[Max63]

wow, what a travelogue, Really enjoyed and glued it for the last 2-3 hours till I complete. Hats off to your family and specially the kids. The detailing were so nice, after reading this many of us would be excited to take such a long trip. Really its amazing to do 9K Kms in 20 days covering 1/3rd of our country except the East.

Look forward to much more details from you. One last question - what was the total cost for stay and food.

Cheers and keep revving

[blackwasp]

Awesome trip. I'm in awe. Finished reading in one sitting. Especially since it's a slow day in office.

I'm planning a North India trip for August and will be considering parts of your trip log for assistance. Just one question, how did the car manage over super bad roads? My little Fiat is Lower, but has stiffer springs. So far haven't scraped, but the mighty mountains are a different ball game all together.

[rowonfield]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Note of thanks:[b]

We had fun writing this travelogue. Although, writing this proved to be more challenging than the actual drive . This was a special drive and we will come back to this thread whenever we feel like reliving this drive. If you have read till here , thank you so much for reading this. Hope you enjoyed our travelogue.

I would like to congratulate you for exceptional travelogue by you and your family. I understand when you say that it was challenging to write travelogue than the actual drive, but it was written very clean and informative indeed which proves that you had fun while jotting it down.

Originally Posted by arun_josie

[b]Day 13: Kufri – Narkand – Hatu Peak (174 Kms):

You definitely had guts to get through the narrow terrains, and more than you your family because the passengers are always more worried than the person who has the steering wheel.

Originally Posted by arun_josie

[b]Day 11: Manali - Solang Valley – Chail (259 Kms)

This was very cute  I wondered you could have brought the snowball home if you had cooled glove box like in Maruti Brezza, Nissan X-trail or Chevrolet Captiva, Just kidding

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All noted issues corrected.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by qr20de

@arun_josie: Dude, first of all, your travelogues are AMAZING! Exactly what they should be; important highlights, key facts but most importantly abundant with photos. Incredible. You've captured incredible moments of your life.

I look forward to reading more from you and good luck with the forthcoming trips! I think you need to be a brand ambassador for Indian Tourism.

Thanks a lot for your very kind words, qr20de. Yes, this is one memorable trip of our life. And thanks a lot for your wishes too.

Originally Posted by MS_Auto

Arun,

I went thru your entire travelogue and loved the attention to detail.
Would like to mention that it was definitely resourceful and also engrossing.

Just spent about 2.5-3 hrs reading thru the entire experience and it was enthralling.

Your car also kept up with your spirits on the trip and this one surely is a result of good up keep and timely maintenance.

Keep munching the miles.

God Bless.

MS_Auto, Thanks mate for the kind words. Yes, car maintenance is very important for frequent drives on highways or for such long drives.

Originally Posted by simplysaj

Hi Arun,

Awesome travelogue! Really enjoyed reading it. This could be a very helpful reference to many who wish to explore similar route.
Also puts a smile on my face as a Linea Owner!

I also cascaded it to our various Bangalore Fiat Groups (WA)

Thank you simplysaj for your words. Linea is a great car for such drives.

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Arun,

Kudos to you and your family for taking this trip by road all the way from Bengaluru.

I visit McLeodganj/Dharamshala once in every 3 months. When I went for the first time, I too took the temple road and it was a very challenging drive up hill. There is another route which takes you to Mcleodganj from Dharamshala, its wider and goes through the cantonment area. For Naddi, you need not cross Mcleodganj if you take the other route.

Whats on your list next after Himachal and Uttarakhand for another 8/9,000 kms drive?

Thank you Sinharishi. Yes, the temple road was very challenging and I made sure to take the other route during our return. We wondered how the people in these areas will learn driving because there is no scope for any mistake.

Yet to think about our next drive. Leh/Ladakh is something I want to do. And same with Eastern parts of our country too.

Originally Posted by hamster

The TL itself is very well narrated that I could see myself virtually being part of the trip too.

Kudos to you for that .

I specially love your travelogues for the last pictures of our native, which kindles the nativity in us. Many thanks for that.

