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It’s a long road but it’s worth it………..and when it rains all along the road taken, the pleasure is even more worth it!

Circa August 2015: We drove once in group and it was just the beginning.

It all started with a couple of likeminded drivers last Monsoon when we drove to Panchagani and around from Bangalore in a convoy comprising 10 cars and 6 of them with drivers as the only occupants.

arun_josie had given us the pleasure to experience the drive though his travelogue here - Chasing the rains. The drive was perfect with a lovely set of drivers with few entrants permanently joining the club and eager to drive again, next time!

This year was no different and we were all eagerly waiting to burn the rubber and leave the carbon footprints in some of the most beautiful sectors of the Sahyadris and Konkan. As expected, the Monsoon Drive Dates were announced by HVK-FF (Link to MD 2016 Event Page)

Dates were fixed, drivers were ready and it was time to hit the roads yet again. After all, we “Live to Drive”.

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Where were we headed to?

We had absolutely no clue on the destination to plan our drive but had all hints that it was North/West of Kolhapur when a hint mentioned 700 kms from Bangalore. Since the destination seldom mattered to us, we decided to make this drive more interesting by taking detours so that we get to experience the wettest of the regions around here and as well pass through different ghats in the whole round trip rather than tracing the same route back home.

Land of alphonso Mangoes after the Mango Season?

Well, we always end up turning every drive a fruitful one even without a season & mangoes didn’t matter here. “Ratnagiri” became the most ideal choice and all 6 of us voted for it for various reasons:

• The most important reason was to drive on NH17 for whatever maximum distance we get to – Remains “the” favorite for me and speedsatya for what it offers to a driving aficionado. We wanted others to taste the tarmac here
  
  
• The beautiful Amboli Ghats during Monsoons
  
  
• The proximity of Ratnagiri with one of India’s beautiful coastal road in Maharashtra called MSH4
  
  
• We are still 2.5-3 Hours away from the undisclosed location of the main event and we can easily reach there on time
  
  
• The possibilities to return back via Amba Ghat which was another splendid route through the Western Ghats

The final circuit that we traced:

Route, Distance and Dates:

• Bangalore – Belgaum – Chandgadh – Amboli – Sawantwadi – NH17 - Rajapur – Hathkhambha – Ratnagiri – MSH4 – Arre Ware Road – Jaigadh – Guhagar – Dhamini (NH17) – Kosumb – Devrukh – Ratnagiri – NH17 – Amba Ghats – Panhala – Kolhapur – NH4 - Bangalore
  
  
• Approximate distance covered through the circuit – 1750 Kms
  
  
• Trip Start Date: 22nd July
  
  
• Trip End Day: 24th July

Highway list on which we left a carbon footprint on:

• National Highway 04 : Kolhapur – Belgaum – Bangalore
  
  
• Karnataka State Highway 20 : Belgaum to MH Border
  
  
• Maharashtra State Highway 121-180 : MH Border to Sawantwadi (Intersection with NH17)
  
  
• National Highway 17 : Sawantwadi - Ratnagiri
  
  
• MSH4 : Ratnagiri - Arre Ware - Ganapati Pule - Jaigad Ferry - Guhagar
  
  
• Maharashtra State Highway 78 - Guhagar - Ganesh Khind

Ghats covered during this trip:

• Amboli Ghats
  
  
• Amba Ghats
  
  
• Multiple ghats on NH17 between Sawantwadi - Ratnagiri – Chiplun

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The Cast and Crew: 9 of us in total & 6 cars

Special mention for the man behind most of photos in this travelogue: Vivek Nair

The Rides:

Arun’s Fiat Linea Multijet

Jaison’s Skoda Laura VRS

My Maruti Ertiga VDi

Rajesh's XUV 5oo FWD

Satya’s Ciaz ZDi

Vivek’s Baleno Petrol

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Planning for the drive:

All of us were in regular touch after the last drive in 2015 that we didn’t really have to take decision for this drive as we anticipated this to happen between July & August and the best we could do was manage a day’s leave for this 3 day trip. We grouped together over WhatsApp and then decided on the destination & then the route based on regular communication and acknowledgement from all.

Solo or Family?

