Jog Blog
An extended weekend, our family all free & needing a break.....So, what do v do?? Well, v plan to go to Jog Falls in our car, Hyundai Accent. Incidentally, when v talked abt this, my uncle also decided to join in with his family in their Maruti 800.
So, come Sunday, the 14th, 3 pm, both the families were on the way, although 800 started with a head start of abt an hour. My bro, Rahul was on the wheel to start with. He had 2 put in some effort in order to negotiate the road (or the excuse for one) upto Suratkal. The road was reminiscent to the ones used in Motocross events 4 bikes, especially, what with so many pot-holes. Seeing their sizes, one cant b blamed 4 thinking that those were made 4 those Motocross bikes which jump a long way up above the crests.
After Suratkal, the roads were a lot better, if u forget abt some areas dotted with pot-holes.
So, v reached Udupi at around 4 pm. There v took our 1st stop 4 some "pet pooja" in one of the famous retaurants there. This is where v met up with the other family, who reached there after a brief stop at the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple.
After abt half-an-hour, v started from there with me on the wheel. The road surface in the NH in some of the places was very rough. V deicded to have a stop at Aannegudde Temple, near Saligrama. Dad took over on the wheel & continued till v stopped at the Maravanthe beach. The beach, which recently underwent an alarming bit of sea erosion was littered with huge stones to prevent the scenic stretch of road from being washed away. The NH pass very,very closely to the beach, parallel to it. On the other side, there is this river. Thus, this NH is sandwiched between these 2 water bodies.
Another half-an-hour later, with me still on the driver's seat v started. And a good thing it was. Coz, 5 mins later v faced the wrath of Aug. rains in this part of India. There were brief stints of really heavy rain followed by periods of bright sunlight. During this phase of our journey, v were treated to a collection of some very melodious songs. It was just wonderful to chug on the miles with excellent music blarring out from the Pioneer MP3 player.
V went to the Murudeshwara temple on our way. It is a beautiful temple with very good developments taking place there. Its location is a very very good one, considering that it is situated rite on the beach side. There r some huge statues of lord Shiva & also, statues portraying scenes from Ramayana & Mahabharatha built there.
Dad took over the wheel as v started from there at 8 pm. Next stop v took was in Honnavar, supposed to retire 4 the nite. But, the acomodations were full there. So, v decided 2 continue to Kumta 2 call it a day in some decent hotel. So, after dinner in Kumta, v found a nearby Hotel with clean facilities. So, v retired to bed early (by our stds) in order to start early the next day.
Come the Independence Day, v had breakfast early at around 7.15 & started towards Jog with anna on the wheel. V had one stop at a nearby temple. Since, v had gone to Kumta 4 the nite, v had to retrace back to Honnavar 2 go to NH 206 which wud lead us to Jog. Once on that road, v were treated to some beautiful scenery all around us. It was really wonderful to drive thruroads passing thru meadows & fields flourishing in the rarest tinges of green, no doubt due to the sprinkle of rain. On both sides of the road, there was a covering of green grass. The road itself wasnt bad, but, only that it was a bit narrow. Later on, my dad occupied the drivers seat. During his stint, v had a couple of stops at some scenic places 2 take a couple of photos. But, due 2 dense fog cover, v were not fortunate enough to c the seemingly very beautiful Sharavathi River valley. From here-on-in, there was dense fog in the Ghat roads. It was so dense that visibility after abt 20-25 ft was impossible. After negotiating thru these tough conditions with ease v reached Jog Falls.
Although, many ppl had come to Jog at that particular time, having cited the opportunity 2 break-thru from their daily routines, it wasnt upto the limit of causing any nuisance 2 the ppl. As soon as v reached there, v were disappointed to find the cloud blocking out our view of the Jog. But, it started clearing out very soon. There, v saw it....the 4 falls making up the JOG falls, Raja, Rani, Rover & Rocket plummeting down the hill in spectacular fashion. The hill itself was shining due 2 the droplets of rain-water. Again, it wasnt that the cloud made any of our viewings easy. Actually, it cleared out 4 only abt 15 mins. After spending abt an hour there, clicking away shot after shot in our DigiCam, v started on our journey back home.
