2nd January 2020
Sticking to their philosophy of a fresh start early morning, the two friends gunned their bikes at 7 a.m. and started off towards Bengaluru. They rode continuously for a little over an hour on the first leg of this journey before stopping at Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, located on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. They found several Neelakurinji flowers here on an entire hill here. These flowers present purple colors and are said to bloom only once in 12 years!
After knowing about their bloom, Skanda and DJ felt very lucky to have seen them. They took a ticket and a guide to get to a watchtower in the middle of the jungle. They flew their drone from the watchtower and attempted to capture the beautiful scenery, along with leopards or deer.
Monkey Menace
As they were busy with the drone, monkeys arrived at the tower and took out a few chocolates from Skanda’s bag before he realized it. Thereafter, the guide took charge of the bag and protected it from adversities.
Skanda and DJ found a place here for breakfast and ordered a dosa and idlis. They were surprised to see the food being kept on a 2.5-foot-long old banana leaf. But the quantity was just so much on both leaves that they just couldn’t finish. The huge meals were polished off by drinking filter coffee at the end.
After being loaded with breakfast, the friends rode for another 3 hours till they reached Coimbatore bypass road. They halted for a few minutes to have buttermilk and a few snacks from a roadside vendor. After another hour or so the friends stopped for lunch at Hotel Sharvesh in Thoppur.
To Skanda’s Home
After completing lunch, DJ was still contemplating where to halt in Bengaluru. Skand, the true friend that he was, convinced him to stay at his house, not taking ‘No’ for an answer. They kept riding till they reached his home at around 8:40 p.m. DJ had dinner with the entire family, thereby marking the end of a fabulous day. Skanda had bought chocolates with the purpose of giving them to his sister, but as these were taken by the monkeys, DJ gifted his.
3rd January 2020- Bangalore to Chennai
DJ was to leave for Chennai today. Before doing so, the two friends went to return their bikes. A mirror on the Enfield was broken. DJ showed pictures of the hanging light to the owner. The two of them were off after paying charges for the mirror.
DJ took a train to travel from Bengaluru to Chennai, just like he did the other way around. His last few hours in Chennai were spent roaming with a friend in the car and witnessing the beautiful Marina Beach. He also visited the Santhome Church and expressed his gratitude to the Lord for keeping both of them in good shape. A wholesome lunch was taken at Murugun Idly, after which his friend dropped him at the airport. With several thoughts and a feeling of satisfaction, DJ headed back to Delhi.
