mataozm 100 days amanyart

week 6 logs

week 6 photos on flickr
includes Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi, Neyyar Dam, etc.

Day 36 may 29 friday
Neyyar Dam, lions safari park, steve Irwin crocodile rehabilitation center
Morning satsang, yoga is there, so we do and then have a hearty brunch – jedi is feeling nauseous from major chest congestion, ananya does some pranic healing – jedi feels better and we head for lions safari park – first we go to the silent walk place and try to see agastya mountain, but as usual just the main bits are covered by clouds – so we go to the pavilion and ananya takes her panoramas – we then go for the lion safari in the boat – see 6 of the 8 lions up close.. as much as one can see through a caged bus – then we see magars (crocs) in the steve Irwin place – some deer also. Thrilling.
Bunk the evening satsang and crash.

Day 37 may 30 saturday
Neyyar Dam
Jedi’s chest has gotten worse – bunks classes and goes to see doctor who gives like 5 meds – some to be taken for 6 months! – ananya goes for the classes – on taking meds, jedi starts melting from inside and sneezes the entire day – jedi plays civilization – ananya starts reading bhagavat gita (Sivananda version), again

Day 38 may 31 sunday
Neyyar Dam
Sposed to leave today- while looking at the map to decide route, jedi coughs hard and pulls a shoulder muscle - same as last time – agony – ananya does some healing, feels better but more is needed. Decide to stay for another day- cant ride with thsi shoulder. Jedi gets a good full body ayurvedic massage and rests the day – nikhila comes over to talk, shortly followed by sasi who goes at it for 2.5 hrs. good to hear stuff.

Day 39 jun 1 monday
Neyyar Dam – Kattakada – Nedumangadu – Kolaithupuzha - Sengkottai – 5 falls/courtalam - Tenkasi – Tirunelveli – Tuticorin
NH208, NH7
A280 kms
no yoga session - pack and go to kattakada and buy meds at kottakal arya vaidya – ananya is addicted to chanting gods’ & gurus’ praises and sings bhajans incessantly, also pops dairy milk éclairs incessantly – jedi tries to remember what non-veg tastes like while we eat iddiyappams and peas curry - bhagaoed from scenic bridge side location in Kolaithupuzha by stupid policemen, jedi calls them idiots –Kolaithupuzha is gorgeous with teak, rubber and other plantations. lush place.
Ride road over saddle dam near Kolatupula Dam – eat mangostines at Courtalam 5 Falls, which turned out to be more of a popular bathing destination than culmination of five waterfalls – jedi remembers what mutton tasted like when eating kuska– the end of hills and chill weather. just heat from now on. had managed to escape the heat, but the rains have given dhaga and have to start heading north.
reach beach by old harbour in Tuticorin, dark blue sea, gulls fly around, cricket match is on, moon is up at 5 pm, man is shitting – check in and have mega large dinner



Day 40 jun 2 tuesday
Tuticorin – Vembar – Kilakarai – Rameshwaram – Danuskodi – Rameshwaram
NH49, white roads
212 Kms
take the white coastal roads – Salt fields and fishy smell all the way – mega wind constantly tries to flatten bike - this is the land of the street hawks/Kites/eagles, they’re everywhere, hunting for fish in the sea, or flying in one place –amazing sights of them flying/hovering 10 feet over our heads - also mid-air fights over caught fish- when dropped, other bird swoops and catches before it falls to ground, then fight continues...videocam battery no charge
heat, heat, heat – more sea panoramas from what ananya thinks is the ‘engineering marvel’ Pambam bridge to Rameshwaram, railway line goes over the sea just a few ft above the water and even opens up to let ships through – go beyond Rameshwaram to Dhanushkodi Indian Navy Post, no vehicles beyond this point, take rear plank ride in dune buggy truck till actual Dhanushkodi point (Abdul Kalam's birthplace), beautiful blue-green waters of Palk Bay on one side and Gulf of Mannar on the other, can’t see Adam’s Bridge – Sri Lanka (Talaimannar) is 18 kms from this point - next stop is abandoned Dhanushkodi railway station – village was destroyed in 1964 cyclone and they never built it again. church by sea where a sadhu refuses to let the villagers use his sweet well water but gave to visitors – locals grumbling in background– marine national park board says there are sea cows, whales, turtles and sea leeches (in tamil, though looks like sea cucumber) – return to Rameshwaram and find food and place to stay near the temple. Tomorrow tanjavur.