Again, this wasn’t a deterrent and everyone agreed to drive solo in their own rides so that each one gets to experience the best of the Monsoon terrains. Jaison (Mighty_Lothar) who accompanied me last season as a co-passenger was eager to get his Skoda Lauran VRS for this drive and it became a part of the convoy. Similarly, Vivek who drove his Ritz Petrol last season had recently purchased a Baleno (Petrol again) that he wanted to take it for a spin, for 1500 kms that is .

The reasons we prefer not to take family for these drives are not really something unusual:

• Drive Solo – No better primary reason than this
  
  
• You are the Boss – Driving style, stopovers, breaks
  
  
• Time Management – With family, it always becomes a task to stick to the timings. Secondly, not each one in the family is comfortable and acclimatized to distances, timings, food, terrain
  
  
• Let the boys have all the fun – Once in a while, we need our space, the space, the cabin space!
  
  
• Experiment with local cuisine & Highway Dhabas – Can’t really do this with family
  
  
• Your own playlist, your own intense engine note, your own engine braking – The fun doesn’t end
  
  
• Lastly – When you do solo drives like these, you know there is one nearby weekend waiting by when you have to take your wife and kids out that makes another good reason to drive out again. I usually refer to this as compensatory drive to keep folks at home happy

The rules for a group drive:This wasn’t the first time when we have driven in groups but as always I always like to specify some of the most important guidelines whenever there is more than one car involved:

1. Stick to the timings – If you are late, you can catch up with us while we stop for a break
   
   
   
   
2. No overspeeding – Although one easily hits some good speeds during such drives based on merits of roads and few interesting stretches, A drive that lasts 12 hours and 6 cars cannot be done in haste. A soothing 100-110 KMPH cruising range always sets the right rhythm and is often carefree, enjoyed the most and above all safest
   
   
   
   
3. If you want to drive fast - Wait for us at the next toll booth or a major turn from the main road
   
   
   
   
4. Stick to the left, always - Well, I am firm believer that sticking to the left lane is the safest for our roads. No wonder the whole convoy managed to follow this beautifully all through the drive. No right lane driving at all unless overtaking or other unavoidable situations:
   
   
   
   
5. High self-esteem on low beams - Been there, done that 1000 times now. Now this was only a convoy and the rules never changed when tailing someone and everyone respected that
   
   
   
   
6. Carry the following essentials - Original Documents, Valid Emission test certificate, loose change for Toll, News papers and Windscreen wiping equipment, liquid, cloth, Spare Bulbs
   
   
   
   
7. Your car in drive worthy condition - This one was no brainer but ensuring that the cars were serviced regularly and had no alignment & Balancing issues, Good wipers & Tires, Healthy Brakes were simple but important elements to make such drives safer
   
   
   
   
8. No bullying or indulging in road rage- Respect the road and other road users. Ignore the bullies and move on. There is no point to get into a heated argument when you know you have a 12 hour journey and your heartbeats are faster at the 2nd hour and hands are sweaty. We have all been part of this during the yesteryears once or during many instances but those days are passe now. Reach your destination to talk about the drive and not about the other drivers around you!
   
   
   
   
9. Drive safe - Indicate a speedbreaker or a potential hazard ahead by switching on your Hazard lights – This is not “always” a good practice but remember that behind you, there are 5 or more cars tailing you and following your moves (and at times, they do that blindly too)
   
   
   
   
10. You are the decision maker - More often than not, we notice how drivers blindly follow you to overtake a slower vehicle on single carriageways. A wrong practice that can lead to disasters. The rule here is simple – If I overtake, you don’t till you have a clear view and the right momentum. If I turn at the median to get onto the other side, you assess and then take that turn than blindly follow
    
    
11. Park it right - Always as much as possible, park the car to cause no inconvenience to other road users. Pull over to the extreme left and if there is no space, drive ahead and park elsewhere. 6 cars means at least 50 meters. So also remember to pull over at a location that can accommodate this length than expecting 2-3 cars to park elsewhere or hunt for space while the regular traffic gets irritated
    
    
    
    
    That is exactly what we did when we stopped for breakfast during return leg. The hotel was located on the opposite side and we had to cross the median at a dangerous location which was the end of a fast descent and each vehicle including a truck easily doing 80+ KMPH. 6 cars turning right here meant each one had to wait on the fastest lane on a dangerous curve endangering self & others and as well negotiate the fast oncoming traffic on the other side. We instead parked on the same side and crossed the road instead.
    
