[arun_josie]

A monsoon drive to MH during monsoon season has become an annual ritual for us few motorheads. This is happening for the past few years but the pandemic put a stop to this for two years. We resumed this tradition this year after the hiatus and it was a glorious monsoon drive.

We usually pick a region in MH for these monsoon drives because of its green carpet landscape. This time we thought about a change and considered KA and KL but, the discussion eventually returned to MH, after all, it allows us to drive a lot more which we all motorheads love to. To kickstart this plan, the dates were finalized well in advance so that everyone had enough time to plan their leaves/PTO accordingly.

Once the dates were finalized, the next agenda on the discussion was the destination. This job was handed over to paragsachania and speedsatya who are our MH experts . Of course, HVKumar has been an integral part of our monsoon drives all these years. So, we had a long discussion with him too on possible route and destination options. After multiple discussions, we concluded that we drive to Ganpatipule and then drive south towards Malvan taking the coastal state highway. During our earlier edition of Monsoon drive, we had driven North of Ganapatiphule while we decided to drive south this time.

With dates and destination finalized, next on discussion was the head count. Usually, it used to be 7-8 cars and 10-12 people. But this time, it was different. Apart from the regulars, we had lot of friends of the regulars who showed interest in joining. The more, the merrier. The numbers started going up in no time and reached to 16 cars and 30 people which we never expected. This would be our biggest head count till date for a monsoon drive.

[arun_josie]

Now, the biggest question became logistics. How do we handle 16 cars and 30 people?

None of us are event managers or have experience of handling 16 cars and 30 people on a 1700 Kms – 2000 Kms drive. So, this posed a new challenge for us.

Some of the challenges that we could foresee were,

1. To make a reservation for 30 people at one hotel/resort.
2. The hotel should have good parking space to accommodate all the cars
3. While crossing small towns with narrow roads, 16 cars can easily create traffic and might irritate the locals.
4. Parking space at places where we stop for Breakfast/Lunch
5. Food service at hotel will take time
6. Fueling will take time
7. Managing the expenses and keeping track of it

What plans were made to manage?

1. We handed over the booking to HVKumar. He helped us by booking two resorts (one in Ganpatipule and one in Malvan) just for us. Both were close to the beach and had no issues with parking 16 cars.
2. HVKumar also helped us to tune the route better and loaded the routes in his Routo app. This was very helpful.
3. Instead of a 16-car convoy, we planned to split into multiple convoys based on the route/traffic conditions.
4. Only stop at hotels with good parking space.
5. Decided to have a Walkie-Talkie in each car so that communication will be easier.
6. Multiple options for refueling

[arun_josie]

Here are the guidelines that was shared with all the participants,

Driving etiquettes:

1. Ensure that your car is in fit condition for the drive – Brakes, Tires, all lightings, wipers should be in good condition before the drive

2. Stick to the timings – If you are late, you can catch up with us while we stop for a break. We will not wait for you, but you will have to catch up with us. This will help all of us reach our destination on time

3. No over speeding –A soothing 100-110 KMPH cruising range always sets the right rhythm and is often carefree, enjoyed the most and above all safest

4. If you want to drive fast - Wait for us at the next toll booth or a major turn from the main road

5. Stick to the left, always – The left lane is the safest for our roads. No right lane driving at all unless overtaking or other unavoidable situations

6. No bullying or indulging in road rage- Respect the road and other road users. Ignore the bullies and move on

7. Drive safe - Indicate a speed breaker 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)

8. No Driving under influence – The driver of each car shall strictly follow this and under no circumstances will be driving under influence

9. You are the decision maker – Those tailing you will 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

10. No tailgating – Please avoid following the vehicle ahead of you too closely and always maintain safe distance. Do not get carried away that the car ahead of you in your convoy will always take the right decisions. Hence, maintaining a safe gap always helps

11. Park it right - 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. 16 cars mean at least 100 meters. 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 flow of traffic gets disturbed

12. Allow non participant cars to overtake – Do not hold back traffic that wants to overtake you with the apprehension that they will intrude into the convoy. Please let them pass. This applies to each of the cars including the leader and sweeper cars.

