Started quite late in the morning because of last-minute packing for the Christmas weekend. This time, the bike was more considerate and broke down just as we got to Banashankari on the ring road! 😐 Abhi checked the clutch cable and found that to be working fine. The problem seemed to be a broken clutch cam that had to be purchased to replace.

Occasion: 4 days 2007 Christmas weekend
Destination: Wild Haven, Bokkapuram

It felt like the bullet (Abhi – everything is a bullet for K) had a mind and was deliberately conking out for some extra attention! I figured it would be another long wait on the stairs of a Bata shoe shop. Abhi called a few places and Prashi to check for the availability of the spare. Prashi offered to get the spare and help fix it. Once he got the spare, the guys started to fix the bike and, in the process, realized that the cam was a different model! Talk about bad luck! Abhi then rode to the Royal Enfield showroom and got the right part, and the guys finally fixed it. Once the bike was ready, the next problem was finding a place to stay for the night at Mysore since the resort in Masinagudi was booked for the next day. While waiting for Prashi, we were looking for places to stay. As anticipated, since it was a long weekend, no rooms were available anywhere, including Dasaprakash, where we stayed during our Waynad Ride. Santosh, who had got there by then along with Anupama, was heading out the same way; he suggested we could join him and would arrange the stay.

By the time we hit the highway, it was noon. Thankfully it wasn’t sunny, and we could ride pretty comfortably. A filled stomach reduces the oxygen supply to the brain, and both of us start to doze off on the bike. Splashing cold water on the face helped to keep us awake till we stopped for a kadak chai at Hotel Indradanush adjacent to Cafe Coffee Day. We have done the Bangalore-Mysore route several times by now, and what’s interesting is that depending on the time of the day, the mountains and the trees along the route look different. It was evening when we rode through Mandya. Sugarcane fields laced on either side of the road, its white inflorescence swaying gently to the soft breeze in perfect synchrony. Golden sun rays highlighted the pretty pink-coloured weeds lining the highway, which we would have generally missed at any other time of the day.

We crossed Srirangapatna to find Santhosh at the Kiranguru – Baburayana Koppal junction. We got off Mysore road and rode through Kiranguru town, passing Pandavapura Sugar Factory and railway station along the way to get to a junction. Continued on the road that goes left to Kannambadi. The place’s owner met us, and we followed him to Sunset Bay. The road that leads to the resort is parallel to KRS backwaters, and we were just in time to catch the setting sun on the horizon. What a view that was! Unfortunately, it didn’t last long enough to capture it on my camera. We got to Sunset Bay, a beautiful property with a vast waterfront, where we stayed for the night. The plan for the next day was to leave early and visit Pegasus Farm – Art Bristo on Hunsur Bypass and then ride on to Bokapuram near Masinagudi.

After a refreshing night in Sunset Bay, we were reluctant to leave the place in a hurry. Finally, after a good breakfast, we managed to get ourselves moving. The sight of the towering KRS dam, along with its spillway, was superlative, and we could only imagine the massive volume of water held back by those walls. From here, Art- Bristo was half an hour’s ride through Paper Mills Circle and Ilavala junction. The peace and quiet of the farms at Art-Bristo and a huge, deliciously served lunch by the host made us laze around a bit too much. We had another 200 km to go, and we decided to leave. Bid goodbye to Santosh, promising to meet up the next day at his place in Kalhatti.

We got back to Ilavala junction and took the road towards Mysore. The roads here are pretty well preserved, probably due to the presence of Infosys. We cruised along and got to the ring road. After briefly visiting the city for a small errand, we continued down the Ooty road. Pleasant weather made riding a pleasure as we rode through Bandipur. The sun had set when we reached the Mudumalai check post. Across the check, post was a flurry of activity with loads of vehicles honking and people screaming their lungs out. A tamed tusker bathing was the only ‘sighting’ we had had that day, and whatever bit of hope I had of catching at least a glimpse of wildlife went down the drain. No animal would venture close to such a chaotic nuisance! Bah!