    
12. Agreement on breaks - Based on your car’s range, we decide the possible points to refuel and also to fill up your bellies. Suggestions are welcome if they make realistic sense but remember our targets are many – To cross a major town before traffic builds up, to have enough buffer (time) as we face incessant rains enroute, to have enough fuel that we don’t run short in a tricky location, to reach Bangalore back before the weekend jokers play games on roads etc.

And trust me when I say this - All of these help a lot when it comes to driving such long distances in groups; So let the drive begin......

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Day 1: Bangalore – Hubli – Belgaum – Chandgarh – Amboli – Sawantwadi – Rajapur – Hathkhambha – Ratnagiri

Start time: 03:00

End Time: 17:00

Distance: ~ 770 Kms

Preferred route for Ratnagiri:

• Option 1: From Bangalore there was a more straightforward route to Ratnagiri via Kolhapur - Panhala - Amba Ghats but we wanted to hit the Western coast at a lower point so that we get to drive on the Mumbai-Goa highway as much as possible. Earlier plan to extend the trip by a day or two and take Mangalore route and then start climbing up didn’t generate positive votes due to leaves
  
  
• Option 2: Although we could have hit NH17 at Ankola and then driven up to get the maximum benefit of driving on NH17, we ruled this out primarily because we didn’t want to waste time driving inside Goa from South to North. It was simply not worth it considering the limited time we had. This also made us skip Chorla or Anmod Ghats, something we all have done considerable number of times
  
  
• What we opted: The last option was to take the Amboli Ghat to reach the coastline and everyone voted for it. For this, we take the straightforward Belgaum – Chandgarh route to touch Amboli instead of a longer detour via Sankeshwar & Gadhinglaj. A quick message to my friend & BHPian vivek95 who is the local boy between Belgaum and Bombay confirmed that the Belgaum Amboli route was in good condition except minor patches even for a low slung sedan that we had in the group. Always helps to ask someone who had been there recently to get an idea of the latest conditions.

The right time for departure:
We have been early birds and not everyone in group was comfortable for night drives. So we decided to meet at JAS Toll, Nelemangala at 04:30. However, rains in Konkan region were passing all signs that we will face the wettest of roads and that would mean we can get slower. Knowing that almost 300 kms of the entire day was going to be on single carriageway, multiple ghats and under down-pouring rains, the previous evening we all agreed and advanced the start time by exactly an hour to 03:30 at the same location. Roadies that we are, everyone agreed even with a last minute communication sighting the benefits of starting early and reaching Ratnagiri by evening.

It took me 30 minutes to reach JAS toll from my Home and I was bang on time while the rest reached there in the next 10 minutes. Not bad at all. So we all started to drive at 03:45 towards Ratnagiri as our destination for Day 1.

Few pictures to start the day from a location we stopped for a quick gathering between Chitradurga & Davanagere:

Direction we are headed to matters :

Jaison’s Skoda Laura VRS that was always eager to push but managed to stay humble during most part of the trip with some intermediate fun of course

Thanks to Vivek as passenger in the Laura & the sunroof, he managed to click some beautiful pictures of the Ertiga and Ciaz in action

With both my fog lamp bulbs fused few months before and the fact that I have now got some other "Bigger" plans, headlight was my DRL most of the times:

Make way for the Ciaz, well we almost did:

Notice the lovely Osram LEDriving & Fog lights that Satya fitted a week before the drive.

It was Breakfast time: 4 Hours and 300 kms ahead, we stopped at Kamat Upachar, Ranebennur Bypass for Breakfast. Everyone was hungry as they had set their alarm clocks to wake them up around 02:00 and that meant breakfast stop had to come in early. This meant we were served steamy hot breakfast no matter what we ordered.

As we get ready to move ahead past breakfast:

Post breakfast, we faced constant rains all the way ahead. Hubli Dharwad Bypass is the same good-old 2 lane single carriageway route. This is not a road to drive as a convoy and keep an eye on everyone.

Instead we decided to drive on our own and meet at the exit of this tolled road, 30 kms ahead:

We were to exit from the main corridor (NH4) after 500 kms and then it was all Ghats till we reached Sawantwadi. We decided to refill each car (after 440 kms from home) at this BPCL COCO Fuel station after Dharwad that would last all the way to destination instead of filling up elsewhere. Jaison and Vivek were the only Petrol cars which filled up quickly due to less queue as the rest of the 4 oil burners followed.

