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There is a lot to see and discover when you drive through South India on an Enfield. A photo show about decelerating.
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Place there: former elephant garages in Hampi.
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The motorcyclist and the dear cattle – road users should be better fond of animals. And be patient.
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Multifunctional country roads: farmers dry their grain on the sun-heated lane.
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People are open to strangers and helpful.
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Colorful people in Goa and Karnataka.
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Indian Cruising: The Lonesome Rider is seldom alone, because while resting, curious people flock to greet man and machine.
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Lively megacities.
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Considerable temple complex.
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I’m driving Enfield, get me out of here! On the (unpaved) path to the jungle camp in the Dandeli Wildlife Reserve.
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A roadside snake charmer.
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There is also something to see on the beach.
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The Chalukya dynasty (6th century) created cave temples for the worship of Shiva and Vishnu.
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Inland in typical Karnataka, however, the clocks still go differently.
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Casual cruising with the Enfield.
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The rough, single-cylinder machine looking through it.
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Unfamiliar at the beginning, then grown fond of the heart: spicy chillies in almost every meal.
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You get used to everything: Busy traffic in India.
to travel
On Royal Enfields through South India
On the way: India
On Royal Enfields through South India
They are called bumper, speed breaker or rumbler and are widespread in southern India. The asphalt humps make it rumble, but speeders become travelers and motorcyclists become kings of the country road. A report about decelerating.
Thorsten Dentges
12/22/2011
There are no official statistics. But reliable counts. On average, once every kilometer there is a rumble in the beams, because on the roads of South India a correspondingly modulated asphalt warp throws itself in the way, which has only one purpose: to slow you down. The suspension of the Enfield then goes to block, your driver should better get out of the saddle, otherwise on daily stages of 250 kilometers it feels just like getting a powerful kick in the buttocks 250 times. Not pleasant. To get out of the saddle 250 times, up and down for your knees and thighs 250 times, but that’s also a pain. Either way, at the end of the day you know what you’ve done and sink into your pillows as heavy as lead. An average speed of 45 km / h is considered brisk, a speed at which off-roaders normally travel. Of course, the speedometer now and then also shows 100 items and more, what needs to be squeezed out of a cylinder and 25 hp. And of course there are also enough sections and roads that offer undisturbed driving fun over long stretches, such as the lively, with many curves enriched ascent to the highland area of Western Ghats near Amboli. In other places, on the other hand, the rumblers, which are available in tapered, semicircular or washboard-like designs, are concentrated every meter.
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In short: stokers do not enjoy motorcycling in India. Those who can come to terms with the rumblers, bumpers and speed breakers – or whatever else they are called in the respective province – have an unexpected travel experience on an Enfield. Especially since the speed breakers for motorcyclists only offer advantages apart from the physical exertion already described. If, for example, a powerful off-road vehicle approaches from behind, overtaking you, jostling and positioning itself cheekily in front of the front wheel, in order to continue its wild chase afterwards, then you are already looking forward to the next asphalt hump. Everyone has to brake there, and trucks, buses, small cars, carriages and carts build up. Motorcyclists pass those who are slowed down on the side edge or in the (hopefully free) opposite lane, can hardly be caught again until the next bumper. Nice game of cat and mouse – at least for the Enfield pilot with his 180 kilo machine.
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By the way, until around 15 years ago, motorcycles were not allowed to be faster than the police in India, and Enfields drove them. The bullet was therefore considered to be “the” bullet and actually still is, despite the outdated technology. When the tour starts in Assagao in northern Goa, the participants are still a bit skeptical. Are these oldies supposed to lead safely and well through the country for the next ten days? They run well, as the first test drive of only around 60 kilometers to the dream beach of Arambol shows. Gone are the days when four gears were shifted to the right, the front brake was more of an ornament and the kick starter drove some people crazy. Especially in dense city traffic when the cart drowns.
The current rental bullets, however, ride like sensible mid-range motorcycles from the 1980s. Tour guide Martin had also given a theoretical introduction, singing in the form of “Enfield Blues”, an original composition with guitar accompaniment: “… but when it works, then you have your joy, and then afterwards tell everyone that you are I was even in India and experienced some great things there. “
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Inland in typical Karnataka, however, the clocks still go differently.
The southern German has lived in the southern Indian province and dropout enclave Goa for more than 30 years. The smallest Indian state (around 3700 square kilometers) is a paradise for travelers looking for relaxation with a good 100 kilometers of coastline. Palm beaches, cheap accommodation, low alcohol taxes, great culinary variety, dating back to the colonial times when the Portuguese occupied this part of the country. In contrast to devout Hindus, beef can also be found on the plate in Goa, although the cow is generally considered a sacred animal. The trip to Goa is particularly worthwhile because of the wide range of fish and seafood (king and shark, barracuda, red snapper, prawns and more), and tour guide Martin leads the participants to one of his favorite places in Arambol Bay right from the start. The “Beach & Bike “concept is well received, first eating dust on the country road, then swimming in the warm sea water of the Arabian Sea, wonderful!
