[Sea Cruiser]

Hi

I am based in Mumbai and planning to organize a car rally/ road trip for my organization i.e. Indian Navy with 4-6 participants(cars) somewhere in the next year. I have got following queries for which I request my fellow BHPians to help me out :

(a) Route : I have two routes on my mind. They are as follows:
(i) Golden Quadilateral covering a distance of 6000 kms.
(ii) Mumbai- Goa - Karwar- Kochi- Chennai- Visakhaptnam- Bhubneshwar-Kolkatta- Allabhad- Delhi- Ahemdabad-Mumbai (total dist ??)
(iii) Any other route may be suggested

(b) The correct season

(c) Sponsorships: What kind of sponsor ships can I try to get:
(i) Sponsorship of entire event by a car company, like which will include even the cars.
(ii) Part sponsorships: In which the fuel and servicings are done by the car company. Tyres are sponsored by the tyre manufacturers/ the event inclusive of fuel is sponsored by them.

(d) Whom to contact : For sl (c) whom shall I contact (if possible with contact nos ) for getting the sponsorships.

(e) What will be the correct dist to travel in a day considering that its going to be rally cum pleasure trip and the drivers will not be complete professionals (as we are used to driving on sea )

Hoping for valuable suggestions.

Regards

[Sea Cruiser]

Just giving an update on the expedition. The plan has started moving ahead with potential sponsors like TATA, Maruti and Toyota coming ahead. Route has been finalised where we will be covering four metropolitans and also Kochi with a driving time of 18 days, as this will be inter spaced with a days' halts at major cities.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Sea Cruiser

Route has been finalised where we will be covering four metropolitans and also Kochi with a driving time of 18 days, as this will be inter spaced with a days' halts at major cities.

Would you mind sharing the routes and the halts for each day? It will give an idea for others planning similar trip. Thanks.

[aargee]

Golden Quadilateral covering a distance of 6000 kms

For the above query, there's only one best person whom you need to get in touch - HVK Sir. Pls go through the thread below on your questions on GQ
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...s-6000kms.html

[hvkumar]

Thanks for remembering me, aargee. Yes, I have been in touch with Sea Cruiser through PMs sometime ago and the second route he mentions looks good considering they are all navy people and they would like to touch their main ports like Kochi and Vizag too.

Selecting the season is going to be aticklish task since the NH17 (Bombay-Goa-Kochi) normally breaks up during the monsoons and takes till year-end to get repaired. But if the drive is delayed till then, the fog will roll in all over North India. Hence, the trip has to be planned sometime in end-October ideally.

Prima facie the distance is as follows:
Mumbai- Goa 600 kms - Karwar 100 - Kochi 1000 - Chennai 600 - Visakhaptnam 900- Bhubneshwar 450-Kolkatta 450- Allabhad 850- Delhi 700- Ahemdabad 1000-Mumbai 550

Ideally:
D1: Bombay-Goa
D2: Goa-Karwar-Mangalore
D3: Mangalore-Kochi
D4: Kochi-Chennai
D5: Chennai-Rajahmundry
D6: Rajahmundry-Vizag
D7: Vizag-Bhubaneswar
D8: Bhubaneswar-Kolkata-Durgapur
D9: Durgapur-Allahabad
D10: Allahabad-Delhi
D11: Delhi-Udaiipur
D12: Udaipur-Bombay

[Sea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by sbraj

Would you mind sharing the routes and the halts for each day? It will give an idea for others planning similar trip. Thanks.

We are planning to do a trip over a period of 18-20 days.
The itinerary is as follows:
Leg From To Distance
I Mumbai Udaipur 780
II Udaipur Delhi 710
III Delhi Allahabad 700
Iv Allahabad Kolkata 835
V Kolkata Chilka 545
VI Chilka Vizag 350
VII Vizag Chennai 870
VIII Chennai Kochi 840
IX Kochi Karwar 640
X Karwar Mumbai 650

The journey will be interspaced with a gap of 01 day between each leg, as we intend having media/ public interaction.

Any suggestions on any modifications/ alterations in the route are most welcome as the route is still on the drawing board.

Originally Posted by aargee

For the above query, there's only one best person whom you need to get in touch - HVK Sir. Pls go through the thread below on your questions on GQ
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...s-6000kms.html

And yes this has been the starting point for me to plan the trip.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 20 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

[hvkumar]

Possible, but sectors which call for some very aggressive driving are:

III
IV
VII

[ranjitp1]

I am totally off topic here,but just out of curiousity what is this drive being planned for?I am seeing talks of sponsorships etc, is this part of some kind of awareness campaign/support to a cause etc or is it a group of people driving around the country just due to the sheer passion they share towards driving?