Rain was pouring heavily and I and Jaison waited till others finished refueling:

Post refueling, the raingods were on duty without a break and so were our machines with the wipers to give us a clear view of the path ahead.

Few captures of all the cars between Ranebennur to Belgaum:

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Day 1 continued....

Crossing Belgaum for Amboli:

We stuck to the default route suggested by Googlemaps. However, I had a look at the route after refueling to ensure we are taking the right exit for Belgaum so that we avoid driving inside city as much as possible. Googlemaps was smart as always and didn’t disappoint here too.

The Dashcam video shows the exit we took from NH4 for Belgaum to head towards Amboli:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP_l0Z9f64I

It took around 20 minutes to completely get out of Belgaum including 2 traffic lights and petty city traffic and pouring rains. However, crossing Belgaum for Amboli always felt faster to crossing the same city for Chorla ghats. We were back on the State highway leading out of Belgaum for Chandgarh:

Roads after Belgaum were mixed bag but overall good and driveable by any car. No complaints in this regard whatsoever. After crossing Belgaum and Chandgarh, there was significant country side views as expected and it became even better as we started to drive on Amboli Ghats.

Excellent roads, Mild to heavy rains within minutes, foggy conditions made it all a wonderful experience to drive on this road as we crossed so many waterfalls including the famous Amboli Falls to descend towards Swantwadi.

Rajesh’s XUV splashing water out of that puddle somewhere while crossing Belgaum:

Few scenes from between Belgaum -Chandgarh - Amboli Ghats:

There were countless waterfalls all along the ghats, thanks to pouring rains since a week around this region:

https://youtu.be/wH6qqJc2iAs

We pulled over at one of the viewpoints casually to catch the glimpse of the valley on the other side:

Here's the Dashcam capture of the famous Amboli Falls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9engOd_wo8c

As usual, crowd was heavy even for a Friday and no escaping some jokers like these that you see at the end of the video trying to cross the road without exercising any caution.

We descend the ghats and turn right so that we don't drive south towards Swantwadi and wait for others to join.

Jaison arrives in his mighty VRS:

Merge into NH17 and it's time for some Sea food:

Few minutes later we merged onto NH17 at the northern end of Sawantwadi bypass and we found this place to stop over for lunch. There were 2 cars here already and the appearance was hopefully going to give us some positive experience with food, something that can never go wrong in Maharashtra as I have always witnessed.

As the 2 attendants watch 6 cars entering the parking area, I could notice them happily smiling and expecting at least 20 customers but after few minutes of parking, we didn't really make their day

Satya ensured the Ciaz was the first one to head onto his favorite NH17 before Jaison did:

All of us settle down and under heavy pressure pose with our hungry faces as I click:

Satya didn't have any excuse except hunger to "misbehave" and start taking his grub:

Here comes the Fish Thali, Kokam Sol Kadhi complementing the region where we are:

As we get ready to head to our destination another 150 kms away, we control the urge to drive down towards Goa which was an hour's drive from here in the opposite direction:

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Day 1...The last leg to Ratnagiri

150 Kms of single lane Bliss and to reach our Destination:

We had another 150 kms approximately to Ratnagiri and each one of us were eager to drive on the beautiful & classic "Mumbai-Goa highway". Road conditions from Sawantwadi till Kankavali were not in best of their shapes due to heavy rains but that was something all of us were expecting. After all, you can't have a run way when the power of running water can wash away roads & bridges here.

Post Kankavali, the avenues opened for a faster drive with some lovely corners, climbs and descends and multiple showers of rains in bits and pieces, drizzle to super heavy downpour.

Traffic was not heavy and that made the drive on NH17 a very thrilling one too.

Few pictures of the rides captured on NH17:

And of course, enjoy few of these super awesome Dashcam clips from my Ertiga of NH17:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGuhjbBPsx4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-YBMNKHhlA

As you noticed, there was never a better time to be here with such a lovely green carpet welcome!

All of us refueled at the 24X7 HPCL Outlet at Hathkhamba and proceeded towards our Hotel for the night that was 6 kms away from NH17. We reached our destination around 17:20. Checked-In into Sangam Regency near the Railway station, quick shower and an early dinner and we called it a day.

