Adventure / Travel | With the left and the right

Depths of darkness

Feb

2012

There is something just so mystic about wandering in the darkness and into the woods. The intermittent gusts of chilled wind, the shadows of the branches meandering round the corner, the winding trail that leads to yet another destination, the high rising hills exacerbating the vastness of the valley ahead, the rustle of the leaves hinting the plausible ...

17 Days. 8

Apr

2010

31st March ’10. A few days back, I was mentioning to a friend of mine – Kerala is actually not ‘Gods’ own country’ during summers. Today as I sit by the window of a state transport bus bound towards Ernakulam from Munnar, I take back my statement. The cool gusts of evening breeze from the ...

Meeting Paruammai 4

Apr

2010

It’s about 04:30Hrs and there’s not a single soul or bus in the stand. At about 05:00hrs, a tea vendor rides in on his bicycle. I check with him if there’s a direct bus to Pallavur to which he responds in affirmative stating the first one should be leaving at about 05:30hrs. He even obliges ...

The long pending meet… 5

Mar

2010

Well, today is the ninth day as an ‘Outfoscion’ and despite the initial hiccups the transition has been real smooth. It took me a couple of days to let the feeling really sink in and to get adjusted to the relaxed carefree schedule of my self imposed ‘break’ before I join TFI. The first two ...

The Junglethlon! 7

Dec

2009

The first time I got to hear about the Junglethlon through facebook, I RSVPd blindly considering it to be yet another event and planned to keep it as a backup option. My year end outdoor escapade then was to either ride through Kerala in the second week of December or ride to Araku over the ...

What it takes to travel… 2

Jun

2009

One very common question that I’m asked when I meet people in person who’ve come across my blog is how and why I travel so frequently. Today I received two e-mails from people whom I’ve not even met asking me the same question. I’ve never really given much thought to this per se, so I ...

The Moron, the bike and the Himalayas – Jalori Pass Biking Expedition 14

Jun

2009

The milestone reads – Sojha 1Km. The three of us are literally panting for breath. The altimeter on Bala’s digital watch states 400 more meters is yet to be covered. Far ahead we see a state transport bus inching its way up the curves of the road. A gust of wind gets the thin air ...

Kawal wildlife sanctuary – The Moron vs. the Wild 4

May

2009

Anirudh revs up the Dicor’s engine one last time to get the huge stone that’s stuck beneath the chassis. The tire only slips further into the loose gravel and refuses to budge from the stone incine that we’ d created. 13:30hrs. Scorching 45 degrees outside.No sleep, no breakfast; Five hours of non-stop walk in the ...

The Kalsubai Call… 2

Mar

2009

14th Mar ´09 18:15hrs. We´re half way up the first stage and my cell beeps with a message – ´Debi has a fatal fall. Critical. Call ASAP´. Limited network on the hillock just does not allow the call to fall through. Debashish and a couple of his friends had been to Kerala and were scaling ...

Enduro3 – 09 19

Feb

2009

07th Feb.- Saturday 23:25hrs. It’s damn chilly out here and every breath you take in brings out just another sore cough. We careen round the corner and happen to sight a couple of lorry drivers gambling on the roadside by the moonlight. Mallik and I park the bikes and venture ahead to enquire how far ...