[airbus]

Bengaluru to Goa is my favourite drive, which I have done six times. Although this year still not sure if we would be visiting Goa during the year-end or not. I had also driven in many scenic routes in Assam, but those were mostly before 2003.

[narayans80]

The most memorable drive to date was our Gujarat trip during the Holiday season of 2019. At the end of 16 days and 3 hours, I ended up raking 7872 km. There were 2 sections I loved driving:

1. The infamous Indore to Godhra via Jhabua, Machaliya ghat, Dahod
2. This 2 km long section connecting Dholavira to mainland Gujarat

Needless to say, entire I've reminisced this trip multiple times during lockdown over on Google Timeline wondering 'What have I done'

[Agarwal_Aayush]

The most memorable drive till date was the Gurgaon - Rann Utsav - Statue of Unity - Gurgaon which I did last year.
Trip was 7 days and 5300 KM long and it still feels fresh the view of never ending white salts and the one look at my better half and my daughters face after viewing the same made the effort worth it.
Statue of Unity was an experience in itself, got to know that my wife also has fear of heights

[sup?]

I have done dozens of road trips but none comes close to my road trip through Iceland. While Iceland is also the most beautiful place I have ever visited, for this thread, I have picked only the pics that I clicked either from the car or just parked on the road.

The variety of scenery you experience is unmatched anywhere else in the world IMHO.

[Neversaygbye]

My most memorable ride was the one from Delhi to Bharatpur on my trusty Hero Honda Splendor back in 2002.

I remember it was about 180 kms one way and had taken me 5 hours with breaks, and this was mainly because the roads after Mathura were nothing to write home about. There was no Taj expressway at the time, so had taken NH2 till Mathura and then taken the road to Bharatpur from below the flyover. Stayed in Bharatpur for a couple of days before returning. I was none the worse for wear for the trip, except for some back pain at the fag end of the return leg which went away after some rest. (I still have the bike, btw. It's going strong after 23 years and over 80000 kms)

[sjcherian]

While some 600+ Km road trips in my Thar come to mind
Chennai - Aluva,
Chennai - Mysore - Kabini

Three other drives stay in my mind - now getting close to the 5 year mark.
All these happenned during the 2015 Chennai floods.
1. Took 7 hours to get home from office due to floods across the city started at 5:30 and reached after 12:30 AM. Crawling all the while through a distance of 25 km.
2. Another day in early December where flooding was still increasing - drove from office in Sholinganallur to Thazhambur to pick up 20 sand bags(nothing was available in the city) . Got stuck in a flooded road turn and had to use 4wd to get out. Each sand bag weighed around 30 kg as they were wet , and loaded them in the back of the Thar and then driving back to Nungambakkam in pouring rain, placing them around the doors myself (getting a really bad back ache at the end) and locking ourselves in hoping the water wouldn't enter the ground floor.
3. After the worst of the flooding driving from home in Nungambakkam to IIT via a circuitous route (via Adayar Malar Hospital as all other bridges were closed ) to pick up a family friend who was a resident student. Coming back seeing scores of people walking along the road desperately asking for food and water as all public transport was stopped, all shops were closed and many were displaced from their homes due to the floods. It was a sight that stayed with me since then - reminder to be eternally grateful for all the blessings we have.

[drpras]

Memorable hill drive on a weekend..!!

Reading through scores of wonderfully written travelogues/photologues on teambhp (and of course memory reminders on google photos! ) ,pushed me to attempt one on my own. This travelogue is from our trip back in 2016 but the beauty of the place and the scenic route still remain fresh in our memory. And also the time we undertook the journey (end of a tiring academic year and a rough month at work) made it all the more special!. On to the story then..

We were in kochi , (Me doing nothing for a few months before leaving country.. and my better half doing her post grad) and the search for a quick weekend getaway to a hill station brought us to wagamon (aka vagamon). It was perfect for a short drive (120km one way) and back as 2 days was all the time we had.

