[treadmark]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

I have travelled in the city versions of the KURTC low floor. The plastic moulded seats are really narrow and make you sit bolt upright. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for any long distance journey ?

When you look at the other alternate that you have are Private services doing Calicut ~ Palakkad. They have even narrow seats infact (3X2) layout and leg room is a joke in all of these buses.
On top of this they take more time to reach despite being rash between the towns and waiting in small towns for a longer time than allotted. Then they'll do all stunts to cover the lost time. Will be a roller coaster ride, same is the case with Calicut ~ Thrissur services.

Any day KURTC low floor is the best option available by far.

Originally Posted by binand

The reason is, my father-in-law (who does Nedumbassery-Calicut) and brother (who does Palakkad-Calicut) both swear by these low-floor buses.

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Bus and seating arrangement are same, except the seats are slightly different with taller back support. But not too comfortable over long distances

Agreed and I have done that for myself few trips from Nedumbassery to Wadakkanchery (Ottupara) no complaints.

Cheers!

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

I have travelled in the city versions of the KURTC low floor. The plastic moulded seats are really narrow and make you sit bolt upright. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for any long distance journey ? In fact, I wonder whether KSRTC is even bothered about seat comfort for passengers (who have to pay through the nose) before deploying these on long distance routes.

Due to the atrocious late running of trains on the Kottayam stretch to Trivandrum, I tried the KURTC low floor from Kottayam to Trivandrum. Scheduled time was 1650Hrs, came at 1730 but reached Trivandrum by 2100Hrs.

Good drive, except for the seats. Just needs neck/head support.

[knightrider_7]

An article on today's newspaper about highway robbery in Bangalore- Kerala roads at night.

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by knightrider_7

An article on today's newspaper about highway robbery in Bangalore- Kerala roads at night.



Attachment 1744829

The text in the article is not readable, but I believe this talks specifically about the Mysore > Bandipur > Calicut route.

The Hosur > Salem > Coimbatore route is safe to use during night as there seems to be traffic all the time.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by Repsol

The text in the article is not readable, but I believe this talks specifically about the Mysore > Bandipur > Calicut route.

The Hosur > Salem > Coimbatore route is safe to use during night as there seems to be traffic all the time.

Not the Mysore-Bandipur route. The route in concern is Mysore-Hunsur-Virajpet route. Many attacks have been reported between Hunsur and Gonikoppal earlier, but this particular one seems to be a lot more closer to Mysore, only around 10 kms from the city. This stretch is common route for Mysore-Kerala via Hunsur-Gonikoppa-Kutta-Mananthavady, Hunsur-Gonikoppa-Virajpet-Kannur and Mysore-Madikeri. Notably the attacks have always been confined to Malayalis or vehicles with KL registration except I guess in once instance.
The Mysore-Hunsur-Gonikoppal-Kutta is the only stretch open during night between Wayanad/Kozhikode. With the number of attacks increasing, it does become scary, if one has to undertake an emergency night travel. The other but much more longer option would be to go via Hosur-Salem-Palakkad.

[romyeo4u]

Hi All,

Need help in road conditions for the below destinations for April 12-20, as I'd be travelling with my wife and a son(5 Yrs).

12 April : 10:00 Hyderabad - 19:00 Salem, Stay at Salem
13 April : 05:00 Salem - 9:00 Madurai, local sight seeing, Stay at Madurai
14 April : 05:00 Madurai - 10:00 Rameshwaram, Stay at Rameshwaram
15 April : 05:00 Rameshwaram - 12:00 Kanyakumari, Stay at KYM
16 April : 07:00 Kanyakumari - 12:00 Varkala
17 April : Varkala
18 April : 05:00 Varkala - 11:00 Vagamon
19 April : 08:00 Vagamon - 15:00 Kodai
20 April : Kodaikanal
21 April : 08:00 Kodaikanal - 16:00 Bangalore
22 April : 05:00 Bangalore - 14:00 Hyderabad

My wife would be 20 Weeks pregnant at the time of travel, is it too aggressive and long journey? How are the road conditions from Kanyakumari -Varkala-Vagamon-Kodaikanal-Dindigul? Any suggestion on good places to eat? Most likely I would be the only driver. Car is S-Cross

Suggestions welcome

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by romyeo4u

Hi All,
My wife would be 20 Weeks pregnant at the time of travel, is it too aggressive and long journey? How are the road conditions from Kanyakumari -Varkala-Vagamon-Kodaikanal-Dindigul? Any suggestion on good places to eat? Most likely I would be the only driver. Car is S-Cross

Suggestions welcome

In my opinion, considering your wife's health, this is a very hectic schedule. That too Kanyakumari - Varkala - Kodaikanal is a very time-consuming stretch.

