[EagleEye]

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is
to move." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Prologue

Bhpian swapszone is the expert on monsoon drives: he plans 2 every year, one to Malshejghat and the other to Lonavla. This year too, he planned Malshej and posted the Monsoon drives thread on this forum, which was how it all started.

Unfortunately, last minute developments forced Malshejghat out of the question - there was a landslide and the road was completely blocked with debris.
Fortunately this did nothing to dampen our spirits as we were doing a drive irrespective of location (refer apt quote above). The location was fixed as Bhandardhara - one of the many implosions of beauty and greenery that's littered around the face of Maharashtra during the monsoon season.


Route map for this drive:



Unfortunately out of 12 cars which were initially confirmed on the TBhp thread, only 3 cars ultimately made it.
Fortunately swapszone had 3 more cars of his friends joining us, which made for a total of six cars and fourteen people. Six cars was actually the perfect number for this trip. Any less, and it wouldn't have been as much fun. Any more, and we would have faced problems in parking at certain spots we visited where there was just enough space to park our cars.


List of cars that made it:

1) Honda City
- Swapszone + wife (Tejashree) + sister (Shruti) + baby son (Yuvan)

2) Maruti Swift
- superbee

3) Skoda Laura
- EagleEye

4) Chevrolet Beat
- Miraj Choksi

5) Maruti Swift Dezire
- swapszone's cousin Sahil Patil + 4 friends

6) Toyota Etios Liva
- Anupam Pathak + Tejas Desmukh

Off from Mumbai

Every day when you get up to go to work, you have to snooze the alarm a dozen times before you finally pull yourself out of bed and force yourself into the bathroom to get ready.
But on a day when you're about to set off on a road trip, you wake up before the alarm sets off, sleep doesn't really matter, you're ready in a matter of minutes and have already grabbed the car keys waiting for the clock to strike 6. Don't tell me it's just me!! I'm like this whenever there's a road trip to look forward to!

Our trip on 28 July too started this way, with me initially driving to swapszone's place and reaching there by 6.30 am. That turned out to be the unofficial meeting point where we joined up with the Dezire, Beat, and the Liva. Introductions were exchanged and some chatting about the routes and sights ensued. It was finally 7 before we set off. That's myself, the Liva and the Beat. The City and the Dezire would catch up to us as swapszone's family was taking time to get ready.

Superbee was waiting at R Mall in Thane, from where he joined us in the mini convoy. We then proceeded to the final meeting point after the last flyover in Thane where the remaining 2 cars joined us. After the customary chat, we were ready to hit the road! The time was now almost 8 am.

We crossed the Thane toll naka pretty quickly but since we had gotten later than we expected to be, we encountered medium to heavy traffic on the NH3 till the Expressway toll gates.
After that it was easy going, and without much fuss we reached Shahapur by around 8.45 am, where we all pulled into an HP petrol pump to fill air and water for windscreen washer. This was also where I first fished out my camera, so the pictures will start now.

That's Miraj, Anupam and Sahil in the picture.

We had a small drinks and chat break of around 15 - 20 minutes and after that pulled back onto the road. Being Sunday, there were bound to be other weekend tourers on the famous Nashik highway, and soon we spotted a large group of bikers on Royal Enfields.

Watch out for another pic of these bikes towards the end

Till this point it hadn't rained at all - what 'monsoon' drive is complete without rains? So I guessed the rain gods blessed us, because it started showering right then. I am one of those people who loves driving in the rains and that's when the drive became all the more enjoyable.

The monsoon in all its fury

Around 9.45, we saw the large, inviting parking area of the Hotel Dalvi Darbar. Since a lot of us had not had breakfast yet, we decided to stop over for some gastric satisfaction.

Here are the rides lined up



swapszone and his naughty son Yuvan



Some members of the gang



Delicious pav bhaji

The food at the Dalvi Darbar was ok. As we flushed down Pav Bhaji and Uttapam with coffee, we talked about how much fun the drive had been, not having a clue what else the day would bring us. A lot, as it turned out!