Day 41 jun 3 Wednesday
Rameshwaram, Oviyur, Muttupet, Point Calimere, Velankanni
NH49, ECR
320 Kms
Get woken up at dawn by the temple prayers. Being one of the holiest places for Hindus on Earth (4th most for vaishnavites it seems; char-damPuri in the east, Rameshwaram in the south, Dwarka in the west, and Badrinath in the north) - this is where Ram built his bridge across the seas. also where ram prayed to shiva to forgive him for killing Ravana (apparently shiva's greatest devotee and also a brahmin) . have breakfast and visit the Ramanathaswamy temple with its world famous 1200 m long pillared corridor.
then go see Ramar Padam- ram sighted the front of ravana palace from here and the back from another spot (to be visited by chance later in the day! near Point Calimere).
We then head up the coast towards Point Calimere - another tip of eastern India. quiet roads with little to no traffic - we spot a board for the John de Britto shrine church at Oviyur. so we turn left.
its a big church as expected with two parts, one old and one new. also school and other things.
local old man tells story - around 330 yrs ago he came frm portugal or italy and set up shop here. king of place had 3 wives - john tells him boss - have only one - one of the queens gets pissed and gets him hacked to pieces. later on his relatives come and make up shrine etc. less than 50 years second big church was made. has fest in july simultaneously with Velankanni- his relatives are still living somewhere and come visit. local also tells me to get haircut.
velankanni? hmm. close by. maybe should visit.
we head upto muttupet and then to Pandi where we turn right and curve to point calimere. when we reach, it looks like a smuggler's beach - assumption reinforced by black Bolero that whizzed behind us into cargo area. anyway beach was dirty and the water murky - after 40 days of green, and blue green and all other shades in between, this sea was a downer. saw sunset again in the east.
we leave and visit the vedam... bird santuary and climb up the watch tower and spot spotted deer and few birds. off season for them. See the other Ramar Padam - Ram saw the back of Ravan's palace from here - how we don't know but he was the ultimate man and 7th reincarnation and all that, so he probably could. ananya bit off the heads of some rajasic tam brahms who said ur not hindu, u shouldnt be here.
head off towards velankanni and reach after dark. do a recce and get disappointed. 6 church like buildings and systems similar to all the temples we have visited. another commercialization of religion.
check and watch india pakistan. jedi has new ritual of heating water for his medicines. have VCR for dinner at Mallu place.



Day 42 jun 4 thursday
Velankanni
Wake up early and have meds. go visit the Shrine and Basilica etc. Each structure has a different purpose - tonsure, meditation, confession, - services in different languages. its a religious center almost similar to all others in India, except its Christian or rather another Amman/Mary. same head shaving, vibhuti (sorry holy oil), hundi, archana /mass (70 inr), candle offereing (300 inr) and so on. But end of day, its a faith center and thats what matters.

The shrine is called Our Lady of Good Health - and only Mary to wear a sari! is said to have given 3 apparitions over the years to 3 diff groups here. Mary birthday FYI is Sept 8. also sivananda's bday! :)
eat breakfast and go back and fall asleep in room till 12. jedi says lets stay in today and rest. watch films on hbo rest of day and laze around. have discussions on how our yogic practices have taken a hit but still retained the veggie diet and the other smaller ones. eat icecream and chocolate.

week 5 logs

Day 29 may 22 Friday
Virudanagar, Madurai
NH7, NH49
52 kms
Jedi’s cold is full blown, not an allergy – those 2 days of riding in the cold rain. We pack our stuff – need to buy tarps. Whole plan of bypassing the rain has failed, though glad that we managed to hide in the hills most of the summer. post breakfast, we go to class and learn more on how to heal using prana, for diff ailments.– also learn distance healing, self healing and other stuff. Complete the course – still lots to learn and tons to practice, but is a good feeling.
On receiving our certificates, we pack and head out to Madurai for the 3 day advanced pranic healing and psychotherapy course. Once on the highway, we see clear weather and long open highways – after a month of riding in the hills at 30 kmph, a bit strange and unsatisfying to ride on the plains highways at 60-70 kmph. Near Madurai, we spot a huge rain cloud and its raining someplace – not someplace, but north and we are heading right towards it. Here and there, we pass around the rain, but as we enter madurai, its really close. We reach the place and call our contact who manages to guide us to the Center we are staying (for free again) just moments before the rains starts pouring heavily. Spend the evenng with the center head Mr. S. R. Ramesh Babu who is a karate teacher and also a pranic healer. Quite cool – heals both our auras which are congested. – feel lighter immediately. Have dinner.
Ramesh’s son is staying back and Jedi talks to him and finds a bundle of DVDs which he spends till 2 am watching and copying some stuff to watch later. Both ananya and jedi miss the Silence days this week.