The car we had at our disposal was my wifes alto 800.As this was one of my first drives on not so well maintained/steep ghat roads, I had my own doubts doing the drive on an Alto (which i was never a fan of) . Plus growing up i had been taught, small cars are NOT meant to be driven on highways (true right..!) I have had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of quite a few cars from basic to luxury, during our family trips (courtesy my car enthu. dad,of course ! - right from the contessa classic to jaguar xJ, and GLC to name a few)
But all of them were stuck at my native (600kms away) at that point , so we didnt have much immediate options either. (Hiring a cab was never an option - this was a trip more about the journey than the destination and zoom car or other rentals didnt have a huge presence in kerala then). So, Alto it was!.

I was so paranoid, i ended up asking opinions on online forums about taking this car up the hills. Took a fair bit of reassurance from online and offline friends to make the call. Plus my prior experiences with kerala "highways" werent too reassuring.

So I took the alto to the nearby Maruti ASS and got the long overdue servicing done.

We set sail on a saturday morning after breakfast after confirming our booking at the CGH earth resort in wagamon. Our calculation (aka google maps estimate) was 3hrs point to point and we had planned to reach for lunch.

As expected google maps (+remote hill roads are a deadly combo btw) ended up taking us through the road less taken (which turned out to be a blessing! )

Being a hill drive, we did expect greenery and a bit of fog. We were greeted by a pleasant change in climate (misty/ drizzly/ romantic ..if u may call it) and the rest of the drive is best described in pictures and videos below.

virgin greenery would be the apt description (no sign of deforestation or pollution whatsoever),, and of course being the peak of kerala monsoon contributed as well.

The less i write about the road conditions the better. Alto did manage to "jump" bad roads and potholes and we didnt do much damage to our spines either.

The google map guidance cost us an extra 2hrs and a cold/missed lunch but i must say it was worth every minute. For city dwellers like us it was as if we had been transported into an alternate universe.

We reached the resort almost by late afternoon. The resort was surprisingly sparsely occupied and we spent the evening walking around and lazing by the fire. The resort was a quiet little place nestled in between the tea plantations and had a string of cottages constructed around a water body. Food at the resort was average at best and we didnt have the option of going out either.

Day 2 started with a late breakfast followed by a quick drive to the meadows nearby. Sprawling meadows, mist, and slight drizzle with hot tea and snacks. We made the most of the 2hrs we spent there before rains came in.

The drive back started the same afternoon. For a change i turned to the local google map (cab driver at the resort ) for directions. He suggested the bus route or the main highway and so went with that.

The return drive was far less exciting (i think it was to more to do with our mindset mainly and the blaring KSRTC horns bringing us back to reality..! ) However, we made it back in 3hrs time.

Alto managed to pleasantly surprise me in terms of the hill climb and for quick overtakes on narrow roads. Not to mention, ride comfort was a compromise always on the cards. (Plus the ksrtc bus drivers / lorry drivers treat you equivalent to a 2 wheeler on the road.. )


P.S .I apologize if my account or location is not as exotic as some of the other stunning narrations in this forum, but again it was one journey i d never forget.

And i expect a few comments on my rant about the alto as first world problems..//

[adisan]

Those were the days before Google Maps became the default navigation aid. Two years after getting my first car, I found that a co-worker hailed from Tiruvannamalai, a place I had been dreaming of visiting for several years.

He readily agreed to take me to his home town, and we set out on a Friday evening. We had an event-less drive till Krishnagiri, but thereon till the destination was the worst drive I ever had. Those were the days when the roads were not even close to what condition they are today in that stretch. It took over 4 hours to cover about 100 km.

As is the case with people in pilgrim towns, he and his family afforded a very warm welcome and stay for me.We went me to the temples in nearby towns as well. On the return journey we took a longer route which avoids the bad stretch till Krishnagiri.

It is a cherished trip because it was the first visit to Tiruvannamalai, and equally because of the genuine warmth shown by my friend and his family.