[Jeevan Sukumar]

Amazing and very detailed Travelogue. Deserves 7 star rating. My heartiest congratulations for your envious achievement. Truly very helping one for me who eagerly awaits for my dream trip. I will certainly disturb you very soon for some more detailed explanations.

[Victor-whiskey]

Great write up sir, however I would like to point out something. Sir soldiers are always quoted as ‘martyred’ and not ‘killed’. Writing killed is a kind of disrespect. I would request if you could please change it. You have mentioned it under visit to Kargil memorial.
Regards

[tomraven99]

Great travelogue guys. Waiting for the Pso Moriri part. I am from Kottayam and did this trip before but I used the Bangalore-Pune-Mumbai-Udaipur route or the Mysore-Hiriyur route. Any specific reason why you guys took the Hyderbad route? Roads are bad around MH and night driving in MP is not very safe.

[catchdoon]

Nice Read.

It seems your pace was pretty slow.
I do Kargil to Leh in 3.45 to 4hrs with a single stop. Still 8hrs is too much to get to Leh, isn't it? Or you guys stopped every now & then.

Also just FYI, Pathankot to Kargil is doable in 14hrs

Also Kargil War memorial is in Drass because the Kargil War never happened in Kargil. It took place in Drass itself. The mountain ranges visible from the memorial were into Play.

Pl post more pictures. Let pictures do most of the talking along with your written content.

[VivOverland]

Tremendous trip, and your team seem to have been incredibly well-prepared, even by Team BHP standards! While your travelogue is so well detailed and covers the trip well; I was left hoping for more detail around the V-Crosses and how they fared over the course of the drive. If I'm correct, this is the first truck convoy travelogue on Team BHP.

Some questions come to mind:
1) Many people talk of the upright rear seat. Did you experience a problem?
2) How did the truck perform in quick twisty Himalayan roads, did you feel the risk of fishtailing?
3) Load factor wasn't an issue here, I guess each truck was carrying well under 500 kgs of supplies and parts etc. Any tips on packaging items, especially liquids once seals were opened?
4) Highway performance, were the trucks easy to drive for long stretches? What were the fatigue points when you did the +12 hour sections?
5) The stock engine is not a racer on the highway. Did you find that affected pace in the plains?
6) I noticed modded front bumpers in the convoy. Any questions from traffic police?

Please don't mind the many questions
I'm planning a similar albeit shorter version of your drive and any answers would be mighty useful! Kudos on the branding and T-shirts, a brilliant idea. Makes for special memories of the trip, that you can show off to the grandkids

[Flyer]

Congrats Jacs and team! Superb journey, Awesome pics. You guys have done some wonderful planning here. This thread can definitely be a reference to anyone attempting a similar trip in the future. Waiting for the next part.

I have one question. Did you guys have any difficulty in roaming around in Leh in your V-Cross? Any such issues (by taxi mafia) in Leh?

[Alton]

Jacs & team! You guys are splendid! Thanks for the detailed info.Keep it coming for the rest of the trip!

And by the way, you seemed to cross the Speed limit of 100KMPH on the ORR (outer ring road) in Hyderabad. And you have nailed it with a Pic

The Speedo shows 120KMPH

[cUjO]

This is truly awesome. Some more details on each of the vehicles including what mods they've each done on their trucks would be interesting. I'd love to also know the answers to the questions asked by VivOverland. Thanks for sharing the details of this amazing trip. Very inspiring for those who love to drive.

[SJM1214]

Excellent write up with very detailed information. Travelling with HVK(virtually) is always a great experience. Waiting for next update.

[rajeevn]

Excellent write-up and pictures, Jacs. This is really inspiring, and I can't wait for the rest of the trip TLOG to come rolling in.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by TheHkrish

Great going Jacs and Team, stunning J&K and Sonmarg photographs.
Did you encounter heavy rains in the hills during your journey ?, Thanks a ton again for the travelogue. Anxious for the next set of pics and travelogue..

Thanks buddy. Rains did not trouble us much. Only stretch where slush became an obstacle was Rohtang pass.

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

Great narration and lovely photos. Waiting for the rest of the travelogue.
Where did you procure the metal fuel jerry cans? I expect you did not need much of the supplies you took along, especially vehicle spares.

Thank you. Jerry cans were procured through a friend who was also supposed to travel along with us. Can share contact via PM. Supplies were used but minimal. Tools were useful to tweak small issues and also recovery kit helped many on road

Originally Posted by Jeevan Sukumar

Amazing and very detailed Travelogue. Deserves 7 star rating. My heartiest congratulations for your envious achievement. Truly very helping one for me who eagerly awaits for my dream trip. I will certainly disturb you very soon for some more detailed explanations.

