A Visitor from Canada

While I was in Canada last summer, my friend Alex that I was staying with in Vancouver introduced me to Sheila, a retired lady who lives in his building. Sheila had been planning her first visit to India, but unfortunately the friend she was going to travel with had to cancel due to her parents' ill health. Sheila didn't want to do the trip on her own, nor did she want to join an organized tour group, so when she heard from Alex that I offer personalized orientation and introduction tours of south India, she asked to meet me. We had a cup of tea together, and I told her what I can offer and sketched out a possible itinerary.

We hit it off right from the get-go, figured out the dates that suited both our schedules (mid-December 2013 to mid-January 2014), and booked her flights that same morning. Over the next few days, I polished up our itinerary, and we both did some reading and research to make sure it suited her expectations.

When I returned to India in September, I started making our lodge reservations, and booked our trains as soon as the 60-day window opened. Goa for Christmas was a real challenge -- all the reasonably priced places I knew about were already booked months in advance, and I had to go through a travel agent in Mamallapuram that I had been dealing with for years to get us a relatively expensive but very nice facility for four days for the holiday period.

Our final itinerary, with two to three days each in most of the places we stayed, was as follows: Mamallapuram; Ooty; Mysore; Belur; Hospet/Hampi; Goa; Ratnagiri; Gokarna; Murudeshwar; Anandashram; Fort Kochi; Varkala; Kovalam Beach; Kanniyakumari; Rameswaram; Madurai; Trichy; Pondy; Mamallapuram.

Sheila enjoyed the trip very much, except for getting a bout of Delhi belly in Trichy, which meant that during our time in Pondy she spent the time recuperating in our lodge rather than being able to visit the town and Auroville as we had originally planned.

FYI for prospective visitors who may want a personally escorted tour -- I don't charge anything for advice and planning assistance. If you want me to travel with you as your escort and guide, I just ask that you pick up the tab for our accommodation, meals and travel. For a budget tour, that would be about $100/day total for the two of us. For a mid-range comfort zone, with an occasional splurge, count on about $125 (which is what the trip with Sheila cost). If you want A/C and first class all the way, plan for $150 to $200.

I've been averaging one or two visitors a year for the last several years, and can provide references if you like.

Canada Summer 2013

I retired from the University of British Columbia in 2003, and have been living in India ever since. My last trip to Canada was in 2006, so I was overdue for a visit to see my ageing Mom (she's 94 now) and my Godmother, and to see friends that I had been out of touch with for too long.

Because I have been in India so long (on an Entry Visa with annual extensions through the local Foreigners Registration Office), the bureaucracy did a pretty thorough investigation on my reasons for staying here so long, and I had to reschedule my flight to Canada a couple of times until I finally got the necessary clearance to leave and return. As it turned out, it's just as well it took so long, because I had mistakenly been asking for an Exit Visa. What I eventually got was a Return Visa, valid for three months stay outside India, which didn't automatically cancel my Entry Visa, which an Exit Visa would have done.

When I was in Vancouver, I went to the Indian High Commission to ask about getting a fresh Entry Visa, and found that the eligibility requirements have been changed since I was last issued one in 2006, and I wouldn't qualify to apply under the new rules. I would only have been eligible for a six-month Tourist Visa, which would have meant a serious disruption of my long-term goal of spending the rest of my life in India. As it is, I will be eligible to apply for Indian citizenship in September this year, at which point I will have been here long enough to satisfy the residency requirements.

I had a great three weeks in Vancouver in August (the best time of year in that beautiful city), staying with a friend in the heart of the West End, and getting my fill of concerts, film festivals, cycling, visiting, and some beach time. Although it's still my favourite city in Canada, it isn't home any more, and I have no regrets about leaving there a decade ago to follow my heart to my adopted home in India.

