[ampere]

Originally Posted by ak916

I don't have fond memories of Shiradi Ghats at all. And even that NH13 around kudremukh. The Charmadi area was not far behind in trying to tear apart the tiny car.

You would be pleasantly surprised !

- 4-lane to Hassan.
- Amazing Shiradi.
- A belter of road in NH13. Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Sringeri-Bajagoli
- A decent to excellent road via Charmadi.

Conditions of all the major arterial ghat roads have improved.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by ampere

- Amazing Shiradi.
- A belter of road in NH13. Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Sringeri-Bajagoli
- A decent to excellent road via Charmadi.

Conditions of all the major arterial ghat roads have improved.

And please hurry, the deal will last only another month.

[ak916]

Originally Posted by Samurai

And please hurry, the deal will last only another month.

Absolutely. It is going to bring some emotional closure to the trauma inflicted on me by those roads a few years ago. I will be doing this route tentatively tomorrow

Bangalore - Hassan - Shiradi - and then take an impulse decision whether to head to Taj Gateway for lunch at Mangalore (because my friend is the exec chef there) or go to udupi via Karkala. The return will be via Agumbe, Thirthahalli, Shimoga etc. I am so looking forward to this trip

[ak916]

Need some quick info. I am at kollur now. We are contemplating a leisure drive back and want to try the ferry route at Lingannamaki. Does anyone know if it is still operational and if so, what are the timings etc. Also how are the road conditions from kollur to Sagar on that particular ferry route? We are planning our return for tomorrow morning by 10 am

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ak916

Need some quick info. I am at kollur now. We are contemplating a leisure drive back and want to try the ferry route at Lingannamaki. Does anyone know if it is still operational and if so, what are the timings etc. Also how are the road conditions from kollur to Sagar on that particular ferry route? We are planning our return for tomorrow morning by 10 am

Not sure about it being operational. But know for sure that there are timings involved. So if you miss the morning slot then the next one comes after noon. You need to make note of that part.

[CLIX]

Did MLR - BLR last evening.

Shiradi is good. Surface can be tricky in some curves.
On the MLR - BLR drive watch out for some gaps between the road and the beginning of the bridges in the Shiradi ghat. Gave me a nasty thud!
There were the usual road hogs and the high-speed-chase obsessed Audis, Mercs and Beamers!

Went to Mayura. Looked quiet compared to the rush of cars at Swathi close by. Service was fine. Coffee and Dosai - good.

On the way back tried out Swathi.
WWF final! Crowded, noisy like a factory; steel plates being washed / demolished, shouting orders in kitchen, slow service, very hot inside, difficult to find a seat. Crowds wait by your table to grab your seat as the management did not seem very interested in managing that part! Food was fine.

Mayura for me next time.

And - how could I forget this! On the way back to BLR; at the last toll booth. We were two cars. One went into the toll road. The other smarter driver took the non toll route. And reached Jalahalli cross faster that the jam at the toll! Probably since the Sunday crowd was low on the streets.
Watch out for those massive humps though, on the non toll route. As long as you are reasonably slow - nothing to worry.

Happy Driving!

PS: Snap from my drive through Charmadi last time.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by CLIX

Went to Mayura. Looked quiet compared to the rush of cars at Swathi close by. Service was fine. Coffee and Dosai - good.

On the way back tried out Swathi.
WWF final! Crowded, noisy like a factory

Which Mayura? The original Mayura is not close to Swathi. The fake Mayura is the one close to Swathi. After eating once at fake Mayura and Swathi, I have never gone back there.

I stick to original Mayura no matter which direction I am driving.

[TheTeacher]

So, Samurai, where is the original Mayura?

Did the Bangalore - Mangalore trip on May 29, returned yesterday (June 1).

Shiradi was in great shape, except some spots where the banking is reversed and non existent in many places. If banking is properly designed and executed in the ghats, the drive will be a lot more enjoyable.

On the way back, at one spot there is a nasty gap between the road and the start of a small bridge which I didn't see and the suspension had a nasty thud.

