[issigonis]

>>>

I have planned a trip which involves driving from Bombay through Rajasthan and Delhi to Uttarakhand's Kumaon region, do a quick, introductory Corbett, do Delhi and drive back home to Bombay in December-January. The day wise itinerary is:

Day 1/24 Dec : Bombay-Udaipur (approx. 775 kms)
Day 2/25 Dec : Udaipur - Manesar ( approx. 650 kms)
Day 3/26 Dec : Manesar - Ranikhet (approx. 430 kms)
Day 4/27 Dec : Ranikhet
Day 5/28 Dec : Ranikhet -Corbett TR ( approx. 100 kms)
Day 6/29 Dec : Corbett TR
Day 7/30 Dec : Corbett TR - New Delhi (approx. 265 kms)
Day 8 /31 Dec : Delhi
Day 9/1 Jan : Delhi
Day 10/ 2 Jan : Delhi
Day 11 /3 Jan : Delhi
Day 12 /4 Jan : New Delhi - Udaipur (700 kms)
Day 13/ 5 Jan : Udaipur - Bombay ( 775 kms)

I will drill down further as the days progress. I have completed all bookings.
The itinerary has been vetted by The team-bhp long range travel expert committee (T-LORAN) comprising hvk, bolbolero & khoj. This has resulted in finalising all aspects of the run, down to the petrol (diesel) pumps and the eateries.

Plan to take my car through a health check (engine oil check, brake pad check, coolant check, gearbox check etc.) soon, buy a foot pump, an electronic air pressure meter. Have done a tyre check, including rotation.

Am looking forward to it.

Regards, drive safe

[hvkumar]

Be wary of heavy fog in the HR-DL-UP-UK region - can hamper your start/stop timings and reduce speeds.

Amy idea if this is the sugarcane harvest season in UP - can that mean lots of unruly miscellaneous traffic on the roads even at nights?

I guess you will take the direct Ranikhet-Corbett-Ramnagar route on return leg?

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Be wary of heavy fog in the HR-DL-UP-UK region - can hamper your start/stop timings and reduce speeds.

Amy idea if this is the sugarcane harvest season in UP - can that mean lots of unruly miscellaneous traffic on the roads even at nights?

I guess you will take the direct Ranikhet-Corbett-Ramnagar route on return leg?

>>>

1. Fog : On Day 2/ 25th Dec, I will halt at Manesar (at the gates of Dilli!) to avoid the late evening traffic jams in the Gurgaon-Dhaula Kuan-Outer Ring Road sections. That was my thinking. Since I will be doing about 430 odd kms on day 3/26th Dec, I plan to start at 7 am and reach Ranikhet (via the Tanda-Darhiyal-Bazpur (MDR65W) route to Kaladhungi, Haldwani and Bhowali) by say 5 pm, i.e., before dusk turns to darkness.

2. Sugarcane harvest season : Excellent point hvk! Will clear this up and modify my start time from Manesar accordingly. T-LORAN works!

3. Ranikhet -Corbett - Ramnagar route : Correct hvk.
My route will be Ranikhet - Bhatronjkhan-Tota Am-Mohan-Corbett - Ramnagar-Thakurdwar- Moradabad (NH24)-New Delhi.

i.I will be carrying all my original papers ( car registration doc, insurance doc, licence, PUC doc) plus two xeroxes of the entire set.

ii.The sun film in the car fulfills the ARAI and state government statutes of all states ( I've to check the exact specs but it is virtually transparent). If required for Gujarat, I'll fix the yellow vertical strip on the RHS headlight; the last time that I crossed Gujarat (in Feb 2010), no one stopped me.

If possible, intend to meet with t-bhpians enroute (Baroda, Udaipur, Jaipur, Manesar and so on; knowing khoj as we do, we will have a t-bhp meet in Delhi too).

Regards, drive safe

[micrographics]

Issigonis

As I've lived in Delhi for 35 + years, hence I would like to inform you that the days mentioned by you i.e. from 25th Dec. onwards till end of January is thick fog time and normally it clears by 11 a.m. on most of the days. Hence drive very carefully because on most of the places visibility will be almost nil, specially between Gurgaon and Dhaulakuan - Ringt Road section and then on Nizammuddin - Gajipur section all along the Yamuna bridge and then further after entering into UP till Ranikhet.