Just as were getting ready to sleep, I and Satya discussed how close we were to MSH4 and that it would be a wonderful experience to drive here in current weather conditions. At this hour of the night, we were still not sure what was our base location for the main event and we were all waiting for the next set of instructions from the Organizing team of this event.

Day 2 really gets more interesting....

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Day 2: MSH4, Jetty ride, Larger convoy and more:

Just before hitting the bed last night, a casual discussion to drive on MSH4 and we all received communication that we had to be there at the “Base Location” of the drive by no later than 09:00AM. And then we scroll through the instructions to reach the base location and voila, it had a lot of what we were contemplating about – MSH4, Jetty rides and more of NH17!! hvkumar had read our minds, precisely to come up with this plan for D2 and the most surprising element was the location of the Base Camp which was only an hour’s drive from the Hotel where we had stayed! This couldn’t have been that close after all.

Alarms set, we all wake up by 03:30 and ready by 05:00. Check out from the Hotel, load the bags and start cleaning the headlamp and tail lamps lens and ORVMs as it was still raining. Wiped the windscreens to clear the dirt and we were all ready to roll as the engine temperature was also nearing the optimal mark since we cranked the engine and let that idle soon after we loaded the bags.

A quick visit to the ATM nearby and we head towards MSH4 from station road in Ratnagiri. Jaison who had not refilled last night also tanked up his Skoda as the HPCL station next to it opened just then. After about 20 minutes of waiting to draw cash for all of us and refuel, we left towards MSH4.

Rains belted in full throttle and it was a day to look forward. Typical Monsoon Drive was getting more exciting.

https://youtu.be/xsN6EJr6Fbk

Arrey-Warrey Road:

Our first Point-of-Interest (PoI) was Arrey Warrey Road that was super close to the coast line hugging the Arabian Sea on the other side. The day had just started and we were already excited to make stops and take clicks.

Stopped briefly over a bridge just before the main view point ahead:

And what was waiting ahead was mindblowing:

And here is how it looked as we approached the point, Arrey Warrey beach (end of the Video):

https://youtu.be/xFVPuH5svt4

And of course we had to stop to take few more clicks of our rides as usual.

The European beauties together:


Just the Laura alone, and it was indeed a superb click:


And why should the Ertiga and Linea not get the attention:


Perspectives & side profiles!



A lovely road ahead that awaits us:


The convoy:


Another box ticked, MSH4 (not entirely):


From a distance and up above with a breathtaking view:



From down under:


Time to crank and move ahead:

And the Jetty ride awaits as we proceed:

Into the ocean?

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The jetty ride at Jaigad:

All along MSH4, there are multiple ferry rides and what we did was the one connecting Jaigad to Tasaval:


After spending time at Arrey Warrey beach, we passed Ganapatipule and then towards the Jaigad ferry point. Dark clouds were darker ahead due an energy plant with super long & humongous chimney releasing smoke right into the clouds:

The surroundings were lush green, a signature shade of green that you mostly see in Maharashtra during rains:

In few minutes after passing this set-up we reach the Jaigad ferry point and it was indeed downpouring heavily:

https://youtu.be/lDC4B8pSiN4

Quick check at the counter, passed on the registration numbers of all 6 cars and No of occupants, Paid the amount (170/- for each car + 3 additional passengers = 1090/-) and then we wait for the Ferry to arrive. A quick chat with the cashier and he told us 10 cars can go in one shot and we need not worry and all will reach the other side together rather than wait for the next ride that is after every 1 hour.

Here are a few images captured while each of the 6 cars was getting settled on the ferry:

And that is how each car rested on the Ferry as it stacked up:

While we enjoy the ride standing and chatting:

And my Ertiga was the last one to enter and first one to get out, resting on the edge!

And capture a calm scene from a not to calm sea:

After 15-20 minutes of ride in the ferry, it was time to get out of it:

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Some customary clicks when we got a wide parking space after the ferry ride

Ended up bumping into Shiva Sathiraju who was driving from Hyderabad for the same event in his Fiat Palio s10 and this is why you see another Italian beauty in the convoy.

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Reaching the base camp for the event at Dhamani (Drive-Inn Restaurant, NH17):We proceeded from Tasaval Ferry exit towards Guhagar and then turned right towards a road leading to Chiplun where we will hit NH17 and start driving southwards again till Dhamani, Drive Inn Restaurant attached to HPCL.

