Coast to Coast 2021: Kochi to Kanyakumari

The time is 6:25 am and I am all set to head southwards. The darkness has given to light and it is time to ride. I start the engine and everything seems perfect. With new shoes put in, it’s time to burn the rubber again after a brief momentary pause. The sky seems to have a slight reddish tone as I leave the hotel basement.

I soon exit the city boundaries and enter into the Fort Kochi area. This seems to be the old marketplace for the city. It was from here that I had bought the spices and condiments, the day before yesterday. Apart from that, many other merchant shops can be seen but are closed as it’s early in the morning. The streets are deserted and I take a final roundabout near the fort and now it’s a straight road towards Alappuzha. Even on the map, it seems to be in a straight line. The distance is around 60kms.

The Sun hides behind the clouds as I pass through the backwaters and the atmosphere is hazed up. I stop immediately when I get to see the first glimpse of the sun. Its light falls over the rippled waters giving a faint orange color to its reflection. I admire the scene for a few minutes and then hop on the bike again. Nearby me, people can be seen selling fish and the buyers all around encircling them.

This stretch of road is really making me happy. The roads are narrow and I am getting the feel of riding around villages getting to witness all the local activities. At one point, I watch how the local people do traditional fishing with a big tripod-like structure that rises up from the water like a pyramid.

I am nearing Alappuzha and trying to phone my local friend who lives there. I want to have the best breakfast in town and ask him for a good hotel. He directs me to head towards “Madras Veg Table” restaurant. I put it on the map and head straight towards it.

I reach the place around 9 am. The place really seems to be a favorite among people. There is a crowd and I manage to get myself a seat. I order immediately considering that I might have to wait for some time considering the rush. It arrives way before my expectations and I am all into it.

The filter coffee tastes so good that I have one at the table and another one standing outside the restaurant taking into the surroundings. The 2nd one tastes even better. I leave the hotel around 9:38 am. Some things are working in the background as I ride ahead. I have asked my Pune service team to courier the Rearview mirror ‘spacers’ to the “Vizag” address where I will be meeting one of my rider friend. Also, I have told Sam, the USB charger guy from Bangalore to ship the ‘chargers’ to the same Vizag address. I hope to get them when I reach there.

I now leave the main highway road and pass through narrow roads and try to reach near the coastal part from where I can move ahead. At some locations, the roads are very narrow and I have to literally focus on the handling skills. I doubt for a sec, are these even so-called roads or just walkways. It’s my own stubbornness of riding close to the coast making me do all this. Anyways, I enjoy what I am doing and don’t think much of the people who see me as an ‘alien’ intruding on their houses.

After around 1 hr of riding, I arrive at a place where I am supposed to take the Jetty to the other side. Even the ‘map’ says the jetty is there. But, as I talk to the only person I find at the site, he says there is no jetty. I have to turn around ride back some km and rejoin the coastal highway. On the way back, my bike’s front tire gets stuck in the sand present on the road and I am about to lose control.

Riding a few extra km, I rejoin the road running parallel to the coast. I head towards Kollam now. The roads are well-paved with medium traffic. The heat is intense which forces me to take a drink break ahead. I have a big glass of pineapple juice and at the same time, my phone’s getting charged. I get some relief from the cold juice and proceed forward.

Driving on the roads close to the coast makes you feel like you are in a desert. The landscape is all brown with sand present everywhere. Even on the roads. The only difference is that you have vegetation around. I try not to brake hard on such roads.

At around 12:45 pm I reach Kollam city. I don’t enter it and use the bypass. The destination for today is unknown and I strongly think that I might even cross Kanyakumari which seems passable. I have ridden 200kms since morning and If I drive that many km again, I will be reaching Kanyakumari.

At one point, I am all riding over loose muddy roads almost kissing the sea. The views are great and I don’t worry about where it will lead me. I just keep on continuing. Up ahead, I see heavy construction going on the coastal front. Big boulders are being ushered into the sea. I stop to look for what is happening and find a good place to take photographs. I park my bike and take some photos which turns out to be my best in Kerala so far.

