[petrolhead_chn]

I always have the habit of browsing through new posts here. When I came across yours, I thought it to be yet another writing. I opened it only to view the snaps of the SX4 and nothing else. First read your intro and after nearly an hour I found that I have actually read your entire travelogue

Good writing and the 'solo thing' sounds interesting. Appreciate the cooperation rendered by your family too.
Keep discovering and share it with us doc.

Thanks for all the time taken to share this with us

[abhinav.s]

Wonderfully penned down log Doc!! The best part is the caption of each pic that ensures you get a fair idea of the entire log. Superb pics and very inviting. Kudos!!

[Dr.AD]

Thank you very much guys! I really appreciate you guys taking time to read this long travelogue and posting your comments. And thank you so much for rating this thread 5 stars! Really means a lot to me.

I may not be able to quote each and every comment, but I sincerely thank each and every comment!

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Will look forward to meet you in person during our Pondy meet and listen to your experiences.

Thanks! Yes, same here. Looking forward to meeting you as well as others in that drive.

Originally Posted by petrolhead_chn

Appreciate the cooperation rendered by your family too.

Thanks! You have mentioned a very important point. I must thank my wife for her support and encouragement, not just for this drive, but for all of my such adventures in general. She took care of the home and so many things while I was away. I could not have done this drive without her support. I am really thankful to her!

[AJ-got-BHP]

That is one hell of a detailed travelogue for a 7 day 2000 Km Road Trip !! While going through the travelogue it seems that one is travelling with you and actually living all those moments that you have captured through the lens. Good to see the amazing landscapes. You got a mix of everything on your journey which an avid traveler always craves for - Scenic Roads, winding roads, good roads, bad roads, crossing the river, hills, the sea shore soon and so forth. Keep writing as your travelogue can be a one stop guide for everyone who travels in that zone for the first time. Specially someone like me who has not explored much in the Western Part of India.

Kudos to you !! Rating it a Well Deserved 5* for the effort you have put into compiling this travelogue

[tiger_stripes]

How long did it take for you to complete this travelogue? I think I need to take a day off just to soak in the details. Beautifully detailed, and I thoroughly enjoyed going through it! The Konkan region looks truly magical in the rains.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

Keep writing as your travelogue can be a one stop guide for everyone who travels in that zone for the first time. Specially someone like me who has not explored much in the Western Part of India.

Kudos to you !! Rating it a Well Deserved 5* for the effort you have put into compiling this travelogue

Thank you so much! I feel the same way when I read yours and other travelogues about the Northeastern part of India. It is amazing to see you guys exploring that beautiful land in your drives!

Originally Posted by tiger_stripes

How long did it take for you to complete this travelogue? I think I need to take a day off just to soak in the details. Beautifully detailed, and I thoroughly enjoyed going through it! The Konkan region looks truly magical in the rains.

Thanks. It actually took a lot more time to compose this than I had thought. I worked on it a little bit each day whenever I got time. Even then, it was in the Assembly Line for a bit more than a week! So it took me a week to do this drive, and another week to write about it.

[anandkumargb]

I can never write such a travelogue..takes a lot of effort and patience! But thank you for sharing this.

I have always wanted to do this..drive solo but felt it would be boring, wierd and maybe even scary. The moment I saw the title "Solo-2000 kms-7days", I was like "Hey, someone has done my trip" and I completely read your thread. I think your trip has given me a boost/courage to do a solo trip myself. Thank you!

[GKMahajan]

Dear Dr. AD,

First let me say that you did not leave me a choice - I had to give 5 stars!

I have been to some of the places you have mentioned. Now you are making me think of revisiting them and visiting the others too!
Thanks for giving 'food for thought'!

I am impressed by your trip, your decision to go 'solo', your photography, your penmanship and definitely the passion with which you have written it all down!
It must have taken you a lot of time for writing it up. Thank you so much for having done that. Now, at least I have taken a 'virtual' tour!

Regards,

Girish Mahajan

[arun_josie]

Superb travelogue, Dr.AD. Nice pics and the information's are very detailed as well. As mentioned by parag, we did a very similar trip couple of weeks back and could relate it to your experience.

And solo drives are really fun, especially on these curvy roads. Overall, I loved reading your TL.

[CarMind]

"Monsoon solo", this can't be more 'Solo' than this, finding even the famous places so empty could be such a relief. However, as expected, the rain has been your constant companion across the trip.

Thank you so much for this mesmerizing visual treat. I literally followed the entire thread "sequentially" as directed by you. Though i have read the entire travelogue, i think i am going re-visit this again and again just to have a look at those beautiful masterpieces that you have captured through the lens of your camera. BTW, which camera you used? And let me also praise you for your determination that kept you going further with remote possibilities and hurdles standing in front of you (the flood at Kolhapur).

You were indeed lucky to have a beautiful beach all to yourself. As i could see, the journey also has been a food delight for you as wherever you got, it was some real good local food as you mentioned.

Lastly, "This must be one of the rarest of rare occasions when a customer was made happy by charging him more" literally couldn't stop myself laughing out loud on this

Thanks again for sharing this and all the best for the ones you plan to take in future.

