So a plan had to be construed to transport my pet cats to my home (@Chennai). Options were considered to even push this later during Jan or Feb. However moving cats to a new place has its own set of problems; I wish it was as fun as moving dogs (
which itself is not easy). So a last minute plan was hatched - the road trip home. Looked for fellow companions; none were there; had to do this alone. I have traveled long distance on road with these buggers; from North Carolina to New Jersey actually so I knew what I had to do from a transportation perspective. Although that trip was a ~10 hours drive mostly through 8 or 10 lane interstate highways with minimal traffic; this was through a mix of 8 lanes to 2 lane roads with medium to heavy traffic and loads of diversions.
Decided to look for hotels that allow pets; none of them were available around the midpoint (Hubli or Ranebennur). A lone AirBnB provided me an option that was available; however, at the last minute I ruled it out as they had a dog which would bring in too many uncontrollable elements. I had done long(er) distance non-stop rides,
solo (A Trip Down South : Pune - Goa - Bangalore - Chennai) and with
co-drivers (The F1 Roadtrip : Pune to Noida), so it wasn't that much a concern.
So the plan was to drive non-stop.
With two very uncomfortable grown-up cats who literally hated being cooped up.
In a moving car.
Over a long weekend.
On two days before the New Year when literally everyone seemed to be heading towards Mahabaleshwar/Goa/south.
And an absolutely brilliant plan it was. My cats just loved it (/sarcasm_end)
The Summary Distance: 1357 kms
Timelines: (Start) 9:00 am / (Stop) 7:00 am
Halts: ~3 hours (over 3 stops)
Average Speed: 71 kmph
Average Mileage: ~19kmpl
Toll Costs: Both my kidneys and my iPhone
The Route Expressway: A few delays caused us to leave at 9 in the morning instead of the planned 5 am. Expressway was great, and we reached Pune in ~3 hours without much traffic.
Maharashtra:Pune city decided to show its colors as it took me over an hour to reach Katraj tunnel. The rest of the route till the border turned out to be a mixed bag as several detours, medium to heavy traffic, slow tractors filled with sugarcane causing long jams with every car trying to do a formula1 lap 1 style overtake and a steady stream of bikes from Satara onwards running on the highway without helmets and at times blocking the entire lane.
Karnataka: I was glad when we finally crossed the border into Karnataka around 4:00 pm; and as if a switch was turned on; the traffic magically disappeared and I could pick up speed. Belgaum, Dharwad, Hubli and others came and went, and surprisingly the cats had opted out to sleep / stay quiet all this time instead of making a fuss. Good roads, with a mix of 8 lanes to 2 laned (without divider) highways filled with numerous diversions with speed breakers (why?) but manageable most of the time. Traffic was a pain on the 2 lane sections, but otherwise much lesser than Maharashtra.
Bangalore: Entered the city ring road around 1 am and it took me about an hour or so to bypass through NICE road to Hosur. Mostly empty roads and amazing music on the radio made it a pleasant section.
Tamil Nadu:This surprised me to the core - TN roads were by far the best of the lot, through and through completely. A mix of 6 and 8 lane highways with minimal stopovers and clear signage. This was the section where I caught up on time and made speed, reaching outskirts of Chennai in the wee hours.
The Tolls MH: Fleecing rates with no logic of distance vs rate charged. And the rates constantly seem to be increasing irrespective of the (lack of) work being done
KA: Every district, every city and town seems to be having a toll for itself. The amounts ranged from 20Rs to 180Rs, and I have receipts that are just a few minutes apart at times.
TN: The most manageable rates; and well paced out toll gates
The Stops MH: Stopped at Shirwal for a few bites, ~15 mins at max.
KA: About an hour after Davanagere at 9 pm, I decided to take a halt and stopped outside a restaurant and slept off for an hour. Two amazing filter coffees later, and I was back on the road.
TN: Around 2:30 am, decided to take another halt and slept for an hour outside a restaurant/tea-stall that was open. No filter coffees this time, had to do with an extra sweet tea.
Overall, I loved driving in the night. Maharashtra was a pain with the 2 wheelers and sugarcane tractors, Karnataka with its numerous tolls and diversions. If I had to do this again (
which I will have to get the car back to Mumbai), I'd start in the night entering KA daytime and reaching home by next day evening, or taking a halt during the day and driving again during the next night across MH. And the car performed well, as good as it did 6 years back on a similar trip from Pune to Chennai. Oh btw, the cats are settling in so that's a job well done.