When we got back on the road almost an hour later, we noticed that there was quite a lot of other activities going on on that highway that day. Apparently some 51,000 people were on their way to Shirdi in 1100 buses, so the road was full of them. Also, what I imagine to be some political party was doing campaigns by blocking the roads and handing out flags.

At one point just before Kasara, things had gotten so bad that the traffic was at a standstill for as far as we could see. Frustration was building up and images of the trip getting ruined because of some stupid traffic jam were floating in my head. But luckily for us, just at the point where we joined at the end of the traffic jam, there happened to be a small road to the left which would serve as a detour around the traffic jam. This was confirmed by Google Maps.

[EagleEye]

The abode of greenery and joy

As the sayings go, things happen for the best and every cloud has a silver lining, and it proved no less true in our case. The minute we turned into the side road, we were greeted with the first installment of some of the best scenery we were to see on this trip!

Although we were already late, it would have been a waste if we hadn't stopped at the side of the road to breathe in the surroundings, and that is exactly what we did. We took in the hillocks, the meadows of greenish yellow grass waving in the wind, and we watched, captivated, as a train chugged by below us.

The scene was perfect for a rainy day.

The hillock provided a good vantage point for the cars


The train

The rains that day were sporadic, short bursts of heavy rainfall followed by some clear skies. When we had stopped at the Kasara countryside the skies were clear, but soon the rains resumed and we were forced to snap out of our beautiful sojourn and resume our drive.

However, I did manage to click some more snaps of the beautiful landscapes of Kasara before we joined back onto the highway through our detour.

Highway to paradise

Back on the highway now, we saw that the road was clear of traffic. I have been on this same expressway several times before during the dry seasons, but it's only during the monsoons that the whole place looks so flush and alive.

Pic from the Team BHP Igatpuri drive in Jan 2012



Pic from this drive

Within minutes after we got back on the highway, the ghat section started. Ghat sections are always tough to traverse in India. Not because of the road or curves or hairpins, but because of the buses and trucks occupying both the lanes and not allowing anyone to pass.

Thankfully a mere fifteen minutes later we had crossed it, but we noticed that 2 of the cars had fallen behind, probably got stuck behind some trucks or something. I will take this opportunity to also vent my frustration on the "40-41" situation: A truck going at a speed of 40 kmph being overtaken by another going at 41 kmph.

Some pics from the stop:

Superbee was clicking a pic of his car sitting in the middle of the lane.
This is him scrambling to safety when a car approached.

When the Beat and the Dezire had joined us, we set off again at a relaxed pace making sure to absorb the beauty around us.

Within another twenty minutes we reached the point where we had to deviate off the Nashik expressway by taking a right turn from the village of Ghoti onto the district highway to Aurangabad.

The bridge to nowhere


The misty mountain in the distance

By 12.00, we had reached the spot from where we had to take another right turn into the road to Bhandardhara.

We stopped to wait for the Beat and the Dezire who had again fallen behind

This was the end of the beautiful roads that we had enjoyed until now, and the beginning of some really really nasty ones.

[EagleEye]

Broken roads but unbroken divinity

The roads had turned pretty bad. Almost as if to compensate for it, the scenery had also turned more stunning. Also we had the entire road to ourselves as traffic was sparse.

Somehow the landscapes and the rains made me feel like I was in a Lucky Ali song, and since I had a few on my phone, I started listening to them through the AUX. Aaah! This is life.
Now I'm just going to shut up for a bit and give you a few more pictures to feel jealous about:

Our next stop offered such a picturesque view of the countryside that it was instinctively that I pulled over. Never one to let a great photographic opportunity go, I got busy with the camera once again.

Lined up again




Family photo


Here's my car taking a breather after a rough ride


Off again!


Mountains in the distance with several waterfalls - a sight to behold!

[EagleEye]

Bhandardhara - home to the highest peak in Maharashtra

Bhandardhara was reached by around 1.15 pm. We stopped for a while to let the others catch up. By now you must have figured out that a few of us were driving faster than the rest. But we did stop for the others whenever there was a turn - this was the practice throughout the trip.

Windmills far away




Well, have you?