[Sea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

I am totally off topic here,but just out of curiousity what is this drive being planned for?I am seeing talks of sponsorships etc, is this part of some kind of awareness campaign/support to a cause etc or is it a group of people driving around the country just due to the sheer passion they share towards driving?

The drive is being planned as a commemorative part of 275 anniversary of our unit wherein it will be spreading awareness about the armed forces and encouraging youth to come forward to join it. And yes of course the group of people driving do have a passion for driving.

[Sea Cruiser]

This thread has been lying dead for some time as we were busy firming up things and tying up the loose ends. But better late than never !!
I will start up with the basic itinerary of the expedition, which has already started on 7 Nov. Toyota agreed to be associated with us and loaned us four vehicles: LC200, Prado, Fortuner and Innova. The dist to be covered across India is 10000 kms approx over a period of 28 Days.

The tentative prog decided after lot of deliberation and team bhp various travelogues, esp of Mr HV Kumar, was as follows:


Travel plan.pdf12

[hvkumar]

Great to see the trip coming to reality.

Please bear in mind that for the next 3 months, you will have to male due time allowances for fog in North India.

Looking at your plan, I can see that the D8 Chandigarh-Kanpur may be quite a test on time.

And on D13, plan to take the ferry from Chilka to Vizag, via Krishnaprasad Island.

[Sea Cruiser]

Day 1 ; Date : 07 Nov ; Venue: Mumbai ; Author's vehicle: Innova

Today began something that I had been planning and pretty much been obsessed about for more than a year. A 10000km trip skirting the circumference of mainland India may not be a novel or ground breaking idea, but it was something of a dream for me and hence the day it began will certainly count as a “look back at life” moment for me.

Waking up early morning never sounded easier, infact for once my alarm could not ring soon enough! As we assembled at the historically significant Lion Gate in the bowels of Mumbai's southern tip, even Mr Obama's presence just a few metres away seemed of no significance.

we were flagged off and for a moment . But then our Naval Police escort gave a few hoots of the siren and as the traffic cleared in front of us, the smile on my face broadened to form a grin.

The escort provided us our “few minutes of fame” as most of the morning joggers gave us bewildered and inquisitive looks. Some even craned their necks / drove alongside, hoping to catch glimpse of a certain head of state. Alas they were to be disappointed, but we did not mind it one bit.

The best probably was the look on the face of the fuel station staff where our little cavalcade of six cars stopped to tank up. It took some time to convince them that actually all we needed was simple diesel and were not intending to take over their pumps.

Mumbai finished in a breeze and as we hit the highway the vehicles finally got to stretch their legs.

Something I love about driving in our country is to pass through locales with endlessly changing costumes and colours and the only constant being the species of cattle sauntering on the roads. As we moved up north the humidity dropped as did the mercury (only slightly). Once again I have to say that the western belt of India has the best highways in the country, with underdog Gujrat beating the more affluent Maharashtra hands down.

The last time I drove on these roads was couple of years ago and since then much has changed in the automobiles ruling the tarmac. That has definitely pushed average speeds up and maybe also the general traffic sense. However one can never escape the several blockages due to unplanned construction or mismanaged intersections.

Another constant is a few unfortunate accidents one comes across and this time we saw an upturned and flaming fuel tanker. It was a scary sight cause had the thing gone boom, it would have taken out a little more than dirt and tarmac with it. Fortunately a fire crew was tending to the fire, though I had a feeling at a proximity that was maybe more stupid than courageous.

Thanks to the wonderful National Expressway 1, we reached Ahmedabad well before time. A pleasant surprise was the accommodation arranged for us by the Brigade headquarters. But then it was to be expected, knowing the lovely and gracious hosts that the Indian Army is – always, anytime, anywhere (literally). Though I can't use the term “after a day's hard drive”, but still a nice shower and clean room always lifts spirits up. So 550kms of comfortable driving done, day 1 is finished without any hiccups.

Tomorrow we head to Naliya through smaller roads, though which may provide a more engaging drive. The Innova was a lovely vehicle, cocooning us in comfort while managing decent speeds and swallowing all the luggage we could throw in it. Definitely two big thumbs up from me for the vehicle, though its burgeoning sales record is more a proof of its capabilities than my little thumbs.

[Sea Cruiser]

Some new changes in the route. We decided to take the road less driven rather than the original route as shown in the attachment above. Ofcourse it meant last minute hectic logistics arrangements, but what the heck, the drive says it was worth it.

[hvkumar]

Congratulations, Sea Cruiser, on getting the trip off the ground. I am sure it must been quite a logistical exercise, wish all of you a safe and enriching drive!

From Naliya, where?

[sbraj]

Sea Cruiser, I look forward to your narrations. Great going. This is one journey that many like me dream of.