The roads between Guhagar till Intersection with NH17 was simply amazing. Very less traffic and super clean roads all over:

https://youtu.be/l2XWHFqq6WU

We were all damn hungry and we had to stop. At Aboli town we spotted a typical small town Hotel right behind the Bus-stop and we pulled over.

This place turned out to be the most cheapest place we ever dined: 9 of us, Pooris, Vada Pavs, Phoha, Misal Pav, Special Chai with each one consuming all of these and the bill was mere 510/!

Hospitality at its best and how humble can people be is to be experienced in such places to see it’s a beautiful world not limited to star hotels. The owner of this Hotel asked us if we preferred less sugar in the Tea which he would have easily ignored anyway. Thank you, that was the best breakfast we ever had, tasted best in recent times and fresh too. The Vadas were steaming hot and the “accessories” like Groundnut Chutney, Chillies, and Onions were crisp.

Satya busy relishing authentic Maharashtrian breakfast:

As we proceed with our tummies full how can we forget clicking what we like to capture the most:



















Drives like these and incidents or close calls? Well, there was indeed one when this S-Cross driver day dreaming was almost going to head on towards me and that was a near miss:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKqRZALZyy4

We reach Drive-Inn at Dhamani on NH17 where rest of the attendees of the drive were already present while few others were about to reach and it was already around 11:15 then.

https://youtu.be/r61vJUf0rAA

...and then, the main convoy drive as part of the event follows

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The West India – Monsoon Drive event – 23rd July 2016

This was mostly to cater to travelers from Mumbai-Pune region but we decided to be there so that we get to drive as much farther as possible as the drive mattered more than the destination.

I don’t recall the exact count but there were easily 50 cars and couple of bikes participating for the main event including 6 of our cars that drove from Bangalore. It was approximately 75 kms for of drive passing some lovely scenic locations and plenty of waterfalls.

Since driving in a convoy of 50+ cars on a typical single carriageway was not something one would want to do and cause inconvenience to others, complete group was divided into sets of 7-8 cars with a convoy leader. I as usual lead the convoy with my own folks from Bangalore and 2 other cars – A Baleno Diesel from Bangalore and a Palio s10 that we encountered during the ferry ride.

The actual drive circuit started from Drive-Inn restaurant situated on NH17 at Dhamani and continued driving south and turned off left for Kosumb. We then passed Devrukh bypass and lunched at Hill Point Holiday Resort that served us some lovely Biryani and Desserts to satisfy our taste buds.

Post lunch we took the road ahead that intersected with NH17 and we turned left to drive towards Hathkhamba, passed Ratnagiri town entirely including the Sea Link Bridge and then reached Kohinoor Samudra Beach resort after Bhayte Beach.

Few pictures from the group drive as part of the main event:

Rains that had lashed this part of the region since a week wasn't merciful enough with water covering many low lying sections like these:

https://youtu.be/rn89VbpWB4g

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A separate post with picturesque locations that had a blend of Green carpet, Rains and colorful cars:

The resort was located atop a hill overlooking the Bhayte Beach of Ratnagiri and had a lovely view point to get a glimpse of hills and ocean together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxpV6PD2hfU

Hear the squeaky wipers that had run only 1500 kms since they were last replaced but had seen almost 1300 kms of rain. I replaced them back with a new pair once I reached home.

"Titanic View Point" as the resort called it:


Some lovely views from here - Hills, Vegetation, Road and the Ocean

The man behind the event - Kumar HV along with Jaison and his buddies:

The resort had rooms as well as 3 Bedroom Cottages and since we were part of one gang from Bangalore, we got a cottage for ourselves. After a quick shower we settled down chitchatting how the drive so far has been extremely lucky with lots of rains and lovely roads all over.

Dinner was arranged at the main Building in the reception block that served us typical Konkani cuisine with the best one being Modak for dessert.

We were back into our cottage by 23:00 and had a target to leave the resort at 04:30 next day for Bangalore. This was to ensure that we reached Bangalore early evening rather than drive along with weekend traffic.

The last leg to Bangalore is where this drive ends.....

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The most boring part of such drives - The drive back home

We woke up at 03:00 and were ready by 04:00 with each one of us cleaning the windscreens, ORVMs, and light clusters. At 04:30 all 6 cars left the Resort at Ratnagiri and it was a Home run now with the drive coming to end after another 12 hours and 750 kms!

