2016 NYE ride # Day 1 & 2

I wanted to escape 2016 NYE out to somewhere where I can be just myself. So I planned this ride for 4 days, the ride was planned, but not the places. Till the day before the ride I wasn't fixed on what places to go, roughly made a list and settled on 3 - Mysuru, Kozhikode and Mangaluru. On 30th Dec I started to Mysuru.

Day 1:

As usual, I got up late at around 7:30 a.m and started to Mysuru at 1:30 p.m, had some work in between. It was sunny, and getting out of Bangaluru's traffic was in itself a ride of its own. I took the NH 4 via Yeshwanthpur and after a lunch break I reached Srirangapatna at 5:00 p.m, took some cheap accommodation nearby and thought of going to Brindavan gardens, but on my friends suggestion went to Kukkarahalli lake in Mysuru instead, it was already dark and the place was closed. Nothing else came into my mind except the Mysore Palace.

Traffic in Mysuru is moderate, can't be compared with Bengaluru's. Reached palace and went inside, the freaking place was completely dark! I thought maybe some power outage but then came to know that there was a Sound and Light show going on, they light up certain locations while narrating a story, shot some pictures of the palace and enjoyed walking in its gardens.

After the show I went to the exhibition grounds right opposite to the palace. It's know for the commercial fair which starts at the time of Dasara and goes on for few months. It's not a small place, it's spread across a big land and walking along its length and breadth takes a good amount of time, below are some pictures I shot there. Good place for photography and fun time. By the time I came out it was 10:45 p.m, went back to my accommodation and slept off.

Day 2:

Got up at 7:00 a.m, though it's extremely difficult to get up on winter day mornings I managed to break off from bed and headed towards Kukkarahalli lake. I reached that place like in 30 minutes, an awesome place for early morning jog, I too joined with others and walked across the perimeter of the lake, a beautiful scenic place with flora and fauna. Pics below.

There's another lake nearby called Karanji kere, it's near to Mysore Zoo, a small lake in comparison with Kukkarahalli but a well maintained one, has butterfly park, gardens and the best of all, it has India's largest walk through aviary with some dozen species of birds, it could've been little bigger though.

Headed back to my room after having a tasty mysore masala dosa, geared up and started to Kozhikode (aka calicut) through NH 212. This route goes via Bandipur Tiger Reserve which is abundant with Indian Elephants and Spotted Deer, a really nice road which any biker would love, and occasionally you'll get the opportunity to see tuskers next to the road, it can be a scary view for people who cannot appreciate the nature, after this I entered the beautiful and scenic Wayanad district in Kerala which gave me opportunity to view some of its most amazing landscapes, its crown Chembra Peak and countless valleys. I didn't stop anywhere in this route for long periods of time, because if I could reach Kozhikode before 6:00 p.m, I could watch the sunset from Beypore Port.

Lakkidi View Point

Odds are against me, or I assumed NH 212 via Wayanad would be easy, I got stuck in several traffic jams, especially in Sultan Bathery and Kalpetta, and by the time I reached Kozhikode it was 8:00 p.m, took accommodation in a nearby hotel, had some tasty chicken biryani and dozed off for the day. But the ride was amazing nevertheless!

Click for Day 3 & 4

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