On Fire n off Bangalore !
With all the floating mails, extended fone calls and discussions the planned visit to Mangalore indeed did take off, but for a few minor hitches at 15 past midnight on the 14th of Jan 2006. Bangalore-Kunigal-Hassan-Sakleshpur-Mangalore is this route we had to tr
averse .. well I think I am correct. Umpteen coffee breaks in a couple of dhabas along the way over the night and a small stop over in the morning is all that took us to span a distance of 350 odd kilometers along the NH-17 with the roads proving a perfect delight for all the travel buffs to help us through to Mangalore - our destination. A major sea port n ship building center of ancient India formed at the confluence of Netravati and a second river (could someone help?) we were welcomed with a lush green outset and relatively humid weather conditions.
Tired of the overnight travel but still in great expectations about the couple odd days we would be spending there, we laid our weathery shoulders to rest at the Poojna International. Incidentally a one of the big wigs of the restraunt happened to be a miscreant and is said to have escaped from the clutches of the cops by flying off from the top floor (now u got to imagine how !) . Trivia apart, the guys freshened up quick (thanks, Betts was'nt around !) and settled over for some break fast at Hotel Taj Mahal. Sumptuous moodes, tovves, ghee dosa, shira and hot filter coffees making up for a satisfying brunch .. the highlight being a few hungry men to steal the show and leave the waiter bedazzled.
Unlock the Bekal !
How do we plan our stay? ..where do we go frm here?... bargain hunting and extended justifications of each one's cause did bring us to a consensus to visit Bekal fort in the town of Kasargod, North of Kerala. A giant key hole shaped fort, golden expanse of beautiful beach untapped to its potential surrounding it, backwaters, hill destinations could make up for a simple description of the place. Followed by stretched out foto sessions , we could see a few of us in the group get off to the smooth sand shore and gradually into the salty waters which did inflict its share of losses over the course of the day ! All in all we could see each one of us having a good time in the waters jumping around with catchy scenes of a few guys displaying their, is there a flat bend type bodies making up for the much awaited amusement around.
With the sun settling down behind the ranges we saw ourselves back at the Poojna, exhausted but in full spirits to make up for best of the time to be spent through the course of the evening . We shed the sand off with a shower and sat down around in one of the rooms to discuss the modus operandi - Opinions galore..Manipal?... Sultan Battery ? .... dine n sleep ?... wht do we do..? wht was in store would leave a few of us in the troop with an experience demystified and truly sensational. We then set off for supper at a fairly laid back Hill top restraunt with the guys relishing the Prawn diet and Vinay lost in his Ondu quarter Vodka !
Chandni Bar ki raunak !
Our next stop over, Damini a dance bar with teen aged girls clad with ghagra cholis dancing to the tunes of item numbers. All the gyrations and the moves of these young ladies to swing the mood of the men seated around the dance floor. With the men shredding off r
upee notes in tens of hundreds each one trying to project to be the most superior and powerful of the rest it was a scene never seen before for many of us. We were silently seated around one of the corners not witstanding the pathetic voices of a few of the singers..did we really care about it at all? One song tht stole the show and had its ramifications all through the night more to say over the course of the entire trip Ek Baar Aaja .. a girl of preferred choice for one of the patrons dancing away to glory taking the whole atmosphere to its sensuous best ! We then got off to the streets in a fully upbeat mood with some crazy suggestions like walking all the way to one of the beaches arnd the city late in the midnight floating around.. thanks to a few men losing their senses to the glitz and shine at the bar. Long , heated discussions abt life and the way one needs to approach it during the wee hours of the morning not even bothered to care abt being warned by cops doing the patrol after hours .
All about beaches n sand !
Got up quite late in the morning after all the masti over the night extending to the early hours. Had break fast at the hotel, complementary but still a decent one though. Headed off straight to Sultan Batteri a small beach place around a smaller fort with lots of cricketing enthu
siasts around playing for the coveted trophy.. while we were busy tasting the todi and enjoying the soothing experience the Arabian sea had to offer. We then got across the river through a boat with some of us connectiong it to the SWADES experience to reach Taneer Bhavi another of those beaches that we were bored of seeing by now... unfortunate none of us had a choice ! Later headed towards one of those destinations which is place to one of the best technical institutes in India..and yes it was Suratkal... Took a view of the shore and shiny sands from one of the view points while a few of us in the crew still unsatiated and determined to get onto the waters. Decide to make a quick move from the place with time ticking off and most of us in a desperate urge to get back home before it would get too late for the next morning...
HomeWards bound
Relaxed and laid back start the journey back to Bangalore, Shashi playin the DJ act with his cool music gadgets making a good supplement for some rocking tunes through the evening. With varied discussions ranging from the Indian economy to movie mania to sexual tastes of humans we cruised our way through the dense forests and soothing landscapes to reach Bangalore late in the evening as planned just left with a bagful of memories to cherish.
