[Desmosedici]

Last Thursday i started reading this and i travelled alongwith you all throughout till today. My reading journey ended just now. I stopped surfing TBHP or any other site since last thursday, thats how mindblowing, fantastic and inspiring your travelogue has been. How much ever i appreciate, it will be less. Simply the best travelogue i have read till date. You kept me captivated.

Detailed information coupled with seriously too good pics with witty captions. It was such a joy. I wouldnt mind such readings on a regular basis.

I also sent the thread link to 4 other friends. We have been 'thinking' for quite a few years now but then it never materialised, now hoping that your travelogue could inspire everyone. Plus given the gruelling roads that you have put the Safari through, my mind is already thinking, should i

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

CLOSING NOTES

I'm finally able to present you with the experiences of my dream drive. Hope you guys like it.
I thank TBHP and it moderators for publishing this.

It's also a wonderful coincidence that I'm able to publish it on July 26th 2013; the 14th anniversary of the Indian army winning the Kargil war.
I'll end my travelogue by dedicating this to the Indian army.

Jai Hind!

-Hemanth

Wow! Great travelogue, loved the pics, the narration and in fact everything about it.

To think i almost did not read it - just because of the fancy title - which i now think is appropriate title for the thread.

Very well put together thread and it helped that the full story ran through without any interruptions.

Voting 5* (totally deserved)


P.S:- Very sad to read about your friend's accident . It is very very frustrating when you read about something like this. May he R.I.P.

[Soumyajit9]

I am at a loss of words to speak my heart out !!

Unbelievable journey and experiences shared. Super Photography and Apt Captioning for each of them !!

As such I am a fan of your photography skills. Makes me a bigger fan after seeing the pics !! These are absolute professional and wallpaper material.
I wish you had watermarked some of them.

The Leh-Ladakh is a dream destination for almost everyone in India. I wish I realise this dream sometime during this lifetime. Albeit this would happen once I upgrade my ride.

Once again, super trip and brilliant pics captured !!

[VaahanYogi]

Kudos to all the four of you . Great photos and excellent narration make this travelogue extremely enjoyable. Perhaps, the first travelogue I have read in full length without skipping a single line.

[Vikki@Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Day 15, 24.Aug.2012: Udaipur-Pune
Then a wonderful thought came to my mind. Since we would be reaching 2 days ahead of our initial plan, I thought to myself that we can use it somehow.

I thought that we can make this trip into a Kashmir to Kanyakumari trip instead of just a Ladakh trip.
"Just a Ladakh" trip would be unfair because a Ladakh trip in itself is a big one but a Kashmir to Kanyakumari would make it even bigger I thought.
It was my life and I decided to make it large.
[/list]

Reminds me of something that I did while on my return to Bangalore from Munnar after our honeymoon. We came back to Bangalore in the morning, but I didn't want it to end there. Called up and booked a cab, took my wifey and parents and went to Jog falls.

Kudos and hats off for attempting and successfully finishing a K-K trip. Makes me all the more resolute and determined in my pursuit of such a trip. Would also like to mention that the way you've documented your trip is superb, in that it actually makes one feel "on the trip". In simple Kannada - sakkathagittu kanri!

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by majumon

It certainly has invoked a lot of emotion in me to think goingout of South India.

Thanks majumon,
Please make time and explore our country. Its so diverse and so beautiful that I feel its criminal on our part if we do not go out and just see only one particular region in which we stay.

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

I wouldnt mind such readings on a regular basis.

Thanks Desmosedici,
I wouldn't mind penning down such travelogues on a regular basis either

I also sent the thread link to 4 other friends. We have been 'thinking' for quite a few years now but then it never materialised, now hoping that your travelogue could inspire everyone. Plus given the gruelling roads that you have put the Safari through, my mind is already thinking, should i

Yes, you should. Wish your plans also become a reality one day.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Unbelievable journey and experiences shared. Super Photography and Apt Captioning for each of them !!

Thanks Soumyajit9
Most of the captions are my thoughts just before composing the photo or its the first thing that comes to my mind when I see a particular photo.
Otherwise IMO its difficult to find a caption later.

I wish you had watermarked some of them.

IMO, watermarking at a small corner doesn't serve its purpose and if its in the middle, it spoils the photo. That's just me.
So I don't like watermarking my pictures;especially when its on TBHP. The 1MB size constraint and "automatic-watermarking" feature in this forum serves the purpose.
Alternatively I make sure I don't upload original resolution picture

The Leh-Ladakh is a dream destination for almost everyone in India. I wish I realise this dream sometime during this lifetime. Albeit this would happen once I upgrade my ride.

