[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by pankaj_sachdeva

Thanks vnabhi for the information. I have to transport the car and i am just praying that i do not meet the same fate. Between don't these packers and movers give any insurance on car as they do on household goods?

Not sure if the Packers give it, but standard insurance company's do provide for household goods (you might need to check for vehices though). I had insured my household goods by paying 2.3 K when I shifted to Hyd from Vizag. I did it on the advice of a pal who had had a bad experience when the truck ferrying his goods overturned in Orissa. In the process he lost his TV and his fridge and furniture were badly damaged.

[gd1418]

Your car, as I saw this morning, has Delhi regisatration. Make sure you have the landing papers with date always with you while driving. The BLR cops are known to harass outstation vehicles for state/road tax and will speak only in Kannada till paid..morons..

I believe you can safely drive for a period of 6 months without paying taxes from the date of the vehicle entering state borders. After that you need to apply for local registration of the vehicle there..

Originally Posted by pankaj_sachdeva

Thanks harjeev. Though i really wanted to do this drive and was mentally prepared for it, but now i have to send my car through pakers n movers.
just praying that the car should reach Bangalore safely.

[shankar.balan]

good decision about flying down
ref packers etc- plse pay extra and ensure that insurance covers everything including the car.
also speak to them and see if they can send everythng down by train instead of truck - much safer I believe.
all the best

Originally Posted by pankaj_sachdeva

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Ishan, I am taking LLL & everybody's advice. Will be leaving by flight on 31st afternoon. I also talked to my boss regarding this & she is ready to pack the packers n movers charges for my car. is it a good idea to send the car by packers n movers?

[Indian Ranger]

Dear Friends,

I am planning to travel to Bangalore from Gurgaon Via Bhopal and Shirdi. Actually moving back family and car to Bangalore hence thought of travelling by road clubbing vacation as well. Visit to Shirdi is a must hence thought of 1st halt at Bhopal at my uncles place. This will be our first visit to their new home also. I am travelling with wife and kids(daughters) aged 7 and 4 who are not troublesome for long journeys.

Planning to start in the early hours of 23rd March and cover these locations leisurely and reach Bangalore by 28th March.

The longest trips in a day done by us are between Gurgaon - Manali and Alleppy - Bangalore, hence feel I could reach Bhopal if we start early. Here is the rough plan including buffer time for lunch and breaks:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Route KMS Start time End Time Total Stay
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23rd Mar Gurgaon to Bhopal via Mathura, Agra, Morena, Gwalior, 735 4 am 8 pm 16hrs Bhopal
Shivpuri, Guna, Biaora, Narsinghgarh

24th Mar Rest at Bhopal

25th Mar Bhopal to Shirdi via Dewas, Indore, Dhule,Malegaon, 609 6 am 7 pm 13hrs Shirdi
Manmad, Kopargaon

26th Mar Stay at Shirdi

27th Mar Shirdi to Belgaum Via Ahmednagar,Satara, Kolhapur 527 5 am 5 pm 12hrs Belgaum

28th Mar Belgaum to Bangalore
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I need expert guidance from friends in this forum on the following:

1) is this a feasible plan first of all?
2) How is the stretch between Gwalior-Guna-Bhopal? I estimate to reach Guna 3pm if i start at 4 am. So is it safe to travel this stretch and possibly reach Bhopal by 8 or 9 pm. I presume there is enough truck traffic in this route which could cut the speeds along with the condition of the roads.
3) what are the pain points between Gurgaon and Bhopal that i should be aware of and be cautious of? I was told that people would still be throwing nails to puncture the vehicles and would eventually rob the passengers once the vehicle is stopped. Though have not heard this happening in the recent past but still a concern which i wanted to express and see opinion on.
4) Are the directions clear for Agra and Gwalior Bypass? How is the road condition now? Any latest update? Where the Agra Bypass start?
5) Also how are the conditions between Bhopal and Shirdi? any thing to worry about? Is there any other short route with good roads?
6) What is the best route to take from Shirdi to Kolhapur? will be seeking blessings of Godess so might as well stay here is darshan gets delayed. Are there any good hotels here?
7) I will be doing the last leg in a single stretch and reach Bangalore.

I will be driving Fiesta Diesel hence would help is any one can suggest good petrol pumps where adultration is less.

I have mapmyindia GPS which i plan to utilise but again might not be of much help if i need to bypass any place.

Please help me with hotels and eating joints from Gurgaon to Bhopal to Shirdi to Kolhapur.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Regards,
Manjunath

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Indian Ranger

I will be driving Fiesta Diesel hence would help is any one can suggest good petrol pumps where adultration is less.

