tim morch

Hogenakkal Falls is popular with Indian tourists who come to bathe in the pools, view the cascade, take selfies and buy tacky souvenirs.

There are adventures around every corner in India and with a few days off the bikes, we had the opportunity to relax, read, and walk. One afternoon, a small village across the fields caught our attention and we decided to walk in search of chai. It turned out to be so small there was no chai stall, so we continued toward the next village. In Search of Chai near Lovedale Station, Tamil Nadu The thump-thump-thump of Tamil pop music grew louder and a car pulled alongside. The yo

"The Niagara Falls of India", "uncrowded" and "quiet", it is not. But the drive down the mountains is awesome and it's worth a quick peek.

After a peaceful ride through the countryside, the final 35km to Palani was a hectic horn honking, light flashing event that was as crazy as it was exhilarating. Astried lead the charge, boldly splitting lanes and shooting every possible gap in traffic. Palani marks the edge of hill country. It is famous for the Murugan Temple dedicated to the Hindu war god Kartikeya. As with any holy site in this country, hordes flock in worship. With the people come the endless rows of trin

The arid farmland around Nammakal is punctuated with rock outcroppings and hills typical of the Eastern Ghats. This series of unconnected low ranges, they merge with the Western Ghats not far south of here. The Western Ghats stretch from the southern tip of India north to Maharashtra State parallel to the Arabian Sea. This is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We would be in the thick of it in a few days. The winding rural roads connect

With full bellies and a spirit for adventure, we left the East Coast Road south of Cuddalore, and turned inland to ride randomly through the countryside. It doesn't take long to enter the never ending rice paddies and fields teeming with produce. This is the breadbasket of Tamil Nadu, the northern edge of the extensive Cauvery River delta. Massive banyan trees dot the highway making for superbly shaded stops and random encounters. From the truck drivers carrying produce to ma

(December 7, 2017) Chennai is a nexus of villages that grew together to create a sprawling urban jungle of nearly 8 million. Its streets are serpentine and seemingly directionless. They are littered with every kind of vehicle imaginable, from rickshaws to Range Rovers and cows wander freely. Everyone weaves reverently around the sacred beast. Aboard our motorcycles, Introduction to traffic was trial-by-fire. We chased our guide as he split lanes liberally, blazed between buse

It started innocently. After a successful off road adventure in southern Laos last year, the question was 'where to next?' An image of India came to mind and Astried thought it sounded great. I mused about buying or renting classic Royal-Enfield 500 Bullets. The date, Dec. 2017 into Jan. 2018, was agreed and I started to research. The obvious first step was to check for the best weather. Starting with average rainfall and closely followed by average temperature, Tamil Nadu an