The BMW guy

Since it was lunchtime, we drove right into MTDC Bhandardhara, with whom I had earlier checked up for lunch arrangements.
I had read reviews about this MTDC and how beautiful it was, but I was pleasantly surprised as it surpassed all my expectations!

The restaurant was nothing to write home about, it was a messy and crowded affair (I never imagined there would be so many people there that day). The food was so-so.
But the view, oh the view!

When we were done with lunch we cam down to see the lake. The wind was blowing so hard that we literally found it difficult to stand there! I am not exaggerating - if you were to hold any piece of paper in your hand, it would be snatched away by the wind, it was that strong.

A couple of panoramas clicked with my mobile


Beautiful green meadows on the lakeside


He almost flew away in the wind.. :P


Group shot


I joined in

We spend more than an hour at MTDC. By around 3.15 pm, we decided to make a move. Our time was now limited. It would take us around 4 hours (including breaks) to get back to Mumbai. And we wanted to minimize night driving to the extent possible. So we decided, there was time to visit just one more of the many attractions in the area.
We had to choose from Wilson dam & Umbrella falls, Randha falls, a dozen other waterfalls and vantage points. When we had exited from MTDC, a small boy asked us whether he could be our guide for 300 bucks. He would show us Randha falls, which was the biggest falls in the area. We took up the offer and he got into my car.

More bad roads followed - he directed me through some narrow roads and some even tinier roads to finally reach the place where we had to park the cars. There was just enough place to park our 6 cars as the area was small and pretty crowded with people. The time was now 4.

Randha falls - agreed, not as magnificent as some others, but beautiful nevertheless


The river

The Last Leg

When we got back to the car parking we saw that the left side ORVM of the City was hanging on the side of the car held only by its cable. It was broken from before, but instead of getting it replaced swapszone had done some jugaad with some adhesive to fix it back - and now somebody had probably banged it while opening his car door.

What ensued was some serious brainstorming to temporarily get the mirror back to working condition. As it turned out, superbee carries a hardware store in his car. Out came the double sided tape and the MSeal, but to no avail. We even tried using team bhp stickers to stick the mirror into place.

Possibly the weirdest place for a Team BHP sticker in the history of Team BHP

Finally Anupam brought a piece of wire using which we tied the mirror in place. The only problem was that now the window wouldn't close because of the cable in its way.

Our adventures for the day nearly over (nearly but not quite), we took off from Randha falls to get back to the highway and onwards to Mumbai. By 5.40 pm we reached the Aurangabad district road, where we stopped once more to let the slowpokes catch up.

The clouds obscured the mountains behind us

The last bit of adventure for the day showed up in the form of fog. Back on the Nashik expressway now, heavy fog descended down on us and visibility suddenly went down to a few meters. We were forced to drop our speeds. The feel was surreal.

Fog!

It didn't last too long though - in a couple of kilometers it had cleared and the speed picked up once more. Pity, though - it was fun while it lasted.

The final stop on the highway was, once again, at the Hotel Dalvi Darbar. We were in for a surprise as we found all the Royal Enfields parked there in a line where we had parked our cars earlier.

We went inside to eat some vada pavs and drink coffee. All but Miraj, who did not notice that we had pulled over and he continued on his way. By the time he answered our calls it was too late for him to turn back.

Anupam's ingenious idea to stop rainwater from entering the open window of the City

By then it had gotten dark. This meant no more photographs, sadly. Anyway there's nothing much else to tell. It was raining cats and dogs on the way back and nightime+rains always makes it difficult to drive.

However we all got back safe and sound. At Thane before the flyover we had our last stop to say our goodbyes, and from there we pushed off to our separate homes. I reached back by around 10 pm, thoroughly exhausted but also thoroughly elated from the events of the day.

Concluding Remarks

A big thank you to all the guys and gals who attended!! Without you so much fun would not have been possible!

Special thanks to swapszone for initiating the monsoon drives thread.

I conclude hoping that for the next drive more Team BHP members would join and make it a grand event.

Cheers!

[Technocrat]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[swapszone]

Awesome!
I relived the drive again. Fantastic pics.
Many thanks to you.