Rated 5 stars

hamster, Thanks mate. No matter where we go in this world, our homebase remains our pivotal point.

Originally Posted by Max63

wow, what a travelogue, Really enjoyed and glued it for the last 2-3 hours till I complete. Hats off to your family and specially the kids. The detailing were so nice, after reading this many of us would be excited to take such a long trip. Really its amazing to do 9K Kms in 20 days covering 1/3rd of our country except the East.

Look forward to much more details from you. One last question - what was the total cost for stay and food.

Cheers and keep revving

Thanks a lot Max63!
Food expense was around 1K per day and the average hotel stay for 16 days came to 2500/-

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Awesome trip. I'm in awe. Finished reading in one sitting. Especially since it's a slow day in office.

I'm planning a North India trip for August and will be considering parts of your trip log for assistance. Just one question, how did the car manage over super bad roads? My little Fiat is Lower, but has stiffer springs. So far haven't scraped, but the mighty mountains are a different ball game all together.

Thank you blackwasp!
A 10Kms stretch on Dalhousie - Khajjiar was very bad but we didn't scrape anywhere. All we need is patience while driving on such roads, especially when taxis are behind :-). Whenever I saw a impatient guy behind, I just let them go.

Best of luck for your trip.

Originally Posted by rowonfield

I would like to congratulate you for exceptional travelogue by you and your family. I understand when you say that it was challenging to write travelogue than the actual drive, but it was written very clean and informative indeed which proves that you had fun while jotting it down.

Thank you owonfield. Yes, it was fun writing this TL and more importantly, we can comeback here anytime to rekindle our memories.

Originally Posted by rowonfield

You definitely had guts to get through the narrow terrains, and more than you your family because the passengers are always more worried than the person who has the steering wheel.

This is one stretch along with the Mcleodgang route which we took, requires very good driving skills. We loved it and my elder one helped me with GPS to alert me on hairpin bends.

And its not possible to turn back once you enter the Hatu peak road. The first chance to take a "U" turn is only after 3-4 Kms. As I had mentioned, it was just 5-6Kms, but it tires you quickly. A very different experience this was.

This was very cute  I wondered you could have brought the snowball home if you had cooled glove box like in Maruti Brezza, Nissan X-trail or Chevrolet Captiva, Just kidding

[Subroto Bhowmik]

Wow! What an amazing travelogue! It must have taken me more than 2 hours to read the entire post and to soak in the beautiful pictures shared. Kudos to your wonderful travel happy kids and wife without whom such trips wont be possible. Even I and my family love travelling and have covered most of the places mentioned in your travelogue albeit in separate trips since I & my wife will never get 20 days leave at a stretch! Also I never mustered enough courage to self drive, instead I used to hire vehicles & let the driver do all the driving while I enjoy the drive and take innumerable pics and videos. Indeed India has so many wonderful places to visit that you dont run out of holiday options. Only regret is that the infrastructure like roads, public toilets, disaster management is still in stone age as compared to the developed West! Still India rocks and hope to read many more interesting posts from your id. I relieved our Himachal, Rajasthan & Kanyakumari trips while reading this wonderful travelogue.

Cheers again to all 4 of you.

[itinerant]

[quote=arun_josie;4203024]

Thanks Krishna. Yes, driver needs support from the passaengers in such long drives and as mentioned above, it makes things easier as they love traveling.

I wish I can do two such trips a year.



This is so amazing. And inspiring in the sense that if such a south to north drive is possible, so should be north to south drives.

Reading the travelogue, I sort of assumed that you both were driving. But this comment suggests otherwise.

[rowonfield]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Thank you owonfield. Yes, it was fun writing this TL and more importantly, we can comeback here anytime to rekindle our memories.

You can always rekindle the memories for sure, Moreover I think this would have been a practical knowledge of History and Geography for your elder son and he could very well relate it when he is being taught about it in his history / Geography classes.

Similar kind of travel with nature with teachings is on my list for my daughter when she is a bit young to understand.

[patel8585]

Hi there, Super Trip and hats off for the super review of your entire trip. Take care.