There are patches outside Sakleshpur (both sides) but nothing bad. I did the onward journey in 6 hours (leaving Sadashivnagar to completing check-in at the Gateway in Mangalore) including a half hour lunch break, and the return in 6.5 hours including a 45 minute lunch break.

Speed slows down due to narrow road and traffic between Shiradi ghat end and Mangalore. The stretch between Nelamangla toll road and Hassan is a dream run in both directions. Since I went on a Thursday, traffic was sparse going to Mangalore. There was more traffic on the return on Sunday, but we left Mangalore at 9 am, so it was ok.

On the return to Bangalore, thanks to some tips, I stayed in the service road after turning right at the Vishwesharapura junction. However, I got a call from a friend who was travelling a few km ahead that the toll booths were not crowded, so joined the toll road at the next opportunity. Got off after a short stretch to take the NICE road to Bannerghatta road, and all was well.

Friend wanted to try Swathi on the way back, so the two vehicles stopped there for lunch. Busy, noisy, hot, but food was decent. Will try Mayura next time.

[Samurai]

The original Mayura Restaurant is in Bellur Cross.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/...227cee99a2d394

The Fake Mayura is in Yediyur, very close to Swathi Delicacy.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The original Mayura Restaurant is in Bellur Cross.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/...227cee99a2d394

The Fake Mayura is in Yediyur, very close to Swathi Delicacy.

On a lighter note, the 'original' Mayura which you refer to was not the original on this route. There was a Mayura restaurant run by KSTDC just before Yediyur while coming from Hassan/Mangalore. So I would say this place is the 'Original' Mayura and the other two are fakes


In fact most of the KSTDC restaurants were called as Mayura. This place was not that great anyway and it was closed down quite some time back. But it seems this place has been renovated and re-opened. I am not sure but I remembered seeing new boards during my last journey to Hassan. You can see this to your left when you approach the Yediyur overpass from Hassan side.

[Samurai]

I don't count government run restaurants. They are usually run very badly and food literally stinks.

BTW, I recall seeing the government Mayura you mentioned last week in Yediyur. I did wonder why there are two Mayuras in Yediyur.

But on a serious note, there is a reason why I call the new Yediyur Mayura as fake. It was started just after they closed the opening in the divider in front of bellur cross Mayura. Like many I visited that place thinking it was the branch of other Mayura. Then the original Mayura put up a sign saying they don't have branches.

[CLIX]

OK... I went to the Mayura close to Swathi, which I understand now is the fake! Thanks for the inputs folks.
AND I see "The Teacher" too learnt the hard way about the gap in the road before that bridge in Shiradi.

[Mahesh Prasad]

I too did the Bangalore - Mangalore Stretch on Monday. I left from Marthahalli @ 10 am but it took me 2.5 hrs to reach Nelamangala. Reached Mangalore @ 6.30 pm.
The ghats were a pleasure to drive and luckily I didn't hit much traffic. By the time I reached Uppinangady and stopped for snacks at around 5:00, I saw 3 ambulances whiz past towards M'lore - possibly carrying the injured from the crash that took place @ Shiradi. Sad to hear about the loss of lives in that.

Originally Posted by CLIX

OK... I went to the Mayura close to Swathi, which I understand now is the fake! Thanks for the inputs folks.
AND I see "The Teacher" too learnt the hard way about the gap in the road before that bridge in Shiradi.

I too stopped at this place for lunch. To be fair, the food was decent and the place was not that crowded.

Originally Posted by Samurai

The original Mayura Restaurant is in Bellur Cross.

The Fake Mayura is in Yediyur, very close to Swathi Delicacy.

I did not know of this, otherwise I would have definitely visited the Original one. In fact I had to go ahead a couple of km's and take a underpass as there are no dividers to take a U turn to get to the Mayura @ Yediyur . If I had known, I might have continued further and stopped at the Original one.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by Mahesh Prasad

I saw 3 ambulances whiz past towards M'lore - possibly carrying the injured from the crash that took place @ Shiradi. Sad to hear about the loss of lives in that.



.

Which crash is this ? Didnt read about it anywhere

[Mahesh Prasad]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Which crash is this ? Didnt read about it anywhere

This the one I was referring to:

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_...sp?n_id=239215