Since the demise of my beloved wife, Dr Regi Fernando, in Dec 2020, it has been a hard time, and the pandemic made it even more challenging to cope with this tragedy. The days turned longer than usual, and I looked for a break to uphold my mental strength. All of a sudden, the thought of driving solo came up. I quickly filtered a few locations and decided to visit Dakshina Kannada, the area between western ghats in the East and the Arabian Sea to its West.
I wanted a new perspective and lots of fresh air, and I decided to take the Hassan, Bellur, Chikmagalur, Agumbe roads to capture the maximum of Ghats to reach Manipal. After many years, I will be taking a long drive of 750 km one way, and this time my new Mahindra Thar BS6 Automatic will cruise me to the destination. Filled the fuel tank, and Fast-Tag recharged. For the road and mood, I loaded the pen drive with music. I packed the tool kit with essentials like the Michelin tyre inflator, Battery Jumper cables, Tow cable, Puncture kit, and most importantly, the medical kit. The previous day I stocked some energy bars, adequate water, and a few drinks to use during the journey.
Day 1
I would always prefer to drive during the day. To challenge me and enjoy the dawn this time, I left my home at 11.00 pm with google maps directing me towards Vellore – 2 hours 30 minutes from Chennai. Thar cruised at a moderate speed of 80 kilometres per hour. The highway was full of night trucks, some drive on the right side of the lane and the rest on the left side. It seems each driver had their style to move forward. After crossing Vellore with my maps, I took a coffee break, and google maps pointed to Hosur in the next 2 hours 45 minutes. The Thar automatic was seamless, and I was enjoying the drive.
Day 2
After so many years, this solo trip picked up momentum, and I started to drive towards Bangalore. As I crossed Hosur bypass to start my next lap of drive, I stopped for a coffee break, and it was around 4.00 am. The Sun was still in its nest. I reached the NICE toll plaza to head towards Hassan, and the roads were fantastic to drive, and the Sun peeked to pour the light, which I had been longing for the past 8 hours. It was mid-way to Manipal and felt accomplished, and the Google maps gave me the option to take the Bellur – Charmadi Ghat Road and the other was to take the Agumbe route. I decided to take the Agumbe route, and my Thar commanded a super road presence and glued to the Bellur – Chikmagalur roads.
2020 has been a failed year for the world, and I was driving with inspiration to admire the windy roads, and small towns were bliss and a blessing for me. I felt the vacuum in my front passenger seat as my sweetheart always occupied it, sad my beauty was not there to witness this adventure.
As I entered the border of Agumbe, I stopped at Malgudi Tea Shop to sip a hot tea, and it was around noon by then. Interestingly I didn’t stop for breakfast as I was mesmerised by flora and fauna filling my eyes. The drive so far was thrilling and safe. I reached Manipal by 1.30 pm after beating 13 hairpin bends. Wow, what a relief, after driving 14 hours without a break to check-in at Hotel HomeTown Galleria, Manipal. I had a long shower and moved to the Manipal Campus to pick my daughter, who will be my companion for the next few days.
Day 3
The next day, we visited the majestic Kudremukh peak at 1,894 meters above sea level. We left the hotel around 7.00 am, passed through the narrow lanes of Harijan Colony and Alugelu, and reached the base at 8.15 am. The forest officials told us that the National Park is closed due to COVID but issued a token to travel to the next check post, which is 1 hour 15 minutes away from the base.
We stopped at the next check post to recharge ourselves with a hot tea and got energised for the next lap of the drive. This time we decided to drive towards the beaches. So, we set our location as Padubidri beach, 80 km West. The wide roads greeted us as we crossed Karkala. The drive was scenic, and the view was breathtaking, while the forest boasted different shades of green one could imagine. But, on the course, we agreed to visit the Hejmadi beach and took a detour. The beach was quiet and calm without any soul. A paddy field welcomed us with a lush green backdrop before the beach. It was a wonderful sight to see the green area and the beach with the backwater, which was a rare sight to witness. We spent some time watching the seawater merging with the backwater pool and decided to move as we were hungry for food.
It was lunchtime, and we took support from our digital assistant to guide us to Sannidhi Fish Park. The place is not a fancy air-conditioned restaurant. We again looked at the new perspective to experiment with little hesitation and stepped in. Many people seemed like regulars which gave us hope. The fish fry and the crab masala were the highlights, and we wrapped up with super cool buttermilk. It felt heavenly. I wanted some rest to explore further. Hence we returned to the hotel and crashed. To taste delicious food, “Eye of the Tiger” is an excellent place to try. We checked in around 8.00 pm, and a big screen projected the IPL match. The restaurant made me feel younger by 20 Yrs!
Day 4
We had a late breakfast, agreed to visit places around Agumbe. The magnificent mountains greeted us with a big smile of nature one more time. This time we drove to the Jogi Gundi Falls, backed up with salt and matchbox to combat the leeches, if any. Since it was summer, the iconic falls didn’t have much water; we walked back and found a few leeches on our feet. Quickly used the salt to remove the leeches with some aftermath of blood. It was a disappointment, and we wanted to go back to the hotel room. But, on the way, we noticed the signboard for Kundadri, the hill in Teerthahalli taluk of Shimoga district, 800+ meters above sea level. Drove the steep, crazy winding narrow uphill roads leading us to the 17th Century Jain temple at the top. The view was spectacular with a clear summer sky. We enjoyed spending time looking at the surroundings. Later, we wanted to call it a day, bid bye to Agumbe and reached the hotel.
Day 5
Time to leave Manipal, settle the bills at 4.30 am at the hotel, and start my journey. I had a quick coffee at Agumbe and drove towards Balehonnur, crossed Belur, and stopped at Hassan for a coffee break. The Thar was a pleasure to drive, and I felt the need for food hence stopped at A2B, Hosur. Seeing the crowd, I finished my dosa quickly and continued my next lap towards Krishnagiri. I had to fill fuel hence topped up after Vellore. I reached home at 6.30 pm, thanked God for the safe journey. This 2000 km solo trip made me feel what I was feeling. It washed over some of the pains and uplifted my confidence to live alone. Some say solo trips are boring. But for me, it was an exciting experience filled with cherished memories and taught me to accept and appreciate the nature and culture of the place.