“Dakshinayan” - Road Trip - 16
26th December, 2015
Polibetta, Coorg – Kundapur (261 kms)
I was ready at 6:30 in the morning. I had breakfast with Paul Sir. It was time to continue my journey. I had an amazing and peaceful time in Coorg. I took a photo with Paul Sir and his wife and then loaded my bike with bags and wore my gears. The morning was cold, Sun was peeking from the mountains on the horizon. I left and found myself riding on the winding roads of Coorg. I had to go to Malvan but it was 639 kms from Coorg which was pretty difficult to cover in a day. Therefore I had decided to take a halt at Kundapur and then leave for Malvan the next day.
With Paul Sir and his wife
The roads in Coorg are very narrow and curvy therefore I could not pick good speed. I anyways didn’t want to ride fast. I was enjoying the ride at a comfortable pace. I was travelling though western ghats and towards west coast of Karnataka. Maisoor and Mangalore were in my route but I was running out of days already. Maisoor being a crowded place and Mangalore being a city I decided to skip them from my plan. However I was told that sea-food in Mangalore was not to be missed, but with heavy heart I skipped it. As I left the western ghats behind the roads became wider and straight. I opened up the throttle. I was longing for a sight of sea and beaches. I soon received one when I reached Mangalore. Magalore appeared a very well planned and disciplined city. The journey from there was a pleasant one.
I reached Kundapur and searched for the hotel I had booked before leaving from Coorg. The hotel was a big disappointment. The quality of the room was depressing and the hotel didn’t have their own restaurant. I was starving after a ride. I got fresh and left on my bike to find a nearby restaurant, which was again a big disappointment. Making a halt at Kundapur seemed like a big mistake. This town surely wasn’t traveler friendly. I entered a shabby looking restaurant and checked what they had in menu. The waiter told me it was past their lunch time and the only food I can get is Parotha. I expected a stuffed Paratha but Parotha was something else. It was a tasteless bread of cornflour. I swallowed one parotha and left the other one in the plate, payed the bill and came out of the restaurant. Picked up some cookies, cupcakes and fruit juice from a nearby shop and came back to my room. I ate some cupcakes and slept for a while.
I spent away the evening watching TV, had remaining cupcakes and cookies for dinner with fruit juice. I didn’t have the courage to go back to the depressing restaurant. I wanted to get out of Kundapur as soon as possible. In my entire road trip, Kundapur turned out to be the only wrong choice.