Travelogue - A Reminiscence before Lockdown

It was past midnight when we all left from Bangalore. The road was astonishingly empty, recalling to the traffic buzz, from hours before. There were hardly any vehicles with streets devoid of any commotion. One could feel a strange silence all around. The air felt much cleaner and the temperature, more pleasant. I haven’t seen this city in this norm.

It is quite amazing how a place can have varied viewpoints at various time intervals and how those characteristics can have a different impact on our sentiments. It will not be false, stating that our surroundings affect our mood. Especially in this fast-paced life, we tend to enjoy soothing and calm environments. You’ll never hear someone saying, let’s book a nice suite along the busiest highway and enjoy the day listening to the unpleasant traffic sound. Rather, we plan our outing far away from all the city chaos. We visualize our mornings, drinking tea overlooking a mountain. We envision the perfect sunset skinny-dipping our feet on a beach. We fancy our nights, tasting different cuisines.

“Travel to rejoice of being alive”

It’s been more than an hour we had been riding. We had comfortably crossed the Karnataka border to enter Tamil Nadu. I was riding single with four of my friends paired on the other two bikes. We were coordinately leading the way, with continually checking each other every few kilometres. The pillion riders had taken the charge of the route. They were frequently updating everyone, utilizing the power of Google maps. We’re thrilled. It was one of those planned journeys that happened without any complications.

Someone wisely said, "The best thing about a road trip, is the sense of owning the journey."

I have always been an admirer of road trips. The notion of riding through the journey up close fascinates me. I relish the fact that even it’s planned, there is always the uncertainty that proceeds. But most importantly there is one particular thing that I always look forward to, “The Pit stops.” To me, a road trip is incomplete without one. However a small journey it may be, the stop, makes it more enjoyable. Drinking coffee, planning the journey ahead and, discussing stories from the past, what more one can ask! So, without wasting any more time, I signaled my comrades to stop at the nearest "Dhaba."

The place looked completely barren, contrasting to the signboard that invited us here. The half-lit fluorescent lamps were attracting the moths nearby. The only two people who were looking after the eatery were half asleep. It looked like they weren’t expecting anyone to show up at this hour. But we couldn’t help our-self but ask if anything’s available. 


We're standing outside while our much needed tea was getting ready. As usual, Krishna and Ayush had started their customary argument. It was again some unnecessary thing they were debating to. Piyush and Mayank, without taking sides, were giving friendly provocations while I was standing aside, taking this all in. It was the first moment of validity my mind perceived. The fact that we’re actually on this trip left a shivering sensation in me. I was on a journey which will mark as one of my first to many achievements, of covering a distance this far. I was briefly zoned out, taking this all in.

What is that? Mayank pointed out to a signboard reflecting the lights of a trailing truck. It seems to be the name of this place, Piyush responded. None of us had come across a name so difficult to read. We each started taking turns on pronouncing the name correctly. We’re breaking the alphabets down to even single letters, but nothing came closer. We even started mimicking the tone of locals, but it was far from believable. Nothing seems to be doing a fair justice to the name. At last, we decided to let this one go. For us, it was one of those unsolved mysteries that should be left alone.

The Pastime Shenanigans 

We rode for the whole night. Our destination was still miles away. We made a few more stops giving some rest to our body and refueling our bike. The highway was welcoming, and the ride was smooth. The only issue we had to tackle was the high-beams of incoming traffic. Those highways transport trucks are ruthless. They never seem to be not in a hurry. A word of caution always maintains some distance from them. 

“The highway is unforgiving. It demands its rules to be maintained.”

Have you ever came across this famous saying, “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.” What exactly is that light? Did you have ever questioned? And, how far this light exactly is? If No, let me have that privilege to answer these questions. The light is approximately five and a half hours from the start and, it’s the first light of the day. Believe me, it's true, it was literally for us. We’re continuously riding for the whole night and, watching that sunrise was the happiest moment for us. It was like we’re moving forward only to experience that dawn. We all felt refreshed. Everything looked so new. We stopped for a moment, took that all in, clicked some pictures and, resumed our journey.

The Light of our Tunnel

The night went smooth, but the day was like butter. Long wide roads, no high beams and, some pleasing views. We ran across a great length of paddy fields reminiscing the memories of countrysides. We saw some great archaeological sites one particular was Gingee Fort built-in 1190 AD by the Kon Dynasty. We then went non-stop with just an exception for breakfast. We didn’t want to spare any more time. At one point, we even started singing to each other. There was this glowing vibe all around.

A Riders Paradise

Gingee Fort

Somewhere Down the Lane

Finally, it was official the signboard verifies it all, we had reached our destination. We looked at each other with a smile that shouted, “We made it.” After a long sleepless ride of 320 kms, we had reached “Pondicherry.” A trip that once was a castle in the air had now become a reality. We couldn't control our emotions. It was a trip that will be remembered as an example for our future expeditions. It was a trip that has brought more confidence in us. It was the trip that had build trust amongst us.

Fun Facts : Soon after reaching Pondicherry, we wanted to explore every bit of the city. But as soon as we landed in our Airbnb, we all went to sleep. We did explore the city later that evening, which we all think was a wise choice.

Promenade Beach, Pondicherry

Sunrise View Point, Rock Beach