Diary of a solo wanderer

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Day 7 April 22, 2015 - Puri to Konark

From the land of Jagannath of Puri. Odisha.

@Front of Jaganadha Temple

I had woken up excited about seeing the Jagannath temple. Had my bath and set out with the Gopro.
Compared to yesterday evening, lesser crowd of people.
That soon turned to disappointment when I saw many boards that said only Hindus could enter the temple.
My hopes dashed, I wandered about a bit, and took some pictures from outside. Those writings catching my eyes each time I turned around.
Didn't feel like staying on any longer and left the place.

Mobile panorama.

From there I vacated the room and set off for the artist's village my friend Veenadevi Meenakshy had told me about.

That was an interesting place. Met many artists, Spent some time there.. sat and talked to them for a long time.
It was a good experience.

From there, there was a shorter route to Konark. A distance of 40 kms.
Reached there by about 4 pm. Went straight to the sun temple to have a look.
Crowded. This time, a lot of tourists.
Went back to find a room to stay. A small room, but adequate. Thankfully, cool.
Had a bath, and refreshed.. set off for the sun temple again.

Ornately sculpted.
Built with khondolite rocks, (granite?) it is also known as the black pagoda. It is a world heritage site.
Every December, a dance festival for Indian classical dance forms is held there

A gigantic chariot of Sun god, with 12 pairs of wheels pulled by 7 horses. Only 6 of the horses remain. and some of the wheels are 3 meters wide.
Mostly in ruins. There is a dance hall with its roof fallen off. But the rest of it has survived.
There is an audience hall which still stands.
A Kalingan temple architecture.
It is said that the first rays of the sun strikes the main entrance.
It was evening and so, missed that.

Returned to the room I had taken for the night.
Have to finish copying and saving my recordings and records for the day.

My dinner has come.
:) Hungry.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Day 6. April 21, Odisha

Day 6. Bhubaneswar route. 　　
April 21, 2015

I had some catching up to do for yesterday's forced day of rest.

Sompeta
♡ smile emoticon @Andhra border

A quick stop for this picture, taken after 501 km on the road today. My longest ride on the road so far on a day.

Today covered the longest distance of 537 km. Actually planned stopover was at Bhubaneswar;

I reached there at around 5 pm. I had planned to stay with my couch surfing friends. They had called me. But they were in Cuttack. It would be 25 Kms to Cuttack. and I would have to return to Bhubaneswar next morning to go on to Puri. Direct from Bhubaneswar to Puri it is 62 kms. And from there 35 kms to Konark. Since it would be unnecessary travel back and forth. I called my friends and informed them of the change in plans.
Stay at Puri will cost more.

Today has been my longest ride as of now. Traveled a distance of 537 kms. I must have had about 5 litres of water through the day.
Now, finally I am here.

— at Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha

Puri at night. Jagannath temple precincts. The place is milling with crowds of people. The roads filled with a moving mass of humanity.. Looks like a celebration of devotion.
A business of devotion too.
Wayside shops filled with paraphernalia related to the place and other stuff we see at all such places.. Things common to where many people gather. Hawkers trying to attract customers.
A lot of places to stay. But no safe space for T Tenzing.

Whenever I stopped, seeing the bike and maybe seeing signs of travel, a crowd would gather around. Some asking if I wanted any help.

Many seemed to be on drugs. Even sadhus. Suspicious looking crowd.
Avoiding them, I rode around trying to find a safe place for Tenzing.
Seemed in vain. Where to rest Tenzing for the night? I needed a place to stay too.
But I was more worried about him. I didn't want him gone when I woke up.

Stopped to have a drink of cool apple juice.
And then I found a place. Close to the temple. With space inside for safely parking the thunderbird.
I would cost me 5k for the night. But good comfortable rooms. At that time the owner of the place came. Talked to him about my travel, about my purpose of travel. He listened with interest, asked questions to know more; said the rooms would cost 4500. They were saying it was 5k because it was season then. Then he said, pay thousand rupees for the night. He gave instructions to give me a double room with AC. The checkout time there was 8 AM. And when I said I would need the room for a couple of more hours; and he said, that was fine.
After a tough day, bliss :) I thanked him. Got to the room. Covered in sweat an grime. A bath in hot water felt good to my tired and aching body.
Have ordered a Masala dosa.

Now, for tomorrow.
Not sure I will be able to enter the temple if it is going to be so crowded. But, I hope I can; that I can take some pictures, see the place. I am looking forward to tomorrow. After coming this far, It wouldn't be complete if I left without seeing Lord Jagannath of Puri.