Day 30 may 23 Saturday
Madurai
Wake up and do our kriyas and asanas – from june 1 should start all the practices – finishing a month on the road for mataozm – almost 3 for jedi – pongal for breakfast - 1st day of advanced pranic healing – learn to heal with colours – in the evening go shopping for ‘tumbler heater’ with Ramesh Babu, who picks up gift watch for his 10th boards super scorer daughter – watch shopman is attracted to jedi’s aura and on learning his name predicts that he is meant for great things and should become an advocate to help people with his powers of counseling/convincing and giving right advice though without proofs currently.

Day 31 may 24 Sunday
Madurai
Idiyappam breakfast at Bharma Ediyappa – steal seats from a baby – 2nd day of advanced pranic healing – more healing practice for serious illnesses like heart disease and cancer – our teacher Uddya is a clairvoyant - Chettinad and Karaikari dosas dinner – Krishna temple visit to hear Ramesh Babu accompany his musician friends on the tabla

Day 32 may 25 Monday
Madurai
Pranic psychotherapy class – learn of the psychological aspects of the chakras and how to improve relationships between people and help people quit smoking among other things – jedi and ananya are keen to start using their new learning, starting with family – Ramesh Babu gives Jedi a prosperity generator - evening shopping for tyre tube and rubbing alcohol (dirty energy cleaner for pranic healers) – looks like no one wants to sell alcohol to us (think it’s the way Jedi looks) – finally get it at a veterinary medicine shop and it’s called Surgical Spirit – pack to leave the next morning. Unsure whether to go to rameshwaram or kanyakumari. To decide in the morning.

Day 33 may 26 Tuesday
Madurai – Kanyakumari
238 kms
NH7
Leave the GMCKS Pranic Healing Centre in Myna Tippakulam, our home for the last 3 days – visit the Tirumalai Naick Palace which is being restored – far grander than what we imagined from outside, with the fattest pillars ever! – only 1/6th of the original palace remains and is being repainted in brilliant colours little by little – the court, theatre and the harem -

Tirumalai Naick Palace photos on Flickr

next stop Meenakshi Amman Temple – Madurai traffic sticks bumper to bumper – buy plastic sheets to rain proof our luggage – the shopkeeper is from Jodhpur – Jedi does some expert parking under very trying traffic conditions – the gopurams are gigantic and crazy colourful - the temple security think we are terrorists from Bangalore and examine Ananya’s swiss knife and camera, also forbidden to use phone inside – thousand pillared hall – Jedi taken by lady perched on peacock – the statues have boobs like orbs – poster showing visualization of emotions – the ceilings are covered with energy generators –
we sneak into the Shiva Temple that loudly forbids non-Hindus from entering, it’s the most crowded part and stifling hot - Meenakshi Amman’s hall has martian green pillars and murals of her doing cool stuff like flaying a sword or watching a dance performance – this is around the tank with the golden lotus that Shiva told us stories about - the temple elephant goes for a shit and nods his head once done – Jedi says it will take weeks to check out the entire temple complex -

Meenakshi Temple photos on Flickr

we set out for Kanya Kumari – mostly smooth highway so we keep zipping down – at a cool stop encounter a tiny orange super swift half snake half lizard – smog over a cement factory looks very hazardous for the people who work there - Ananya and Jedi are stung by the same insect while riding – she on her left ankle and he on his left hand – see the southern ends of the Western Ghats with fluffy cloud icing, Jedi says ‘it looks like a painting’, add to that cranes flying overhead - nearing the cape, windmills for as far as the eye can see (asia’s first largest windmill farm- must be 1000s ) – in Kanyakumari the first guy who approaches us promises a room with a sunrise view so we take it and the room is very much worth it with church and sea view and all – shoot some sunset panoramas on the non-sunset side – watch last year’s emotionally charged premier league final thinking it is this years – Ananya practices distance healing on her aunt and brother

Day 34 may 27 Wednesday
Kanyakumari
Wake up just in time to shoot sunrise from hotel balcony – inaugurate our tripod – Jedi has fever and chest congestion – Ananya does healing for him and her aunt – Aunt calls to inform to check if ananya had done healing as she is feeling much better – Jedi feels better too so we have brunch and take the ferry ride to Vivekananda Rock – the tri-sea is choppy – pay the usual visits to all the buildings on the rock – speculate on how and why Vivekananda came here and what it must have been like for him - do Shoonya meditation in the dhyana mandapam on the rock– check out book shop – super windy – take photos –
next, ferry to Thiruvalluvar statue – pose for photos on his feet – Jedi does headstand between his feet under extreme windy conditions – try to take panoramas of all 3 waters – ferry back – futile DVD shop search – nap – Jedi’s fever is back full force – watch TV, have dinner – more healing on Jedi. Jedi plays facebook mini prank saying reached rock bottom. Jedi keenly watching Aila path and aftermath. During meditation gets idea to visit neyyar dam ashram to buy yoga dvd – idea which by night becomes 3 day stay plan.

