BLR Motorcycle Life

Get up Priscilla! It's 5AM and it is cold outside, but it is time for your motorcycle adventure.

It was 5:30am. I had slept just 2 hours in anticipation for this big event.... 

Praveen shows up happy and friendly on his supercool green Honda motorcycle. He was making conversation while the sun is just starting to rise in Bangalore and I am getting a big wake up call with the wind and the fast riding.

 

Who is Praveen?  

We had messaged each other on our exchange site and I did not know what he looked like. We were texting each other and I realized that he was at the same event dancing next to me. We just laughed and it was instant friend chemistry. He was absolutely a lovely human being. He invited me to ride with him on a group bike ride and I she said, “YES.”  

We went to the Esteem mall to meet the rest of the group. We had a planned bike ride to visit   

The Muninagara Dam and a trek around the area. When we arrived, there were multiple groups of bikes everywhere we looked. This was the bikers meeting points for rides all over Karnataka or even road trips. It was amazing just to look at all the different bikes, with Royal Enfield being the Harley Davison of India. Praveen was explaining the different types of bikes bc CC. There were quite a few super bikes there that were of the highesr CC level. After rallying our group together we we were off to the races. Praveen’s bike was a relatively new Honda bike that was super comfortable. I get lucky finding the best drivers I swear who spend so much time to educate me about India and also ask the best questions to learn about me- the Bangalore Motorcyle Confessions.  

He was showing me the different types of plants and explained that in the certain region flowers are exported to all over the world. He was just a wealth of information.  

We all stopped for breakfast and ordered our traditional Southern Indian dishes. It was a really nice restaurant with a great selection of food. When we left we were just all standing around and I could not figure out why. One of the guys came out with a birthday cake as it was Dilvia’s birthday. She was sitting with me at breakfast and talking about her amazing travels ahead but she never even mentioned her birthday. She was so sweet, funny, and full of life. She was a bit sad about turning 34. I told her I am almost 40 and she gave me a hug as if that was some kind of horrible thing. She said that Indians consider their lives to be over at that point-boy do they have it wrong.  

We left on our ride with beautiful views of rice fields, different flowers, palm trees and plants. The beauty just driving 30 to 50 kilometers out-wow. Praveen said that every 50 kilometers, you enter a different culture of Bangalore. He said that one of his favorite activities is to explore the old temples of Bangalore. He loves to just ride solo and visit hidden places outside of the city.  

Like myself, he finds the village life to be the most authentic and beautiful part of India. The ride through the villages is just magical for me as I love to see the cows, goats, the sheep hearders, the woman all traditionally dressed, and the kids smiling and waiving. The older men with the dark skin standing under a tree or walking with a cane down the road. It is just full of color, beauty, and real life. 

We all went into an area where there was the first dam, but it was all blocked off for a wedding. We turned around and stopped for chai. I told him that I was fascinated by anything and everything in the village. He took me back in to the blocked off area and he spoke to the police telling them I am a foreigner. They already knew that from my smiling and talking. They allowed us to pass by bike and I was so glad they did. Wow! 

I just watched all the different colors of Saris line the road. The young kids dressed so beautifully. What is amazing about Indians is that no matter how much money they have or don’t have they will always respect their tradition and present themselves in a conservative and classy way.  There were crowds of people, but I managed to get close to the front to see the marriage of 105 couples!  

Only me do I get the timing of these moments right to the T. There were about 25 couples on the stage and they were doing the marriage vows- the woman touching the man’s feet. The instructions step by step that were so traditional and conservative. The hair with the flowers braided through it and the men dressed in Pristine white- wow just wow… 

They threw the rice and that was it my friend-they were officially married. He said that these weddings are sponsored by politicians because they cannot afford weddings. This was news to me as I do not recall hearing this before. Always new information. 

We hiked up to the top of the dam and it was a beautiful view of the temples, the dam, and the rice fields. The sun was shining and again the weather was just perfect. I hiked down fairly easy and Praveen was right behind me. It is always cute to watch how Indians do things like athletic activities.  

We headed back to meet the group and took our time driving through the village. We had to stop for the goats, the cows, and the random chickens. The people were just sitting along the way looking content, doing their Sunday chores, and kids riding bikes.  

We arrived at the dam and everyone was swimming, playing frisbee or sitting near the water. The view looked something like an island and not like somewhere outside the big city. There were cows bathing in the water and kids washing their clothing-this was the village I knew I loved.  

 

And it was time…the time in every city or country when people sing to Priscilla in foreign language and then someone translates the song- they are the cutest and most memorable moments of all my travels. I had the PRIS singing initation time. 

 When locals translate lyrics, it is just a divine experience because they always explain things in an innocent way i.e. he loved her eyes, they were like sun.”  They really got rolling on singing the Hindi songs and we were all just having a great time taking silly photos and videos. The sense of humor between me and the guys was just right on point. Praveen was a beautiful singer who surprised us all with his beautiful heart and vocals. We ended up going to lunch together with people splitting up.  

Save the best for last-I stayed with Mani and Eppy-the two best guys and of course Praveen. We had a very veg friendly spicy lunch. I ate a whole hot pepper and was trying to disguise the discomfort as my mouth literally on fire.  It was hilarious how I was trying to eat normally in front of these guys, but I looked like I could not handle any spice. Advice: watch what you are eating before trying to be a cool Indian.  

We were looking over the cool drone footage and talking about our plans for the rest of the day. Praveeen left and it was me and my two new friends driving back to the city to watch the finals game. We were just dancing and singing on the road our bikes side by side and making jokes with another at stop lights. It was just so exhilarating, fun, and exactly what I love in India- villages and motor bikes. We went to watch the match at a great spot in the famous Indirangar and we managed to get a spot right in front of the big screen. We shared some Belgium beer and two other people joined us. Juni and I could only have one beer as we both shared that we have no alcohol tolerance. I usually just get a headache after one beer and that is it(my 20s were different, but newsflash I am not 20 anymore I am 39!   

India had some good moments, but they lost the finals and there was not much celebration. My humor was just perfectly on point and I as making everyone laugh. When someone is talking nonsense and things-just smile and ignore them. It is easier said that done, but one person had a severe attitude that was tampering a bit with our perfect energy all day.  

That was it and I was back on a Yamaha,  

Honda to Royal Enfield to Yamaha all in one day. The driver was so nice. He worked uber parttime and he had  been working for a IT based company for many years. He was very smart, wise, and so helpful. We talked about politics in India, how he treats his guests, great places to stay, and where to eat. He dropped me off and then invite me to go for chai with him. He was super normal, a professional and just a really good person so I said yes and I winded down a bit after a long day.  

It was truly such a special moment to take part in. Ginger chai to end the day and a cool new smiling friend. Yes I have a million guy friends…sometimes I question being born a woman lol   

"STRANGERS ARE JUST FRIENDS WAITING TO HAPPEN"

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