Day 5 April 20, Forced rest at Visakhapatnam :)

Day 5, The unforeseen rest day. April 20, 2015

Feeling waiting for my destiny.

It is the fifth day or my journey.. and I am at the Grand Hotel in Vishakhapatnam.
Missing Tenzing, my friend and guide, my fellow traveler.
Tenzing, my Thunderbird. Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350.

Tenzing is undoubtedly my friend. He has been named so, after the unforgettable P G Tenzing.

The IAS officer who traveled all over India on his Thunderbird.

Palden Gyatso Tenzing 1963-2010

Hearing and reading about his travels, I felt the deep desire to own a Thunderbird.

Though I always loved a Bullet, that was when I started to be serious about owning a Thunderbird.
Because there is no bullet as safe and dependable as it for solo travel.

I have read P G Tenzing's book over and over again and I love the book and have been inspired by it.

I have named my Thunderbird after him, out of my deep love and respect for the man and the rider,

P G Tenzing.
My Tenzing has a different initial though.

He is T Tenzing. 'T', for the Thursday, that he came home to me as my friend.

Today, it is Tenzing's fourth service. It is not yet time for the 4th service, but that
is how I have given him for service.

Today, I will talk to you about how I reached Vishakhapatnam. I will try to tell you the story behind it.

Like all stories, this too has a flashback.

Now, on this fifth day of my travel, as I sit in room number 104 of 'Grand Hotel', let me travel back.....

I started my journey 5 days ago, from Kaloor in Ernakulam district of Kerala.

From Kaloor International stadium. My plan is to travel a distance of 5555 Kilometers. through 9 states and complete the journey in 21 days. But then, a journey is a mission, a destiny. No one can foresee how it will be, what will happen. I am traveling alone. I weigh 57 Kilos and I have a traveling companion who weighs 200 kilograms.
And again, life can be full of surprises. Nothing need happen as planned. One can always expect the unexpected.
As with life, so in a journey too.

I travel a lot. I have have always loved to travel.. Even now, I am on a journey. Many a time, my friends and well wishers ask me, why and where to? Even now, I do not know why I travel.. My aim is the travel itself. It is not a destination I aim for. And that is a fact.

And now, this journey, spanning a distance of 5555 kilometers through 9 states in 21 days. Yes, I will be passing through the 9 states. But it is not planned where all I will travel there, or where I will be staying for the night. Yes, there are assumptions and calculations. On a given day and terrain, I could travel 300 kms, or 350 kms or maybe 400 kms. And, I calculate that I might reach a particular place and stay there.

But in these 5 days, I have never even once stayed the night at a place I had calculated that I would be in.

It has been unexpected places. And at times I have traveled beyond the place I had thought I would be in.

Travel is always a vast topic. We meet a lot of new people, go through a lot of new experiences, all unexpected. Good or bad, it all adds to ones growth. What we glean from a long trip or travel is much more than the experience that we get from long years of study at a university. That is my humble opinion.

The understanding, awareness and knowledge that I have gathered from my experiences, be they good or bad, have all been gifted to me through my travels. And, that is my wealth.

Let me rest a bit for now. Tenzing is back and resting too. :)

I will continue as and when I find more time.

contd...
Almost always, my travels are not preplanned. Nor are they made with any expectations.
Out the blue, the thought would come to mind. Why not go on a journey! And that is it.
I throw some necessities into a backpack, and off I go. I think, that is how I would like to be known as.. a backpacker.
I'd like that very much. Instead of being known as a journalist, a photographer, or a social activist, that is what I would like to be known as. A backpacker. Because, that is exactly how I am.
I travel without making any preparations beforehand. I go wherever I want to. Wherever it takes me. And, on the way, if see a place that interests me. I get down there. Spend time with the locals.
The decision is not made with any calculations. Do I have enough money in hand? How long will I be away? I make do with what I find and come across. At times, it would be lavish: and at others, I might go hungry.
Often, during such travels, without us even thinking about it, it develops an aim. Unexpected, but maybe, preordained; and we become the cause.

