I need a Thump!!!

Well not everybody would be able to relate to the blog that I'm gonna write. Its a very unique sound heard on Indian roads. You must have heard it while you travel to office, college, market, malls or to the railway station, when your mother/wife/dad sent you to buy vegetables. Yes, most of the vegetable markets are located outside stations. Very Bombay I say...

Yeah!!! well the sound, I digress so easily, its kinda embarrassing. Anyway, I was talking about the Thump. Well no prizes / surprises to the ones who already know what im talking about. I know you do... With the ever increasing noise pollution in our cities, this sound can make everything else silent and would stop everybody on their path and trust me it can get very loud.

Royal Enfield Electra 5S

Well enough of beating around the bush.... The Thump refers to the sound made by the silencer/exhaust pipe of a Royal Enfield motorcycle. You have various kinds of silencers which  have their own specific sounds. We all know how it sounds, dhuk, dhuk, dhuk, dhuik, dhuk, dhuk...... and so. The moment we hear it we know a Royal Enfield is approaching towards us. Enfield lovers/ riders would swear by the sound. The so called "Thump" is the only thing in the Enfield which defines this mammoth beast, cause when it rides... nothing comes in its way. You have to ride it to feel it in your veins.

Every rider before has rode some bike or the other like the Yamaha's, Pulsar's, Honda's, Kawasaki's, Suzuki's, TVS's, etc. but once you ride a Royal Enfield you would want to ride it for life. And this has been the virus which has got many infected to a Royal Enfield bug. There is a certain satisfaction derived from riding an Enfield. Its creates an envy amongst other riders. It gets you on a high which cannot even be imagined, the speed, the adrenaline, the wind brushing your skin, the sights, the Thump cannot be felt any other way. Its music to your ears cause every other sound / noise on the road is just heard, but you would always listen to your thump very clearly without any disturbances.

Its been a few years since I have been riding an Enfield. Have gone on my bike to many places in Maharashtra, twice to Goa with my colleagues/ex-colleagues/friends. Every trip has been one hell of an experience. Every journey differs from the previous one. Some are short distances, some are long. From the hottest of summers to the coldest of winters to the wettest of monsoons, have rode in every season, faced nature and the elements like they were part of me. Me and my Enfield just blazed through, without a single incident. Touch Wood....  I have been lucky to be out of trouble especially when Im on my road trips with hardly any breakdowns, thats the longevity of an Enfield, it just goes on an on an on.

Me on my Royal Enfield

It never stops thumping, it does what its supposed to do, thumping every mile with a bigger and louder thump, silencing the silence on a lone highway. Wanting to thump till the never ending horizon. I love riding the Royal Enfield, it relaxes, it refreshes me and I love riding on new roads, highways, off-road tracks, exploring new places, going to unknown destinations, going where no one has traveled on a bike. I only wish that this passion doesn't fade away with time. I ensure this fondness to ride does not wither away. Have cherished every moment riding and look forward to more exciting rides with my friends to newer destinations.

Ride Safe

"Enjoy the history of Royal Enfield"

Tryst with Nature at 6700 ft.

My wife had informed me that she had a surprise for me for my birthday which was in the first week of May 2013. She informed me that I would have to take a weeks leave from office and that my gift was a holiday which she had been planning since last year. I was instructed that I just had to pack my bags and that I didn't need to know what the destination was!

So I just didn't bother to know what the destination was and that she would reveal it on our day of departure, which she did. Well you see, I love traveling and experiencing a new destination is the most exciting aspect of it. As the days got nearer, I started to wonder, where exactly is my wife taking me on a holiday and I drove her nuts, driving her insane,  just a week before our departure. So the night before our day of travel she told me that we are going somewhere in the north. Just hearing that the probable destination was gonna be in the North of India, my excitement had no end. My wife knew that I had never ever been to the north, and that this was the most wonderful surprise I could ever get. My mind started racing to the few destinations which I knew off-hand, Jammu, Kashmir, Srinagar, Dalhousie, etc. or even any of the North-east places. At the time of boarding the train she finally gave up and she said we were going to Manali. Ive never been to Manali, but have heard so much about it. I was ecstatic, it was my first ever trip to the North and I was going to Manali. Yehhhhh!!!!!

As we boarded the train I started dreaming of being amidst snow capped mountains, lush greenery, cool, a very cold and pleasant weather. I was wondering if I would get to see snow/ice, since it was the advent of summer and I wasnt sure if I would get to see it and feel it. It would be such a disappointment if I didnt get to see snow, going all the way to Manali. We would board a bus from Delhi which would take us to Manali. We reached Delhi around 11am and our bus would leave at 5pm. Since this was my maiden trip to Manali, the excitement didnt let me sleep throughout the journey, I was wide awake from 5pm to 7am till we reached Manali.

The journey by road was an unpleasant one, with the road being the villain giving us jerks and shakes at every kilometer. The road was pathetic, one ditch after another, and this continued for hours. It was a horrendous and definitely a back breaker. I suggest if you have any back problems you shouldn't venture by road to Manali. Most of the people were asleep, since 80-85% of the journey was covered in the night. As the sun rose we were welcomed with huge ass mountain rocks on one side and the river on the other and the bus maneuvering the tricky roads. The driver was well experienced, knew his way around this narrow highway 21, knowing how dangerous it was if he made one mistake.

As we reached Manali bus depot early morning at 7am, the cool breeze freezing the hell out of us. Manali looked beautiful, it was a treat to my eyes, taking all the sights, sounds, the air being so fresh, dont know when was the last time I had a breath of fresh air. We were put up in this Bed and Breakfast place called "Drifters Inn" No. 1 on tripadvisor in Old Manali. The place looked warm and cozy and the owner was very welcoming, our rooms were very elegant, very woody... The best thing was it smelt of the forest, the pine tree forest. I just cant forget that aroma the room had, was just amazing.