I have mapmyindia GPS which i plan to utilise but again might not be of much help if i need to bypass any place.

Please help me with hotels and eating joints from Gurgaon to Bhopal to Shirdi to Kolhapur.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Regards,
Manjunath

- Do you really need to go to Bhopal? Because in your plan, you say; only rest for the night. If not then you should drive along Jaipur-Chittorh-Kota-Ratlam-Pithampur-Dhule-Malegaon-Shirdi.
- Drive via Rajasthan is way better than MP.

This is a total of 1250km. You can break at Ratlam and start the next day.
Route Link


From Shirdi it should be : Shirdi-Nagar-Pune bypass - Bangalore.

[Indian Ranger]

Thanks Ampere for quick response.

My uncle has been staying in Bhopal for long time and this will be the first time that we will be visiting them hence thought of utilisting this opportunity to see the family. This is the main reason for stop over at Bhopal. As such i dont see a big difference in the kms between both the routes except for the road conditions which i am not sure of in MP.

Otherwise I would have preferred the route described by you.

Rgds,

[mm403]

Originally Posted by Indian Ranger

Dear Friends,


5) Also how are the conditions between Bhopal and Shirdi? any thing to worry about? Is there any other short route with good roads?
6) What is the best route to take from Shirdi to Kolhapur? will be seeking blessings of Godess so might as well stay here is darshan gets delayed. Are

You can cover Bhopal to Shirdi in 11 hrs. Route suggested is Bhopal- Dewas- Indore Bypass- Dhule - Manmad- Shirdi. Only the last stretch from Malegaon to Shirdi is a without any dividers and slightly uneven but manageable.
You can consider Bhopal - Khandwa- Dhule option , but then both Bhopal Indore and NH3 are excellent 4 lane stretches
For staying , you can consider Hotel Sai Leela. ( Can send you the details through PM) This is actually a KM behind the temple. They have a ample parking place and offer courtsey pick up and drop to temple.

Shirdi - Kolhapur -- Stick to Shirdi- Nagar - Pune - Satara- Kolhapur stretch

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Indian Ranger

Otherwise I would have preferred the route described by you.

In that case, I would say do check the Gurgaon-Jaipur-Kota-Bhopal option.
I know that the road is 4-lane till Kota. An early start would help pass traffic NH8. But I am not sure about Kota-Jhalawar-Bhopal section. Good to confirm with HVK.

However I feel this may be a better option as the roads are better in this section. But good to confirm. Bhopal-Shirdi and Shirdi-BLR have already been answered.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Indian Ranger

23rd Mar Gurgaon to Bhopal via Mathura, Agra, Morena, Gwalior, 735 4 am 8 pm 16hrs Bhopal
Shivpuri, Guna, Biaora, Narsinghgarh

Gurgaon-Agra-Gwalior-Jhansi-Shivpuri-Guna-Biaora-Bhopal is the best route for you to reach Bhopal.NH12 (Jaipur-Bhopal is still in bad shape)

http://goo.gl/maps/h8SFC

Expect some bad sections between Gwalior and Jhansi due to road widening,otherwise all good.You could opt for the YEW as well from Gurgaon since you are leaving early morning.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Gurgaon-Agra-Gwalior-Jhansi-Shivpuri-Guna-Biaora-Bhopal is the best route for you to reach Bhopal.NH12 (Jaipur-Bhopal is still in bad shape)

http://goo.gl/maps/h8SFC

Expect some bad sections between Gwalior and Jhansi due to road widening,otherwise all good.You could opt for the YEW as well from Gurgaon since you are leaving early morning.

You do not have to go through Jhansi.
The correct route is Agra (troublesome navigating the city)-Gwalior (horrible bypass, even worse city roads)-Shivpuri-GUna-Biaora-Bhopal.

NH3 is in better shape now.
In case you wish to stay somewhere en route, choose Hotel Varun, Guna.
Facilities en route are targetted at truckers.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

NH3 is in better shape now.
In case you wish to stay somewhere en route, choose Hotel Varun, Guna.
Facilities en route are targetted at truckers.

HVK how is Kota-Jhalawar-Bhopal section? If its good, then why not route via Jaipur-Kota?
It also helps OP, because he starts from Gurgaon which is on NH8.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ampere

HVK how is Kota-Jhalawar-Bhopal section? If its good, then why not route via Jaipur-Kota?
It also helps OP, because he starts from Gurgaon which is on NH8.

The Jhalawar route is one of the worst in India.

