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Old 15th September 2014, 15:02   #16
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Amazing travelogue Blackpearl! And some superb pictures!

How do you manage to get so many leaves? The other Bolero; was it a DI or one of those new-gen M2dicr's?
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Old 15th September 2014, 16:36   #17
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackPearl View Post
20000 kilometers of driving in two and half months and the track logged on the Garmin eTrex looks like this -
Amazing...Hatsoff to you BlackPearl

The track logged by the Garmin looks wonderful. Can you please share the dates of the trip? I was initially awestruck thinking that the trip was a continuous 2.5 months on the road. I then saw that you have taken breaks. It would be interesting to see the dates

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackPearl View Post
In Bangalore the cops had harassed me a lot by taking away my driving license and vehicle papers for driving an out of state car. It was on the 17th day of my visit and I had argued that I was not going to stay for more than a month, but the officer did not listen. He said that I had brought my vehicle all the way from Calcutta, so it was logical that I was going to stay for quite sometime
A visit to the RTO officer also did not help. The RTO officer wanted a letter from my company mentioning that I was going to be there for less than a month. Finally after 1 week of followup I got the letter from my company and RTO released my documents the day before I was to leave Bangalore. Anyways, left Bangalore for Kolkata with a visit to Goa en-route.
This would have been really frustrating. What illogical logic is that a car coming from West Bengal cannot go back within a month!!!

Quote:
We decided to stop over but we faced resistance from hotel managers. We tried several hotels near Banjara Hills but everywhere it was the same story. Whenever I mentioned that we need a double bedroom for 5 to 6 hours and my wife was with me, the staff would give a peculiar look and say that rooms are not available. I insisted that I would pay for the entire day but they kept on repeating the same thing. I was baffled by this attitude and to this date have not been able to find out the reason for such strange behavior. It was very clear that the hotels had rooms but they were just not willing to let us stay. I did not not know that I could be deemed unsuitable for entry to a hotel!! We decided that we were not going to stay a minute longer in that horrible place ( Though we had visited Hyderabad before and had a lovely experience - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ad-baleno.html ) Wifey and me took turns to drive and did not halt till Kolkata except for bio and fuel breaks... that was 2300+ kilometers in 36 Hours non stop!!
May be the locality where you searched for accomodation was not good enough. Imagine Hotel Decent in the movie Jab We Met! you mind find your answers. Its a difficult situation to be in.

36hours non stop! Whoa! that must have been really tiring. Why didn't you stop ina ny other city enroute?

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Originally Posted by BlackPearl View Post
Sikkim
That concludes our 20K kilometers of travel along the length and breadth of Incredible India...... thanks for reading!
That concludes my reading of a 20K kilometers of travel along the length and breadth of Incredible India...... thanks for Sharing!
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Old 16th September 2014, 00:52   #18
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Brilliant TL Sumitro da. I am hooked. I agree with Samba, its EPIC !!!

Rated 5*.
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Old 16th September 2014, 10:47   #19
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Dear Blackpearl & Co

You did Leh, Kerala & Sikkim just like we plan to do Agra, FatehpurSikari & Bharatpur.

Crazy & Cool would be the right phrase to describe your travelogue. Good to see humble Esteem in action.
Great Samba with his usual photography skills.

We should do something to this Banglore RTO, one month time frame is against central motor vehicle act. I hope the new amended act would bring more clarity and I also read that RTOs would be centralized and many of them become redundant.

thanks for sharing.
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Old 16th September 2014, 13:52   #20
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

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Originally Posted by benbsb29 View Post
Surely an epic road trip!
Thanks benbsb29!

Quote:
Originally Posted by BUXX View Post
What an awesome travelogue! And you have really let the pictures talk !!
Superlike !

I just wanted to ask a question regarding travelling with a pet- I have a Lhasa myself and wish to travel to MP in Dec'14 (he will be 6 months old then, all grown up in Lhasa-years)

How easy or difficult is it to take a pet along? Do the hotels allow pets?
Any pointers that you/ your friend may have on this , will be appreciated !

Thanks !
Thanks BUXX. As PapaBravo has already answered all the questions there is very little to add. All hotels do not allow pets. You have to identify a location and call up the hotels there to find out if they will accommodate pets. Some of them allow at extra cost. It is advisable to book such hotels before embarking on a travel.

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Originally Posted by PapaBravo View Post
Wonderful travelogue BP. Joey looks adorable. Next time will ask JD to get him to the meet as well. Pictures are mind blowing.
Thanks Pawan. Yes Joey is an absolute gem.

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Originally Posted by Samba View Post
The word EPIC should justify this travelogue! The pictures are breathtaking and beautiful. Destinations like Kashmir, Goa, Munnar are dream destination's for many and you have done all in a span of two months! Government should start a new rule like limiting the number of kilometers per person per month! So person's like us don't get frustrated reading such stuffs..!
Thanks Samba. As usual the pictures you have posted are awesome.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Altocumulus View Post
Absolutely superb !!!!! Great pictures
Thanks Sugata!