Leaving Kollam, I head for Thiruvanathapuram now, which is close to 70 km. I run for most of the time along the coast experiencing different surroundings each time. The views are alternating between coast and backwaters. At some locations, I get to see the canals and the little metal dams built over them. The roads mainly pass through small villages and are narrow. There is hardly any traffic to be seen on the roads.

Around 2:20 pm, I reach Thiruvanathapuram passing by its airport. The city looks almost deserted at this point in an hour. I check my google and find out that the border is near and Kanyakumari is around 100kms. I will be soon entering Tamil Nadu from the Poziyoor border. I get to know my Covid test report by now and it has come Negative. Big relief for me and now I can enter the border comfortably. This border was chosen as it would have minimum police presence and checkpoint, this was the thought process.

I enter Tamil Nadu where the registration of the vehicles is seen to be TN75. It’s the same scenery with small houses stacked up closely and facing the beach. The view is all brownish. And I get to see Hindu temples now with beautifully done entrances and stone carvings. Somehow, I feel that the best temples are to be seen in South India only.

It happens again that, in the pursuit of riding close to the coast, I meet dead end ahead due to broken roads and with that, I am supposed to find my way back towards a proper road running south. Language is a problem and not everyone is understanding what I am trying to say. Even the green signboards and distances on the roads are written in Tamil and that makes it even harder to know which place you are into. Thanks to Google for saving me.

Finally, I get to see the board onto which Kanyakumari is written. Till now, I hadn’t seen even one, over which thought came into my mind that whether this place was called something else here. I get good roads and as I drive a little off from the coast. It’s a perfect black asphalt road devoid of potholes and looks like recently done.

Finally, I reach the place which is so long pending on my wishlist. The time is around 5 pm and the sun is about to go down. I see a huge crowd gathered, everyone wanting to witness the epic sunset. I drive through the crowd and settle at a place from where I can see the Vivekananda memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue, standing right inside the sea. A sense of accomplishment races inside me. Out of the 4 corners of India, I complete 3. I feel like having a party and celebrating this occasion of visiting the southernmost tip of India. I spent quite some time watching the scenery, washing the children and adults playing on the rocky surface. Many, clicking pictures on their cell phones. The waves, lapping gently over the black rocks. All this over the faint orange glow coming from the sun.

Private photographers coax me to get myself photographed. I tell them, I am myself a photographer and they go away. I meet a few like-minded people like me and we are into conversations in no time. They agree to help me take my photo along with the bike. I might be the only solo traveler here, I think.

I mark the end of the day here and decide to book a hotel for myself. With the ‘Booking.com’ app, I easily get one named “Hotel Raja Palace” for 500rs. Looking around, it seems this place is filled with hotels everywhere. No doubt, I got a good deal. I head towards the hotel which Google says is around 1 km.

I enter the hotel premises and park my bike. The so-called owner welcomes me and takes the 500rs beforehand. A helper is assigned to shift all my luggage to the room for which I thank him. The room seems to be good enough for 500 bucks and for a 1-night stay.

I wash all the pending clothes and take a good bath. The electronic devices are put to charge. After I get ready, I stroll outside the hotel to have a look around on the bike. There’s nothing much to see other than eateries and some shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs, which I think are priced high. I plan to eat seafood today and after much going through rows of hotels, enter into one. The food is overrated and I only like the fish, leave alone the ‘green peas’ ‘subji’ which I order along. The ‘subji’ is replaced and instead, I get ‘Daal’ to have it along with rice.

With dinner done, I head back to the hotel only to crash on the bed. Tomorrow, like today seems to be a new adventure and I have no idea up to where I will be reaching before the day ends. The unknown is what surprises me. Also, I think I might be completing my 1,00,00kms milestone tomorrow and that just adds to the excitement. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for me, that’s what I think. With that, I am off to sleep.