Second trimester is the right time for a long drive. I would suggest you to to pick one good destination and make a 2-3 day trip out of that. Please get a clearance from the gynecologist before you plan the trip.

You can check the below thread as well,
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/drive-...ant-woman.html

[Mohan Mathew A]

I am travelling from Mumbai to Perinthalmanna. I halted at Belgaum and spending the night here. Which is the best route from Belgaum to Perinthalmanna. Google is showing 3 options

1) Via Bangalore-Salem-Coimbatore-Palakkad. This is the longest at 980km. This is the longest and most time consuming (as per google)

2) Via Mysury-Gundalpet-Nilambur. This is the fastest-saving of almost 2 hours

3) Via Devangere-Hassan-Mananthavady-Wayanad-Kalpetta-VYthiri-Thamarassery-Arecode-Manjeri. This is the shortest but timewise almost as same as option 1

My plan is to reach Perinthalmanna tomorrow. I will leave Belgaum by 5 or 6. Safety is important as i am with my wife. Experts please suggest the best option to take considering time, traffic, safety, road surface.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

I am travelling from Mumbai to Perinthalmanna. I halted at Belgaum and spending the night here. Which is the best route from Belgaum to Perinthalmanna. Google is showing 3 options

1) Via Bangalore-Salem-Coimbatore-Palakkad. This is the longest at 980km. This is the longest and most time consuming (as per google)

2) Via Mysury-Gundalpet-Nilambur. This is the fastest-saving of almost 2 hours

3) Via Devangere-Hassan-Mananthavady-Wayanad-Kalpetta-VYthiri-Thamarassery-Arecode-Manjeri. This is the shortest but timewise almost as same as option 1

My plan is to reach Perinthalmanna tomorrow. I will leave Belgaum by 5 or 6. Safety is important as i am with my wife. Experts please suggest the best option to take considering time, traffic, safety, road surface.

No. 2 is the best. But since you are so far away, it is better to avoid because it has night traffic ban. There could be many a slip between the cup and the lip, as they say.

No. 1 is the easiest, despite having Bangalore on the way. You just take the NICE ring road, pay their obnoxious toll, and be on your way.

No. 3 I don't know much about, but I can see that it makes you drive in Kerala the longest, on a weekday, after sundown. That in itself is good enough reason to send it firmly into the waste bin.

If I were you, I'd take no. 1.

Edit: couple of points more. I just checked the distances; Belgaum-Perinthalmanna via Bangalore-Salem is nearly 1000 km, of which the final 65 km is single carriageway Kerala road. Depending on your ability to drive through the day you might want to consider another break journey.

With a 6 am start from Belgaum and nearly 800 km to cover you will not make it before the forest closure on route no. 1 I think. That probably rules it out completely.

[Mohan Mathew A]

Originally Posted by binand

No. 2 is the best. But since you are so far away, it is better to avoid because it has night traffic ban. There could be many a slip between the cup and the lip, as they say.

No. 1 is the easiest, despite having Bangalore on the way. You just take the NICE ring road, pay their obnoxious toll, and be on your way.

No. 3 I don't know much about, but I can see that it makes you drive in Kerala the longest, on a weekday, after sundown. That in itself is good enough reason to send it firmly into the waste bin.

If I were you, I'd take no. 1.

Edit: couple of points more. I just checked the distances; Belgaum-Perinthalmanna via Bangalore-Salem is nearly 1000 km, of which the final 65 km is single carriageway Kerala road. Depending on your ability to drive through the day you might want to consider another break journey.

With a 6 am start from Belgaum and nearly 800 km to cover you will not make it before the forest closure on route no. 1 I think. That probably rules it out completely.