The traffic got nasty as we proceeded, and we were praying this was not the case in Masinagudi. It was pitch dark except for the lights from the oncoming vehicles coming in for the Christmas weekend. This, probably along with the pot-holes, was the reason why the traffic thinned out as we neared Teppakaadu. We were the only ones on the road when we crossed the town of Masinagudi and rode towards Mavanalla. Abhi slowed down a bit as we didn’t want to miss the turn at Chadapatti that would take us to Wild Haven. After about 10 km, a signboard appeared with ‘Wild Haven’. We got off the road into a muddy path, and Abhi whispered, ‘Scream if you see Elephants’! Yeah, sure, with the tough luck I have with wildlife. He spoke too soon since just a few seconds after he said that, about 100 meters straight ahead from the bike, I saw a big animal, and I was sure it was a cat, lunging across the mud path at lightning speed! Whoa! That was a sighting, my first one at that! I was so excited and told Abhi what I had just seen, but according to him, it was all hallucinations 😐 We argued animatedly that I had seen something on the road, and he said I needed some sleep, so we reached Wild Haven. Our three-day eventful stay included a leopard sighting in Wild Haven, which an upcoming article recounts.

We were up early the following day and rode towards Kalhatti to get to Santhosh’s place. Since the bike was running on the stock silencer, it wasn’t as powerful, and this was more evident during the climb to Kalhatti. The climb to Ooty through Kalhatti has 32 (36?) curves. The combination of the cold wind-soothing sun made climbing the Nilgiris a nice experience. We got to curve ten and took the path off the main road. We weren’t sure of the route from here and thought we would call Santa and figure it out, but we were out of coverage area. So we rode down to curve 16, Kalhatti check post, only to find the phone booth closed! So we climbed back up the mountain and stopped at a small store with a public booth after curve 6. I tried calling again but couldn’t get through. My tummy had started to growl by then, and we thought we would ride towards Ooty and call when we had the signal. Checking for the signal on the phone, we rode on and reached the outskirts of Ooty! Heck! Finally, as we entered Ooty, we called and got the directions, and it seemed that we were taking the correct route at curve 10.

What’s a Christmas weekend without plum cake?

We thumped downhill to curve 10, got into the path, and saw Santosh waiting for us a km later on the mud path. Since there were tight hairpins and the path was full of wet mud and loose gravel, Abhi suggested that I come walking with Santosh while he rode as if I didn’t understand that he wanted to have all of the off-roading fun alone without having to worry about balancing the bike with me! Heh! We walked for a couple of kilometres, and by the time I climbed the last bit, my rusted legs had turned to stone, and I was huffing and puffing like crazy! What the hell happened to my ‘fitness’ levels?! The path then became a grassy descent that led to a mind-boggling view of a beautiful valley in the Nilgiri mountain range—I had a simple but excellent breakfast of French toast, noodles and some plum cake too.

Later, plans were made to pack Biryani for lunch from Ooty and head to Wild Haven. We headed towards Ooty for the second time in the day, but this time through Sholur—excellent winding roads through lush green tea estates and pine forests. The town had a local cricket ‘Federation Cup 2008’, and the village grounds had a massive turnout of people to watch the match who lined the mountainside! Pretty cool, huh? 🙂 Repair work after the town had made the roads dusty, and the ride was pretty rickety till we reached Ooty town. We parked ourselves in Cafe Coffee Day while the Biryanis were packed and started downhill descent to Masinagudi.

We rode to Bison Point and stopped for the Biryani break since the spot had no tourists, surprisingly. Hung around for a while watching a bunch of Asian Fairy Bluebirds. The place soon started to get crowded, and we got going. We reached Wild Haven just when the sun had begun to set.

The next day, we packed and accompanied Santa to check out his new house that was being built in Bandipur. On the way out from Bandipur, we saw a kill being feasted on by a Vulture and a Mongoose just 25-30 meters from the road. That was their Christmas weekend feast! We could not ascertain what the kill was, but both scavengers were oblivious to the presence of people. As the crowd grew, it was time to get going and start riding back to Bangalore.

End of the Christmas weekend ride.

All good things come to an end, and so did this trip. To get back to the city from someplace so peaceful is not a good feeling, and every time, it only worsens. Cribbing and ranting about it, we got back home, but with the thought that there are new abodes to which we can always go back to soothe our overworked minds.

Where are these places now?

Edited by Abhi in 2023 – Places in Masinagudi were closed down in 202x (probably 2021), so I have removed the maps as they are no longer relevant. Feel free to comment if you need any information, and I will see if I can dig around, but this Christmas weekend was a long time ago. So no promises.