Without upgrading, you can BEAT all odds and make this trip. With careful driving, its not impossible

Originally Posted by Vikki@Hyderabad

We came back to Bangalore in the morning, but I didn't want it to end there. Called up and booked a cab, took my wifey and parents and went to Jog falls.

Came back, took your wife and parents??? In that case, were you alone on your honeymoon trip ...
...just kidding, but yes, at the end of it all, these twists give a great sense of satisfaction.

In simple Kannada - sakkathagittu kanri!

thumba thanks kanri. BTW I also have plans to write this in Kannada. Let me see if I can achieve that.

[Recallers]

Phew! That was one hell of a travelogue. Made my day! I suggest you guys go an Asian tour! You wouldn't probably run out of road then.

[ashphil]

Awesome trip! Awesome travelogue, Hemanth.anand. Just stumbled on to it and went thru it all in one sitting. Thank you for such an interesting read. It's 4.30 Am in KSA! (7.00 Am IST) . I'll wish myself goodnight and wish you a very Good morning!

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Recallers

Phew! That was one hell of a travelogue. Made my day! I suggest you guys go an Asian tour! You wouldn't probably run out of road then.

Thanks Recallers,
It was actually a heaven of a travelogue : )

Asian drive is a dream and it will remain as dream till the world and especially our neighbors become friendly

If that dreamworld were to exist, This would have been pretty much our course...47K kms
(Google is not allowing me to even see the distance through Israel, Egypt and others)

I somehow didn't like the shape of this blue line...it takes me back to the biology class at school


Not every dream turns into reality

But here again we would run out of road!

[YanTra Makto]

Wow!,

A great write up. Particularly commendable is the meticulous way in which you had recorded each and every detail like refuel, diesel rates etc for the entire trip.

Also surprising was the amount of sleep (or rather lack of it), you guys had. Many a occasion I recollect you guys were on the road for 18/ 19 hrs followed by 5 odd hrs of rest followed by another similar stretch.

Well, being 03 drivers and 01 navigator, you guys could have probably afforded it, with the drivers alternating for sleep.

Also, for me it was surprising that having reached Srinagar and Leh, you guys just spent a day each in these places!

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by YanTra Makto

Wow!,

A great write up. Particularly commendable is the meticulous way in which you had recorded each and every detail like refuel, diesel rates etc for the entire trip.

Thank you very much YanTra Makto

Also surprising was the amount of sleep (or rather lack of it), you guys had. Many a occasion I recollect you guys were on the road for 18/ 19 hrs followed by 5 odd hrs of rest followed by another similar stretch.
Well, being 03 drivers and 01 navigator, you guys could have probably afforded it, with the drivers alternating for sleep.

While many of us love to sleep more, 6 hours is enough sleep for a human being per day.
And yes, with 3 drivers in one car, some small power naps for one or both of the other drivers ensured that the person at the wheel was never under fatigue!

Also, for me it was surprising that having reached Srinagar and Leh, you guys just spent a day each in these places!

Beggars can't be choosers my friend We being Bangaloreans and having only 18 days in our kitty and wanting to drive in our own vehicle, this is the maximum we could afford.
As I have mentioned earlier, this is not the end of it, once the current tensions in the state of J&K normalizes and the terrorists are kicked back, I'm going there again with family and will definitely spend more time there.

[sbala]

Excellent write up.. Sat down and read your blog completely.. Photos that you have uploaded itself tells the story beautifully. It takes lot of courage to decide and carry out these activities. You guys are amazing. Final Trip to Kanyakumari was the highlight

[alokgunhal]

@hemanth.anand: This Travelogue is something one would easily identify with when it comes to penning down your experiences. Looks like its a year exactly since you started on this journey. Hearty congratulations and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this Travelogue.

[Sinner666]

A very well written travelogue Hemant. I had this dream of driving to Kanyakumari from Delhi ever since my childhood. Leh-Ladakh got added in the last couple of years.

A couple of my friends are riding to Ladakh on their bullets as we speak. Unfortunately, some personal work held me back.

Reading your travelogue is making me regret my decision as I will be getting married very soon and don't see a trip happening for the first one year at least. (Additional permits and permissions you see)

Till then, I will find solace in your t-log!

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by alokgunhal

Looks like its a year exactly since you started on this journey. Hearty congratulations and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this Travelogue.

Thank you very much alokgunhal
Yes the last weekend was the first anniversary of our trip start.
Last year by this time we were in Amritsar just getting up after a late end to the previous day.

Originally Posted by Sinner666

I will be getting married very soon and don't see a trip happening for the first one year at least. (Additional permits and permissions you see)

Sinner666, I understand; as I have mentioned in my opening post, it was the same situation for me in 2010