Quote:
Originally Posted by batterylow View Post
EPIC!!!

You, my dear sir, epitomize "live to drive".

Hats off to you and wishing you many more miles of driving pleasure.

O.T

The mutt looks like its having the time of its life on the beach
Thanks batterylow. Yes Joey was enjoying the beach like no other.

Quote:
Originally Posted by psurelia View Post
That's a wonderful pictravelogue! You guys should really think about making a career out of photography.
Thanks Partha. Do you really think so? I am not so sure specially seeing the other travelogues on Kashmir/Ladakh

Quote:
Originally Posted by mpksuhas View Post
Superb travelouge!
When I saw the heading I thought the trip would have been done years apart and you just got time to write it all down.

This makes all our trip look like mall - drive.
Thanks mpksuhas!

Quote:
Originally Posted by himadrimondal View Post
You should be called the "Monk who is forced to live in the city". This is epic, a trip of this magnitude in such a short span is extremely difficult for a city dweller. Awesome frames but I wish to see more, a lot more. Hope these are only teasers.
Thanks Himadri. There GBs of pics specially of Ladakh, will try to post some more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rahul4321 View Post
Amazing travelogue Blackpearl! And some superb pictures!

How do you manage to get so many leaves? The other Bolero; was it a DI or one of those new-gen M2dicr's?
Thanks rahul4321. Apart from the ladakh drive, most of the trips were done on long weekends with max one day leave. The other bolero was a 2008 DI.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand View Post
Amazing...Hatsoff to you BlackPearl
Thanks Hemanth!

Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand View Post
The track logged by the Garmin looks wonderful. Can you please share the dates of the trip? I was initially awestruck thinking that the trip was a continuous 2.5 months on the road. I then saw that you have taken breaks. It would be interesting to see the dates
I will try to find out the dates and post.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand View Post
May be the locality where you searched for accomodation was not good enough. Imagine Hotel Decent in the movie Jab We Met! you mind find your answers. Its a difficult situation to be in.
I got your point but thought that Banjara Hills is a very good location in Hyderabad.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand View Post
36hours non stop! Whoa! that must have been really tiring. Why didn't you stop ina ny other city enroute?
We thought that we would stop in Vizag, but after reaching Vizag we did not feel tired and thought that we could make it t o Kolkata as roads are good. Time was a constraint as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand View Post
That concludes my reading of a 20K kilometers of travel along the length and breadth of Incredible India...... thanks for Sharing!
Thanks once again for going through the travelogue

Quote:
Originally Posted by Burn_out View Post
Brilliant TL Sumitro da. I am hooked. I agree with Samba, its EPIC !!!

Rated 5*.
Thanks a lot Burn_out!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wanderers View Post
Dear Blackpearl & Co

You did Leh, Kerala & Sikkim just like we plan to do Agra, FatehpurSikari & Bharatpur.

Crazy & Cool would be the right phrase to describe your travelogue. Good to see humble Esteem in action.
Great Samba with his usual photography skills.

We should do something to this Banglore RTO, one month time frame is against central motor vehicle act. I hope the new amended act would bring more clarity and I also read that RTOs would be centralized and many of them become redundant.

thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading Wanderers. Esteem is an awesome vehicle and it has renewed my faith after this trip.
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Old 16th September 2014, 17:00   #21
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

I really enjoyed going through the wonderful travelogue & beautiful pictures. Amazing You got more? Please share.

Could the AC of the Bolero not be repaired at Delhi?
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Old 16th September 2014, 17:12   #22
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful travelogue Sumitro Sir. The pictures you shared.., not just the Kashmir and Sikkim part, even the ones from Munnar and Goa have tempted me to visit all these places. Though I stay near to Munnar (when compared to you), I haven't been there yet. Now that I've made up my mind, I'll try to visit Munnar in the very near future and would be sharing my experiences with you (Hope you don't mind me doing that). By looking at the pictures from Goa, I now want to visit it during the so called off-season. Looks great.!

