 hours to cover up the Sakkleshpur-Hassan route. And at the end of it, was a tiny waterfall to compensate with all the potholes and dust. A refreshing little break and we moved on.

With the estate women

 
On the way, I took a small ride with a bunch of tea estate ladies. We were somehow trying to converse with all the language issues. Sweet people, they even called me home. It was such a relief to reach Hassan. We knew the rest of the way back was gonna be a smooth ride on NH4.

Long, smooth wide roads and the wind hitting my face. You kinda get addicted to it. So yes, taking barely any bum breaks, we stopped at Chanaraipatna for an evening lunch and through Neelamangala and Nice road, we reached home sweet home after an overwhelmingly exhausting journey.