For me personally, my travel experiences have been mostly good. But the things we see around, the experiences of others', those touches you deeply.
Many instances might leave you helpless to react. But I have done what I could; I have reacted and taken action to the best of my ability.
And then, we come to know. Our country, our people. what are the problems we face. How much rampant corruption is. All that will make one very sad.
Another thing is; when we travel a lot, mainly we attain two things.
One is patience. The ability to forgive others. That is something great.
Second, we never get angry at others. We will be able to face any situation with a cool mind. When we travel a lot, we come to realize how insignificant man is.
Then there is hunger. Nothing is bigger than hunger or as devastating. The only thing man can say 'enough' to, is food. He can't say enough' to anything else. That is how man is. That is how humanity is.
Haa.. deviating from the the subject at hand. So, let me stop being philosophical, and come back to what I was talking about.
So, like I said earlier; my travel started 5 days before, from Kaloor stadium in Ernakulam. But this time, to start on this journey, I had to wait for six or seven months. Many times it would get derailed. get postponed.

Normally I never make my travels public.
But, this time why is it different? Why is it necessary to share this, give updates.

A journey is a mission. It will happen only when it is meant to. And when the time comes. It will happen. No matter what!
Nothing can stop it.

As regards to journeys, many faces come to mind regarding each... Especially this one. My friends have always stood by me. They have always supported me in everything I do.

So many come to mind. Always, I have had the support of all.
Always my good friends all. I am ever proud of the fact that I have friendships even more precious than blood relations. That, many friend circles exist through me is a fact that gives me great happiness.

In this journey, in this solo travel, there have been friends who supported me, and stood by me staunchly. They are many. And, I will never be able to name them all. But they all mean a lot to me.

Still, there are a few names that I need to specially mention.
First, my most dear close friend and aunt. Usha aunty. Then my very dear friends Veena, Asha, Asha's husband Giri, their daughter Lavanya, Shivamayi, Meera, Geethu, Asha's mummy....
There are many who have supported me with their encouragement; through messages or in many other ways.
Then my room mates. They have all asked me not to mention their names. Because they all need their privacy. But here too, how can I not mention Anil. He has helped me such a lot.

I mention these few names only because they are like my own. I can take that privilege with them. It would be wrong not to mention them. They have always stood by me; and they have all supported me so very much.

Last but not the least ... my mother. Amma knows.
If I am travelling, without elaborating too much, she knows. Alright, you go and come back is all that she says. It is the same during any of my travels. Whenever and wherever I go, I inform her about that. There is only one thing mother asks of me. That is to call her at least once in a day. Sometimes when it would not be possible to call her, I tell her that. And amma always understands.

These are the people who have been with me during all facets of this journey. And, I can never ever forget them.
.........will continue

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Day 4. April 19, Visakhapatnam AP

Good morning!smile emoticon The day began with finding the ropes that were used to secure my stuff onto the bike gone missing. Just that. Nothing else. So, maybe.. someone else's need for it was more. God bless them.

Day 4, April 19 / 2015
Spreading messages @ Near Ellure, Andhra

Born in fire, Tensing will not wilt in the Sun! With a punctured back wheel, Tensing carried me over a distance of 65Kms. Today being a Sunday, all places were deserted. It is possible to travel a distance of 50 kms with a puncture. But we traveled 65 Kms. 4 drum axles had broken. Patched it up somewhat and continued with my journey. Today we (tenzing and me) we rode 415 kms. Need to travel 82 kms more to reach Vishakhapattanam. Need to take implicit care of Tensing tomorrow. Declaring tomorrow a rest day.

—

feeling All is well.

10.13 PM, reached safely

— at Welcome hotel Grand Bay, Visakhapatnam

Good night.

Day 3, April 18 Andhra Pradesh

BF tym. Day3 - Puthalapettur, Andhra
April 18, 2015

BF time

With Chittur Municipal chairman & municipal staff

Near Rajupalayam.Nellore dist, Andhra.
Was carrying some clothes to give as gifts.

Gave some churidhars to these paddy farmers at Rajupalayam.
In thanks for the rice we eat.
Isn't it from these parts that we get our rice? smile emoticon

(Andhra Pradesh is the rice bowl of India)

:) the distance I traveled in search of a place to rest my head, 86 Kms. No way one can put up a tent on a highway. Finally found a place.

The picture below, taken around 3 PM somewhere along the way by the Gopro.

wink emoticon ) — now (18 April evening) at Chilakaluripeta.Guntur District.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Day 2 April 17, Salem/TN to Chittur/ AP

From Ondikadai, Salem, where I had stayed overnight.
Sivalingam and Dhanapal, are silk weavers by profession.
A village of friendly people like the friends I made, Kind and good.

Heavy rains that started overnight, delayed my start today.

Though I had planned to reach Tirupathi, rains again caught up with me. I had to halt 70 kms short of Thirupati.
Tonight, halt at Chittur, AP.

With the guards at military base camp, Chittur. :)
Friendly people again.