[honeybee]

Great photos. Did you find the Bhandardara dam doors open? We visited the spot around noon the previous day and the dam(n) doors were closed. The waterfall was literally "switched off". The locals informed us the doors would open once the lake water started flowing over them, but we didn't wait long enough to see that happen.

In case of the "city with a broken mirror", putting an umbrella out would stop some rainwater coming in, but then the mirror becomes more or less useless, no? Why not simply detach it and store it inside? City without the left ORVM is any day safer than City with its passenger window sprouting a huge umbrella.

Great drive, team!

[swapszone]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Great photos. Did you find the Bhandardara dam doors open? We visited the spot around noon the previous day and the dam(n) doors were closed. The waterfall was literally "switched off". The locals informed us the doors would open once the lake water started flowing over them, but we didn't wait long enough to see that happen.

In case of the "city with a broken mirror", putting an umbrella out would stop some rainwater coming in, but then the mirror becomes more or less useless, no? Why not simply detach it and store it inside? City without the left ORVM is any day safer than City with its passenger window sprouting a huge umbrella.

Great drive, team!

Obviously did not drive with the Umbrella hanging out the window.
The umbrella was placed there when the car was parked and it was raining heavy.

[voyageur]

Dear Eagle,

Read through the travelogue completely. Nice Place and scenery and not so nice roads, but that should never matter. A meet with bhpians is always refreshing. I would complain that the pictures were less, but I'm guessing you were driving.

Anymore meets planned ?

Drive safe.

Cheers.

[joe1980]

Excellent travelogue. The pictures look great. I liked the one with the road being wet, surrounded by the greenery. That picture looks like a painting.

[ghodlur]

Amal,

Thanks a lot for the pics, seems you guys had a great drive. Sorry to miss out the fun. In fact I had passed that stretch couple of weekends back on my way to Shirdi. It was great fun to drive on the NH3. Could relate to the thick fog you encountered while returning. The visibility becomes so poor that even with the hazard lights on it it difficult to guage whats in front. A driver's nightmare.

The fresh greenery is a welcome change.

[sinharishi]

Hey EagleEye,

Amazing pictures. I welcomed 2013 at MTDC. Leave aside the state of the Rooms/Restaurant, the view from there is just beautiful.
Any particular resons for stopping at Dalvir Dhabba, and not Sri Datta(for their mouth watering Misal and Poha)?

Thanks for sharing.

P.S: This thread and the recent one by Jignesh Sir,reminds of those 22 years spend in Mumbai.So eager to get back home. As for now just to satisfy myself, will drive to GOLI Wada Pav(Wish they had cutting chai) here in the capital city.

[EagleEye]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Great photos. Did you find the Bhandardara dam doors open?

We did not visit the dam; unfortunately there was just enough time for one more attraction once we were done with the lake, and we chose Randha falls.

Originally Posted by voyageur

Dear Eagle,

Read through the travelogue completely. Nice Place and scenery and not so nice roads, but that should never matter. A meet with bhpians is always refreshing. I would complain that the pictures were less, but I'm guessing you were driving.

Anymore meets planned ?

Drive safe.

Cheers.

And I was thinking that I've added too many pictures.
Yeah there are more meets planned, let's see how it goes.

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Any particular resons for stopping at Dalvir Dhabba, and not Sri Datta(for their mouth watering Misal and Poha)?

No particular reason I suppose. It was the first one that we noticed, so we stopped there.

[dhanushmenon]

Fantastic report EagleEye.
Now I know that apart from playing guitar and publicising the MAK umbrella, you also have a flair for writing!!

You have aptly supported the travelogue with fantastic pics, a few of them are wallpaper material. They say a story by themselves!!

Great going

[Jignesh]

Hello EagleEye & Swapsone,

Firstly let me be sorry for pulling out of the drive.

The pictures are really good & the saying goes true - Owners Pride & Other's Envy. The whether seems to be great for a day's outing & good to see Swapnil's son in good spirits for almost entire day.

Just a question, you have mentioned in opening post that in the morning you all pulled up at HP Petrol pump at Shahpur to fill fuel & check air pressure in tyres. But I believe it is not advisable to check air pressures when tyres are hot. I mean hot tyres will give incorrect readings in air pressure gauge.

Thanks,