[issigonis]

>>>
micrographics,

Thank you for the advise and the note of caution; in fact being a Dilliwalla myself (till 1998) I have braced myself to drive extremely carefully, especially during the times of day that you mention.

I think the fog tends to increase (in Delhi and in north India the fog is actually more smog, and there is a phenomena called the Asian Brown Cloud, which hangs over the entire northern belt) during and immediately after sunrise.

The approximately 160 km journey from Manesar, through the NH8 past Gurgaon, the Ring Road, the Nizamuddin bridge, Hapur bypass, Pilkhuwa, Babugarh, Garhmukteshwar, and on upto Gajraula on the NH24 will be trying.

The normal headlights and the now customary foglamps will be supplemented by a strong LED torch. I have to figure out a way to attach it on the dash!

Regards, drive safe

[deky]

1. Passing Delhi on the 25th is a good thing, its Xmas Day plus a saturday so you will encounter lesser rush. If you can start from Manesar by 0600hrs, well nothing like it.

2. They do start harvesting sugar cane in the month of december, so do expect some rogue traffic on the way.

3. The double laning till Moradabad should be complete by now ( not sure, needs to be confirmed) so hopefully you should be good at/near the sugar mills and smaller towns.

4. If you encounter heavy fog/smog, no amount of foglamps/ torchlights will work. My suggestion is just park your car at a side (dhaba)and relax. Its absolutely not worth taking the risk. If you still want to continue, best is to follow the tail lights of a bigger vehicle in front ( I am sure you know this, just re-iterating the fact). Remember safety first.

5. From Udaipur hope you taking NH76/NH79 till Kishangarh and then NH8 to Jaipur. Do not take NH8 all the way.

6. Would love to meet you as you pass Jaipur. Would you be entering Jaipur or would you take the bypass? ( Taking the bypass will save you atleast 1.5 hrs of travelling time) Let me know and we can plan accordingly.

Regards

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by deky

1. Passing Delhi on the 25th is a good thing, its Xmas Day plus a saturday so you will encounter lesser rush. If you can start from Manesar by 0600hrs, well nothing like it.
Regards

>>>
You have grasped my raison d'etre!
I have planned to arrive /depart from the NCR region on 25th / 26th Dec after hearing some horror stories of the traffic snarl ups in/around Gurgaon. One t-bhpian missed a train from Delhi Main, despite starting from his home in Gurgaon some four hours ago.

I used to reach Palam airport from Kailash Colony in 15 minutes a decade ago- guess that has gone with the times!

Originally Posted by deky

2. They do start harvesting sugar cane in the month of december, so do expect some rogue traffic on the way.

Regards

>>>
Hmmm. Have to brace myself for a crawl through the Dasna-Pilkhuwa-Garhmukteshwar-Gajraula-Paikwara stretch. Nothing can be done, or can it?

Originally Posted by deky

3. The double laning till Moradabad should be complete by now ( not sure, needs to be confirmed) so hopefully you should be good at/near the sugar mills and smaller towns.

4. If you encounter heavy fog/smog, no amount of foglamps/ torchlights will work. My suggestion is just park your car at a side (dhaba)and relax. Its absolutely not worth taking the risk. If you still want to continue, best is to follow the tail lights of a bigger vehicle in front ( I am sure you know this, just re-iterating the fact). Remember safety first.

Regards

>>>
If it is zero visibility then nothing can be done. But if visibility extends to say 15 metres/50 feet then I would like to drive, albeit at very reduced speeds, with all lights blazing. Safety comes first, every time.

Originally Posted by deky

5. From Udaipur hope you taking NH76/NH79 till Kishangarh and then NH8 to Jaipur. Do not take NH8 all the way.

Regards

>>>
Am taking NH76 from Udaipur, then NH79 after Chittorgarh, NH79A, Nasirabad bypass, then NH8.

Originally Posted by deky

6. Would love to meet you as you pass Jaipur. Would you be entering Jaipur or would you take the bypass? ( Taking the bypass will save you atleast 1.5 hrs of travelling time) Let me know and we can plan accordingly.

Regards

>>>
Would love to meet you! Now as to the stoppage in Jaipur, have not decided yet: am contemplating entering or staying outside Jaipur for lunch as Jaipur is 413 kms from Udaipur by my calculations and should be reached in five hours from there.
Of course I wouldn't like to trundle and waste time within Jaipur.