This is also what many package holidaymakers find, who primarily come to Goa to party and rent a scooter or motorcycle from one of the many landlords. But only a few are on the road on Enfield, after all, the machines have long been cult in India with the aspiring middle class, and waiting times for new machines of a few months are common, so that the bike rental companies prefer to offer other (smaller and cheaper) mopeds. The party tourists don’t care anyway, just like their own safety. Young Russian bikini beauties, whose most extensive item of clothing is actually sunglasses, lie on the beach with their arms and legs completely plastered and wrapped in bandages. Did you miss a speed breaker on your way home from the disco at night? Ouch.
But no sooner have you left the Goa province shortly after Arambol in the direction of Maharashtra, than real India begins. “Yes, in the country there is a lot to see, but sometimes the horror comes to you. The beggars and all that dirt, that knocks you off the spot […] the cows, they run on the street, and when they stand, then they have no chance at all, and they shit in the middle, you drive in there got the mess. And on the smock and the pants, there’s the brown sauce. Those are experiences that you just have to have, because you can ‘laugh much better about it later […]“ Martin knows that. The participants, on the other hand, are still carefully approaching the unfamiliar conditions. The thing about the speed breakers is now clear, the Enfield chugs comfortably with a sonorous sound, and the sun is slowly setting over the sea. Cliche romance, but it feels damn good. The ergonomics of the Enfield less. Nothing fits there! Strange knee angles, handlebar offset apparently very old school, and the kick starter gets in the way when braking. What, however, immediately fits like a glove is the horn switch. Intuitively, the thumb is always in the right position, and that is also extremely important, because if you don’t honk your horn in India, you’d better stay at home straight away. Honking does not mean: “Warning, danger!” Or even “Get out there, you idiot!” As in our part of the world. No, the horn is considered a friendly announcement in India: “Hello, here I come. Please do not scare. By the way, it would also be nice to make room. ”A bit irritating, but after one or two city trips at the latest you can do it.
Dharwad and Hubli in the province of Karnataka, for example, are ideal training areas for aspiring professional champions. Crossing the megacities takes over an hour. This gives you the opportunity to sound the horn around 3,600 times. The problem with the whole thing is that everyone else honks their horns too, so that sometimes your own friendly request to please give you some space is easily overheard in the whole cacophony of horns and hooters. No chance of individual horn management, because the bottom line is that it’s just one thing: loud! All rules are completely lost in the anarchic traffic chaos. It is similar with traffic lights. Red serves to collect oneself briefly and take a deep breath, yellow does not exist, and with green everyone rushes off – unfortunately also the traffic from right and left (which is red, but it doesn’t matter). Despite the left-hand traffic, overtaking on the left is not a problem. Or on the leftmost shoulder, or right through the middle. Or on the opposite shoulder on the far right. It doesn’t matter. Horn button on stop, moop, moop – uuuund: gas.
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The Chalukya dynasty (6th century) created cave temples for the worship of Shiva and Vishnu.
Everyone is allowed to drive on the sidewalk, because the “sidewalk” is the street, pedestrians use all lanes, like to rest in the middle of the intersection, leaving cattle and carts standing there. There is only one rule: Drive, get through the crowd somehow, and you better not get upset! Better to save the energy for the many exhausting bumpers and rumblers. And often take a break. However, there is seldom peace along the way. Within a few minutes, sometimes even seconds, dozens of people crowd around you, wanting to know your name and origin, where you are from today and where you are still going today. The people cannot do anything with the answers, because Switzerland or the Hunsruck are just as far away for the country people as the beaches of Goa or river rafting in the Dandeli Wildlife Reserve or the other tourist highlights of this tour.
You will probably never achieve any of these goals, but will probably continue to toil in the fields every day or pour tar into potholes or break up scrap metal with sledgehammers – just as it is intended for life in the respective caste. The strangers on the motorcycles, however, bring some variety into their hard life, which they tolerate, and they meet tourists with an almost incomprehensible friendliness. Farmers drop their forks and wave to passers-by. “You can understand the country much better there, once you’ve seen it from Enfield. The land and the people and the pain. But the smile comes from the heart. “
Understanding the soul of the people there profoundly is a hopeless undertaking for western tourists, the Indian culture is too different, too strange. In any case, there are plenty of reasons to shake your head with a smile. Example level crossing: barriers closed, a queue forms over half a kilometer, consisting mainly of heavily loaded trucks. As a motorcycle pilot, you usually pass it, move forward to pole position. Impatient drivers of small cars follow, then jeeps and finally other trucks with trailers. The train goes through, the barriers open again, and at that moment everyone wants to leave at the same time. The problem: On the other hand, the same game happened, both lanes are blocked there too. Hundreds of vehicles are now facing each other, and the term “traffic junction” is given a new meaning. First the horn is honked, then again, then a lot, and finally it rolls again. Somehow. As with juggling, when the balls seem to be flying around in a chaotic way, there seems to be a trick or a fixed sequence, in any case the whole hubbub dissolves again as if by magic.
