Coast to Coast 2021: Chennai to Bapatla

By 6 am I get ready. I move the bike outside of the parking lot to tie up my luggage. Emotions are running high as I am about to leave the city, the city where I first flew to, out of my hometown back in 2012. I stayed here for a year as I was working with Ford. It was hard to let go of all the memories and incidents with which I was attached to this very place.

Me and Shiv, both being friends via social media had first met in Mizoram back in 2019 during Northeast Riders Meet. After the event, we had parted but it took 2 more years for us to meet again and that too, at his own ground. It was a meet on short notice but, I felt happy that I could meet him in person.

After I am done with packing and clicking selfies, we head over to the tea shop for a hot cup of tea to get the required morning boost.

I planned to head towards ‘Pulicat’ first, taking the coastal route, as suggested by my dear friend. From there, I had to join the main highway again to head northwards. A visit to Sriharikota, the place, responsible for taking India’s Satellites into space was put in “must visit” by my friend. This was earlier skipped by me during the planning stage.

There is hardly any traffic and the city is draped under a light cover of fog. I, soon enter the industrial area of Ennore. Company buses carrying employees are seen everywhere. I pass by the entrance of the Ashok Leyland factory.

City roads quickly give away to broken unpaved roads. The dust rises up as vehicles pass me by. People, mostly working in the power plant wearing safety helmets zoom past me. The scenery is dotted with power transmission towers. The landscape is adorned by thorny bushes not rising more than 5 feet in height.

As I ride towards the Pulicat watchtower, I see herdsmen tending towards their Goats and Sheep. I wonder, what they get to eat in this area where hardly any greenery can be seen. Up ahead, fishermen can be seen prepping their fishing nets and readying their fishing boats. The boats are lined up like the ‘links in the chain’. The tide is low.

Soon, I reach the dead-end where the Pulicat watchtower is situated, I get a glimpse of it and then turn left towards the main highway. I skip going near the watchtower as it requires me to take the bike over sand dunes. The risk is not at all worth it.

Following Google maps, I end up at one place where I can’t move forward. The road ahead is flooded with the backwaters. Google says there is a road ahead but I am not able to head forward. I look around and nobody can be seen. The water is too deep to risk it and I think it over in my head that If I get stuck here then it would very well ruin my day. The bottom is all laden with sand! God knows what can happen to the bike. I turn back and reroute myself.

I rejoin the highway at Elavur and soon cross into Andhra Pradesh. The time is around 9:30 am. I stop immediately for breakfast at a roadside stall. I am already late for breakfast. The stall is open from all sides while the cooking is being done at the outside corner. I accompany a few people who are already having their breakfast. Observing what they are eating, I order an Egg Dosa. The taste is just awesome and I generously order 1 more. A total of 2 nos and I am recharged for moving forward. Tea is missed but I found it at a stall adjacent to it.

I am riding on the NH16, the highway which goes all the way up to Kolkata. The highway is buttery smooth and my speed increases. The traffic is little to none. After riding for about 30 odd km, I skip the highway and take a right towards Sriharikota, which is around 20 km. It’s a straight road towards the destination, while I get to see backwater on both sides. The feeling is the same as going towards Dhanushkodi from Rameshwaram. Being an important country asset, check post and speed breakers can be seen at regular intervals. The check post is unmanned but the speed breakers which are installed, limit riding at a constant speed.

I enter the majestic facility of ISRO and am immediately filled with pride. Such an iconic location for the country! The main entry is guarded, through which entry is barred. I park the bike where the various satellites are beautifully placed and the plaque reads “SATISH DHAWAN SPACE CENTRE, SHRIHARIKOTA”. I spend some time glancing over the various models of the satellite-carrying rockets. The time is nearing 11 am. Back in my mind, I thank my friend Shiv for adding this place in my today’s itinerary. I would have missed so much If I hadn’t been here.

I drive back the same distance and rejoin the highway again at Sullurupeta. Soon after that, I take the village roads running close to the coast. Help is being taken from Google. I get to witness a variety of landscapes and village life. Most of the landscape is barren with very small clusters of houses in villages.

I feel like I have traveled back in time. The houses are made from the spiky branches of toddy palm trees. Living is very basic. People are drying the harvested grains on the road and I seem to invade their territory. At some locations, I am driving alone for miles and fear that if something happens to the bike then I am doomed for sure. Help will not come even from far away. The area is situated in the backwaters and often I get to see the water on both wsides.

I cross one of the villages and immediately am hit by a very big ‘potholed’ road. I can’t go above 1st gear and speed is limited to 10-15 km. The bike keeps going up and down like a ship sailing over rough seas. It’s very frustrating and I drive like this for nearly 15-17 km. It seems like I am driving in some corner of the world far away from civilization, through a forest adorned with short thorny shrubs. Not a living thing can be seen along the road and it gives me chills as I ride. I want to get out of this road as soon as possible and get in touch with humanity. It’s scary!

Moving further along the road, the surrounding color changes to shades of green. The brown of the landscape is given away to lush green rice and groundnut crops. The toddy palm trees grow along the perimeter. It’s much relief to the eye as I cruise along. I get the feeling of being closer to civilization. Even though I am riding in India, the surrounding makes me feel like I am in a foreign land. The time is around 1 pm.