Your thoughts please?
P.S. : akhilesh_51 is also a t-bhpian from Jaipur

Regards, drive safe

[hvkumar]

Once you are on the road to Moradabad, also beware of miscellaneous tractor and animal cart traffic in the fog.

I guess you will be taking the Airport-Ashram-Noida Toll Bridge-NH24A bypass-Hapur route to bypass Ghaziabad?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by deky

3. The double laning till Moradabad should be complete by now ( not sure, needs to be confirmed) so hopefully you should be good at/near the sugar mills and smaller towns.

That is good news. Any update?

[deky]

Originally Posted by issigonis

Would love to meet you! Now as to the stoppage in Jaipur, have not decided yet: am contemplating entering or staying outside Jaipur for lunch as Jaipur is 413 kms from Udaipur by my calculations and should be reached in five hours from there.
Of course I wouldn't like to trundle and waste time within Jaipur.

Your thoughts please?
P.S. : akhilesh_51 is also a t-bhpian from Jaipur

Regards, drive safe

Actually from Udaipur till Jaipur bypass begining, it will take you more that 5 and a half hours atleast. This is because of road widening happening at Beawar (NH8) so lots of truck traffic has started using NH79. So expect heavy traffic (not chaotic) after Chittorgarh.

I do not see any sense of you entering Jaipur just for lunch. It will be sheer waste of time. You can have lunch in one of the many road side dhabas ( good ones) after you finish the Jaipur Bypass.

Actually we can take a call on meeting when you closer to Jaipur, all depending on how much time you have on hand

Originally Posted by hvkumar

That is good news. Any update?

Ok I just called someone who stays at Rudrapur regarding the road updates. Here is what he had to say.

1. The double laning of the road from Delhi to Moradabad is complete, except someplaces in between Hapur and Gajraula, so expect a few bottlenecks in between.

2, Sugarcane harvesting has started hence there are a lot of tractors/ trucks taking the cane to jaggery mills en route, but because of the road being complete, they are not much of a nuisance now.

Regards

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Once you are on the road to Moradabad, also beware of miscellaneous tractor and animal cart traffic in the fog.

I guess you will be taking the Airport-Ashram-Noida Toll Bridge-NH24A bypass-Hapur route to bypass Ghaziabad?

>>>

hvk,

Yes, I will take this very route : Ring Road -Ashram-Nizamuddin bridge- Hapur bypass -NH24 bypass -Pilkhuwa and on.

I am thinking of buying a pre-paid SIM (BSNL) on the NH24, possibly in Moradabad to ensure that I have connectivity during my Uttarakhand sojourn. I expect to buy a BSNL SIM with my passport.

What do you think?

Coming to day 1/24th Dec ( all distances on the tripmeter)

A. Start from home at 6 am
B. Breakfast at Kamat's on NH8 - 79 kms
C. Refuel at BPCL Bharuch - 310 kms
D. Lunch at xyz Resort Anand off NE1 - 413 kms ( rejoining NE1 post lunch)
E. Tea at Shamlaji - 630 kms
F. Udaipur - 775 kms

( An army marches on its stomach)

Regards, drive safe

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by deky

Actually from Udaipur till Jaipur bypass begining, it will take you more that 5 and a half hours atleast. This is because of road widening happening at Beawar (NH8) so lots of truck traffic has started using NH79. So expect heavy traffic (not chaotic) after Chittorgarh.

Actually we can take a call on meeting when you closer to Jaipur, all depending on how much time you have on hand

Regards

>>>
deky,

Most likely I will start at 7.30 am (after breakfast) from Udaipur and lunch at Hotel Panghat in Kishangarh (305 kms from Udaipur). I will take the Jaipur bypass (413 kms) and slingshot past Jaipur. I will keep you updated on my progress by calling you when I start from Udaipur and from Kishangarh. I reckon I should take six hours to reach the Jaipur bypass. What do you think?
Do suggest any lunch options near Jaipur on the NH8, in case I miss Panghat.

khoj has suggested the RTDC Midway at Behror for its kababs but I reckon It will be past lunch time (after 2-2.30 pm) that I will be able to reach. Reasons for delay in your explanation above!

QUOTE=deky;2166157]

Ok I just called someone who stays at Rudrapur regarding the road updates. Here is what he had to say.

1. The double laning of the road from Delhi to Moradabad is complete, except someplaces in between Hapur and Gajraula, so expect a few bottlenecks in between.

