[kiran_aithal]

I read the awesome travelogue from Dr.AD and was patiently waiting for your side of the story, expecting neatly segregated and well laid out topics, beautiful pictures, and all.
This is more than my expectation. Truly Amazing! FANTASTIC.
And the way 3GT behaved is commendable. Gives me more confidence of planning such road trips in my Bimmer.

[ninjatalli]

Loved and connected with the post on homestays the most, amidst such a great travelogue (still need to finish reading it). I don't think the true experience of living with local folks can ever be explained, it has to be experienced. And no two experiences are same, and in a weird manner, nor are they different.

Prior to our Sri Lanka trip, the recent stays on our past trips has been resorts that boasted something great - coffee estates, beach front cottages and what not. But we are sold on homestays so much now and I feel the same message coming from your thread @graaja.

Kudos on your trip. One part you or @Dr.AD haven't been able to put in words is the fun of driving from South India to East India - and still I'm 100% sure that must have been a helluva of experience, a core enjoyable part of this trip, especially when you have the company you enjoy. Reading/understanding this, now I'm getting the itch to do a week long cycling trip that was in the plans since ages, just to get back on the road (lol).

[graaja]

Originally Posted by androdev

Amazing travelogue @graaja! Waking up to see all those yummy food photos is not helping though!
...Now the tourism and transport ministries have been taken over by the home ministry :-)

Thank you for the kind words androdev. I think the best way to involve the home ministry is to have family as part of the trip. If family does not like spendng long hours in the car, we should plan for them to fly in and join for the sight seeing part and enjoy the driving part ourself. That will be a good compromise. I plan to do this for the next long road trip next year.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Wow! What an amazing travelogue graaja!
...I feel like a guy who went to a movie, but got out and came back back home in the interval. And then heard about what great action the movie had in the second half from his friends.

Thanks a lot for the kind words AD. We had some great time together on the road. I made a lifetime of memories on the first part with you. During the Meghalaya part we missed you and Robi and used to remember you guys almost every day during our ventures. Next time, let us plan to do some trip where we get to do exploration part as well.

Originally Posted by megazoid

Thanks for the comprehensive writeup graaja. Brought memories flooding back!

...Its just sad that the only admirer he had was me. I was a tad worried that he would catch a cold but graaja is made of tougher stuff and pulverized the cold waters.
...
Leaving you with a little bit of the paradise

Thanks a lot for the kind words Hari. And thanks a lot for the wonderful comapny and the good times we had the past two weeks. I did notice the worried look you had when I jumped into water whenever I had a chance. I am also thankful that I did not catch a cold.

That is a wonderful video compilation of the paradise we spent time in.

Looking forward to many more such trips.

Originally Posted by abirnale

This is mother of all travelogues! The most detailed, most fun and extremely important - loads of car pictures! You made my day!

Between you and Coach, I see a jugalbandi on best writing! You guys are just awesome!

Thanks a lot for the kind words VP. AD's narration is another level that is poetry. I will never be able to match that

Originally Posted by FuelInjector

Both you and Dr AD are vying for the top spot in travelogue writing...
I still say, my favourite is the sunrise pics

Thanks a lot for the kind words FI We had a chance to view some amazing sunrises during this trip, and sunsets were very rare.

Originally Posted by shady_lawyer

A wonderful thread.

Wei sadong, was known only to the local till a few years back. Is that path still as mental as it was? Cut bamboo, shoved into make steps?

I hope when walking to U Mawryngkhang, you were told the story, and why he became the king of stones. There are so many stories in ML, a magical paradise.

Thanks a lot for the kind words. Yes. The path to Weisadong is made of bamboo sticks shoved into the ground to make crude steps and quite steep as well. It was quite an adventurous hike to the falls.

No. I was not aware of the story behind Mawryngkhang. I will look it up in Google.

Agree about the abundance of stories part. The story about Nohkalikai falls was very sad. I have actually toned down the story for this travelogue!

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

...Truly Amazing! FANTASTIC.
And the way 3GT behaved is commendable. Gives me more confidence of planning such road trips in my Bimmer.

Thank you so much for the kind words. Yes. BMWs are reliable machines. If you are careful on bad roads and take care of basic things like getting oil service done before a trip, maintaining proper tire pressure, taking potholes carefully, they can take you to lots of places without worry. Looking forward to your trips with your Bimmer.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Loved and connected with the post on homestays the most, amidst such a great travelogue (still need to finish reading it). I don't think the true experience of living with local folks can ever be explained, it has to be experienced. And no two experiences are same, and in a weird manner, nor are they different.

One part you or @Dr.AD haven't been able to put in words is the fun of driving from South India to East India - and still I'm 100% sure that must have been a helluva of experience, a core enjoyable part of this trip, especially when you have the company you enjoy. Reading/understanding this, now I'm getting the itch to do a week long cycling trip that was in the plans since ages, just to get back on the road (lol).

Thank you for the kind words Ninja. Yes. The homestays give us more opportunities to understand the culture and lifestyle than staying in resorts. I enjoyed this part the most during this trip.

As you mentioned, it is very difficult to put in words the joy we had in driving the car through all the states through varying terrains and different roads (good and bad). That can only be experienced.

Looking forward to your cycling trip.

[mallumowgli]

Should have expected nothing less from you but this has surpassed expectations. Dr AD and you are trying to outdo each other as FI says in the earlier post. Simply great, coach

[graaja]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Should have expected nothing less from you but this has surpassed expectations. Dr AD and you are trying to outdo each other as FI says in the earlier post. Simply great, coach

Thank you so much for your kind words

[fluidicjoy]

Loved reading through every part of this journey and it was beautifully complimented with inspiring, elegant photos of your vehicles. Your blue BMW has been a delight to the eyes even before I became a member on this forum. Hoping to read and relive many more intricate road trips in your cars, with your dear friends. I look forward to a time when I can plan and enjoy such road trips with my car too!

