Getting to Kochi

Made it to Kochi finally! It is Saturday morning … and I haven’t found any time to update.

Our first day on the road!!!

Started from Pune at 4:15 am. My alarm went off at 3:00 am and trust me, I haven’t seen the hands of the clock placed that way in years. We struggled a bit to get our stuff into the trunk. That’s because we had decided against getting a roof carrier … the only model available was one that fits on a Santro and was priced at Rs. 3950/-. It’s crazy to spend that kind of money for a 10 day tour. We had actually decided to take only a pair of jeans and a couple of t-shirts each, but then the palio did allow us to carry more so that we don’t return home looking like beggars!

The road to Kolhapur (NH-4) is amazing and I have driven that road several times. One can get a steady 120 – 130 on this stretch of the road resulting in a average of 80 to 85 kms in an hour. There’s a couple of toll collection plazas on the way and one has to shell out about Rs. 150 by the time he gets to Kolhapur. Except for a couple of halts we got to Nipani where we had breakfast. Not a star rated place but one can’t complain about that on a road trip! The drive then onwards was a bit rough getting onto NH-63 going through Kalghatgi, Yellapur and finally reaching Ankola on NH-17. Watch out for the speed breakers around Kalghatgi. Those are huge and frequent! My first fuel stop was at Kalghatgi and I happened to see a truck load of villagers with “African Influences”. I vaguely remember having seen a documentary about this particular ethnic group … which speak the local dialect and have lived in this part of the country, but have distinct physical appearance like the Africans. (See attached photo!)

After filling up, our next stop was Ankola .. where we accidentally stumbled upon ‘Kamat Upachar” which is lovely little diner on NH-17 at the junction where NH-63 meets. The food was just awesome! Served on a plantain leaf were a few vegetables, pickle chapattis/pooris etc. Then there was rasam, sambar and daal … all Karnataka style. It had been ages since I attended a wedding in Karnataka and it was like reliving those days. We were also served luscious slices of the local mango from Ankola. Not as delicious as the Devgad Hapoos but not too bad either! The lunch ordeal was topped with ‘Ideal’ ice cream and paan.

Next stop was Murudeshwar … the gigantic statue of Shiva is breathtaking! The windy yet serene ambience was much needed. The roads were good overall (better in Karnataka than Maharashtra).

Our drive continued to Udupi (also on NH-17) where we stayed at Sharada International. We got to Udupi around 7:00 pm. The rooms were decent and reasonable priced. We had to have only dinner (it was a dry day on account of elections in Karnataka) and we dropped off to sleep. It might have taken me only 10 … 9 … 8 … zzzzz!

End of day 1.