[hvkumar]

Julupani, thanks for the great detailing!

I have heard that Khurda-Pipli road can be unsafe at night (and I was dissuaded from going on it), has that changed?

[julupani]

It is no longer unsafe at night. A few engineering colleges, a some housing projects are springing up in the area. It used to be unsafe till a few years back, but with Bhubaneswar expanding at furious pace in all directions, these are no longer unsafe.

Beleive it or not, last year Orissa govt extended the authority of Bhubaneswar Development authority so far, that all these roads are now under their control, even though in all practical sense these are still pretty much rural areas.

[Judemayne]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Julupani, thanks for the great detailing!

I have heard that Khurda-Pipli road can be unsafe at night (and I was dissuaded from going on it), has that changed?

Hi There HVK-its Col Jude here-my second long drive in two months-as the title reads it was an emotional juorney to attend the wedding of my late best friend.
Driving the Khurda-Pipli road during the day should be okay-HVK driving on the Sarjapur Ring Road in broad daylight in Bangalore has become dangerous there have been a No. of muggings and false reports of accidents and extraction of money if you are not aware of the local language.
Read your directions to Darjeeling from Bhubanesawar-will be useful for me for my drive to Bhutan this Nov 11-what about NH2B??

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

what about NH2B??

No idea about NH2B. I hold a dim view of the interior roads of Bengal - normally narrow, congested, lots of miscellaneous traffic, no bypasses. I prefer to stick to the Durgapur expressway as much as possible (till Darjeeling More) instead of trudging through the narrow 2-laned roads via Bolpur.

[Judemayne]

26 April The Ritz spent its day getting its 10000 maintenace done at Jyote Service station, near CRP Chowk-Bhubaneswar-they kept their word of delivery time plus did a good job. After collecting the car spent the day visiting friends.
27 April drove to Cuttack, home town, after 8 years-no change whatsoever-potholes in the same locations!! The drive was incident free and pretty quick-made it to Tulsipr in about 45 minutes. Attend the Reception at Cuttack Club at night and reunion with classmates-met some after years-may be 25+. Drive back was great except for a downpour-car was serviced the day before.
28 April Rest and local sight seeing.
29 April Started from Bhub at 0600 hrs crossed the Orissa/Andhra border and luckily no truck traffic on our side-opposie side-more then 2 kms long.

Just a query- What is the condition of the road from Rajahmundry to Elurur?-Its shorter then the NH5. Is it a State highway??

Stopped at Guntur at a lodge next to Bus Stand-Room was okay-Rs 1000 but location biggest mistake-never stay at a lodge near a Bus Stand-there was honking, braking and vendors screaming throughout the night. Total kms covered was 880. Less the diversion after Vijaywada upto and beyond Guntur the road is just excellent. The last 60 kms of Orissa from Balugaon upto Berhampur is still being constructed-reduces speed considerably.
30 April Drive back from Guntur to Bangalore:- The roads are excellent after 20 kms from Guntur after the diversions. Had lunch at Bans Hotel on the Trupati-Chitoor byepass-nice place for a refit and rest. Started at 2 pm from Chitoor bypass and hit Whitefield at 1630 hrs. As earlier stated Mulbaggal to Bangalore was a dream run.

[vnabhi]

Nice to see your travelogue, Col Jude. And I'm happy you took my advice and stuck to the 4-laned NH5 from Eluru to Rajamundry.

Reading names like Bhub, Cuttack, Stewart School, St Joseph's Convent have evoked some very fond memories in me. I love the laid back lifestyle in Cuttack (even now), compared to the din and bustle of cities I've lived in. Given a chance, I'd still like to play badminton, TT or squash at Cuttack Club.

Incidentally, I used to curse that place when I lived there, as I thought life in bigger cities was more exciting. But 35 years down the line, Ive changed my opinion completely to the opposite.

Bhubaneswar was a dead city in the 70s, and most people preferred to stay in Cuttack, the old capital. But things changed in the 90s, and Bhub is now quite cosmopolitan. It's grown by leaps and bounds, but not to the extent of other cities I've lived in : Vizag and Hyderabad.

But I do miss the sweets of Orissa (Pahalo, etc) and the tiffins at Central Cafe, Cuttack, and Venus Inn, Bhub. I wonder if they still exist?

As regards an alternate route to Cuttack, there used to be a road from Khandagiri to Cuttack via Barang Station ( via old entrance of Nandan Kanan). I'm not sure of its present condition.

Regarding Maruti Service, you could have also tried Sky Automobiles---the GM is your BIL's next door neighbour (Kaushik Ojha).

[julupani]

Venus Inn continues to not just exist but do very brisk business even today. Always filled, with people waiting outside, for lunch.

The alternate road that you are talking about, is the one that joins the bypass I was talking about midway. It is is very good shape nowadays. The section between Khadagiri and Chandaka was undergoing re-surfacing sometime in January.

Among the 3 Maruti service stations in Bhubaneswar, Sky Automobiles is generally rated the worst. It is still Jyote Motors which is rated best, with Narayani Motors rated 2nd best. Sky though still enjoys monopoly in Cuttack.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by julupani

Venus Inn continues to not just exist but do very brisk business even today. Always filled, with people waiting outside, for lunch.

The alternate road that you are talking about, is the one that joins the bypass I was talking about midway. It is is very good shape nowadays. The section between Khadagiri and Chandaka was undergoing re-surfacing sometime in January.

Among the 3 Maruti service stations in Bhubaneswar, Sky Automobiles is generally rated the worst. It is still Jyote Motors which is rated best, with Narayani Motors rated 2nd best. Sky though still enjoys monopoly in Cuttack.

Thanks for your feedback on Venus Inn and the road to CTC. I was not aware that Sky has a branch in BBSR--I do remember one near CTC, near the place where the Barang Road meets NH5, near Katjodi.

[Gautam Misra]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Regarding Maruti Service, you could have also tried Sky Automobiles---the GM is your BIL's next door neighbour (Kaushik Ojha).

For Maruti after sales the owners of Maruti cars in the twin cities have the following options-
Narayani Motors
Jyote Motors
Sky Automobiles

Of the three I have had the best experience with Narayani.

[sami316]

Hi Judemayne,

Just got through this Travelogue of yours. As usual very well written. It was kind of a different feeling reading a TL without any pics, but the good side was that all my imagination was coming to work instead. Thanks for sharing.

[Judemayne]

Originally Posted by sami316

Hi Judemayne,

Just got through this Travelogue of yours. As usual very well written. It was kind of a different feeling reading a TL without any pics, but the good side was that all my imagination was coming to work instead. Thanks for sharing.

Dear Sami316,

As stated, in my opening narrative, it was an impromptu journey-decision taken to go and journey started in 4 hrs. My daughter had borrowed my camera as she wanted two for her Kerala trip just the day before and since I had gone to work to sort things before i left my wife couldn't locate the spare one-the reasons no pictures. A T'Log without pics just does seem "dressedup" -sorry especially missing out on Chilka Lake