The day didn’t start well for some reason.. has to be one atleast on such a trip.. woke up multiple times during the night, disturbed sleep… Couldn’t get back to sleep after various attempts.. finally got out of bed at 8 this morning. Packed, sat in the balcony for some time and headed out to the reception area to check out of the hotel. Felt like I didn’t do justice to the room tariff ! Just because I didn’t sleep well.
Headed to Goa today.. maybe things will take a positive turn. Refuelled on the way, set the navigation route on the phone and watch, and set off with a blank head. 260 kms to go today, destination was arambol in Goa. No reservations, no nothing. Didn’t feel like booking ahead of time either.
When I think back now, the road and the scenery was awesome. Winding roads, same blonde grass, excellent road conditions, no traffic and good weather. Thank God for that.
Stopped for breakfast at a local place within an hour of the ride. Didn’t like what I ate. Won’t mention the ‘what I ate’ for sake of respect for the local food and culture, but it wasn’t Vada pav for sure. Continued onward and saw an overturned lorry on one of the winding road stretches in the mountains. Not a pleasant sight. Had to wait and watch till the crane finished it’s work of pulling the truck out of the trench, and moved on, this time maintaining a lower speed. Such sights do that to you. All for the good I guess.
The heat kept building up during the day and just added to the migraine I already had. Plus I was riding facing the sun most of the day, which didn’t help.
One of the town’s had a brand new Royal Enfield showroom, so I decided to halt and get the bike checked. The whole service center staff had just left for lunch so I had to kill an hour somewhere. Might as well get some lunch myself. Ate chicken biryani at a nice hotel on the highway, which accepted credit cards for a change.
Finished lunch and went back to the service center. By this time I was thinking whether it was even worth waiting and going there. But I did it anyway (and was thankful). The usual drive chain play checks, nuts and bolts, oil topups, brakes tightening etc. All was well, and I had begun to think those two hours was a waste; until the guy took it for a test ride and returned to show me a significant wobble in the rear wheel. I had noticed it earlier but thought it was because of the heavy luggage behind. He then went on to show me how the wheel was able to move left and right by almost a centimeter. At first I thought it was a worn out bearing and these guys are going to rip me off. But it was a loose bolt on the main fork for the rear wheels. They tightened it, and finally gave me the bill. Now this is a Royal Enfield dealership so I already expect to pay more than I should at a local mechanic.
With a sort of nervousness, I looked at the bill, they charged me a total of RS. 150 ($2.10) for about an hour of labor spent on the bike. (The oil topup was from my own spare stock). I very thankfully paid the guys and headed out. Figured, the motorcycle gods and the powers above are watching over me. A wobble at those speeds due to a loose bolt can be fatal.
Anyhow, I headed back on the road, thinking about stuff.. the bike had done about 1800 kms, the exact same mileage on my Orissa trip last year where I had developed trouble. So well, intelligence and trending says – if you have a RE 500, expect trouble to start brewing at the 1600 mark, and expect it to pop-up at the 1800 mark.. ha!
Reached north Goa.. the heat and fatigue combined with the low (shall I say morale) took a toll on me and I decided not to stay in a isolated area.. headed straight to the heart of Goa – Calangute beach.
As expected , couldn’t find a place to stay… Still busy season in Goa. Cleartrip returned 800 hotels available and data was super slow so I didn’t have the patience to wait and search. After a few inquiries, found a room at a pretty decent hotel, the last room.. just went with it.
Was shown to the room, quite spacious and clean. And the air conditioning works well in this humid heat. That’s all I needed. Went for a walk to ease out my legs and back, and returned. Lay for some time and then repacked my bags – they are a mess by now with me just stuffing and leaving every morning. Of course, had a few brews, as you should, when in Goa !
Freshened up and now relishing coconut and kokam flavored prawn curry with rice with a beer at a nearby eatery. A little short on paper money, so will hunt around for a bit for a stocked ATM and then go crash..
Until tomorrow or whenever !
Not many pictures today.. but here is all..
