The Road Trip

03/01/09 Saturday

400 hours:
The blaring horn of a Van is heard.
“Wake up! Wake up!”

“No! We shall assemble at 500 hours. Let me sleep.”

600 hours:
One more bike needed.
Lesson #1: Get hold of borrowed bikes from the owners on the previous day itself.

800 hours:
Breakfast at mess.
Guys’ bags in the girls’ hostel. There was no bag raiding. Honest. Only Screwbey Doo can get ideas like that!
One Bajaj Pulsar.
One Yamaha Fazer.
One TVS Victor.
One Scooty Pep.
4 girls.
4 guys.

815 hours:
One phone call to mom.
Kaboom! Kaboom!
*wink*

And, that’s how we set out on a road trip to Pondicherry. The fun was just about to begin. There was Saturday morning traffic and there was dust. There were confusions about directions and there were imaginary gunshots. A couple of pictures were taken at VGP to show off the mega pixel strength of the different cameras. Vani’s uncle’s ostriches tried to add to the entertainment element but sadly, they didn’t even dig their heads into the ground. One round of Lakme Sun Expert followed by a water break later, we were back on East Coast Road.
Lesson #2: Take a lot of Sunscreen along. Moreover, apply profuse amounts of the same.

The rented Victor was a unique experience in itself. It would drive on auto-pilot mode; one speed only and no human intervention was required to maintain that. The pressure was on Pressure to drive it during the forward half of the trip. It revealed its screwed up self even more when its tyre burst. Two bikes and four of us spent half an hour at a repair shop where we ended up deciding that we would have to make it a road trip to Mahabs and not Pondy, over Slice and Lays.
Lesson #3: Rented bikes are invariably, screwed up.

One attempt by an amateur MRI on a bike ended up being a vain attempt at a wheelie. And he was banned from driving a bike ever after. Peace.
Lesson #4: Check for driving license before handing over a bike to over-enthu looking person.

The tender coconut water by the roadside was salty. Welcome to Pondicherry.

Lunch overlooking Rocky beach followed! Well, we tried to overlook and see the Rocky beach but there was a wall separating us from the view. Imagine a 6-7 pages menu with only half a page of vegetarian dishes. And, imagine a bunch of vegetarians coming to terms with this harsh reality.
Lesson #5: Continental dishes can look real yucky.

From there we headed to Paradise beach where the much sought after ferry ride was closed just ten minutes before we reached. Even Tam fundaes did not work at this place.
Lesson #6: Tam fundaes might fail. Be prepared.

A couple of phone calls later, we embark on this unique route through a village to reach Sand beach. One of the best beaches I have been to, so far. The waves were shallow and soft. They seemed to say, “I will only touch your feet; I will not startle you.” Some crazy Coked people ended up collecting shells too.

Tip: If someone has a sleeping bag with them and happen to be peacefully resting on it in an almost mocking way, be unanimous in zipping the person up in the sleeping bag.

Warning: Shampooed people might end up laying a cowboy hat, after a while.

A castle was made. And sand was thrown at whoever thought about attacking it. All hail her Vainness! And shells were collected. And a bike key was lost.
Lesson #7: Use a keychain for a key. Try not to lose it. But if you lose it, try your luck with other bike keys.

The return drive was more like every bike for itself. The air was cold and the rare roadside Rs. 3 tea was heavenly. And the drive continued with loo stops and water breaks. It was fun to tie a red scarf for a Poisonous guy who ended up looking like Little Red Riding Hood.
Lesson #8: Take necessary warm apparel along.

Good ol’ insti CCD marked the end to the wonderful trip. Lol level laughs and bike bitching followed and culminated in a group photo with wide Colgate smiles, in spite of the tiredness, on everyone’s face.

Post-trip discussions continue even three days after the trip. Need I say more?

PS: I am going more bike crazy than ever!