[Sayeed]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Thank you very much guys! I really appreciate you guys taking time to read this long travelogue and posting your comments. And thank you so much for rating this thread 5 stars! Really means a lot to me.

I may not be able to quote each and every comment, but I sincerely thank each and every comment!



Thanks! Yes, same here. Looking forward to meeting you as well as others in that drive.



Thanks! You have mentioned a very important point. I must thank my wife for her support and encouragement, not just for this drive, but for all of my such adventures in general. She took care of the home and so many things while I was away. I could not have done this drive without her support. I am really thankful to her!

Dear Dr. A D
What a wonderful travelogue, superb, awesome 5 stars simply for the description. I keep visiting Ratnagiri and have driven on the roads from the Konkan stretch to Goa and re-lived the moments. Simply superb. You can make a book out of the entire set of pictures and description and launch it. It would be a superb reference subject. You didn't mention which camera you were using as the pictures are really good. The coastal roads are simply superb to drive enjoying the scenic views of the sea. And yes your family needs to be lauded for the support and you should be lauded for being courageous enough to travel alone all the way through.

[Raulspace999]

Excellent compilation. This thread really makes one pen down his comments.

A serene blissful solo journey is how i would describe your travelogue as.

Lastly, your never ending perseverance bore fruit and you were able to complete the journey. The historic U-turn nailed it all.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

I think your trip has given me a boost/courage to do a solo trip myself. Thank you!

Thank you! If my trip inspires you or anybody else to do a similar trip, then that would be awesome! Thanks again!

Originally Posted by GKMahajan

Dear Dr. AD,

First let me say that you did not leave me a choice - I had to give 5 stars!

I have been to some of the places you have mentioned. Now you are making me think of revisiting them and visiting the others too!
Thanks for giving 'food for thought'!

Thank you very much! If you feel like revisiting, then you should. I had been to some of these places really long time back (for example, last time I visited Velaneshwar and Hedavi was in 1999!) and when I revisited now, it was interesting to see the contrast in two cases: some of the things have not changed at all, as if the time has stood still, whereas some of the things have changed very much (for example, thankfully, the roads have improved significantly). But the overall experience was still very new. By revisiting a place at a different time, in a different context, in a different season, maybe with a different group of people or alone, you get a brand new experience again.

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Superb travelogue, Dr.AD. Nice pics and the information's are very detailed as well. As mentioned by parag, we did a very similar trip couple of weeks back and could relate it to your experience.

And solo drives are really fun, especially on these curvy roads. Overall, I loved reading your TL.

Thank you. As Parag mentioned, I guess it was a very different scene at the ferry when you guys visited. This exactly is the case in point. Two sets of visitors, visiting the same place just two weeks apart, can get a totally different experience. That is the beauty of travel in India.

Originally Posted by CarMind

BTW, which camera you used? And let me also praise you for your determination that kept you going further with remote possibilities and hurdles standing in front of you (the flood at Kolhapur).

Thank you.

Originally Posted by Sayeed

You didn't mention which camera you were using as the pictures are really good.

Thank you.

Regarding camera used, I did not mention it because I do not have any fancy equipment worth mentioning. However, thank you for asking.

I used two cameras:

My phone is Sony Xperia Z3, and it has a pretty good camera. The biggest advantage of this is that this is a completely water-proof phone and the camera works even underwater! I took many pictures standing in a drizzle, and this waterproof phone turned out to be extremely useful. Also, most of the pictures taken through the windshield are taken using this camera, because the phone was always next to me, and it was easier to pull over and take a quick picture using the phone camera.

The other camera I have is what is typically described as a "bridge camera"- Sony DSCHX300. It is not a DSLR, but has a pretty good lens, has all the manual settings, and has 50X optical zoom! The 50X optical zoom was a very useful feature. The pictures of the flooded areas, for example, were possible due to this zoom. Also, the picture of the lighthouse on Ratnadurga Fort was possible because of this. This is how it looks:

Originally Posted by Raulspace999

Lastly, your never ending perseverance bore fruit and you were able to complete the journey. The historic U-turn nailed it all.

Thank you! Yes, that U-turn turned out to be literally a "turning point" in this story. :-)

[Orange GTX]

Take a bow Mr. AD !

This is one of the most comprehensive and detailed travelogue I have ever read. Absolutely fantastic write up and beautiful photographs. I could literally feel the rain drops and the sea waves and the lush greenery.

Kudos to the efforts taken to make the Team BHPians feel the magic monsoon of Konkan, Goa and Karnataka. Thank you very much for sharing

[MDED]

WOW! Words will fall short to describe this remarkable achievement of yours. Solo drive of 2000 kms! You gotta be kidding me! As rightly said by the mods this is the mother of all travelogues and i am sure it will inspire generations to come.

Solo drive would have given you ample time to reflect on inner self and drive home the soulful experience. Rating the thread as not well deserved 5 stars, rating it as 5 stars just because it was borne to inspire.

Here's giving you a roadie salute and requesting you to share your photo alongside DUSTY (if you don't mind