No1-Bangalore-Salem route is something which i have done many times. So i am familiar with it. I too am a bit concerned about driving thru kerala in the fag end of such a long journey. My Plan was to travel atleast till Chitradurga or even till Bangalore but due to lack of sleep yesterday i was not in a position to continue beyond Belgaum today. Didn't want to drive feeling drowsy.

No-2. What time does the night ban start?. How long is the drive thru the reserve forest and is it safe. I saw some reports of dacoity.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

No1-Bangalore-Salem route is something which i have done many times. So i am familiar with it.

No-2. What time does the night ban start?. How long is the drive thru the reserve forest and is it safe. I saw some reports of dacoity.

I think the no. 2 route closes at 8 pm. There are no dacoity reported in that route (except a targeted case near Nanjangud a few months back). Dacoity is reported often in your no. 3 route and that too usually between 11 and 4, maybe because it is the only all-night route to Wayanad.

If you are well-rested go for no. 1. You can average 70-75 kmph so chances are you'll be home in Perinthalmanna in time for dinner.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Not the Mysore-Bandipur route. The route in concern is Mysore-Hunsur-Virajpet route.

To be frank, I feel this kind of dacoity is being done with the active connivance of the local police. This route was also the most favoured ones of smugglers and hawala dealers. And when they are targetted, they cannot complain to the police because their money is unaccounted. Around three years back one Malayali businessman was robbed on the highway between Mysore & Kutta. He went and gave a police complaint, because he had got the money by selling his business/shop in Bangalore.

Due to severe pressure from various Malayali trader associations the Mysore police was forced to do good investigation. And the king pin of the gang was a police constable (and his immediate supervisor a sub-inspector). It seems there are intelligence networks within the criminal gangs in Bangalore who generally would come to know of large cash based transactions. If KA authorities do really wish to kill this menace once and for all, they should get some of their specialised police agencies like the Corps of Detectives (CoD) to run a parallel investigation, even keeping the district police at an arms length.

There was another dacoity in between Nanjangud & Gundlupet, but the gang was also arrested quickly. They were Malayalis from Wayanad Dt. in Kerala.

I had made some journeys through this route around six months back. We went as a convoy, and opted for this route only due to emergencies at home. Right from the junction at Sri Rangapatna leading to Yelwala, there are very many empty stretches on this route. Things become worse when we drive beyond Hunsur. Thickly wooded area, very less number of houses and not very high traffic on the road.

[Mohan Mathew A]

Originally Posted by binand

I think the no. 2 route closes at 8 pm. There are no dacoity reported in that route (except a targeted case near Nanjangud a few months back). Dacoity is reported often in your no. 3 route and that too usually between 11 and 4, maybe because it is the only all-night route to Wayanad.

If you are well-rested go for no. 1. You can average 70-75 kmph so chances are you'll be home in Perinthalmanna in time for dinner.

Update:

Took route no. 2 (Gundulpet-Nilambur)

I left Belgaum at 5.30 a.m, reached Tumkur by 9.50 a.m. (non stop)

Took a break of around an hour in Tumkur

I then drove non stop (except to fill diesel), entered the reserve forest at around 2.30 and reached perinthalmanna at 5.45 p.m.

Roads are good till Kerala (except for some patches between Tumkur and Mysore)

Once you enter Kerala then there is a lot of road repair going on and coupled with the heavy traffic progress is slow.

Overall a very nice drive

[binand]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

I left Belgaum at 5.30 a.m, reached Tumkur by 9.50 a.m. (non stop)

Oh wow. That is what, 450 km in 4 hours? Your car has a turbojet? :-)

[knightrider_7]

Over the weekend, did Kattangal - Areekode- Manjeri- Pandikkad- Melattur- Mannarkkad- Palakkad- Pollachi- Valparai- Athirappilly- Perambra route. The roads were good throughout, except for the bad stretch between Malakkappara and Thottapura viewpoint.

On return, took Thrissur- Kecheri- Perumpilavu- Valanchery- Kottakkal- Pantheeramkavu- Kattangal route. The roads between Kecheri and Perumpilavu was a little bumpy due to the uneven patchworks. Except that, roads were good all the way.