Kanyakumari photos on flickr

Day 35 may 28 Thursday
Kanyakumari – Neyyatinkara - Neyyar Dam
100ish kms
NH47
Another dazzling sunrise and we leave. Head to neyyar dam – weather is holding out – quite nice weather actually – the weather guys said 26th – today’s 28th! Good for us.
Jedi gets road rage – why do people overtake on curves? What is the basis of their angle and speed? Divine vision or too much EA Sports F1 in indestructible mode? Chants om 108 times to cool down. At one spot, a chicken truck has smashed into another truck of unknown cargo – chicken feathers and squishy stuff all over road. Jedi feels sorry for kerala- the entire state is one big city – just people, and traffic. Total urbanization. Also gold crazy – the biggest and most hoardings are for gold shops – josco, alukkas, and joyallukas.
Plan to have brunch in kerala but give up after marthandam traffic and stop to eat at Friends Hotel to celebrate the imaginary story based one-stop-all-shop near kaniyakumari (friends and co). eat brunch and ride on to see that we had stopped 50 metres before the border! Give trivandrum a skip and take neyyantikara route to neyyar dam –
Reach the ashram and check in – the yoga vacation batch is almost over, but it doesn’t matter – meet shreya’s sister who is doing work-study here – attend last moments of cooking workshop and eat seera. attend 4 pm yoga and get ass kicked – supper and satsang and crash. Tomorrow is holiday at ashram so not sure if yoga classes would be there.

week 4 logs

All Photos of trip to Laksadweep Islands (Kalpeni) on flickr

Week 4 photos on flickr

Day 22 may 15 Friday
Allepey – changanacheri – kottayam – edapally
Kms
Indian coffee house on beach – shut – Indian coffee house on mulackal street breakfast – found in 1958 at trissur – checkout and head via kottayam – lots of questions and turns – but mostly straight – in lemon soda country – soda in branded soft drink bottles – ride between back waters – duck growing? Land – lots of churches

– ananya says ‘ the people here eat duck eggs.’ – punished by jamming her left foot during a aerial segment of the ride at a sudden yahoo bump and scraping her left foot along the road. – after 9 Ow, owu, Awu.. and zero ‘STOP’s, a confused rider stops and lo behold, blood on the dustfloor. Blood red in color, this blood oozing out of what used to be rightmost space of her left big toe and for added color, the right skin of her longest toe. After this near fatal accident, ananya repackaged her toes, using her trip special first aid kit. Jedi helps by watching and asking all the right questions. Savlon, cotton, guaze, filipino alcohol swab, swiss army penknife scissors, water- roadside repair. – grand houses in kottayam – slow riding – palatial mansions here and there – kerala has the highest number of road accidents in the country – public transport has right of way and road cops also support that – man shook hands during a stop and asked the usual questions ending with congratulations – 3 months is a shocker – feels strange to say from Bangalore – but stick to it. – grey colored sada coffee – mango juice by roadside fruit seller cum generator juice maker. –

entry to cochin via some junction where we stop and wait for reshmy’s father – in a short while, reshmy’s house – tea and carrot cake - medical clinic – friendly doctor with tips and info about kerala and people – recommends rest, bandage, pills, and tetanus.

Dinner at alwaye at bread world.



Day 23 may 16 saturday
Thirkakarra - edapally
8 Kms

elections – all good – appam breakfast – royal enfield bike place closeby – give for service – walk back – drink mango time and bad tea – walk back and have sharja shake (milk banana chocolate?). get bike – go to Indian coffee house and snack tomato sandwich and other savories.
Languages need to be learnt – what are the 10 essential words or phrases that need to be known – 1? Where is 2? How much 3? 1-10 4?thank you 5? No 6? Help 7? What food is there? 8? Road bridge ..? observation – people when giving directions invariably use their hands to give visual cues to their audio and most times u can just watch the visuals and use key words and make up the directions, mostly correctly. Or simply, understand the directions.
Ananya roy says every road leads everywhere.
trip names idea – ananya – photaka devi - jedi = papathi
kerala men on the road don’t acknowledge the being of women. They look at or they look through. People drink boiled pink warm water. North kerala, they drink tea with their food.

