Kaustubh's blog: A whirlwind tour of South India : Day 2

We wake up at around 7:00 AM, clean up and head out after having a nice breakfast of dosa, pohe and hot tea. The ride to Ankola is very pleasant and most of it is downhill. The road is in OK condition and we make decent times. We reached Ankola and took a left turn towards Mangalore. We had thought of making Mangalore our next halt, but the road was in such a good condition as we had imagined it would be. The weather was good though and it was not very hot. We made good progress. The scenery is breathtaking and its green all around. We did not have much time to stop and look around. The primary target was to cover as much distance as possible in broad daylight. If we were lucky, we could make Kannur today itself. We passed through towns or cities of Honavar, Udupi, Suratkal onwards to Mangalore. Most part of this ride is a blur but for the point where the road passes breathtakingly close to the see. On the left we can see green waters of some creek with boating facilities and on the right a vast expanse of the sea. We decided to halt there for our snack of some chocolates and tea. Mutually we had decided that we would not halt for a lunch break since it would take up time and make us lazy. So chocolates, tea/sharbat and cigarettes were the only things supporting us and loads of water to keep us hydrated.
We crossed Mangalore and continued to ride till we reached Kasargod. It was 6.00 PM when we reached Kasargod. We had to take a call whether we would halt for the night at Kasargod or continue onwards to Kannur. Since the sun was setting, temperatures going down and a light cool wind blowing, we were fresh again and decided to take on Kannur. Little did we know that as we left Kasargod, we would have to go through a ghat section in twilight when neither the bike’s light nor the ambient light around is sufficient. Luckily for us, we climbed the ghat and the weather became cooler. Now was the time to switch on the lights and the fog lamps. The additional lamps were of great help. We could scan the road on both sides and the oncoming traffic would part for us since people couldn’t guess what car/bike was coming at them. Pleasacntly, we covered the remaining distance at good pace and reached Kannur at around 8:30 PM.
The search of a good place to sleep in Kannur took an unexpected turn. It was 26th December, a Friday and all hotels were “full to the brim” with guests. We found that there was no place for us to stay. We came across a board claiming “Homestay” available, a cell number and a name of a lady. We gave her a call and she said she would check and give us a call back. Promptly we got a return call and the conversation went as follows:
Lady: How many people?
Me: 2 of us
Lady: a couple?
Me: No, we are 2 guys on bikes
Lady: Oh!!
Me: Ma’am, we are 2 guys on bikes and have come all the way from Pune
Lady: Oh, Pune. OK.
Me: ??????
Lady: But its 9:30. Its too late. I cant give you a room as its too late.
Me: ????? !!!!
Lady: No family?
Me: Nope. But we are desperately in need ma’am. Please do something else we will have to sleep under a tree.
Lady: Ok. I have a room and I will let you guys stay if you promise me you will not drink.
Me: Is that it? OK, we will not drink.
Lady: OK, I will come and pick you up. Where are you?

So I give her my location. Now we wait looking like idiots, relying on a lady who doesn’t know how we look and we don’t know how she looks. But the lady came after about 15 mins. She took us to a nice bungalow which had a kind of small lodge in its yard and had 3 rooms. Apparently, “homestay” is a way of doing business for many in Kannur. This lady gives us the keys to one of the rooms and also shows us to a decent Chinese restaurant close by. We are relieved. We go to sleep after a nice meal.
Me and my bike