NH3 is the shortest, and now that it is in reasonably good condition, probably the better route to take.

The Gurgaon-Jaipur widening mess can result in slow down. The Jaipur-Tonk-Kota NH12 is in bad shape, hence to be avoided.

If you want to take Jaipur route, then take Jaipur-Chittorgarh, and then go via Neemuch-Mandsaur-Ratlam-Badhanawar-Ujjain-Dewas-Bhopal, which is a super route (that was the route I was recommending when NH3 was in bad shape)

[Indian Ranger]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The Jhalawar route is one of the worst in India.

NH3 is the shortest, and now that it is in reasonably good condition, probably the better route to take.

I probably will stick on to NH3 in this case.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You do not have to go through Jhansi.
The correct route is Agra (troublesome navigating the city)-Gwalior (horrible bypass, even worse city roads)-Shivpuri-GUna-Biaora-Bhopal.

NH3 is in better shape now.
In case you wish to stay somewhere en route, choose Hotel Varun, Guna.
Facilities en route are targetted at truckers.

Thanks HVKumar Sir. I read the following in another travelogue in OKTatabyebye.com where the person mentioned this little detour to get back to AB road. Please let me know if this makes sense:

"Crossing Gwalior using AB-raod is a big challenge as the old basti (Laxmiganj, other colonies) holds the traffic movement for hours. I usually de-tour ABroad at gwalior Via Gola-Ka-Mandir/Bus-Stand/University-road/Jhansi-Road/AB-road, covering extra 16 KMs but worth as it hardly takes 20-25 mins to cover this stretch"

Again depends on the roads inside Gwalior which you have already mentioned as poor.[/FONT]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

You could opt for the YEW as well from Gurgaon since you are leaving early morning.

Thanks Ranjit. I never thought of YEW since I wanted to take the Agra - Gwalior Bypass instead of going into the city. Any idea how the road conditions are currently? Might as well take YEW if this bypass is in bad condition.

Originally Posted by ampere

In that case, I would say do check the Gurgaon-Jaipur-Kota-Bhopal option.
I know that the road is 4-lane till Kota. An early start would help pass traffic NH8. But I am not sure about Kota-Jhalawar-Bhopal section. Good to confirm with HVK.

Thanks ampere for all your inputs.

Originally Posted by mm403

You can cover Bhopal to Shirdi in 11 hrs. Route suggested is Bhopal- Dewas- Indore Bypass- Dhule - Manmad- Shirdi. Only the last stretch from Malegaon to Shirdi is a without any dividers and slightly uneven but manageable.

You can consider Bhopal - Khandwa- Dhule option , but then both Bhopal Indore and NH3 are excellent 4 lane stretches
For staying , you can consider Hotel Sai Leela. ( Can send you the details through PM) This is actually a KM behind the temple. They have a ample parking place and offer courtsey pick up and drop to temple.

Shirdi - Kolhapur -- Stick to Shirdi- Nagar - Pune - Satara- Kolhapur stretch

Thank you. Sure will PM you for the hotel info.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Indian Ranger

Thanks HVKumar Sir. I read the following in another travelogue in OKTatabyebye.com where the person mentioned this little detour to get back to AB road. Please let me know if this makes sense:

"Crossing Gwalior using AB-raod is a big challenge as the old basti (Laxmiganj, other colonies) holds the traffic movement for hours. I usually de-tour ABroad at gwalior Via Gola-Ka-Mandir/Bus-Stand/University-road/Jhansi-Road/AB-road, covering extra 16 KMs but worth as it hardly takes 20-25 mins to cover this stretch"

Again depends on the roads inside Gwalior which you have already mentioned as poor.[/FONT]

Maybe a better idea to go on the new "bypass" than getting lost inside the Gwalior city

[Indian Ranger]

Hi Friends,

I undertook the journey as planned and reached Bangalore safe and sound. All through out the roads are good - excellent.

Gurgaon - Gwalior - Bhopal:- Entire strech is patched up and the traffic was quite manageble post crossing Agra. Left as planned at 4 am and reached Bhopal Airport at 6:30 pm.

Bhopal - Shirdi:- Amazing and wonderfully maintained roads. Best stretch is between Bhopal and Dewas.

Shirdi - Kolhapur - Via Nagar lovely roads again. Was struck in dharna with traffic blockage extending upto a kilometer both ways near Ranjangaon but luckly could manage to get out since we were near an exit promptly helped by a politician and his brigade. Lost about 30 minutes here. Met another TeamBhpian here but could not get his id/handle.

Kolhaput - Blore - Great GQ drive.

rgds,