My trip to Manali was not the typical excursion, it was more to do with nature, being close to it, taking early morning walks, bird watching, trekking, exploring the place, long walks in the forest. We tasted local cusine, actually ended up eating more than 100 momos on my trip. One dish which was called "Thupka" a better version of noodle soup, one serving would fill you up right upto your neck. Since Manali was a touristy destination, we could get all the popular dishes found elsewhere in India, which was very boring, but we used to go to this one place every single day to fill ourselves with momos and more momos.

One of the day we decided to go towards Rohtang Pass. We had pre booked private cars to take us there. Maruti Alto is the most popular and surprisingly the most durable vehicles for the narrow roads prevailing in Manali. Rohtang Pass was unfortunately closed since it was early May. On our way the driver was insisting we buy the winter gear which is required to be worn before we go to Rohtang Pass, but we said no since none of us wanted to get wet playing in the snow. The Manali-Leh Highway is a narrow road which rises upto 12-13000 feet above sea level. The roads have dangerous turns, hairpins, bends with the one side having snow and the other side a steep fall. After reaching the top, the view down was amazing with the zig-zag, curvy roads cutting through the snow capped mountains. It looked like someone had drawn a black curvy line through the snow. The drive was such an amazing experience, I wanted to come back riding on it on a Royal Enfield all the way to the top. I will definitely do this one day....

My wife has a friend who is a true naturalist, an avid bird watcher, a wildlife enthusiast, and the organiser of this trip, sorry Russ if I havnt introduced you well. Anyway thanks to Russ and his wife Andrea, me and my wife Sheen and few other friends have seen the other side of Manali which most of the tourists visiting wouldn't have experienced ever. Thanks to them we got to see some exotic places, pine forests, picturesque landscapes, waterfalls, and most importantly bird watching. We were with a small group of like minded-people, who had a similar passion for nature and what it had to offer.

Such an awesome experience it was to go into the forest and click pictures of beautiful birds. Their bright colors, shades, patterns, designs, shapes, their behaviour amidst their natural surroundings was such a pleasant experience. This trip just reminded me how much I love nature and the beauty of it is never-ending. Its endless, this experience never gets repeated, every destination has a different  refreshing feeling, in terms of greenery, landscapes, nature being at its best. Our lives are constantly surrounded within concrete jungles, we can never experience what nature, wildlife is all about. Exposure through television, magazine, etc. will never give us the true experience of feeling nature in its raw form. You have to feel it on your skin, in the air that you breathe. Its much, much, much more and im glad I have my wife who shares the same passion and enthusiasm.

This trip would not have been possible without my wife who gifted me an awesome trip which will be etched in my memory for a lifetime. Thanks to Russell and Andrea for organizing such an amazing trip. Would like to make many such trips exploring nature, wild life to the maximum in its raw form.

The Taste of Summer

A trip to Goa is become more like a ritual, custom every year, as far as i remember I have been going to Goa more than once for the last 4-5 years. And the last two trips I went to Goa with my wife and it happens to be one of her favourite destinations in India.

Goa has such a myriad of activities and can cater to every individual, its the most ideal location if one wants to unwind and just go with the flow. Therefore its become a custom for me and my wife to make a trip at least once to Goa every year. And we intend to keep this custom alive as long as we live.

Ive been to Goa during the summers, monsoons and of course during the winters, when its the most crowded state in the whole of India, and its the worst time to go. Whether you are in the North or the South part of Goa its crowded. Though ive enjoyed and have wonderful memories of each of my trips to Goa, the best time to visit Goa is during the rains, i.e if your the kind of person who likes the rains.

This time the temperatures were too high and everybody were of the opinion that this is the wrong time / month to go to Goa, but I didnt care. Me, my wife and my friends had already made up our minds, come what may we will go without fail.

Every visit to Goa, I used to trip on beer and food, and this is like a staple goan diet for me. But this time around my friend suggested why not try Urak, a white spirit which is a local drink very much different than Feni, another Goan favourite local drink. Urak is the first extraction, which is in its purest form in the distillation process after which Feni is derived. Urak, unlike Feni is a little cloudier and with sediments floating at the bottom of the bottle. Its usually mixed with Limca or lemonade.

The cloudiness of the drink along with the smell can be a sure deal breaker for one who is not used to the Goan spirits. But truth is its an amazing drink. Ive always shied away from tasting it due to its smell, but this time I made sure that I will atleast give it a try, and boy did it taste so good on my tongue. It was smooth going down my throat, no kind of burning sensation as it entered my stomach.

Me being a hard core rum & coke person, this was like a super drink. After having a few glasses, all of a sudden the Goa heat just dissapeared around me and it made me feel pleasant and nice. I was taken to a world of an unusual sense of bliss. Little that I noticed that me and my friends finished 4-5 bottles of Urak in one sitting at lunch.

They say that Urak contains less percentage of alcohol as compared to Feni, hence the peg measure was almost a 90ml per glass. They also say that the buzz kicks in later, much later. With the sea breeze blowing around or if you sit in front of a fan you get a nice welcome high....  Each one of us must have downed atleast 9-10 glasses of Urak and at the end of it we were totally satisfied. This was such an amazing experience for me, wish I had the sanity to drink this on my previous trips to Goa, would have made me a better person..... Ya rite... Whatever....

Post this experience, I for sure am gonna have Urak on a regular basis on my future trips to Goa. But unfortunately this drink is only available during summers, thats why its called "The Taste of Summer".