Day 24 MAY 17 Sunday
Edapally- Willingdon Island – Arabian Sea!
15km + 154 nautical miles!

Breakfast and head for SPORTS (Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports)- Laksadweep office in Willingdon Island – park bike at office hoping it will be safe – be gone for 3 days! – get boarding passes and gift bag with laksadweep tshirts and caps. Go to Cutin wharf – M.V. Minicoy. Inside it looked and felt like a very big video coach – yaay- only showing malu films (not good ones at that). – walk around once out at sea – watch cochin go by and then the wide open sea – the further we go, the more the rolling and the spray – soon all around ppl start throwing up – we too feel queasy – drink welcome drink and then dinner – ananya skips –keeps body perpendicular to movement of the ship - jedi queasy but eats both dinners – crash for the night. – tomorrow laksadweep –

Day 25 may 18 Monday
Arabian sea – kalpeni island – thilakam isle -
M.V. Minicoy – get up early and go check out the sunrise – little spectacular with crescent moon (see photo) – good – after yester even’s disappointing nonsunset at sea.
Spot lighthouse and get confused coz map doesn’t show lighthouse on kalpeni – so think we are headed to minicoy – but its actually kalpeni – ship drops anchor – actually some maneuver with a bouy – little boats come from shore – they open the cargo and take out bananas, tyres, boxes etc. we go down the rope ladder onto little boat and head to land – the water is blue, green, clear, fishy.
Get on jeep and get taken to koomel bathing huts and drink our welcome coconut drink – and then breakfast – note on notice board says lots of things planned for day, but jedi gets urge to smoke so we go hunting and walk around the island – finally find shop that sells wills and also a board that says kalpeni lighthouse – so we light up. At the lighthouse, there is only a gardener who says we can but have to wait till some main man comes. So we wander around the beach and take photos and say aah ooh. We head back and convince the main man to let us see it now and not at 4 pm with the group which he says will come. We get a universal cochin lighthouse district pass and walk up the lighthouse – fantasic views – talk to the gardener who is from Andrott – no tsunami here, but some generations ago, one washed away an island. Main export from kalpeni is coconut, and its very obvious (see photo). We head back and everyone else has disappeared. We hang around, take photos, do headstand etc. until the motorboat comes and takes us to thilakam 2 isle where everyone else is. Immediately we are taken snorkeling! And wah. We are hooked I think. We head back after seeing something really new in life.
Ananya’s bandage gets wet. Back at kalpeni island, we find out that we have no more gauze. We have to go to the primary healthcare center and get before it shuts at 1 pm. So we walk again and have the wound bandaged, get gauze and betadine. And its FREE. Was a bit shocking and then we figured its government – now having lived in Bombay and well paying for everything – and never really going the government way – it was a nice feeling. We had watched Sicko recently and we felt a little happy. Back at koomel, we have lunch and then watch some guys do the local dances, which is more like a dancy martial art. We are taken to the local hosiery factory and see how they spin cotton. Then onwards to Tip beach where lots of snails and corals. Ananya sees shells that on seeing her run away. then back to koomel where we have tea. Then off to see corals at sea in the glass boat – midway the motor starter cable comes off, but the man quickly fixes. Coral in a shop and in the sea are so diff. somehow manage to get the lower mouth to meet the upper. See shoals of fish jumping in the water and birds diving into them…
Watch the sunset and then head back to the jetty. Its already dark and M.V. Minicoy is glittering. We do another midsea? Rope ladder climbing from swaying boat to rocking ship, but all goes well. Back on the boat, but this time like seasoned seamen.
See the nurse/doc/? From the primary health clinic on the ship and now understand his see you someplace on mainland India. Overhear lotsa conversations – esp. the one with the teacher from Andrott going for interview at Pondicherry. Have dinner and crash.

Day 26 may 19 tuesday
Arabian sea – willingdon island – edapally – devikulam
154 nautical miles, 137 kms
NH47, NH49

Get up at dawn and watch the sea. Soon a few birds fly around – surely there must be land nearby – more ships in the horizon – get to see the main deck and all the instruments – XO gives tour of equipment – is impressed that we know about fathoms J (not used anymore – only metric system) – have breakfast and almost miss sighting of land – entry into cochin – no free docking place at the BTP (boat terminal point) so they maneuver MV Minicoy along side MV Amindvi. We have to cross to the boat and then onto land – kickass trip –
back on land – head to SPORTS get bike and then on to reshmy’s house – pack and head out in a drizzle – monsoons are supossed to be early around 26th May, but why on May 19th? What premonsoon showers nonsense. Head off for munnar – have to be in Virudanagar by 20th evening for our Basic pranic healing course. Beautiful ride – bypass munnar and end up at the same place we stayed last time we came this side. Crash. Lotsa stuff is still wet.

