[akroy]

Congratulations on the successful completion of the trip Kumar Sir !!
Already start to see the pics. Will continue to see them in free time.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I declared an emergency and decided to go in for a tyre change. called up planetrocker and he became God - Sou-mitro

GOD Sumantra I guess

Abhi

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by akroy

Congratulations on the successful completion of the trip Kumar Sir !!
Already start to see the pics. Will continue to see them in free time.



GOD Sumantra I guess

Abhi

Abhi, let me not forget to mention your support during the trip too!
We flew through your proprietary route (Darjeeling More-Siuri-Morgram More) and it was a lovely road at night!

Kesri has all the photos, and so has my son's friend srinath whose photos also will be uploaded soon. My own camera failed on day 1 itslef and I have less than 10 photos (shot in my handycam and mobile) to contrinute to what is already a rich library!

But I do have 4 hours of video shot on my handycam and I will try to upload parts of it soon. Also the Carcam videos.

[hellstar]

HV sir thats one hell of a trip , i was tracking your trip through the posts on various threads. Especially during the election times i was a bit anxious about you as i had conveyed over phone ... congrats on the safe and smooth trip , and do write in about your experiences during the drive.

[arindamray]

Little late on the thread, though exchanged few PMs after the trip.

Hats off to you HVK. During GQ run, on 2nd night I was at home in Kolkata. Narrated this trip plan of yours and some of your earlier venutres to my parents, and was successful to reduce their worries.

But then, the accident spoilt it all

[planet_rocker]

ooopsy! saw this thread today.

it felt really good that i was able to source HVK the tyres for his Scorpio though couldn't source the ATs from the one of the big tyre dealers in Kolkata (Indo Radial Club, owned by Minku). the old tyres were damaged as you saw in the pics posted earler.

it was great meeting you guys (Mrs Kumar, Jr Kumar and his friend and last but not the least Mr Kesri).

congrats HVK - see you in the travelogue section.

[hvkumar]

Soumitro, you were a true saviour that day! We are all extremely grateful to you for having not only arranged the tyres but also for personally escorting us and spending time with us that day - thanks again!

The tyre change was timely and the roads ahead were brutal, the old tyres would not have lasted long. The tyres performed well. However, my AT tyres have taken a lot of beating and are looking quite worn out 0- the HTs look good.

I got back to Bombay as per schedule on Apr 30, having fulfilled all mission objectives:
- Sikkhim/Bhutan
- Arunachal
- East/West Drive

Originally Posted by arindamray

Hats off to you HVK. During GQ run, on 2nd night I was at home in Kolkata. Narrated this trip plan of yours and some of your earlier venutres to my parents, and was successful to reduce their worries.

Yes, we missed each other by a couple of hours, I think. We were in a desperate hurry to move on, as we drove through the night to reach Gangtok in the morning.

[planet_rocker]

HVK - my name is Sumantra (Soumitra is my uncle's name) - you can call me Surya

I aint GOD btw - like i said it felt great helping you.

[pjbiju]

Congratulations to Kumar and Kesri and all the others who helped him. Fantastic photos too.

Kumar, what is the car cam that you are using? Is it mounted on the dash? What is it powered by? Would appreciate some details on that.

[kaushik_s]

Congratulations HVK, wish we could meet while you were at Assam. I really missed the opportunity of driving along with you,[partly blame it on the elections]. I thought the elections in Assam are on 16th but it turned out to be on 23rd and my plans to drive to Kibithu had to be canceled. I'm really unfortunate this time :(.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Congratulations to Kumar and Kesri and all the others who helped him. Fantastic photos too.

Kumar, what is the car cam that you are using? Is it mounted on the dash? What is it powered by? Would appreciate some details on that.

The car camera is of Taiwanese make, to record whatever is happening up-front. High-quality resolution (5 images per frame),
linked to GPS and Google Maps.

In case you want to see how it looks, you have to follow the following steps:

Step 1: Take a look at how the product looks like
Here is the online web-page where I bought the Car Camera (US):
Car Camera Voyager Pro w/ GPS Logger - Locate and Monitor Suspects and Offenders

Notice how the cam/GPS is sleeker and smaller than a mobile phone.

Step 2: Install the viewing software
Here is the software package that you have to install first to view the data file below:
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/gLymSdG..._Installer.exe


Step 3: Download the video file
Here is the data file, which opens with the software above, and is a video.
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/gLymSYq...A/00000432.ub1


In the video, watch out for the date, time, speed, GPS co-ordinates and the Google Map window pane (only if you are online), apart from
the video of course.

The Car Cam is fixed next to the rear view mirror.
It connects to the car cig lighter
The cam switches on automatically and starts recording on switching on power to the car.
GPS takes some time to home in on the satellites, can sometimes take over 5 minutes.
In the US, apparently, the cam is used as evidence for accident investigations.

It records on a Flash card which can be removed. 1GB approximately records 12 hours of drive, after which it will overwrite the earliest contents. I dump the data onto my external HDD daily and that is how I have got the 21-days of driving data - like a Flight Data Recorder. It also has speed, etc.

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Congratulations HVK, wish we could meet while you were at Assam. I really missed the opportunity of driving along with you,[partly blame it on the elections]. I thought the elections in Assam are on 16th but it turned out to be on 23rd and my plans to drive to Kibithu had to be canceled. I'm really unfortunate this time :(.

Yes, pity we could not meet while you were in Sivasagar. Our trip went off as scheduled except that some minor Scorpio repairs detained me in Guwahati for half a day, and a bridge under repair in Daparigo delayed me by 4-5 hours. Therefore, I cut out the Along-Tuting sector which I found was 300 kms one way which would have meant some drastic rescheduling. Further, at Pasighat, the bridge/ crossing to Roing/Tezu was also down, so I had to take a long detour (crossing by Ferry) via Dibrugarh and Tinsukhia to get to Kibithu. I returned to Bombay half a day ahead of schedule.

[viv1984]

Congratulation HVK for completing this arduous and incredible feat which only few can dare!!! Lets all give him a standing ovation

I think you are born to drive and I salute this spirit of yours.

[vnabhi]

HVK---Congrats for completing your trip. I've always been inspired by your zeal for adventure on Indian roads, and dream of similar conquests.

The GPS device looks good---was it very expensive?

[Lifewater]

Dear Kumar,

Congratulations on completion of your trip. I feel so sorry that I was not able to catch up with you.

Best wishes

lifewater

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

The GPS device looks good---was it very expensive?

Yes, it cost me USD 400. You also get simpler versions without GPS which cost only USD 100. It was bought online ex-US

My device records video, audio, tracks with GPS, displays speed and movement info and when played in the computer (connected to internet) shows the spot in the Google Map.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Congrats on completing an epic journey. Certainly an inspiration for me and many. I am looking forward to your epic travelogue with bated breath. I am certain that itself is going to be a one of a kind task requiring tons of time, patience and skill.

Cheers,
J