Thursday, July 03, 2008

You will like some & don’t like some (2)....

My 1st accident
Very hard to forget your 1st accident isn’t it! This was not the 1st for me per say, but def 1st one the ride. Happened when I was crossing into Orissa, in the Sambhalpur forest range. Riding through the swarm of flies (those thin ones with 2 wings, & comes into existence imdtly after the rains). God only knows how many hundreds I killed that day. Fatigue catching up with me & me dozing off, resulting in me going off the road, losing my balance, crashed hard on the tarmac. Mind you, anything could have happened here, but as they say, I survived!! Had some severe pain in the chest (only later I realized that I had a hair line fracture on my left rib, 6th one from top) & my left abdomen (near to the waist). Picked up my bike, & continued on to Bhubaneswar, to get it fixed & continue my journey.

Stay in Kolkata
I think I brought in the rains. It poured & poured in this city as soon as I arrived. Had to extend my stay for 2 days’ just bcos of the rains. Stayed for a day with a common friend (Partha) & then more or less in Heena’s place. Couldn’t venture too much out to find a budget hotel, so ended up staying in the rooms of Laxmi Narayan Temple (on Sarat Bose Road). This was some experience; this wasn’t free but paid through my nose to stay there. Bcos of heavy rains, bike couldn’t get serviced; the service shop was closed out for 2 days. I was only getting frustrated; but I think I survived this city bcos of Heena. When we did find a budget hotel near by, we moved my stuff from her place to here. When the housekeeping was changing the sheets & one of them was spraying room freshener, I realized that he thought we were a couple; both of us couldn’t help but laugh out.

Both Heena & I had fun; found happiness in finding a dry spot on the half drowned city; hot idlli & vadas (in Bhupendra Mansion, near Lake Market) in the rains; couldn’t go to movie bcos of, fear of losing the car in the water filled parking space; trying to find a Chinese eating joint; realizing that this 5 foot woman drives like crazy (worst than me infact); me hearing for the 1st time that there exists an apple drink called “Gold Coin” (which she gets high on!!) & to top this off, on the day i left Kal, getting to drink hot tea early in the morning in mud cups & then bidding her Gud Bye!! Downside were the rains & delay; upside was that I made a new friend!

Tea Gardens
Just about when I was to reach Siliguri, this vast green expanse was thrown at me! I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Tea Gardens on both sides of the road. Encountered tea gardens throughout my ride in Assam & parts of WB. I can’t explain, but there’s some thrill in riding between them. The cool breeze, that peculiar smell in the air, endless rows of tea plants, workers busy picking up the tea leaves….. Something in it! It’s a happy feeling. I am a “tea person” as well, so explains my write up.

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