Day 27 may 20 Wednesday
Devikulam – theni – usilampati – peraiyur- virudanagar
178 kms
NH49, NH7

Leave devikulam after having complimentary breakfast – excellent ride – as soon as we cross the kerala border – the hills give way to the plains – think TN should be glad they atleast have ooty and kodai – more rain as we cross usilampati – its like we are going along the premonsoon shower trail – every break we take the rains catch up! Wet wet wet – thunderbolts striking the ground all around – scary – enter virudanagar and ask our way to the teacher’s house – about 150 mts (in retrospect – we didn’t know then) on the flyover, we get a flat! Push the bike down the flyover (its still raining), and lo – there is a bike fixer – second time this trip there is a bike fixer at hand – get tube changed – again the valve has conked – decision to increase air pressure and CHECK daily without fail. – find teacher’s house and get treated to dinner – go to the center and our free room – open everything and let it dry –

Day 28 may 21 Thurs
Chidambaram Nagammal Medical Hospital, Virudanagar
Most things have dried, though still. Two days of acid rain? Also everywhere is hard water. Get breakfast from teacher’s house and then off to class. Basic pranic healing!
Learn how to see auras, scan auras, and lots of other cool stuff. Even after these months of knowing and understanding prana, to see it is a bit freaky. Ananya tries to heal jedi’s cold.
Lunch again brought by teacher. Evening check out Burma Hotel. Crash.

week 2 log

Week 2 of Mataozm is over and as the trip takes its own shape, along with the luggage and our senses, here's the weekly log.

Select photos from week 2 on flickr

Day 8 – 1 may 2009
Kookal - Mannavur - Kodaikanal - Kookal
85 kms
Chilling, chilling, chilling
ATM trip to Kodai and back - sunset
Films – 48 Hours, Maharathi, Apocalypto

Day 9 – 2 may 2009
Kookal – kodaikanal – palani – pollachi - palakkad
White roads, NH209, SH156?
220km
chill morning, packed and left kookal. crowded! sathya sai baba had visited kodai on the first - so major crowds. decided against munnar route and stuck to quicker pollachi route. to the plains after 4 days. very warm. plains are nice to ride after the 'stressful' non stop hairpin ghats with all that luggage. checked into fancy hotel.



Day 10 – 3 may 2009
Palakkad – Trissur - Palakad
NH47
138km
reached trissur for trissur pooram around 10 –saw 15 temple elephants for some ceremony – got into the exhibition trap - saw foetuses and cirhossised? livers - walked around all sides of the circular temple - met an architect working in the conservation of the temple – got to go to the upper part of a gopuram. packed with tv and newspaper guys sprawled on the floor on top of each other trying to get the shots. left and went to Vinod's office - met Venus - night ride to palakad
Poorum photos on mataozm flickr

Day 11 – 4 may 2009
Palakad – Mannarkad – 10 km towards mukkali and back to mannarkad
68 km
Lazy morning at hotel – search for palakad breakfast – eat dosa! – internet café – slow photo upload – skip palakad fort – back to hotel- chill and leave for silent valley – unable to get thru to any hotels. – starts raining while climbing mukkali ghats – return to mannarkad – find lodge – cheapest room so far – 300 – door doesn’t latch properly. Film, smoke and pass out. Doesn't look like Silent valley is going to happen.

Day 12 - 5 may 2009
Mannarkad – mukkali – Silent valley national park (sairandhri) – mukkali- agali
91 km
Head to mukkali – call – no response/all full no point going to mukkali – alternate plan made, but by stroke of luck? turn left for mukkali information center (named after highest peak anegundi or something) – get permission and guide/jeep to go inside. Go on kacha road for 23 km to sairandhri – no road road – road been left as is to preserve natural aspects – ppl not allowed normally – vehicles enter only till 1 pm. Must come with previous booking. They have website. Silentvalley.gov.in. Guide – yesu 30 years exp – driver – subash – scared of elephants – elephants have had baby elephant and have been rampaging last few days. Cautious driving..