V decided 2 take a different route while returning. V continued on the NH 206, with me on the steering wheel, until Sagar, where v took a route to Theerthahalli. This road was the worst of the ones encountered on this journey. First-of-all, the road itself was very narrow, permitting only 1 vehicle 2 ply on it. Adding to the woes, was the fact that this road was very bumpy, which made this more than 60 kms, 1 & 1/2 hr, journey very uncomfortable. One more characteristic feature of Uttar Kannada, & one which was terribly annoying to the road users, was the fact that the cows & dogs had their sheds almost on the roads itself. What I mean to say is that, once in every 2 or 3 kms, v encountered a herd of domestic animals lying on the dead centre of the road. They dont even budge, no matter how many horns u blare at them!! Also, our stomachs were making their presence felt. I took a break when v stopped to have a leak & Appa took over. Finally, v reached Thirthahalli & filled our stomachs. When v got back to the car, it was around 2.30. Anna sat on the wheel as v took the road leading to Agumbe. There was rainfall continously on this route. V reached the beginning of Agumbe Ghat at around 4pm. The view from the View-Point is supposedly breath-taking, but, v were not lucky enough to c the different hairpin turns & the beach at a distance.
The 14 HairPin bends were breath-taking, but, the road was very narrow. Our journey was helped by the fact there was not much traffic in this stretch compared to other roads v r used to back-home.
As v neared Karkala, I took over the wheel. Then, my uncle also tried out the Accent on our way to Moodabidri. Dad, meanwhile took over the wheel of the M800. My cousin, Manoj, who just got his license days back, had a wonderful learning expereince on his first long-distance drive, helping out uncle.
V had our final pit-stop at Moodabidri, where v had some ice-creams. After that v bade our good-byes & returned 2 our respective cars. Dad had an appointment to attend, so, v left a bit early with me on the wheel 4 the final leg. Finally, v reached home at 6.30 pm, having clocked abt 650 kms in a span of 27 hrs.
V all were definitely exhausted, but, u ask me whether it was worth it?? My answer's gonna b a definite Yes. The car took it very well, without once agitating, ferrying us comfortably thru some very ordinary roads. Also, over the entire duration of the journey, with the AC switched on most of the times, it returned an average of 15 km/litre which is highly praise worthy.
So, until my next blog........
Good-Bye
Yours truly,
Rax
An extended weekend, our family all free & needing a break.....So, what do v do?? Well, v plan to go to Jog Falls in our car, Hyundai Accent. Incidentally, when v talked abt this, my uncle also decided to join in with his family in their Maruti 800.
So, come Sunday, the 14th, 3 pm, both the families were on the way, although 800 started with a head start of abt an hour. My bro, Rahul was on the wheel to start with. He had 2 put in some effort in order to negotiate the road (or the excuse for one) upto Suratkal. The road was reminiscent to the ones used in Motocross events 4 bikes, especially, what with so many pot-holes. Seeing their sizes, one cant b blamed 4 thinking that those were made 4 those Motocross bikes which jump a long way up above the crests.
After Suratkal, the roads were a lot better, if u forget abt some areas dotted with pot-holes.
So, v reached Udupi at around 4 pm. There v took our 1st stop 4 some "pet pooja" in one of the famous retaurants there. This is where v met up with the other family, who reached there after a brief stop at the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple.
After abt half-an-hour, v started from there with me on the wheel. The road surface in the NH in some of the places was very rough. V deicded to have a stop at Aannegudde Temple, near Saligrama. Dad took over on the wheel & continued till v stopped at the Maravanthe beach. The beach, which recently underwent an alarming bit of sea erosion was littered with huge stones to prevent the scenic stretch of road from being washed away. The NH pass very,very closely to the beach, parallel to it. On the other side, there is this river. Thus, this NH is sandwiched between these 2 water bodies.
Another half-an-hour later, with me still on the driver's seat v started. And a good thing it was. Coz, 5 mins later v faced the wrath of Aug. rains in this part of India. There were brief stints of really heavy rain followed by periods of bright sunlight. During this phase of our journey, v were treated to a collection of some very melodious songs. It was just wonderful to chug on the miles with excellent music blarring out from the Pioneer MP3 player.
V went to the Murudeshwara temple on our way. It is a beautiful temple with very good developments taking place there. Its location is a very very good one, considering that it is situated rite on the beach side. There r some huge statues of lord Shiva & also, statues portraying scenes from Ramayana & Mahabharatha built there.