Thank you Sukumar. You are most welcome.

Originally Posted by Victor-whiskey

Great write up sir, however I would like to point out something. Sir soldiers are always quoted as ‘martyred’ and not ‘killed’. Writing killed is a kind of disrespect. I would request if you could please change it. You have mentioned it under visit to Kargil memorial.
Regards

Thanks buddy. I stand corrected and shall correct this while adding the new episodes. Very valuable suggestion.

Originally Posted by tomraven99

Great travelogue guys. Waiting for the Pso Moriri part. I am from Kottayam and did this trip before but I used the Bangalore-Pune-Mumbai-Udaipur route or the Mysore-Hiriyur route. Any specific reason why you guys took the Hyderbad route? Roads are bad around MH and night driving in MP is not very safe.

Thanks. Busy office schedules delaying it but already working on the rest. All route suggestions were from HVK and we made sure we reach a safe destination before mid night. You are right on night driving but the convoy helps to some extend that too more confident while you are on a vehicle which is ready to tackle obstacles!

Originally Posted by catchdoon

Nice Read.

It seems your pace was pretty slow.
I do Kargil to Leh in 3.45 to 4hrs with a single stop. Still 8hrs is too much to get to Leh, isn't it? Or you guys stopped every now & then.

Also just FYI, Pathankot to Kargil is doable in 14hrs

Also Kargil War memorial is in Drass because the Kargil War never happened in Kargil. It took place in Drass itself. The mountain ranges visible from the memorial were into Play.

Pl post more pictures. Let pictures do most of the talking along with your written content.

Yes we were paced slow but that helped to avoid fatigue considering we had diverse gender and age group in team. More pics coming very soon.

Originally Posted by VivOverland

Tremendous trip, and your team seem to have been incredibly well-prepared, even by Team BHP standards! While your travelogue is so well detailed and covers the trip well; I was left hoping for more detail around the V-Crosses and how they fared over the course of the drive. If I'm correct, this is the first truck convoy travelogue on Team BHP.

Some questions come to mind:
1) Many people talk of the upright rear seat. Did you experience a problem?
2) How did the truck perform in quick twisty Himalayan roads, did you feel the risk of fishtailing?
3) Load factor wasn't an issue here, I guess each truck was carrying well under 500 kgs of supplies and parts etc. Any tips on packaging items, especially liquids once seals were opened?
4) Highway performance, were the trucks easy to drive for long stretches? What were the fatigue points when you did the +12 hour sections?
5) The stock engine is not a racer on the highway. Did you find that affected pace in the plains?
6) I noticed modded front bumpers in the convoy. Any questions from traffic police?

Please don't mind the many questions
I'm planning a similar albeit shorter version of your drive and any answers would be mighty useful! Kudos on the branding and T-shirts, a brilliant idea. Makes for special memories of the trip, that you can show off to the grandkids

Thanks buddy. Responses inline below.

1) Many people talk of the upright rear seat. Did you experience a problem?
Jacs : Rhino had four travellers and they did mention about it. They kept switching to avoid that. However for rest of us, we made use of the second row as a bed which worked well.

2) How did the truck perform in quick twisty Himalayan roads, did you feel the risk of fishtailing?
Jacs : Eagle had Ironmans installed and performed very well. Stock suspensions did not feel that confident in speeds.

3) Load factor wasn't an issue here, I guess each truck was carrying well under 500 kgs of supplies and parts etc. Any tips on packaging items, especially liquids once seals were opened?
Jacs : Yes. We used plastic containers as shown in pic so that any spills are contained within that.

4) Highway performance, were the trucks easy to drive for long stretches? What were the fatigue points when you did the +12 hour sections?
Jacs : Certainly you cannot sprint beyond 120 range. Drivability is better than cars due to upright seating position. Sitting erect in second row for longer durations aren't easy.


5) The stock engine is not a racer on the highway. Did you find that affected pace in the plains?
Jacs : That is one point coming up in new episodes. It perform well in plains but not in very high altitudes.


6) I noticed modded front bumpers in the convoy. Any questions from traffic police?
Jacs : Note the dates, we did it pre-ban

Originally Posted by Flyer

Congrats Jacs and team! Superb journey, Awesome pics. You guys have done some wonderful planning here. This thread can definitely be a reference to anyone attempting a similar trip in the future. Waiting for the next part.

I have one question. Did you guys have any difficulty in roaming around in Leh in your V-Cross? Any such issues (by taxi mafia) in Leh?

Jacs : Nope. We were expecting some issues but we were safe.

