I started around 11 or noon. Got out of Chennai city quite easily and got on the highway. Little did I know that this would yet again be a difficult riding day. The body and motorcycle were a little tired.
I think I skipped lunch because I wanted to make time. It rained on and off. Somewhere along the way I met some students from an engineering college in Chennai. We chatted. They told me they were going for their "ma'am's wedding" in Perambalur, which is near Madurai. At that point, there was so much wind that my motorcycle shook a lot. At one point I thought I had a puncture -- stopped, checked, it looked okay. Then I thought my wheel alignment was messed up and as I rode I worried if my rear wheel wobbled. I stopped, checked, nothing I could see. I kept riding. As dusk fell I reached nowhere. I was somewhere in Tamilnadu...no idea where it was and it started pouring like crazy. For large parts, they closed one side of the highway and were constructing the other. So you are sharing your little highway with trucks, cars, bullock carts, cycles in front of you and coming at you. Sucks! So it became nearly impossible to drive when it got so dark and started raining like that. I saw a light and I just pulled over to the side to that shack. A family that was about to go to sleep told me to drive 3km ahead and I'd reach Perambalur.
I did and what a relief it was to see city lights or city-type lights. Some civilization. I could get some food. I had an amusing conversation with the guy in the hotel. I tried to converse in Hindi, English...he didn't nod or understand. The conversation went like this, "Hindi? English? Telugu? Kannada?" He grinned widely, "only Tamil" and did his two thumbs up. wtf?! "Ok, can I get a menu?" "Enna?" "Menu? Dinner?" I curved my fingers to indicate food. "Oh, chapati, parota, kurma" "Great, I want Chapati and some vegetable curry" "Kurma" "Ok, vegetarian kurma" "Mutton or chicken?" "Huh, vegetarian, vegetarian.." "ok kurma only"
Man, I ate, watched half-naked women on Fashion TV - I desperately needed respite from the other Tamil cartoon network channel, ate my chapati and kurma and slept.
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