2, Sugarcane harvesting has started hence there are a lot of tractors/ trucks taking the cane to jaggery mills en route, but because of the road being complete, they are not much of a nuisance now.

Regards[/quote]

>>>

If its fine, may I contact your friend in Rudrapur - to check out my route options between Moradadabad bypass to Ranikhet?

Both my routes - i. through Tanda-Bazpur-Kaladhungi-Haldwani-Bhowali-Ranikhet and ii. Rampur-Rudrapur-Pantnagar-Haldwani-Bhowali-Ranikhet,
seem to be the worse for wear (effect of the monsoons perhaps).

[I contacted iraghava and ntomer and both have given the same feedback.]

Regards, drive safe

[deky]

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>>
deky,

Most likely I will start at 7.30 am (after breakfast) from Udaipur and lunch at Hotel Panghat in Kishangarh (305 kms from Udaipur). I will take the Jaipur bypass (413 kms) and slingshot past Jaipur. I will keep you updated on my progress by calling you when I start from Udaipur and from Kishangarh. I reckon I should take six hours to reach the Jaipur bypass. What do you think?
Do suggest any lunch options near Jaipur on the NH8, in case I miss Panghat.

khoj has suggested the RTDC Midway at Behror for its kababs but I reckon It will be past lunch time (after 2-2.30 pm) that I will be able to reach. Reasons for delay in your explanation above!

1. There are lots of hotels on Jaipur- Kishangarh route, but I have never tried any as its too short a distance for us to have lunch. Also as you enter the expressway (NH8) from Kishangarh there is a CCD or is it Barista?? you could try there.

2. Yes, it should not take you more than 6 hours to reach Jaipur by pass. There is nothing for lunch on Jaipur bypass worth mentioning.

3. After the by pass finishes, there are plenty of options to have food i.e If you have not had anything to eat till now. But I always prefer to stop at HOTEL HIGHWAY KING, which is 12 kms after Shahpura. It will fall on the otherside of the road, but I think there is a cut in the divider in between. Its more of a "Star Dhaba" but the food (vegetarian)is amazing and fresh. It also has a cafe coffee day plus lots of showrooms attached to it. The toilets are pretty neat and clean, and ample parking ( there are other dhabas with the same name, but if you stop, stop at one with CCD and a petrol pump attached to it, thats the original)

4. If you still have not had lunch, then Midway Behror is a good idea. , but then you will be just an hour shy from Manesar.

Originally Posted by issigonis

If its fine, may I contact your friend in Rudrapur - to check out my route options between Moradadabad bypass to Ranikhet?

Both my routes - i. through Tanda-Bazpur-Kaladhungi-Haldwani-Bhowali-Ranikhet and ii. Rampur-Rudrapur-Pantnagar-Haldwani-Bhowali-Ranikhet,
seem to be the worse for wear (effect of the monsoons perhaps).

[I contacted iraghava and ntomer and both have given the same feedback.]

Regards, drive safe

I have been to Ranikhet from Delhi twice and have always taken the following route

Delhi-Moradabad bypass - Thakurdwar - Kashipur - Ramnagar (Jim Corbett) - Dhikuli - Ranikhet.

Ramnagar to Ranikhet is a very scenic drive as most of it passes through the buffer zone of Jim Corbett and also not much traffic. It took me 2.5 hrs 3 years back on this route and the road was pretty good.

Neverthless I am PMing you my friends number.

Regards

[issigonis]

>>>

deky,

Thank you, really appreciate it.
Will call your friend tomorrow to find out.

Regards, drive safe

[issigonis]

>>>

Road condition (and traffic) status update awaited from friends.

Am considering all three options, viz. :

1. Moradabad bypass - (MDR65W)-Tanda-Darhiyal-Bazpur-Kaladhungi-Haldwani - (NH87)-Bhimtal-Bhowali-Ranikhet

2. Moradabad bypass -Rampur - (NH87)-Rudrapur-Pantnagar bypass-Haldwani-Bhimtal-Bhowali-Ranikhet

3. Moradabad bypass- Thakurdwar-Kashipur- (NH121)-Ramnagar- Garjiya - Mohan -Tota Am-Machod- Bhatronjkhan- Reechi - Ranikhet

I aim to arrive in Ranikhet not later than 5 pm.

Regards, drive safe