13. Agreement on breaks - Based on your car’s range, we will share the possible points to refuel and also to fill up your bellies too

14. Avoid stopping for pictures - Unless planned as per routing or communicated within the group or broadcasted via walkie talkies, please avoid stopping for pictures and delay the convoy. We have planned adequate stops for photoshoots

Things to carry and other readiness:

1. Documents – Carry all valid and original documents including emission test certificate (for once, good to check the validity of your DL which we often ignore checking)

2. ID cards – May needs this at the places we will check-in or any other purpose where identity needs validation

3. Basic First Aid Kit – Each car to carry First Aid Kit for emergency purposes

4. Vaccination certificates – Keep softcopies of your double dose vaccination certificate handy to show if we are stopped on the road or even while checking in at the hotels

5. Chargers – For your phones and other devices, do not forget the chargers

6. Fastag Balance – Ensure to have adequate usable balance in your Fastags (at least 2000 INR)

7. Water bottles – Carry enough stock for your own drinking water needs

8. Windscreen wipe- along with newspapers and cleaning spray

9. Avoid carrying liquor – We will be 16 cars and that means we will attract attention each time we cross a check post or a barricade. We will also be solo in most cars. This will give easy hints to cops/authorities to dig into our baggage and hence waste our precious time. Better to avoid carrying liquor and we can always buy some before hitting the destination

10. Tubeless Puncture Repair Kit – Each one of you shall have a tubeless puncture repair kit in your car. Given the fact that we will drive early hours and also take some internal roads, this kit will come in handy

11. Inflator – Though most of us will carry one, please have your own inflator to address low pressure or puncture situations in your car’s tires

12. Wheel Jack and Spanner – Before starting the journey check for the presence of wheel jack and wheel spanner in your car. At times we end up forgetting them if they were used earlier and were not placed back in the car

13. Umbrella and Jacket – Needless to say, these will need to be there for the monsoon drive

14. Install Splitwise App- Request everyone to install Splitwise App on your phone to include, track and settle the expenses:
• For iOS - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/splitwise/id458023433
• For Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...plitwiseMobile

General guidelines:

1. Keep checking WhatsApp group for broadcast messages – We will create a temporary group before the drive with only the attendees and will use this to broadcast important messages. Keep checking them regularly during the drive and each car can assign one person to respond and if you are driving solo ensure safety of your own before responding

2. Route Details – To ensure that one doesn’t end-up taking an alternate route suggested by Google, we will provide you end to end routes with via points on whatsapp group that you will merely need to load on your maps and follow

3. Inform your dear ones before hitting a no coverage area – We will cross many sections where there will be zero mobile coverage.

4. Communication via Walkie Talkies – We will arrange Walkie Talkies and will use them as before, to communicate important messages or warnings or route information. Keep attention to the communication on the walkies talkies while driving. We will mostly end up using them in areas where the mobile signals are weak or not available

5. Share Live location – Ensuring that your phones are fully charged or you have sufficient back-up for charging, one occupant from each car will share their live location after the start of the journey in WhatsApp group that we will create exclusively during the Monsoon Drive. This will help us track location of all the cars

6. Payment of bills during the trip – We will come up with a roster in terms of taking turns to pay the common bills for food and hotels. The roster will be shared via appropriate communication channels. Upon completion of the trip, the final expenses will be shared, and we will all settle our dues within 19th July 2022

[arun_josie]

Route to be taken:

Our objective always is to try different routes wherever it is possible. So, this time we decided to take Tilari ghats during the onward journey to Ganpatipule and then Phonda ghat during the return from Malvan. We had not taken these two ghat roads in our previous monsoon drives.

Car Preps:

We made sure all documents were in place and also got the tyres, wheel alignment and wheel balancing checked. Some had to change tyres, some got the service done as well. For me, I got the WA and WB done. However, on the day before the drive, the right rear tyre was flat. So, I inflated that tyre to 30 PSI and monitored for pressure drop but there was no drop. I still took it to the nearby puncture shop. They did a thorough check but found no puncture. They checked the valve and found a minor leak. So, I got it replaced. I filled the tank as per usual.

Also, a day before we collected the walkie-talkies from the vendor and made sure all were working.