We faced dense to little fog all though the ghats along with drizzle and rains as I let Satya pass in his Ciaz and I tail him. There was no doubts that his car had better lights including the recently installed Osram LEDriving Fog light along with the OE projectors.

Speedsatya overtaking me at Amba to lead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H54PuMkPnaw

At the start of Amba ghats we witnessed dense fog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXr13XgNYY

We missed the beauty of Amba Ghats under the shield of darkness which was yet to recede with the brightness of Dawn. However, we didn't miss some moments on road where we encountered morons like this fellow.

Hazards on, Bad lane discipline, not giving way to overtake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkXL2lNzcWU

Here is a dashcam grab of a section between Amba Ghats and Panhala as the Dawn brightened up, I rolled down and enjoyed the wind:

https://youtu.be/JSum9-2MDBQ

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Our target was to cross Kolhapur before 07:30 and with timely departure from Ratnagiri, we managed to do that without a fuss.

I and Satya were pretty fast on Amba Ghats and enjoyed the drive with almost zero traffic and we ended up reaching Kolhapur with 10-15 minutes gap from the rest.

Pulled over here for a reason, the board in vernacular caught our eyes with milestone indicating 133 kms back to Ratnagiri:

In the next few minutes, rest of the cars arrived one after the other and we indicated them to keep driving so that we can now sweep the group. We asked each one of them to wait soon after the first toll after hitting NH4 at Kognoli.

BPCL COCO from here was less than 5 Kms ahead and that was our standard location to refill as rates are cheaper here compared to MH:

This tank would now last all the way to destination (570 kms) with the cruising speeds that we stick to.

Post refueling it was time to stop for breakfast and the choice was straightfoward - "Amar-Only Veg" located at the base of Tawandi Ghats after Nippani town.

Captured just as we were nearing the right handed curve where Amar was located on the other side of the median:

Under normal circumstances with just one car, it is easy to proceed with caution to reach this hotel at other side of the median.

However, we were 6 cars and taking a right here meant we do this one by one and that would create a long queue waiting on the fast lane on a very fast right handed curve towards Bangalore. Additionally, vehicles approaching from the other side towards Pune were always fast due to the descent and crossing this fast moving traffic was a risky affair with 6 cars in tow.

It was simple, we decided to park ahead on the South bound corridor only and cross the road by walking and reach this hotel:

Breakfast was ordered with a variety of options - Misal Pav, Pineapple Sheera, Onion Uthappa and some hot tea:

Few candid shots as we walk back towards our cars after breakfast:

Road is our best friend we are very close to it :

Post breakfast it was the handiwork of our official lensman Vivek Nair to play around with his gear:

Since Jaison's co-passengers were travelling this side for the first time, we stopped by in front of Vidhana Soudha on Belgaum bypass for capturing few pictures:

We are now 430 kms to home and then we cross this 30 Kilometers single carriageway that now charges 61/- as one way toll!

Post Haveri, Speedsatya called me to ask the location of the Speed camera (interceptor) around Davanagere. I clearly informed him about their "strategic" location and he ensured rest of them followed the 80kmph limit here.

Co-incidentally, As I was on Davanagere bypass, I spotted a white Palio SDX merge onto the National Highway and as soon I noticed the driver it was none other than my Bhpian friend Klub_Class.

He could somehow identify my Ertiga quite instantly and pulled over and I followed. We exchanged some pleasantries and continued ahead. It was nice meeting you KC and the co-incidence coudn't have been any precise at all.

The Lunch break at a Dhaba:

Since we were all boys and had zero compulsion on specific eateries, this time we ignored Apoorva resorts and pulled into a Pure Vegetarian Dhaba between Davanagere and Chitradurga.

We ordered an assorted dishes and boy the food tasted wonderful. Looking at 6 cars parked at this place, suddenly we noticed few other Bangalore bound cars make an entry and join us too. I guess we ended up "referring" customers to this dhaba .

All ready and another 230 kms to home:

Each one of us reached home between 16:30 - 17:00 and that was bang on target. Not much traffic except Tumkur to Nelemangala as usual where each one is in a hurry to reach home. Glad we were not part this race that would have intensified had it been a hour or two later.