Didn't sleep well again. Woke up at 6 a.m. and went down for tea with Vj. Almost all shops were closed, but there was a lot of hustle bustle already. Vehicles and people were scurrying around even at this early hour which was surprising for a small town like Kasargod.
Breakfast at Highway castle set the tone for the day. Though the spread was simple, it was delicious, especially after the low standards set by dinner the previous night. Idli, dosa, puttu and kadala curry along with hot tea...aha!! Vivek ordered omelet for himself as he doesn't like south indian food too much.
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| Route for the day |
Vivek took the wheel for a change and we started off around 10:30 am. Our first target was Bekal fort which was just 15 kms away and we reached there within 30 mins. To be frank the fort looked very ordinary from outside and I wasn't expecting much, but as soon as I stepped inside, the vastness of the place took me by surprise. Bekal fort is a national heritage site and is very well maintained. There were well manicured gardens and lawns inside. The experience got even better when we walked up one of the ramparts. The view was breathtaking: a lovely Bekal beach lay to the left and the ocean on the right. It was a mesmerizing scene and we spent a good amount of time soaking it in despite the heat. After spending a good hour within the fort in which a lot of pictures were clicked, we decided to leave for Wayanad, which was 6 hours away.
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| Bekal Fort |
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| Entrance to Bekal Fort |
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| Bekal Fort |
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| Bekal Fort gate |
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| Inside the Bekal Fort |
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| View from the rampart |
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| View from the rampart |
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| the charlatans |
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| at the Bekal fort |
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| That is a boat |
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| Inside Bekal fort |
Vivek was driving well and we following all traffic rules written in the book. This is when I started writing about the previous days events and all of us got into the groove of enjoying today to the fullest. Vj recommended Mascot beach resort in Kannur for lunch for which had to take a detour. Everyone was craving for good local food and I was the most skeptical as usual about Vj's selection of the place. But Butts stood by him and we finally reach Mascot around 1:30 pm. The last dialogue before heading for lunch was by Vj "I will not take the blame if the food is not good".
The location of the resort was amazing and having lunch at a place overlooking the ocean is something that everyone was looking forward to. The lunch buffet had only traditional Kerala dishes and let me tell you that it was one of the best lunches of my life. Lentil soup, Sambhar, rasam, morucurry, pappadam, varuval, pachadi, boiled rice and payasam: every dish was perfect! Again Vivek stuck to north indian food: paneer masala and dal fry which was good too. We overate, especially Vj!! After lunch we clicked a few snaps and soaked in the beauty of the place. Let me tell you, it doesn't get more beautiful than this. The day was progressing very well..and our fingers were crossed.
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| Mascot Beach Resort, Kannur |
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| Mascot Beach Resort, Kannur |
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| Mascot Beach Resort, Kannur |
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| Mascot Beach Resort, Kannur |
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| Lunch at Mascot |
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| Food for the soul..priceless! |
After lunch, Butts took the wheel and we were back on our way to Wayanad. After an hour of driving, we started moving uphill and the weather started cooling down. In a matter of 5 hairpin bends, the temperature changed from 35 degrees to 28 degrees. Kerala is definitely God's own country: it is lush green and blessed with a superb climate. Even the trees adjoining the roads are full of fruits and flowers!! There were tea estates, rubber and spice plantations all around us. The quality of roads could get better though. Butts, Dude and Vj got into a deep conversation about religious conversions in Kerala. Many incidents and few names like AR Rahman were discussed and forgotten as soon as we hit Wayanad at 6 pm. The next hour was wasted as we searched for Hotels: the good ones didn't have rooms available, few others didn't respond to our phone calls and some were just too expensive. Finally we decided to go for Banasura Hill resort though it was a little expensive. The reviews said " amazing place with bad approach roads". We have had our share of bad roads in life and this wasn't going to stop us, so we went ahead on the narrow, bumpy off-road track till we were suddenly stopped by a local guy just 3 kms before the resort. He warned us about the bad state of the road ahead and asked us to turn back and take a different road which was safer for the car. As usual, we are super smart folks, so we thanked him for his advice, but decided to move ahead on the same path.
What happened next was something that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. The road was non existent, full of huge bumps and sharp rocks and there was very less chance of us moving ahead without scratching the sides or the bottom on the car. To make things worse, there was a small stream which wasn't too deep but had a steep incline on both sides of it. We had to go downhill for 20 meters, cross the stream and then go uphill for 20 meters. It looked nearly impossible that we could cross it without damaging the car even during day time, and it was pitch dark then. This is when team work kicked in: Vivek and I got down from the car to guide Butts through; Vijay also contributed just by stepping out of the car and making it lighter for the climb once the stream was crossed. It was going to require controlled aggression and precision to pull this through. Butts expertly maneuvered the car foot by foot avoiding the dangerous rocks and potholes and managed to reach the stream. The next step was to rev the engine in first gear for the car to climb the steep incline. Butts did just that, the car lunged forward, tires screeching, searching for contact; it moved inches ahead but couldn't find the momentum and slid back. Second attempt: same result! We decided to back the car off a little to find the momentum required to make the climb. Attempt three: All eyes on the car, it lunged, screeched and rocked on the potholes, dangerously close to the sides of the roads and inches away from getting scratched. There was a moment when it got stuck at the exact same position as the previous attempts and it felt like it wasn't going to make it. That was the moment to capitalize on. Vivek and I prayed, God listened, Butts floored the accelerator and the car jumped ahead. We were out!! Kudos to Butts!! While we were shouting with joy, Vijay came out from behind a tree where he was silently watering the plants and said "Wow..perfect timing!!"
We were all pumped up now! Thankfully the roads got a tad better and we reached Banasura hill resort around 8 pm. The resort looked, smelt and felt awesome! We decided to get an earth room with 2 extra mattresses as it was more economical than taking 2 separate rooms. The rooms were awesome and so was the buffet dinner! North indian food: chicken kadhai,dum aloo lahori,paneer mirch masala with a nice salad and hot rotis. And yes there were veg bullets too. God knows what they were made of but they were tasty!
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| Banasura Hill resort |
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| Banasura Hill resort |
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| Restaurant at the resort |
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| View from the restaurant |
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| Inside the Banasura Hill resort |
Finally after some random conversations we decided to hit the sack! What a day it had been!! What a fcukin awesome day!!
Quotes:
1. You dont have a sensitive palette, you have a fucked palette.
2. Butts, teri g**** me bahut keeda hai, khali road dikha nahi ki bhagana shuru ho jaata hai.
3. Do you guys know that the origin of the word mascot is from muscat, so its gonna be a mulla restaurant.
4. When I drive, there are no cows.
5. To ek kaam karte hai, Nirvana me jaake poochte hai ki kal rooms tha ki nahi, phir teri g**** maarenge.