Originally Posted by Alton

Jacs & team! You guys are splendid! Thanks for the detailed info.Keep it coming for the rest of the trip!

And by the way, you seemed to cross the Speed limit of 100KMPH on the ORR (outer ring road) in Hyderabad. And you have nailed it with a Pic

The Speedo shows 120KMPH

Thanks

Originally Posted by cUjO

This is truly awesome. Some more details on each of the vehicles including what mods they've each done on their trucks would be interesting. I'd love to also know the answers to the questions asked by VivOverland. Thanks for sharing the details of this amazing trip. Very inspiring for those who love to drive.

Thanks Cujo.

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Excellent write up with very detailed information. Travelling with HVK(virtually) is always a great experience. Waiting for next update.

Thanks. Coming soon.

Originally Posted by rajeevn

Excellent write-up and pictures, Jacs. This is really inspiring, and I can't wait for the rest of the trip TLOG to come rolling in.

Thank you rajeev. Expecting to post Leh, Turtuk & Diskit soon.

[Caadmara]

Brilliant write-up, narration and photos Jacs! This has been one of my best post lunch reads on a rainy sunday afternoon :-). Loved the attention to detail and planning that went into the trip and your narration made me feel as though i was in one of the trucks. Well done and please do not make us wait too long for the remaining journey.

PS: Did the SAP consultant have anything to do with the extensive list of items you procured for the trip? Being an IT consultant myself I am acutely aware of how we sometimes "over provision" :-)

[pruthu9964]

Originally Posted by jacs

Day 5 : Tuesday, 4th July 2017

May be the first day I woke up without any alarms or wake up calls. Yes, it was just 5:05AM. Bimal and Manoj was also up by then. The excitement of setting foot in Jammu & Kashmir masked all the tiredness from previous day's long drive and late sleep. Weather was cool and fresh as we assembled near the trucks at 6AM. Route for the day has various excitements and may be the first active day on DSLR.
[b][b]
Pathankot (PB) - Udhampur(JK) - Chenani tunnel(JK) - Anantnag(JK) - Srinagar(JK)
Distance traveled : 346
Travel time (including breaks) : 15 hours

Hello Sir,

Congratulations to you and your team for achieving the above feat, it truly is a remarkable milestone.

Thank you for your detailed narration of this adventurous road trip, which we all dream to conquer at least once in a life time. But an even bigger thanks for being the gateway to my first (off many more to come) post in the forum.

Going through your travelogue was very informative and motivating too.

Having said that, I will now come to my main intention of this post other than to congratulate you and your team; which is, to seek few clarifications as to how feasible our plan (as detailed below) is:

Number of people : 8 (7 can drive)
Number of vehicles : 2 Nos. XUV5OO (2015-W4 from Zop rent, New Delhi)
Total Distance : approx. 3000km
Duration : 10 days
Dates : June 15 - June 24

My clarifications are:

1. Since there is a lot of unrest in Srinagar at present, we are planning to make small changes to our itinerary by skipping Amritsar and trying to reach patnitop/banihal JKTDC on Day-1. How feasible is this, considering we start from Delhi IGI by 5.30 AM

2. If we are not able to make it till Banihal, and decide to halt at Pathankot/Patnitop, how feasible is it to cross Srinagar and reach Kargil on Day-2.?

3. Any precautions we need to take while crossing Srinagar, as we intend to go through the city without any halts or sightseeing during the day time, preferably before noon on Day-2.

4. Will we be compromising a lot on places to see by targeting a 450km (14 hrs) drive from patnitop to kargil in a single day ? I have read in a lot of blogs that Srinagar to Kargil is very picturesque and better driven leisurely.


So, we will be really grateful if you could give your views on the above.

Thank you in advance.

[Jeevan Sukumar]

Hai Jacs, Your high voltage narration tempting me to take a long highway trip purely based on the information from your travelogue. So I am planning a trip to Agra during the last week of August(Onam Holidays) with my family (wife and two kids) in my most trusted Fiesta. I am exactly following your route and staying options during the trip up to Agra. Since this is my first trip beyond Karnataka & Tamil Nadu ( I have covered most of Tamil Nadu State in my fiesta) I have no clear idea about the exact road conditions in AP, Telangana, MP and UP. Hence kindly advice me about the exact road conditions up to Agra. So also I am planning to stay in the hotels where you were stayed during your trip. If the route is not so good for me (considering my vehicle is a sedan) kindly suggest some alternative routes.

[krish3]

Brilliant and comprehensive travelogue. I can use this as a guide when I plan my unfulfilled drive.

Its been more than a year since the trip and still incomplete!!! Waiting for the rest.