Photoblog: Bussing A Move From Bangalore To Kodaikanal And Back

With fuel prices ever on the rise, it's sadly often necessary to leave the car behind, and hop on a bus to head up to the mountains. You might think I go nowhere else, but hey, there's no place like home, right? Here's a documentation of a couple of trips on sleeper buses - from Namma Bengaluru to Yaen Kodaikanal.

1. The KPN Travels office in Shantinagar is a busy area, as it's situated right next to the government bus terminal. Much more interesting to pounce on space on the entrance step and plant your rear there as you wait for your transport to arrive, instead of that depressing and poorly ventilated waiting area in the office.

2. But these guys usually leave on time, and we were soon on Hosur Road, making our way towards er, Hosur.

3. It's actually quite amazing how quick these newer buses move, and they sure ain't Swedish. Quite amazing too how quick the drivers engage with any defiant road user in their path with a generous blast of eardrum-retiring air horn music. Tamil Nadu State cousins are no match. But Nan-AC sleeper buses are the way to go, because the kunjus AC bus operators often instruct drivers to turn off the air con in the night, and non-flower-esque odours and claustrophobhia will be upon you rather urgently...

4. Window pan.

5. Always keep an eye out for idiots going the wrong way on the highway - how they have the guts to put their, and more importantly, our,lives on the line will always be hard to understand (and bloody change too).

6. Dinner break usually happens around 10 pm near Krishnagiri, but I always try and carry a whole dose of Fanoos Jumbos for sustenance whenever I head home.

7. Going up around the bend.

8. Someone approaching from behind for the overtake down the main straight.

9. Not sure where this is exactly, though we were approaching Salem, and I was hoping for a nicotene fix...

10. ...but cigarettes take a toll on you, so don't ever start smoking.

11. One begins climbing up the Palani Ghat road around 6 in the morning, so it's a real treat to wake up to. The KSRTC buses don't use this route - they come up the other ghat road after turning off the National Highway at Dindigul. 

12. And after almost two hours of climbing the hills, one finally hits the spot. Ma normally waits here at the lake junction for me, such is my brat life.

13. Time always flies when you're having a good time, I don't know where a whole month went. Actually I do, but let's not get into the details... Aisle be bach, Kodi. This is how a sleeper bus is usually set up inside - a 2+1 berth combination. Never make the mistake of booking a double berth if you're travelling alone, or someone else's arms, legs, and distinguishable smells will cosy up when the lights go out.

14. The best single berth in the bus was mine this time, second from the front and on the lower level. There's plenty of space even for the longer-legged - a far cry from our days of regular-seat buses where getting jammed behind some impolite moron-who-reclines-his-seat-and-jams-your-knees-for-the-whole-night was always part of the itinerary.

15. Fruit stalls the SRS Nan-AC sleeper bus - it's a good service, but be wary of service cancellations when the bus isn't booked to the company's satisfaction.

16. This is the commanding view bus drivers have, no wonder blinding headlights are never a problem for them, they're so high up above the rest.

17. The driver was easily at ninety clicks on this section of the narrow highway after descending the ghats, and leading to Palani town.

18. Free advertising. I know, right?

19. The Audicity of it all, but it's all good to add one ring when you're the King. I put one Kings, obviously.

20. Dinner at Dharapuram is usually around 10 again - pure traveller class Tamil Nadu vegetarian items are your only bet, so don't expect Kadai Chicken and Butter Naans on this journey.

21. Driver cabins have come a long, long way over the last decade or so, but the rear-conditioned driver's seat seems to have skipped evolution. That shifter, however, is better shaped than several car gear knobs in the market.

22. The driver couldn't wait to get On The Road Agaiyin - here's a standard overtake despite the oncoming vehicle. Might is right with bright headlight.

23. And another passing manoeuvre, this time around a corner. But this was nowhere near as worrying as the previous one...

24. Almost Salem now, and about time to grab a couple of hours shut-eye before the bus pulled up at Silk Board Junction, at a realistic time of around 4 in the morning.

25. The usual final extension into your sleep deprivation occurs if you can't get through to Ola and have to endure the auto rickshaw driver's staggering rip-off for the journey home - it often costs a third of your entire bus ticket to get under your roof! Ah well, grateful to have this here mine, at the time of penning the piece. This wasn't 4 am, he he, but you get the picture...