Baralikaadu - A Bike Ride in Forest...

 

How To reach Baralikaadu : Take Coimbatore - Mettupalayam Road.. After Crossing Kaaramadai Temple take first left...Go further for 10 Kms and take the route goes to velaiyagkaadu (Foot Hills of Baralikaadu)... Drive 30 - 35 Kms to reach Baralikaadu (Drive Slowly , Driving in Hill road faster is dangerous)...

For Booking Boating and for other activities : Contact : Aandavar (ஆண்டவர்) - +91 9047051011
 
 It’s Hard to recall when I spent my weekend day in home and sleeping 22 Hours a day, rest of time just watching TV and eating...A tough question for me to answer!!! .Traveling, that too bike trip excites me a lot…Its gives me some kind Happiness. New people, new environment, unexpected things and so on. Balirrikaadu trip was one of them...It’s the first time for me traveling inside forest area in bike... This place has been in plan for a long time and plan used to get screwed up for some reasons... At last the mission accomplished on 4^th June 2011, Sai one of my colleague is the reason behind this successful mission… We started to group the people who are interested, negative reply from most of them...So we three Sai, Shanmuga and Varadhu decided to trip together. We contacted Forest department person Aandavar before heading towards the trip, a call to him, got the Permission...Packed up the things and boarded bus to Coimbatore… Since its monsoon time, it was raining heavily in Coimbatore and nearby area hills areas... No second thought, Dreams on the way .Reached Coimbatore around 7AM... 

  

Scheduled time to reach Balirrikaadu is 10 AM... 30 Km in plain ,30 + Kms ride in hill and no idea about the route to travel... 8.30 AM exact we three met near thudiyalur junction , switched on the ignition and the ride starts..Riding hero Honda splendor+ at 80 Km/Hr, Whole machine vibrating... Sucks…Took some mini breaks in the middle of the journey, In Rainy Season controlling something is a big deal and if controlled it will not make the ride smoother...Rain started to drizzle, Speed of the wheel reduced gradually but it was a nonstop ride. When we reached the foot hills of Baralikaadu, I am almost wet. Fabulous weather, I don’t want to miss the moments, Started clicking and cleaning the camera lens often... “As like me my love Nikon also loves to get wet in the rain...” 

Stopped the bike near the first check post and updated Andavar that we will be late by 30 mins since it is raining on the way, Fast riding is not possible..Few Hair bends, few potholes that’s it, the road are laid extremely good till the destination... For every 5 KMs we are able to spot one village style home , people kidding jokes and having their lunch in the bullock cart(Raaji with Chicken as side dish)..Free from stress, tension. The moment reminded my grandma village. Reached Baralikaadu after 60 mins of travel from foot hills...

Forest department executives welcomed us with Ginger Coffee and cute smile...Rain started to pour heavily...People are resting at the bottom of the Banyan tree , to avoid getting them drenched in rain. Crocodile Boat drivers are eagerly waiting to start their work for the day. No drive, no money for the day...Waiting for the rain to stop is not going to help so we initiated the ride in the river. The boat are made of fiber plastics with shades of different attracting colors...Life jacket for protection and steeped inside the boat. Water was too chill and the ride is going to be 90 mins in the river...After steeping inside We introduced our self to the driver Kumar, a nice guy...He took us to the place where ever we pointed our fingers...

The view was breath taking and classy...His biceps was not like Arnold but his stamina was great. Kumar, said about his family and his life in Baralikaadu. He hate city life not city people, the reason is city drainages and the polluction.Living with nature has its own feel, he said...He don’t like sleeping under Electrical fan. Varadhu took over the job of kumar and rode the boat for 5 mins, not a bad driver. Birds flocking, a telephoto lens would have captured their beauty. 

The conversation between us went on till the last minute of the ride, stepped out of the boat and thanked him with cute smile and greeted him with some tips...Removed the life jackets, back packs and waited in the lunch queue..Food taste was great, Prepared by the local people. After heavy lunch, a nap in the rope cot...Captured some snaps of beautiful flying butterflies. Played for a while in the swing, reminded me my childhood days."Enna Valkai da ethu" (What a life???) Awesome. The next is trekking inside the forest and bath in the river...

 Family people skipped the trekking activities since trekking is risky inside forest, but we don’t want to skip it. Raj, guided us the whole trek. The Path was slippery. He said there is a possibility to view some animals (Elephants, tigers and wolf) if we are gifted with luck, Small Dog accompanied us in the trek...He also gave us some tips how to escape from animals. Voice of us gradually reduced and the footsteps too...Trekked about a kilometer and returned back...River water looked brownish and rough. Bath in the river is going to put us in sick state for sure. Thinking for a while and jumped inside the water.Damn chillness, 

Taste of the water was speechless... "Celebrate life for now, Live now"...I lived that moment; I never cared on chillness of the water and the roughness... I and Sai played by splashing the water on each other... Hey you look fair now, Varadhu complemented me...I gave different style of poses to upload in the FB as my profile pics...Raj, Smiled after he saw us playing the water. Play continued for 30 minutes. Raj reminded us that we need to reach the first check post before 5 PM. packed the stuffs, A cup of black tea, switched on the ignition...

                                         “The journey towards Coimbatore starts ...”