Reach sairandhi (name of panchali – britishers gave silent valley name coz no cicadas then.) in 1985 plant to build dam across kunti river, but rajiv Gandhi came and made it national park – 89 sq. kms core area,. Also has buffer area. Kunti river 20 kms no man touch. So 2^nd purest water on earth – medicinal also. Yesu made us pour out the bisleri and fill this water. went up watch tower and smoked a j.

Saw nilgiri langoor, giant malabari red squirrel, butterflies, medicinal plants, itch causing leaf plant and bark tree, markings of angry elephant tusks, hoof print of sambhar. Went to suspension bridge. Miss getting chased by elephants on return trip. Everyone at park para abt the elephants. Saw shatavari, aloe vera, chirali (strongest tree- king of forest trees), Eatai (thinner than bamboo – elephants fave food) – didn’t spot lion tailed macaq (only place on earth) but lots of whythey are here – fave food - karani trees – eaten when small and non thorny. Tumeric, kodom?
5 types of weather zones, 12 types of diff forest. 104 orchids including one that’s only found here on earth – orchid plants growing like moss everywhere – flower in oct- nov - .kunti did tapasya here. Pandava angles..
got route options from warden. Kottakara, muli, manju, ooty. 44 hair pin bends! Have to bribe.
returned to mukkali and then bike parked in parking lot with all luggage intact. Tea at mukkali and then decision on route – already 5 so stay at agali – ride along sunset. Govt guest house turned away coz of no vacancy. Stay at mkr lodge in goolikadavu 1 km away from agali.
200 bucks cheapest so far. No tv though. Dinner at thalaserry rest – veg while traveling is very limited. Got to go yogic in a week. Happy birthday to all the May people.
Happy areas – churches, mosques, fields. Different dreses across religions – muslims maxis, nighties – hindus - ? christians – typical like in comic books. overall kickass day and lots seen considering so little time spent and so much seen and learnt.

Silent Valley National Park photos on Flickr

Day 13 May 6, 2009 Wednesday
144 km
goolikadavu – kottathara – mully – manjoor – ooty
43 hairpins, 4 km of bad road before mully, 20 rs. Bribe/toll!
More hairpins towards upper bhavani – total around 63 hairpins done today.
Felt like private road. total of 20 vehicles in a 60 km stretch. Scaled ooty from 3 sides now – north, west and south. Mudumalai side most diff with really steep hairpins. Must stop in middle to allow engine to cool.
Ooty – small city with big crowds –
went to Botanical garden – houseful crowd, but good place.

Botanical garden photos on flickr

Photos. Snacks. Chocolates, aloe vera juice. Dasaprakash has disappeared.
Did maps at the lodge. Nice blue lines on a green country. More trees and green. More birds. Heat wave in Andhra-100 dead in orrisa! Cold in ooty. Skip dinner.

Day 14 May 7, 2009 Thursday
Ooty – Doddabetta Peak – Kotagiri - Coimbatore
SH15, NH67
102km

Woke up and stood in two lines to get on the toy train to coonoor. Built 100 years ago with the steepest gradient in Indian Railways - rising over 6000 ft (mettupalayam - coonoor stretch) Nice ‘never been on before’ road (Ooty-Kotagiri-Mettupalayam) through tea gardens. Elephant (big and baby) spotting, birds spotting, monkey watching. Now approached or descended the queen of hills - ooty from 5 sides :). As we head down, away from the nilgiri biosphere, the heat increases. from COLD to Warm in 80 kms. Speedometer conks off. have to visit mechanic, get bike insurance renewed in Coim. Stay at now usual lodge in Coim.

Next week

Around coimbatore and then maybe west or east - who knows. Om :)

week 1 logs

And so it begins.
chughun, ananya, and jedi set out to maintain their zen !

Week 1 photos on flickr

Day 1 – 24 april 2009
Bangalore – katpadi
230 km
NH7 to krishnagiri, NH47 to Katpadi
Meeting the parents
Drama ‘unwanted’ letter
Finding maal
Repacking - adding tent and helmet – chucking laptop - give to naz – meet at k giri
Chucking jeans but more clothes



Day 2 – 25 april 2009
Katpadi – Pallikonda- Gudiyatam – Pallikonda – Ambur – Pernambut – Venkatagiri Kota – Kolar – Bangarpet – Malur- Sarjapur – Bangalore
260 km
Meeting aunt at gudiyatam
Wedding gifts
Taking vgiri kota route to return to Bangalore to give laptop
Smoking up – ideas
Recording voice clips
Trip gets relaxed
Qt – most common trees and birds reference book – update on group
* Detachment vs immersion in senses
Stages in life – seek spirituality, answers to life purpose etc (Tibetan book of death)
Heat shimmer on road – same thing happening to heads
Portraits need to be taken
* Making Sense Trip
* route ideas – lakswadeep?
Head to ooty via mysore.
Too late – stay at bangalore
Puncture 2 km from sarjapur turnoff
Need to get new tyre and spare tube

