[silhor4549]

This is my first post after I become member of this wonderful family called Team-BHP, after applying and failing several times.

I am very poor in putting down my feeling on paper, I feel this is an art and not everyone have this talent specially me, so please excuse me for my poor writing skills.

Picture from a different road trip and Man of this match.


Looks amazing in this angle....


This time it was not planned trip its emergency, my wife was expecting and as per doctor the expected time for delivery was around first week of October-2021. She was with her parents at Hyderabad and I am at Bhubaneswar (Work and stay here). I was planning to travel to Hyderabad at the end of September and tickets for the same were booked but here comes the twist…….

On 19th September at around 7:00 pm I received a call saying she was rushed to hospital and asked me to start. I checked for flight tickets for next day and all are full and chances of getting tatkal train tickets are very low. The only option left was me driving down alone in my trusted companion Ford Ecosport -2019.

So without wasting any time I took approval from my father who without any hesitation said “drive safely”. I also informed my office about of my leave and started preparing.

I quickly packed all my stuff and checked availability of tire inflator and puncher kit in the boot, cleaned windshield, checked all fluids, tire pressure and started my journey at 10:30PM.

My fast tag balance was low tried to recharge but failed saying “reached maximum limit” and have to update my KYC for any further recharge, which was not possible at that point of time so decided to pay cash (Double at every tool plaza).

Rout planned: Bhubaneswar – Vizag – Vijayawada – Hyderabad.

My first stop was at local fuel station for fuel, withdraw some cash at nearby ATM and resume my journey.

I was excited as well as tensed, all I was praying is that everything goes well at hospital and realized that this is the only occasion where people goes to hospital happily hoping a new member will be accompany them while returning, so was I…

With all those thoughts (Of new member) in background I filtered through city traffic and crossed Khordha, I never prefer night driving but this time I couldn’t avoid so I maintained a slow speed of 50-80 KMPH. There were several diversions in this stretch (between Bhubaneswar and Vishakhapatnam) due to ongoing work.

I reached Berhampur at 3:00am and at this point I was feeling sleepy so stopped my car at road side Indian oil fuel station and requested the person to allow me to park my car and sleep for few hours, the gentlemen obliged and I took a power nap of three hours, though the plan was for only two hours.

I woke up at 6:00am, used the restroom of the fuel station which was clean enough and resumed my journey at 6:30am. After crossing Odisha/Andhra Pradesh border Stopped for breakfast, this is where I received a call from my Mother-in-law conveying the good news that I am blessed with baby girl. I quickly finished my breakfast informed my parents about the good news and my whereabouts and continued my journey.

I crossed Vizag at 12:30pm and decided to have lunch only after crossing Anakapalle but later decided to continue and had my lunch at 4:00pm in a road side hotel near Rajahmundry then continued my journey, I reached Vijayawada at 7:00pm and was welcomed with heavy traffic, adding to that I missed to take one flyover ending up wasting around an hour. Somehow I managed to get myself out of traffic and back on highway.

As soon as I crossed Vijayawada I was welcomed by heavy downpour which resulted in zero visibility and I was forced to reduce my speed and ultimately stopped, as I don’t want to take risk, while I was waiting for visibility to improve I had two cups of hot tea which helped in reducing the stress to a great extent and I resumed my journey at 8:30pm.

The smooth tarmac of Vijayawada and Hyderabad highway helped in compensating the loss due to bad weather, in this stretch I could able to maintain triple digit speed and by 11:30pm I reached LB Nagar and took the Nehru ORR towards Medak.

Driving in ORR is a breeze where the speed limit is 100kmph. I took the Exit-5 towards Medak and reached the Hospital in Pragati Narag at 12:30am, I was tried after almost 22 hours of non-stop driving (Excluding the Breaks) but once I saw my little princes all my efforts was worthy and the feeling is priceless.

I spent around half an hour in hospital and started towards my home where my parents and my 8 year old daughter were eagerly waiting for me, reached home at 1:30am and parked my car, this concluded my longest journey till date.

I couldn’t take any picture as I was excited and can't wait to see my newborn baby.

Details of my journey:

Total distance: 1224 km
Fuel consumed: 75 liters
Mileage: 16.32km/Lit.
Time Taken: 22 Hours (Excluding breaks).
Average Speed: 55.63 kmph.
Toll Paid: 2300/- (Due to Cash payment).

[IRideScent]

Congrats silhor4549! life has it's own way of giving surprises. Ford Ecosport is definitely a treat on highway. Please get the FASTAG isuue sorted before the return trip and enjoy.

[silhor4549]

Originally Posted by IRideScent

Congrats silhor4549! life has it's own way of giving surprises. Ford Ecosport is definitely a treat on highway. Please get the FASTAG isuue sorted before the return trip and enjoy.

Thank you, Yes I got my KYC updated the very next day I reached hyderabad.

[Krish_Diesel]

Heartiest congratulations on the Baby Girl, Silhor4549. Kudos on your ability to drive while feeling both happy and stressed.

The Ecosport has been my trustworthy partner for the past 7 years and has always been a pleasure to drive, especially on the highways.