[catchjyoti]

Epic tour with some wonderful tour partners Graaja! Just to imagine the climates, vistas, food and cultural changes that you all would have gone through in this tour is amazing.

As we come to know each other better we will become a better country!

[gururajrv]

This is by far the best & most detailed-long travelogue I’ve read through! Attention to detail is just next-level, sir!

By the way, your car looks gangster in this picture - it’s either the setting / the car or even both along with the skills of the photographer which has brought the best out of a crazy looking car and stands as my favorite in this travelogue:

[JoshMachine]

Phew! A 24-day road trip that a large majority of us can only dream of.

Firstly, congratulations are in order to be able to pull off such a grand journey.

Liked the absolute attention to details and humility of your experiences. Kudos

[vikispeaks]

Awesome travelogue and an even awesome photologue. From the time Dr.AD posted the trip details I was eager to have a look at the entirety of the journey and this did not disappoint.

This is one eager machine, a drool-worthy one at that. This is the one car that might make me a Petrol convert just reading about it and looking at it.

The right practical first choice solution for Indian driving conditions if it was supposed to be a premium one. The roads it had taken are some of the astonishing I have seen, probably because they were painted blue by a true blue BMW.

[arijitkanrar]

Amazing travelogue!! And amazing photos!
Brings back so many memories!

And you have beautifully put together the main aspects of travelling - sights,people,food.
It simply is amazing the experiences one has on the road. They teach you so much about yourself and others. And there is no other way of experienceing this but by being on the road.

And amazing steed and company you had wih you! Would've been the trip of a lifetime!


We did Meghalaya in Dec 2019 and I will not hesitate in saying that its one of the most pristine places we've ever been too!
Everything about Meghalaya is just magical. The best way to experience it is to go beyond the normal tourist circuit which you did! Hats off to you on that!

I remember when we were planning our itinerary for Meghalaya, Wei Saw Dong falls was not even considered as we found very few references to it. Only at the Arwah caves parking lot while having tea were we told about Wei Saw Dong by another couple and a few locals. We were supposed to return back to Shillong that evening but decided to go the extra mile and check out Wei Saw Dong. Boy were we surprised! The falls looked so good and the whole experience was right out of some dream. The trek down was difficult (how is it now?) but the place is worth every bit of the effort!

Thank you for bringing back the memories!

Wishing you many more years of amazing journeys!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Loved reading through every part of this journey and it was beautifully complimented with inspiring, elegant photos of your vehicles.
...
I look forward to a time when I can plan and enjoy such road trips with my car too!

Thank you so much for the kind words! I am sure you will enjoy such road trips soon. Wishing you all the best.

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

Epic tour with some wonderful tour partners Graaja! Just to imagine the climates, vistas, food and cultural changes that you all would have gone through in this tour is amazing.

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by gururajrv

This is by far the best & most detailed-long travelogue I’ve read through! Attention to detail is just next-level, sir!

By the way, your car looks gangster in this picture - it’s either the setting / the car or even both along with the skills of the photographer which has brought the best out of a crazy looking car and stands as my favorite in this travelogue:

Thank you so much for the kind words.

That picture is one of my favorites too from this trip. It is mainly due to the dust, muck around the wheel arches, the low stance and the angle it has been photographed. Thanks for noticing this

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Firstly, congratulations are in order to be able to pull off such a grand journey...

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by vikispeaks

Awesome travelogue and an even awesome photologue. From the time Dr.AD posted the trip details I was eager to have a look at the entirety of the journey and this did not disappoint.

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by arijitkanrar

Amazing travelogue!! And amazing photos!
...The best way to experience it is to go beyond the normal tourist circuit which you did! Hats off to you on that!
...The trek down was difficult (how is it now?) but the place is worth every bit of the effort!

Thank you so much for the kind words. Full credit goes to Mrs. Megazoid who had planned the whole itinerary in Meghalaya.

Yes. The trek to the Weisadong falls is still tough. But the view of the falls makes it all totally worthy. I am really glad that you decided to stay back and visited this place. That is the mark of a true explorer.

[kraft.wagen]

This is an excellent travelogue coach. Enjoyed the short lines and pictures along. When are you travelling next?

[Hayek]

I started reading this travelogue with very high expectations (post Dr AD’s prelude) and I must say they have been surpassed. When you told me back in December you were heading to Arunachal, I was impressed - but this is not just Arunachal, it turned out to be a lot more. Am also impressed with how you and Megazoid managed to stick together all the way from Assam through Meghalaya, Siliguri and back to Bangalore in separate cars. Not that easy during highway driving and even tougher in very different cars. I must say I had never heard of Mirzapur before the Amazon Prime show - and I must admire your courage to take a 3GT there (assuming you have seen that serial). I half expected you might drive back through the coastal route - Calcutta and down the East Coast. Not sure how much longer it would have been - but it could have been quite an interesting way to end this journey. Waiting for your next trip, and hope to catch you in person sometime soon.

[TheCarLover]

What a EPIC drive and trip @graaja. I have gone through Dr. AD's travelogue and yours adds a nice finishing touch to it.

Reading your post was like a part 2 of a film that was directed and well crafted by 2 directors of a film

Your drive with the beemer has given me the confidence that I can take up this trip with my Octavia and a visit to Northeast India will definitely be a bucket list.

I hope we could do it together in the future.

WHAT AN AMAZING TRIP