Day 3 – 26 april 2009
Bangalore – Great Banyan Tree & Machinabele Lake – Mysore
200 km
SH17 to Mysore
Bike do-up before heading out– new front tire, bicycle locks, puncture kit
Bye-bye to Saurabh and Priya
J & A discovered that they have lost substantial amounts of ass over the last few months, and that it’s bad news for their tailbones
Banyaned place. so many banyans.
Watched goats feast and chill at machinabele lake. stay away from desolate areas :)
New food - Mallur Vada, Ragi Dosa
Stayed the night at a Lonely Planet ‘budget’ option – Dasaprakash, Gandhi Square, Mysore

Day 4 – 27 april 2009
Mysore – Bandipur – Masinagudi – Ooty – Pykara – Ooty – Coimbatore – Isha (reached late) – Coimbatore
340 km
NH212, NH67
36 hairpin bends uphill from masinadugi to ooty – v. v. steep. Nerve wrecking with the weight on the bike. Did not take easier 70 km route via gudalur.
ooty – another big town – just on the hills
fascinated with huge trees – emerald lakes - went to Pykara. nicer road!
strike on road before coonoor – women, from a local factory that had not paid workers, were protesting on the road and had stopped traffic
coonoor to metupalayam – 14 easy hairpins
more ideas for repacking
man helped way out of coimbatore by riding ahead for almost 7 kms to lead towards isha road.

Day 5 – 28 april 2009
coimbatore – pollachi-palani-kodaikanal-kookal
NH67, NH209, white roads
260km
Huge brunch – exiting coimbatore – lady in burqa gave us wrong directions and we went around in circles for a while
Hot – water stop – coconut water stop
Palani temple from far away
Ride up long but nice. People asking where we are coming from and then wishing us all the best
Nice light.
Kodai – 5.30pm
Shopping – chocolates (roasted almond, roasted cashew, rum & raisin), namkeen, eucalyptus oil, vicco toothpaste, cigarettes, paper, matches, honey, coconut oil
Met Das for the magic.
Dark. Ride to Kookal, slower, darker, almost bison – huge cows? Black cows? Cold – thumb freezing numb – right shoulder ache – bag from behind pushing forward and squashing balls – serious need to reorganize/repack
Yesterday queen of hills – today princess of hills
Road speed is 1/3 of usual. 300 kms taking toll.
Cigs and tea to be phased out. What replacement?
Cigs – pranayama – tea?
Happy to be in Kookal again, with Ravishankar, Suzie and Beauty and hot dinner

Day 6 – 29 april 2009
Kookal
Chilling
Eating lots
Stroll around the carrot/bean cauliflower fields
Films

Day 7 – 30 april 2009
Kookal - Mannavur- Kookal
Still chilling
Beautiful mushies with chocolate – lake, dragon flies, birds, J’s headstand on the edge of the water. Evening trip to Manavur. Films – Mad Max 2 & 3, Gulaal

Why mataozm?

a question that a lot of people have asked and not asked.

apart from the obvious answer that its a motorcycling trip where 2 people are trying to maintain the zen state. its like the definition of the highest yoga by swami sivananda - bear insult, bear injury. but on a more personal level - its about 2 people trying to make sense of their lives.

as for me, due to my new yogic influences and a trend thats been on for the last year, its also about detaching. true peace and bliss is supposed to come when one overcomes the body and mind -stating with the 5 sense. But mataozm - by nature - is a trip that will be deep end immersion into experiences from all 5 sense. in other words - we are making a sense trip.

so a new 'title' to our trip
Mataozm - the Making Sense trip - on both counts :)

Mataozm plan for Apr-May 2009 (as usual tentative)

Apr 25
Bangalore - Kolar Gold Fields - V.kota - Pernambut (jedi's grandma) - Katpadi (jedi's parents)
Apr 26
Katpadi-
Apr 27
Coimbatore - Isha Yoga Center(Ananya) | Coimbatore (Jedi)
Apr 28
Kookal (Jedi)
Apr 30
Coimbatore (jedi+ananya)
May 2
Trissur
May 3
Thrissur Puram - Elephant festival
May 8
Coimbatore - Isha YC (ananya + jedi?))
May 12
Coimbatore - Aluva/Nagercoil?/Madurai- Rameshwaram-Pondichery
May 20
Chennai
...