[SafariMan]

Superb 5 star rated Travelogue. Kudos to all and specifically to the kiddies. Your detailing and explanations of a past instance talks wonderfully well about your passion for road trips. I got completely soaked in your travelogue and felt as if I was there every single day.

A question which propped up going through your travelogue was why didn't u take the Nagpur route while going and could have stayed for one night at Bandavgardh. Its a fantastic tiger reserve. I had done the same once and found it marvellous.

[maker_of_things]

Great writeup Arun! Rajasthan and Himachal are on my bucket list, will surely venture there one day.

I recently got a used Fiat Linea 1.4 Petrol as my first car with 48k km on the odo. I was in love with it since it was released, especially the one in Tuscan Wine colour. And that's the one I got.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Subroto Bhowmik

Wow! What an amazing travelogue! It must have taken me more than 2 hours to read the entire post and to soak in the beautiful pictures shared. Kudos to your wonderful travel happy kids and wife without whom such trips wont be possible.

Cheers again to all 4 of you.

Thanks a lot Subroto Bhowmik!

I agree, we have loads of wonderful places in India for us to visit. And, yes... we need a bit of daredevilry to make trips like these.

Originally Posted by itinerant

Reading the travelogue, I sort of assumed that you both were driving. But this comment suggests otherwise.

Thanks you itinerant.
Yes, I was the only driver during the trip

Originally Posted by rowonfield

You can always rekindle the memories for sure, Moreover I think this would have been a practical knowledge of History and Geography for your elder son and he could very well relate it when he is being taught about it in his history / Geography classes.

Similar kind of travel with nature with teachings is on my list for my daughter when she is a bit young to understand.

True that, certain aspects of this trip was almost like a history & geography lesson for my elder son.

Originally Posted by patel8585

Hi there, Super Trip and hats off for the super review of your entire trip. Take care.

Thanks you patel8585!

Originally Posted by SafariMan

Superb 5 star rated Travelogue. Kudos to all and specifically to the kiddies.

A question which propped up going through your travelogue was why didn't u take the Nagpur route while going and could have stayed for one night at Bandavgardh. Its a fantastic tiger reserve. I had done the same once and found it marvellous.

Thanks a lot for your kind words, SafariMan!
Our target was places in North and try to reach there at the earliest. And considering the summer weather, we didn't want to spend much time in other locations.

Originally Posted by maker_of_things

Great writeup Arun! Rajasthan and Himachal are on my bucket list, will surely venture there one day.

I recently got a used Fiat Linea 1.4 Petrol as my first car with 48k km on the odo. I was in love with it since it was released, especially the one in Tuscan Wine colour. And that's the one I got.

Thank you maker_of_things.

Tuscan Wine is a beautiful colour.

[Secretariat]

Great drive and trip and a travelogue that does full justice. Bravo Arun & family - this is a journey that will live in memory.

Thanks for sharing. As is usual with your travelogues, this will be bookmarked as a reference and quite a few will be motivated to follow your trail.

Please tell your elder son that we are missing the Karnataka bus big time. How could he miss clicking that ??

[Ryuu]

The seamless log of events that you have penned aside, the way you describe people during your sojourn at different places across the country restores faith in humanity.

Wonderful travelogue. I only wish I could travel as much as you can in your FIAT. I also own a FIAT. But its ergonomics and the associated backpain give me a hard time.

Regards,
Ryuu

[Avalanche2409]

Wow! Such an engrossing travelogue this one was. Spent my entire evening reading it. Kudos to you for taking on every challenge the mighty roads threw your way.

About the Hatu peak, I agree it's a tough nut to crack; becomes horrible on festive days with full traffic which is managed by the local police.

Got all nostalgic looking at the pictures, my village is just a few kms down the road from where you begun the Hatu climb. Would have loved to be your host for the evening if I were there.

Wishing you many more miles crunching on the stupendous MJD. Keep traveling, keep inspiring.

[PapaBravo]

Wonderful & Detailed travelogue there arun_josie !! From the mountains to the sea. Kids don't seem to get enough of snow it seems.

Keep traveling & Keep writing

Regards,

Pawan