In a simple sentense, this writeup is amazing and as everyone mentioned, this is surely an epic journey.., and I wish you more of such journeys in future.
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Old 16th September 2014, 17:56   #23
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheel View Post
I really enjoyed going through the wonderful travelogue & beautiful pictures. Amazing You got more? Please share.
Thanks Sheel, I will try to upload more pics as and when time permits.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheel View Post
Could the AC of the Bolero not be repaired at Delhi?
I should have given more details on what happened after the AC belt snapped, so please pardon me. So here is what happened in full details -

Since my Bolero was the slowest among the vehicles that went to the trip, we had not stopped for lunch near Varanasi. Rajsri (my wife), Sutripta Da and me traveled on after having soft drinks near Varanasi so that the other cars could catch up later as they were driving much faster. About 60 Kilometers from Lucknow the AC suddenly stopped working, looked at the temperature gauge and it was almost reaching the red. Stopped the vehicle immediately and found that the AC belt had snapped and had dislodged the main belt. Gave SOS calls to the other vehicles and found that the Skoda Yeti was also having AC problem and they would not stop at Lucknow but would go ahead till Delhi to get it fixed. The Pajero and Thar were pretty nearby and reached us in less than half an hour. Sutripta, JD the Thar owner and me tried to get the car moving be fixing the main belt. It was already getting late, so team bhpian Debarshim (Pajero Owner) and his wife offered to take Rajsri in their vehicle and get the hotel rooms sorted in Lucknow so that we could reach there and crash. We were able to put back the main belt and drove sedately to the Lucknow hotel whose manager was kind enough to let Joey the Rott stay as well. Next morning we requested the other cars to leave and Sutripta Da and me stayed back with our Bolero to get the AC fixed. It was a huge task to get a 53 inch A type belt in Lucknow. However we got it in one shop and got a spare one as well and the AC was up and running at around 4 p.m. But the AC belt was still touching the main pulley and it was just a matter of time before this one would snap again. Sutripta da suggested that we keep on moving and would check the belt frequently. If required we would cut the AC belt in order to save the main belt. We had changed the main belt in Lucknow as well. Drove through the night and reached Ludhiana at 6 o clock in the morning. Thanks to tbhpian SwagataDutta, we stayed at his sister's place where others were put up as well. Whatever I say about the hospitality of his sister Swastika and brother in law Maninder would be less. Next day we went to a garage in Ludhiana to fix the alignment of the compressor bracket so that there was enough gap on both sides of the belt. After about 4 hours work everything seemed satisfactory and we went back to Maninder's place to have a photo shoot and embark on the journey towards Patnitop. Two minutes into the journey a pop sound came from underneath the bonnet along with a whiff of smoke The AC was gone, the compressor clutch had burnt. The mechanic had tightened the bolt a little too much Others we already quite frustrated by the time that had been wasted to fix my vehicle, so there was no point in wasting further. We cut the AC belt and did the rest of the journey without AC. While returning it was 49.5 degree Celsius in Delhi and we roamed the streets of Delhi from 12 noon to 2 p.m. as we were not able to find the forest department bungalow where we were supposed to put up. I still have nightmares about it.... That is the story of the Bolero's aftermarket AC. But anyways it has been fixed now and running good, fingers crossed. Sorry for the long post.
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Old 16th September 2014, 23:27   #24
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Wow. What an epic road trip. You have got some serious passion to drive. 2400 kms in 36 hours flat is really mind-boggling although I feel it is too risky as without a proper break at some point of time the stress will start showing itself. Anyways keep it up and you sure do "Live to Drive"!
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Old 17th September 2014, 15:53   #25
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackPearl View Post
20000 kilometers of driving in two and half months and the track logged on the Garmin eTrex looks like this -
Brilliant. Its unbelievable and as someone mentioned correctly this made most of our trips look like a drive to the Mall.

The pictures tells the story beautifully.

Sad to know that Bangalore cops behaved so stupid.
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Old 17th September 2014, 19:14   #26
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

A great road trip very well narrated with great photographs. Bravo
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Old 17th September 2014, 20:31   #27
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Fine travelogue and equally excellent documentation. The only deterrent being the AC that conked up twice. Generally, these are problems associated with after market fitments.
But these minor snags add to the fun element. Hats off to the trip team.
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Old 18th September 2014, 10:22   #28
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

That was a long trip! Awesome travelogue, and beautiful pics! Enjoyed each moment reading. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 18th September 2014, 10:40   #29
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Haven't browsed thru all the pics; but you do have a set of beautiful pics! Rated 5*s! And loved the Rottie! Should be a good temperament dog as this was a group trip and he looks calm in those pics!

Thank You for the thread!

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackPearl View Post
...I should have given more details on what happened after the AC belt snapped, so please pardon me. So here is what happened in full details -

...The mechanic had tightened the bolt a little too much .... That is the story of the Bolero's aftermarket AC. But anyways it has been fixed now and running good, fingers crossed. Sorry for the long post.
Wouldn't you have been able to fix it in a M&M A$$ ? Or since it's an aftermarket one, they would NOT support? Weren't you able to find a M&M A$$

Last edited by swiftnfurious : 18th September 2014 at 10:45. Reason: Added second quote
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Old 18th September 2014, 20:39   #30
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Re: Kolkata to Kashmir to Kerala, with a dash of Goa & Sikkim

Sumitro - Thanks for sharing your eventful travel experiences. It would definitely take me more than 2 months to do all that driving - probably around 2 lives
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