[sarbagna]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

I started my trip on the auspicious day of Mahalaya, started the car with rendition of Mahisasurmardini by Sri Birendra krishna Bhadra, what a thrill ! Will reach Kolkata by 30th (tentative). Currently on my second halt (1st in Rajahmundry, 2nd in Bhubaneswar), plan to stay here and work till friday and then continue to Kolkata.

Have a safe journey! Drive safe, don't overspeed, if tired - pause, use coffee/tea or splash water in face, take a stroll (you know the drill). Looking forward to hear more.

BTW, warm welcome to TeamBHP.

[masterChief007]

Yes I do stop and start walking, checking tire condition and a few sit ups, do a few stretches and limber up. Kicks out the sleepy eyes and and potential fatigue !

[A_Basu]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Only problem i face is that I get ankle pain due to keeping the accelerator pressed the whole time. So I routinely excercise the ankle at each rest stop. Anyone else has a solution for this?

I don't know what footwear you're using, but for long drives, I don't wear sandals or low-ankle shoes. I switched over to a pair of high-ankle trekking shoes (This also means I have to carry chappals in the car, for night halts, because not all hotels provide slippers )

BTW, I too drive @80. Max-max @90 occasionally. In low-light conditions, mine actually reduces to 50 - 60.

Shubho sharodiya to you. Enjoy your Pujo, and welcome to the forum.

[masterChief007]

Originally Posted by A_Basu

I switched over to a pair of high-ankle trekking shoes.

I use my Asics running shoe. I have tried trekking shoes, but my forclaz 500, used to bite into the skin to the odd angle of the feet (I habitually used to tie laces tight). Also wanted a shoe on which to go for a run due to all the sweets and food i am going to indulge in

Also yesterday i observed that my shoe is getting stuck at the clutch pedal, due to large toebox. Need to fetch a new leather shoe anyways, so will check out one's with a bit of ankle support.

One more addition on accomodation in Rajahmundry is "Manjeera Sarovar Premier". Its a nice hotel, due to some offer it cost me ~3.5k per night. Swimming pool is not operational currently.

[masterChief007]

Reached Kolkata on 29th from BBSR. Total time ~9 hrs with 8 am start. Accommodation at Ginger BBSR (a bit too cramped for a multi day stay, Gym is operational so that is a positive). Breakfast was okay, not too great. As usual cow menace till WB border. From Kharagpur onwards roads are pretty nice but beware of sudden barriers on the roads with speed limits of 100 kph signboards.

The hard sole ankle support leather shoe did help to alleviate the issues earlier mentioned.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Only problem i face is that I get ankle pain due to keeping the accelerator pressed the whole time. So I routinely excercise the ankle at each rest stop. Anyone else has a solution for this?

You may be sitting too close to the steering wheel which forces your ankle to bend upwards at an acute angle. Your right foot needs to be roughly at an angle of 100deg to keep your ankle relaxed.
Move your seat backwards, lower your steering so that the top of the steering wheel rim just clears the instrument cluster.

Adjust the fore - aft movement of the seat in such a way that you are sitting comfortably in the driver's seat, with your back properly supported by the seat back.
Now stretch your right arm out. You should be able to "drape your wrist" loosely on the top dead centre of the steering wheel, without shifting your position in the seat. If your "wrist" "extends" too far forward over the top of the steering wheel, then your seat position is too close to the steering wheel. Move the seat backwards as appropriate.

Also it is not a wise thing to drive long stints on highways with the driver's seat raised to its maximum height position. The eccentric rail seat adjusters, (which is used in most mass market cars in India), actually pushes the seat forwards and tilts the squab slightly downwards at an angle resulting in lower under thigh support resulting in a gentle "slope" of the seat squab towards the front. Conversely a lowered seat means that the rear of the squab is slightly down compared to the leading edge of the seat, the entire squab has a slight "rear tilt" bias which is good for under-thigh support. You have to play around with your car's seat settings to achieve your optimum position

Wear comfortable shoes with slim soles which allow you to "feel" the pedals rather than clunky boots with soles as thick as a brick. This will allow you greater feel over pedal pressure applications leading to more finessed car control.

[sarbagna]

My trip is finally round the corner i.e. from Kolkata to Bangalore (Electronic City). My draft plan looks like this:

1. Day 1: Kolkata to Bhubaneswar (~470 KM)
2. Day 2: Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam (~430 KM)
3. Day 3: Visakhapatnam to Ongole (~510 KM)
4. Day 4: Ongole to Electronic City (~526 KM)

Am I doing this right? My intention is to keep these kilometers as evenly distributed as possible over the days & not stress myself too much. I will be alone in the trip - so being a bit too cautious (& of course, first time on this route).