Crossing the power plant, I approach a large facility ahead of me. The roads are well paved and I get to see an entrance gate. I check the Google maps to confirm whether I am on the correct route. She says, “yes”. The road indeed passes through the gate. I get closer and a giant security guard waves me down. At first, he is quite startled by looking at me. Along with him are 3-4 people and their reactions are also the same. He notices my recording camera and immediately asks me to switch it off and dismount it. Upon asking, he tells me that this road is private property and belongs to Adani Port. He advises me to turn back and take a different route. There isn’t any for miles behind. There is only one way and that is through that gate.

I don’t give up and ask the security person to help me out. I feed him with my part of the story. He asks me to park my bike and sit for a while and takes out his walkie-talkie and burbles something in Telgu over the speaker. I can’t understand shit, even though I was born in Andhra Pradesh and had learned some Telgu when I was very small.

I get a reply from him saying that he has sought help from his boss to tackle this situation. There is no other option than to wait in the scorching heat and wait for his boss’s reply. I start to sweat immediately. After about 15 mins of waiting, the walkie-talkie rings, and something is being exchanged over the speaker. To my luck, I am allowed to pass through the gate but with an escort. I thank the security team for considering my plea. I wait again for 10 min for the suitable “escort” to arrive who will go in the same direction as me.

It is just a 5 min drive on the “PRIVATE” roads. Inside there are huge structural complexes and God knows what goes inside. I will adieu to my escort and stop immediately as I exit the gate. I find a roadside stall selling cold refreshments. I pounce on it like a hungry tiger. After waiting for almost an hour at the entry gate, my body is completely drained of fluid. I have the best refresher drink of my life. Cold Almond milk infused drink topped with an assortment of cut fruits. I lose count of how many glasses I have. The final bill comes less than 200rs. While relishing the cold drink, I am joined by people from Madhya Pradesh working in the port. We chat for a while exchanging stories and learning from one another. I feel happy that they too love to travel just like me. The time is close to 3 pm and I bid them goodbye and head towards Nellore which is close to 30 odd km.

I rejoin the main highway again heading northwards. The next city is Ongole which is almost 120 km and tine time is close to 4 pm. I feel like I haven’t really gone far away from Chennai. The village roads have really consumed a lot of time. But, I am glad that I am able to see a whole different picture of India while driving in the interior parts of Andhra Pradesh.

My speed is now a constant 80 kmph and it feels like I am piloting a jet plane. Ongole comes very fast than I had predicted. A quick glance at google maps and it seems like, I need to take a right at some km ahead and head towards ‘Machilipatnam’. The Sun is in its final stage of departure and I quickly stop to take a photo before proceeding ahead.

A few km from Ongole and I take a right. The tar road gives away to freshly done cement roads. I feel happy as I get to maintain my constant speed and clock some distance before dusk. There is still light and the tone of the sky has changed to orange. I did not expect the interior roads to be such good. All credits must be given to the “AP” government for taking good care of the people. I push myself towards Bapatla city which is the next big place showing on the map. The distance to cover is 50 km.

Covering the last 50 km, I arrive at the city of Bapatla. It’s totally dark and the traffic is heightened. I stop beside a shop and ask the person for a suitable budget stay guest house for me. He tries his best to help with the directions for one. I Head over to that place only to find one to take care of me. The receptionist cannot be seen and not even his room. Some guests can be seen in the lobby accompanying the building. It’s a 3 tier building with a series of rooms on each floor. My phone dies in between and I have to use one of the guest house’s charging points. I try to find a 2nd guest house that google maps say is nearby.

A long struggle in the city traffic and I arrive at the 2nd place. The exterior seems lively only when I come to know that it’s recently opened. I arrive at the gate and at the same time the gatekeeper approaches me. He says the per night charge is close to 3000rs which is highly over my budget of 500 bucks. I say thank you to him and head towards the 1st guest house to try my luck again.

This time I get a response but it’s of no use. They say that the lodge is already full. Someone suggests me to try another lodge where I am bound to get accommodation at a budget price. It’s hardly 500 mtrs from my current place. My patience is about to end as I am damn tired by how the day has gone. The heat has taken a toll.

Crossing the main road, I enter a dimly lit lane adjacent to a large temple and my eyes fall upon this board which says ‘residency’, ‘Bhavana Residency’ to be precise. I park immediately and head inside and am greeted by the receptionist. He is a tall man with glasses wearing a crisp half sleeve shirt. I get affirmation that they have vacancies and room is available. The deal is settled at 450rs after many dialogue exchanges. The only issue which troubles me is that I get a room on the 2nd floor. It’s going to be a heavy toll on my body to shift all my luggage to the room.

I am about to faint by the time all the luggage has been transferred. A lot of students can be seen in the hotel lobby. I get to know that some kind of exam is there in the city and students from other states have boarded this lodge. After relaxing for a while, I wash all my dirty clothes and take a bath. I feel light after the shower and head downstairs for my dinner.

I have a light dinner of watermelon slices along with bananas. I don’t quite have the appetite to eat a proper dinner. After the ‘dinner’ I pay a visit to the temple beside me and then retire for the day.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day as I would be reaching my birth city of Visakhapatnam.