[arun_josie]

Day 1:

The destination for Day 1 was Ganpatipule. As always, we prefer starting early as it helps to cover more distance by breakfast stop without much stress. Also, since Bangalore - Dharwad (Breakfast Point) is a known stretch, it is easier to drive before sunrise than starting late and stretching the day beyond 6 PM which will put us in unknown territory after dark.

Meet, greet, and kick-off point

Meet, greet and kick-off point was at JAS (Nelamangala) toll @ 3:00 AM. This is 50 Kms from my place and we were 6 cars from my apartment. We started at 2:15 AM, hit the NICE road in a few minutes, and reached the kickoff point around 3:05 AM.

Monsoon Drive 2022 was kicked off. Walkie-talkies were distributed to everyone, and we proceeded. Late comers were asked to catch up on the way as it was a straightforward highway drive till the breakfast point.

At the meet point




To our enjoyment, it started drizzling at the meet point itself and continued to rain. As agreed earlier, we were at different speeds and didn’t give any hint to anyone that this is a convoy drive.

XUV5OO suffers a massive puncture:

Around Hiriyur bypass, one of the cars in the convoy, the XUV5OO suffered a massive puncture with a sidewall cut rendering the tyre completely unfit for the rest of the drive. As bad luck may have triumphed, even 2 of the lug nuts for this wheel got jammed (thanks to wherever it was serviced last). When this happened, it was 5:00 am and that meant we had to wait at least till sunrise for any help to arrive. We not only needed a puncture repair guy but also some expertise who would help remove the jammed lug nuts.

It was hence decided that the XUV5OO will get company of Thar while rest of the convoy proceeds as per plan and these 2 cars catch up with us later, which they eventually did only at the hotel we had checked in for Day 1 after replacement of the tyre with a new one.











Breakfast point @ Nandagokula Veg:

• This is around 411 Kms from the kickoff point.
• Some stopped in between for tea and some drove nonstop till the breakfast point.
• The traffic was minimal and we were able to cruise at good speeds. Also, it was drizzling or raining all through.

When a few stopped for a quick break



Lovely wet roads ahead






Nice capture of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha






First bunch of us reached the breakfast point by 7:45 AM

Waiting for our orders as the service was slow. But this gave us some time to catchup as we didn’t get much time to socialize at the kickoff point




We occupied the entire parking space. Big advantage was the IOCL COCO that is just next to this hotel






As expected, the service was slow as they didn’t have enough resources to handle a crowd of 30 people. By the time the last person finished the breakfast it was 9:00 AM. The delay didn’t bother us much as we had already crossed 450 Kms and we were well on time (this is the advantage of starting early).

There is a IOCL COCO right next to this hotel and there is also a BPCL COCO a little ahead. As planned already, many of us refueled here (some at IOCL and some at BPCL).

[arun_josie]

Drive to Tilari Ghats:

Now with both men and machines refueled, we were all set for the next destination which was Tilari Ghat view point.

The drive continued on the highways till Belgaum and then we exited from the highway towards Tilari Ghats. We were in multiple convoys to avoid traffic while crossing towns.

A nice click of the Hexa which joined us from Puttur (Near Mangalore)




White Elephant :-)



The famous Ertiga – 2,30,000 Kms on the ODO, really?! He can still drive all day without worrying about RSA.



Rapid making rapid strides



#DriveWithSoul



It was all two lane or one lane road from Belgaum to Tilari ghat.
The road conditions were a mix of bad to good roads despite the heavy rains in those areas. Most of this stretch was narrow.



Some bad roads along the way



The rains and wet roads kept us company all the way through





When one of the convoys stopped for a quick break



And when another convoy stopped for a break and to take few pics









Some water sports on the road



White Elephant’s turn to play with water



And the S-cross



And more



Dreamy captures





Keeping up with the White Elephant :-)







Another awesome capture

[arun_josie]

Tilari Ghats View Point:

This is an excellent scenic location with nice green landscape all around. We spent a lot of time here and it was drizzling and very misty most of the time. It was so windy so much so that we could see a reverse waterfall.

Reverse waterfall





A scenic view and spot



Picturesque!



The entire gang clicking selfies for their DP or enjoying this scenic location.