Looking forward to your advise & guidance. 🙏

PS: I was willing to cover in 3 days, but being alone - trying to avoid undue risks. But open to suggestions.

[A_Basu]

Originally Posted by sarbagna

I will be alone in the trip - so being a bit too cautious (& of course, first time on this route).

You can totally do this alone (I did Blr - Bbsr alone too, and then did Bbsr - Kol with an aged parent).

My only suggestion would be to prebook your night halt at Ongole. Sorry I can't help there (my night halts were only at Vizag and Vijaywada), but in a different thread, I remember someone had mentioned Hotel Sarovar.

[sarbagna]

Originally Posted by A_Basu

You can totally do this alone (I did Blr - Bbsr alone too, and then did Bbsr - Kol with an aged parent).

My only suggestion would be to prebook your night halt at Ongole. Sorry I can't help there (my night halts were only at Vizag and Vijaywada), but in a different thread, I remember someone had mentioned Hotel Sarovar.

Thanks - I do need the moral boost! And yes - I did pre-book "Hotel Sarovar". 👍

[lejhoom]

Three days ago drove from Kolkata to Hyderabad. The road in Odisha is super pain. A lot of constitution activities and diversions. Road in WB is very good but there are lot of barriers to make you reduce speed. Once in AP, the road is smooth again.

[sumannandy]

You may want to try this. This is what I do when I drive in three days.

Day 1: Kolkata to Gopalpur approx 600 kms. For Gopalpur take the second exit that google map shows you.

Lot of normal stay options. You have OTDC and sterling also if I remember correctly.

Day 2: Gopalpur to Vijaywada, approx 600 kms. I usually stay in lemon tree.

Day 3: Vijaywada to Bangalore via Tirupati, approx 600 kms

Originally Posted by sarbagna

My trip is finally round the corner i.e. from Kolkata to Bangalore (Electronic City). My draft plan looks like this:

1. Day 1: Kolkata to Bhubaneswar (~470 KM)
2. Day 2: Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam (~430 KM)
3. Day 3: Visakhapatnam to Ongole (~510 KM)
4. Day 4: Ongole to Electronic City (~526 KM)

Am I doing this right? My intention is to keep these kilometers as evenly distributed as possible over the days & not stress myself too much. I will be alone in the trip - so being a bit too cautious (& of course, first time on this route).

Looking forward to your advise & guidance. 🙏

PS: I was willing to cover in 3 days, but being alone - trying to avoid undue risks. But open to suggestions.

[redballons]

Originally Posted by A_Basu

Where do you plan to halt at Rajahmundry? Please update this thread with your impressions of the hotel after the trip. I might need to drive from Bbsr to Blr in late November, and any references for night halts will come in handy

We stayed at Hotel La Hospin. Decent hotel strictly for a stop over only. The only reason we picked this hotel is for 2 reasons ,
1) It is very near to Pushkara Ghat ( 500 mts or so , 5 min walk ) where we can watch the Aarti at Godavari River after sunset.
2) it has a view of Godavari river ( only some rooms have the view )

Bonus - there is a hotel called Sri Kanya Comfort next to this hotel , good food ( stuck to basic usual dal, roti, curd rice , no need to be adventurous before another long drive )

Approach road to the hotel is not a big road , it’s like inside an alley

[4WheelPilot]

Originally Posted by sarbagna

My trip is finally round the corner i.e. from Kolkata to Bangalore (Electronic City). My draft plan looks like this:

How was the trip? Awaiting details as I am travelling this weekend(BBSR - Bangalore with a halt at Vijayawada)

[sarbagna]

Originally Posted by 4WheelPilot

How was the trip? Awaiting details as I am travelling this weekend(BBSR - Bangalore with a halt at Vijayawada)

I am scheduled to travel on 15th Oct. But there are few pending issues - which may push it by a few weeks as well. I will keep all posted.

Wishing you a safe & comfortable journey ahead!

If it helps, for night halts I have booked:

1. "The Saaj" at BBSR.
2. "Fairfield by Marriott" at Visakhapatnam.
3. "Hotel Sarovar" at Ongole.

[masterChief007]

Returned to Bangalore yesterday. Coastal areas are getting heavy rainfall so drive carefully. There is an A5 restaurant 21 km before the Naidupeta turn coming from the Nellore side. Good food and ample parking space. Had to come back breaking the journey in small sections as was suffering from fever and cold. Following were the halts starting from kolkata. Kolkata-BBSR-Gopalpur-Vizag-Vijayvada-BLR. Due to fever return journey was not much enjoyable. I recovered on the last stretch so that was ok. Will post further details of hotels and reviews in due time.