Bangalore - Salem - Thrissur - Kozhikode - Wayanad - Bangalore, a trip of 1250Kms was the first wherein I had to drive the whole distance. On 29th of April,12 we started and we returned back on 5th of May'12. This was not a vacation trip, so there is nothing much that I can add to the places visited. But it has been an experience.
I am not those live-to-drive kind of guys, so driving the distance was not that fun-a-loving touch, at-least for the first half. The drive from Bangalore to Thrissur via Salem and Palghat was rather uninteresting because the roads were sandwiched between barren lands. The road till Salem was awesome. We hardly felt a thing. However, beyond that, the roads became increasingly uneven over extended patches. But driving though Tamilnadu, we hardly had strain as the division between the traffic from opposite direction was good to keep mind at ease. However the moment we entered Kerala, the entire scenario changed. The roads had just two lanes for vehicle to move in either direction. But the main trouble was that the edges of the roads were steep by about 6 to 12 inches on an average, good enough to take a hunchback out of control; perhaps even a sedan. We did have our share; though frightful, it is one thing that I would always keep in mind. Beyond Palghat, the green vegetation was good treat to the eyes. However driving for about four hours non stop during the journey with AC took our breath away -another thing that I learned over journey; to let go the AC air every hour to let the fresh air in. Breathing too much of internal circulated air had made us giddy. On Sunday night we reached Kerala but the oxygen depleted air gave a tiresome Monday.
On our return journey, we took a different route - from Thrissur via Kozhikode, Wayanad, Mysore to Bangalore. The journey was much more relaxed, thanxs to the well asphalted roads with rich greenery on either sides. While crossing about 100Km stretch though the jungle between Sultan Battery and Mysore, we saw two wild elephants by the road side. Beyond that, there is nothing interesting worth a mention.
We had to stay in Kozhikode due to personal reasons. We took the opportunity to visit the Bapur beach. The sight was one of a kind. At Bapur beach, there is a man-made walkway, perhaps 500mts in length, into the Arabian Sea. Boulders have been placed into the sea over which flat granite slabs have been placed with granite benches on either side for people to sit and watch the tides lashing over the boulders. The electrical lamps on either sides of the walkway lit with CFL lamps gives a comforting security at sea. As we walk into the sea over the walkway, the humid winds with gentle force fluttered over the shirt collars. However the humidity in the air dehydrated the whole body. Humidity working in tandem with wind made the whole body sticky. Further we felt the tiredness due to excessive sweating. But the image of the picturesque water front made us feel the seclusion from the land. There were other people at the end of the stretch which did hinder our privacy if you may say so, but, but for them, it would have meant total solitude, a place perhaps Vivekananda would have chosen to meditate instead of Kanyakumari. However, this wonder was made much after Vivekananda meditated :-).
We also stopped at Pookode lake in Wayanad after 9 hair pin turns over the ghat section. The lake has nothing to call unique but there are tons of water lilies in the India shaped lake. These are a few snaps.