The machines chilling at the view point







Dark clouds gathering behind



A misty background



The sirens ready to paint the town red



Everyone trying to get the best angle of their machine



The entire group with cars





Some pics of the humans :-)



The Skoda gang





The Mahindra team (XUV5OO and Thar) reached Tilari ghat few hours after us. So, here are some more pics, Tilari Ghat view point @ Evening which they had captured:







Team Mahindra :-)

[arun_josie]

Cars @ Tilari View Point:

[arun_josie]

After spending enough time at this view point, we resumed the drive to our lunch point which was another two hours away. The ETA at lunch point was 2:00 PM.

Tilari Ghat View Point to Lunch Point (Hotel Viva Konkan)

The journey from Tilari point to the lunch point was awesome. The descent was steep and It was narrow with sharp hairpin bends. Engine braking was used for most of the descend as I was on first or second gear on some of the slopes. It would’ve been even more fantastic to climb on this ghat. Going from Belgaum side, we didn’t feel the climb much.

Lovely scenic stretch with a smooth tarmac












Lovely pic of the German





Time for the Porsche to play with water :-)







The Jeep family



A nice click of Kia Seltos while leaving the Tilari view point



And the Compass



The red babes :-)





Lunch at Hotel Viva Konkan:

Incidentally, our lunch stop was the same was we had stopped during one of the Monsoon drives earlier. It is ideally located on NH66 (erstwhile NH17)where you merge with the NH after descending Amboli or Tilari Ghats.

• They had both Veg and Non-Veg Thali
• No fish, thanks to recent rains and hence it was just chicken
• Food was decent and service was not bad either. Of course, when 30 people barge in, the orders take some time to arrive.

Lunch point to Ganpatipule:

This route has some excellent scenic 4 lane roads,

• Banda (NH66) to Rajapur – 4 Lane work is completed with minor pending sections, unmarked speed-breakers on completed sections on ghats to slow you down (average upto 75-80 kmph)

• Rajapur Lanjha Hathkhamba Nivali – Incomplete 4 lane work, lots of diversions either badly marked or unmarked, moderately bad to bad sections on regular basis (average drops to 30 kmph)

• Nivali Chafe Ganapatiphule – Mix of good to very good roads








When a convoy stopped for tea.



Lovely pic of the Rapid



And one more



Puttur boys in Tata Hexa



Scarlett





The last few Kms to Ganpatipule is a lovely stretch, nice smooth tarmac with some curvy and straight stretches.

Here is a small clipping of the same,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm_A7vFEmh0&t=129s

Our halt for Day 1 was at a resort on the outskirts of Ganapatipule town.
We reached the resort booked by HVK by 6:00 PM









- The entire resort was booked for us
- Good parking space
- Good spacious AC rooms
- Closer to the beach
- Good food and excellent service by these folks
- The owner was very friendly and accommodative

Of course, staying with friends means unlimited fun :-). We had a fantastic stay here.

[arun_josie]

Day 2:

We started the day with the breakfast at the resort. The plan for the day was to take the coastal route (MSH4) all the way to Malvan through Vijaydurg Fort and Devgad.

It started raining right from beginning making it difficult for us to stop at scenic locations and spend time exploring. But we were not complaining, after all we were chasing the rains. Here are few pics which were taken along the way and during our stops.

The early risers who went to the beach





Towards Arrey Warrey:







The Kia leading the Jeeps











Lovely capture of the Thar



Cheetah – there was no looking back after the initial puncture incident





A stop along the beach for some pictures and to enjoy the scenic location.








Lovely Beach





Trailhawk at the picturesque view point












Some group pics




Team Porsche. The rightmost guy, Jaison was our rescue driver, he kept shuttling around to different cars to take over whenever anyone wanted a break from the driver’s seat. :-)






Part of Team Ananda – My apartment friends








The man behind most of the wonderfully impeccable captures, Vivek Nair

[arun_josie]

Jaigad Fort:

At the parking





Entire team with a guide explaining the history of this fort







Some of us decided to stay put while other went with the guide to learn the history of this fort



Here are some lovely pics of this Fort





























Lunch @ Hotel Mayuri



This hotel is closer to the fort. This hotel is run by a family. The husband and wife cooks the food and their kids served the food. They had both Veg and Non-Veg. Great food with the home-cooked feel. Again due to our numbers, the service was little slow.