Dad took over the wheel as v started from there at 8 pm. Next stop v took was in Honnavar, supposed to retire 4 the nite. But, the acomodations were full there. So, v decided 2 continue to Kumta 2 call it a day in some decent hotel. So, after dinner in Kumta, v found a nearby Hotel with clean facilities. So, v retired to bed early (by our stds) in order to start early the next day.
Come the Independence Day, v had breakfast early at around 7.15 & started towards Jog with anna on the wheel. V had one stop at a nearby temple. Since, v had gone to Kumta 4 the nite, v had to retrace back to Honnavar 2 go to NH 206 which wud lead us to Jog. Once on that road, v were treated to some beautiful scenery all around us. It was really wonderful to drive thruroads passing thru meadows & fields flourishing in the rarest tinges of green, no doubt due to the sprinkle of rain. On both sides of the road, there was a covering of green grass. The road itself wasnt bad, but, only that it was a bit narrow. Later on, my dad occupied the drivers seat. During his stint, v had a couple of stops at some scenic places 2 take a couple of photos. But, due 2 dense fog cover, v were not fortunate enough to c the seemingly very beautiful Sharavathi River valley. From here-on-in, there was dense fog in the Ghat roads. It was so dense that visibility after abt 20-25 ft was impossible. After negotiating thru these tough conditions with ease v reached Jog Falls.
Although, many ppl had come to Jog at that particular time, having cited the opportunity 2 break-thru from their daily routines, it wasnt upto the limit of causing any nuisance 2 the ppl. As soon as v reached there, v were disappointed to find the cloud blocking out our view of the Jog. But, it started clearing out very soon. There, v saw it....the 4 falls making up the JOG falls, Raja, Rani, Rover & Rocket plummeting down the hill in spectacular fashion. The hill itself was shining due 2 the droplets of rain-water. Again, it wasnt that the cloud made any of our viewings easy. Actually, it cleared out 4 only abt 15 mins. After spending abt an hour there, clicking away shot after shot in our DigiCam, v started on our journey back home.V decided 2 take a different route while returning. V continued on the NH 206, with me on the steering wheel, until Sagar, where v took a route to Theerthahalli. This road was the worst of the ones encountered on this journey. First-of-all, the road itself was very narrow, permitting only 1 vehicle 2 ply on it. Adding to the woes, was the fact that this road was very bumpy, which made this more than 60 kms, 1 & 1/2 hr, journey very uncomfortable. One more characteristic feature of Uttar Kannada, & one which was terribly annoying to the road users, was the fact that the cows & dogs had their sheds almost on the roads itself. What I mean to say is that, once in every 2 or 3 kms, v encountered a herd of domestic animals lying on the dead centre of the road. They dont even budge, no matter how many horns u blare at them!! Also, our stomachs were making their presence felt. I took a break when v stopped to have a leak & Appa took over. Finally, v reached Thirthahalli & filled our stomachs. When v got back to the car, it was around 2.30. Anna sat on the wheel as v took the road leading to Agumbe. There was rainfall continously on this route. V reached the beginning of Agumbe Ghat at around 4pm. The view from the View-Point is supposedly breath-taking, but, v were not lucky enough to c the different hairpin turns & the beach at a distance.
The 14 HairPin bends were breath-taking, but, the road was very narrow. Our journey was helped by the fact there was not much traffic in this stretch compared to other roads v r used to back-home.
As v neared Karkala, I took over the wheel. Then, my uncle also tried out the Accent on our way to Moodabidri. Dad, meanwhile took over the wheel of the M800. My cousin, Manoj, who just got his license days back, had a wonderful learning expereince on his first long-distance drive, helping out uncle.
V had our final pit-stop at Moodabidri, where v had some ice-creams. After that v bade our good-byes & returned 2 our respective cars. Dad had an appointment to attend, so, v left a bit early with me on the wheel 4 the final leg. Finally, v reached home at 6.30 pm, having clocked abt 650 kms in a span of 27 hrs.
V all were definitely exhausted, but, u ask me whether it was worth it?? My answer's gonna b a definite Yes. The car took it very well, without once agitating, ferrying us comfortably thru some very ordinary roads. Also, over the entire duration of the journey, with the AC switched on most of the times, it returned an average of 15 km/litre which is highly praise worthy.
So, until my next blog........
Good-Bye
Yours truly,
Rax
Labels: Travel
posted by Rakshith @ 7:30 AM
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