Then I flew to Toronto, and rented a car for a week, which was the only practical way to get all my visiting done. First stop was Grimsby, where my Mom is living in a very nice retirement home. My brother and sister-in-law live nearby, so they phone and visit her frequently. I spent three days there, and we said our goodbyes knowing that it might be for the last time. Then I headed up to Kemptville to see my Godmother, and stayed with her son and his family just a couple of blocks from her retirement home. Last stop was Kingston to visit with a friend for a couple of days, then back to Toronto to drop off my rental car and head for the airport for my flight home to India.

Spring Tour 2013

Now that I'm on a roll, I'll publish a couple more travel updates to bring this blog more up to date.

After ending Grand Tour 2012 in Chennai in early January 2013, I spent only a couple of weeks at home, until just after the mid-January Pongal festival, then headed out again for Spring Tour 2013. This was very much a "visit friends and familiar places" ride, with only one new destination, as noted below. I won't go into very much detail since it was very similar to my standard Karnataka circuit that I have done about half a dozen times.

First stop was a bit of a detour, going to Mamallapuram to see a couple of friends before heading towards Karnataka, so I only made it as far as Vellore for my first night stop. Second day was an easy ride, bypassing Bangalore on the NICE Ring Road, and on to Sri Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt for a couple of days in the Ashram guest house. Then an overnight stop in Shimoga, and on to Gokarna, where I spent an entire month.

Gokarna is definitely my favourite place in India. It has just the right proportion of everything I like -- reasonable prices for food and accommodation, a great beach in town and several others nearby, several bookstores and email shops, my regular yoga class with Ganesh, small enough to get around easily, big enough to have almost everything I need, and an interesting mix of visitors since it is on both the Westerner and Indian tourist circuits. A very "Goldilocks" destination.

I retraced my inbound route for the return journey, via Shimoga to Chunchanagiri for a couple of days, then via Mysore bypass, Ooty Road, Nanjangud, Sulthan Battery to Kalpetta for the Kovai Thumpers Motorcycle Club 7A meet at Banasura Seagot Resort in Wayanad. As usual KTMC put on a great event, with comfortable tents for accommodation and excellent food.

Rode out Sunday morning, stopped in Mysore for a couple of days to get my bike serviced and visit friends, stayed a few days again at Chunchanagiri, stopped overnight in Bangalore, and headed home mid-March, for exactly two months on the road and about 2,700 km.

It was on the final stretch to home, between Bangalore and Chennai, that I came to the realization that I had had enough long-distance biking. It wasn't due to an accident or a near-miss. I just suddenly knew that my touring days were done. I had been telling myself for the last several years that the time would come when I had had enough, so I made sure to do lots of riding while I still enjoyed it.

When I got home I did a lot of serious thinking about my decision, and knew that it was right for me. As a sort of test run, over the next couple of months I did a couple of short one-week tours to visit friends in Karnataka by bus and train. Although not as convenient as having my own wheels, it was a lot more relaxing (and cheaper too!). So I put my bike up for sale, and closed the deal a month later.

Best of all, I sold it to my cousin, so it's still in the family, and our agreement is that I can borrow it at any time if I decide to go for another bike tour. But that was a year ago now, and I have no regrets, and no desire to go thumping (Bullet riding) again.

Grand Tour 2012, Stage 3, Anandashram to Chennai

Yes, I know, it's been over a year since I last updated this blog. It's been on my to-do list for ages, and has finally percolated up to the top. Thanks to several of my faithful readers who keep prodding me to publish an update.

From Anandashram I took the Panathur road, crossing into Karnataka in Kodagu, and spent a few days at Palace Estate homestay, one of my all-time favourite places. Road conditions up to the border are very good, and the newly resurfaced highway to Madekeri is excellent, but the local road via Napoklu to Palace Estate is in great need of repaving.

I would have liked to have stayed at Palace Estate for Christmas, but they were already booked solid for the holiday period, so I headed to Mysore, stayed a few days, got my bike serviced, and then moved on to Sri Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt, where I stayed at the Ashram guest house for the week of Christmas to New Years. Of course Christmas is nothing special at a Hindu ashram, but it was packed for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Very festive.

Then back to Chennai in early January, completing Grand Tour 2012 in two months and 3,200 kilometers.

Spring Tour 2013 is next!