[arun_josie]

A Photo-shoot of the convoy:

After lunch we started towards Malvan and on the way we stopped for a photoshoot of the convoy. Since this was not planned in advance, we missed the Kia boys in this pic.

















Google maps captured our convoy as bad traffic





A small clipping of this convoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swwKU8nrIEo

Devgad Windmill Garden:

This was in our plans but due to time constraints we decided to skip this. However, one from our gang who started little early from the lunch place to refuel, visited this location. After seeing the pics later, we felt that it was a very scenic location and we missed it.







When the Kia went on a detour












The last stretch towards Malvan. Nice roads with smooth tarmac

The Jeep convoy

[arun_josie]

Stay for the 2nd night at a beach resort in Malvan:

• This complete resort was booked for us
• Clean and very spacious rooms
• It felt like a KL setting with campus full of coconut trees and beach next to it
• Delicious food
• Excellent Service
• Good parking space.

This resort was full of coconut trees





Some of us refueled here









Had fun playing around in the beach. This is a drive-in beach but due to the inclement weather, cars were not allowed to enter. It rained heavily during our stay.

[arun_josie]

Day 3 (Malvan – Phondaghat – Nipani - Bangalore):

The plan was to start by 4:30 AM so that we can reach Bangalore early and avoid the Sunday evening rush on the highway. However, we were slightly delayed and started by 4:45 AM

Also, due to a comedy of errors, one convoy ended up taking the Amboli ghats instead of the Phondaghat. We were connected on the Walkie-Talkies but still one convoy missed it. Nevertheless, they enjoyed the drive through Amboli ghats.

Scarlett all set for the return journey



The Convoy





The drive via Phonda ghat was good but it was a mix of good and bad roads. This route has a fair amount of truck traffic as well but since we were very early, we didn’t face too many slow-moving trucks.

Some stretches after Phonda ghat was in a real bad shape. Every nut and bolt in the cars would’ve been thoroughly tested.







Here is one of those bad stretches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkYRF1Q8hnk

Here is the convoy that took Amboli route





Bad roads here too



Breakfast Stop at Hotel Amar Only Veg:

Both the set of people who took Phondaghat and Amboli reached at the same time.

• No issues with the parking space here
• Good food
• Clean toilets
• Quick service

After a hearty breakfast, we resumed our journey. We had to deal some bad stretches on the highway. We kept up the speed and some stopped for refueling based on their range.

Lunch stop @ Jai Hind, Sira:

Initial plan was to stop at Davanagere for lunch but since we were quicker than planned, we stopped at Jai Hind, Sira for lunch.



Some skipped lunch and this was our final meet point. After a nice lunch, we said our goodbyes so that everyone can drive back according to their convenience.

Overall, this was an excellent drive and a much-needed one for the regular monsoon drive gang. After the 2-year hiatus, it was good to be on the road during the rains. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it, be it the planning or the drive or the stay at the resort or clicking pics or the funny discussions over walkie-talkies, it was fun filled trip.

And a big thanks to HVKumar for assisting us with the logistics. Without his involvement, we wouldn’t have found the resort/stay booked just for us. We would have been split across multiple hotels, sharing the space with strangers. Having the entire facility booked for our group let us relax and be ourselves during the stay. The food and service in both the resorts were good. And even though we could have taken our own routes, he loaded his routes in the Routo app for our convenience. It has more information than what we look for. It was very helpful and he was in touch with us as well throughout the trip.

Thanks to paragsachania for all his efforts too. Communication is a challenge when you are in a big gang, when everyone has their own thoughts on route to take and places to visit and activities to experience. Parag was in charge of handling all the communication and he did an excellent job. He is the one who came up with the detailed guidelines shared above in this travelogue and also kept updating the group about the next stop / destination / fuel station etc. Not only that, he handled the expense report as well. I am always a fan of his documentation. Even a corporate travel agent will lose to him.

And many thanks to speedstaya, the most active member in the planning group. His inputs have always been very valuable. He is the one who makes sure that everyone is taken care of be it at stay/stop or while on the move.

Thanks to Vivek Nair for all the awesome pics.

Everyone in the group was very supportive to make this a very successful trip. So, a big thanks to each and everyone for the great camaraderie and the memories. This trip will be remembered fondly for a long time to come.

[Aditya]

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