According to the motto: Don’t think too much, just feel. This is probably the best way to get through, and for a good driving flow it is advisable to use all your senses, including your seventh. Open your eyes, smell, hear, feel potholes and speed breakers, guess their power before they let it rumble and pry you out.
Speaking of “rumbling”: Sensitive stomachs have a hard time in India. It hits almost every traveler, and the intestinal flora rebels. The urgent need for sanitary sightseeing often reveals unsightly views. To put it mildly. While the hotels on the tour are of a good standard, the situation in the roadside bars often looks precarious. In some provinces, a garbage disposal is unknown, everyone has to take care of removing their own garbage. It looks like this: First throw everything on the ground, later dig a pit and put the garbage in there. When it starts to rot and stink, light the whole thing up. To the left and right of streets and paths, in small alleys and in backyards, small “garbage incineration plants” smolder, creating a bouquet that takes a lot of getting used to. Since there is life everywhere, including to the left and right of these heaps, there is cooking, washing and so on. “But after a few days, you can’t stare anymore because you’re standing on the edge and have to puke a wengle. The food was a bit old and there was always a bang in your pants. “
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But don’t worry, it’s not that bad. Just as quickly as you get used to the numerous bumpers, rumblers, speed breakers and the illustrious background noise (horns, monkey screams, advertising from loudspeakers, peculiar, weird music sounds, the crack of engines, screeching birds, barkers and all other sounds beyond 90 decibels) , this multi-faceted country grows very close to your heart. Traveling in India is exhausting, no question about it, but at the same time a beguilingly exotic experience. More change of scenery from the gray everyday life at home is hardly possible. And traveling to Enfields, that is an experience in itself – there is probably no vehicle to get closer to the country and its people, it may not be the fastest, but it is always right in the middle of it. In the evening around the campfire, the many rumblers are still stuck in their bones, but the beer is cold, the chillies burn in the mouth, and the guitar is in tune.
“It’s the Enfield blues that you have to drive, you have to sing it, you have to drive it, rollin down the road.”
Info
Werel
Travel duration: 15 days (with rest days). Distance covered: approx. 1500 kilometers
India for beginners – Goa, which is shaped to the west, is the ideal starting point for anyone visiting the country for the first time. The guided tour also goes to Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Tour profile:
The ten-day “Tropical South India” tour by Classic Bike Adventure can be booked through the MOTORRAD action team (phone 0711/1821977, www.actionteam.de) and costs from 1690 euros (price without flight). Daily stages of 60 to 250 kilometers (on the warm-up and chill-out days in the base resort in Assagao / Goa, rental motorcycles are available to visit beaches individually). Road conditions and traffic take getting used to and nothing for complete novice drivers, although over 90 percent of the route is on asphalt. Numerous roads of inferior quality and short off-road sections require stamina similar to light enduro hiking. Highlights: Hindu cult sites near Hampi and Badami (Karnataka), jungle camp in the Dandeli reserve, dream beach Agonda (South Goa).
Accommodations:
Simple hotels and bungalows up to the upper middle class with sufficiently good sanitary facilities, two nights in the jungle camp in comfortable tents with standing height.
To eat and drink:
Mainly Indian cuisine with a high proportion of vegetables. Sometimes very hot, generally very spicy. Mostly fish and seafood, little meat and if so, mostly poultry. As a side dish, rice and freshly baked flatbreads (such as chapati, naan, papadam). Alcohol is easily and cheaply available in the province of Goa (beer in restaurants: approx. One euro per bottle), in the state of Karnataka, however, only certain hotels and taprooms have a license. Clean mineral water, fresh fruit juices, lemonades or milkshakes are available cheaply everywhere.
climate:
Tropical hot (sometimes over 30 degrees) with a low probability of rain at the time of travel, at night around 20 degrees, in the mountainous region only around 10 degrees. Entry, documents and health: A visa is required, which should be applied for online at an Indian consulate at least three weeks before the start of the journey. If you apply in person at the consulate, the visa is usually issued within a few days. In addition to a passport with a visa, an international driver’s license is required for the trip. Tetanus, polio and hepatitis A and B are definitely recommended as vaccinations; malaria prophylaxis is not necessary due to the low risk.
motorcycles:
Royal Enfield Bullet, single-cylinder four-stroke, 499 cm³, 25 hp at 4600 rpm, seat height 750 mm, Vmax about 120 km / h. The motorcycles are regularly serviced before and during the tour, an escort vehicle (for luggage transport and emergencies) has the most important spare parts on board.
Events:
18.1.-1.2.2012 (still free places for last-minute travelers), 14.-28.11.2012, 26.12.2012-9.1.2013.
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