Yes, that is my next stopping place, why? I have no idea, perhaps because my motorbike is parked facing north and I can just go straight without worrying about turning early in the morning.
At the moment I am in Puri which is another temple town (one of the four holiest Hindu shrines appaently. The main attraction is apparently the fact that, like Amsterdam or Nimbin in Australia, you can buy "ganja" legally, at
government shops! (but of course it is not nearly as of high a quality as the private enterprise sector). It is an accepted part of the local religious ceremony and very popular. Besides the gezillions of Indian tourists who come here to worship (and smoke religiously) there are quite a few European tourists and there are also a number of Israelis, a very small number but I spent a couple of days with some nice kids and after they left I also did my touristing, visiting a couple of interesting sites/sights. In addition there are some excellent fish restaurants here and I have been eating very well - no meat however. So I have been here for about 6 days and
tomorrow I leave.
Just to update you all. I was in Pondicherry for a while, from there I drove to Malallapuram which is very similar to Puri except that it has some excellent meat restaurants and my guesthouse had a great swimming pool which
I used every day after I had visited the beach the first day and crossed it off my "must swim here" list.
After a pleasant stay in Malallapuram I decided to make for here and when I looked at the map it looked like about 1400 - 1500 kms. I didnt know what the road was like but from my experience up to now with Indian roads I reckoned on 5 - 6 days for the trip - No worries mate" the bike is good and time doesnt seem to be a problem at the moment. I got up early in the morning loaded the bike and set out. I immediately found myself on a lovely
2 lane (each direction) highway and in less than an hour was in Chennai/Madras.
The highway just sort of ended in the middle of the city, no ring road, but I had my trusty map and soon found the right road but then a large gentleman on a bike like mine stopped me and started chatting. He is a member of the "Chenai Bulls" a motorcycle club that travels all over the country and he offered to show me the way to my highway so I followed him and 10 minutes later was off my map and I lost him at a traffic light when I stalled and he didnt. I spent the next couple of hours driving around Chennai but eventually, with the aid of Zen and several helpful locals I was once again on the highway and what a highway it was.
For 1100 kms I could drive almost as if i were in Israel or the States, except of course for the many vehicles, from bicycles to the biggest busses, coming towards me on the wrong side of the road - of course I have mentioned this before but I was struck anew by it on this great highway. In fact it was such a good road that from time to time I would push the bike to 100! Great fun soaring down the open road with the wind in your face and no obligations. The scenery too was lovely and I had a great drive (except for about 100 kms on the 3rd day when the road reverted to normal Indian highway standard). The first night I spent in Ongole(!) a town which looks like it sounds and the 2nd in Vishakhapatnam which has over a million inhabitants and really needs them with a name like that. All in all I ended up driving 1325 kms in 30 hours on the road! I am having fun.
So now I have another 1000 odd kms before I reach my next destination on unknown and maybe interesting roads. The road less travelled.
Lonely planet is not much help if you are not at one of their recommended sites, on the road here only Vishakhapatnam was given a mention. But I managed. The road less travelled.
At the moment I am in Puri which is another temple town (one of the four holiest Hindu shrines appaently. The main attraction is apparently the fact that, like Amsterdam or Nimbin in Australia, you can buy "ganja" legally, at
government shops! (but of course it is not nearly as of high a quality as the private enterprise sector). It is an accepted part of the local religious ceremony and very popular. Besides the gezillions of Indian tourists who come here to worship (and smoke religiously) there are quite a few European tourists and there are also a number of Israelis, a very small number but I spent a couple of days with some nice kids and after they left I also did my touristing, visiting a couple of interesting sites/sights. In addition there are some excellent fish restaurants here and I have been eating very well - no meat however. So I have been here for about 6 days and
tomorrow I leave.
Just to update you all. I was in Pondicherry for a while, from there I drove to Malallapuram which is very similar to Puri except that it has some excellent meat restaurants and my guesthouse had a great swimming pool which
I used every day after I had visited the beach the first day and crossed it off my "must swim here" list.
After a pleasant stay in Malallapuram I decided to make for here and when I looked at the map it looked like about 1400 - 1500 kms. I didnt know what the road was like but from my experience up to now with Indian roads I reckoned on 5 - 6 days for the trip - No worries mate" the bike is good and time doesnt seem to be a problem at the moment. I got up early in the morning loaded the bike and set out. I immediately found myself on a lovely
2 lane (each direction) highway and in less than an hour was in Chennai/Madras.
The highway just sort of ended in the middle of the city, no ring road, but I had my trusty map and soon found the right road but then a large gentleman on a bike like mine stopped me and started chatting. He is a member of the "Chenai Bulls" a motorcycle club that travels all over the country and he offered to show me the way to my highway so I followed him and 10 minutes later was off my map and I lost him at a traffic light when I stalled and he didnt. I spent the next couple of hours driving around Chennai but eventually, with the aid of Zen and several helpful locals I was once again on the highway and what a highway it was.
For 1100 kms I could drive almost as if i were in Israel or the States, except of course for the many vehicles, from bicycles to the biggest busses, coming towards me on the wrong side of the road - of course I have mentioned this before but I was struck anew by it on this great highway. In fact it was such a good road that from time to time I would push the bike to 100! Great fun soaring down the open road with the wind in your face and no obligations. The scenery too was lovely and I had a great drive (except for about 100 kms on the 3rd day when the road reverted to normal Indian highway standard). The first night I spent in Ongole(!) a town which looks like it sounds and the 2nd in Vishakhapatnam which has over a million inhabitants and really needs them with a name like that. All in all I ended up driving 1325 kms in 30 hours on the road! I am having fun.
So now I have another 1000 odd kms before I reach my next destination on unknown and maybe interesting roads. The road less travelled.
Lonely planet is not much help if you are not at one of their recommended sites, on the road here only Vishakhapatnam was given a mention. But I managed. The road less travelled.
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