[palsaumik]

There are long drives and then, there are LEGENDARY DRIVES! This was one freaking LEGENDARY DRIVE! Well, to summarize, the below was my affair with the road!



To and fro, it was total 7,300-odd kilometers covered 7 states within 25 days. Phew! And to top it, it was mostly (~50%) a solo trip while the rest of it, wife accompanied me.

Here’s my trusted partner –Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza ZXI+ Petrol MT – delivered in July 2022



A bit on my background – I am originally from Assam (Guwahati) but have been in Bengaluru since 2005. In Dec 2020, I drove from Bengaluru to Kolkata in our humble Honda Brio and were back in few weeks. However, my dream to drive all the way to Assam (my birthplace) was unfulfilled until this time.

My onward itinerary (all on consecutive days):

• Day 1 Solo Drive (Dec 14, 2022) – Bengaluru to Anakapalle
• Day 2 Solo Drive (Dec 15, 2022) – Anakapalle to Kolkata
• Day 3 (Dec 16, 2022) – Kolkata to Bagdogra
• Day 4 (Dec 17, 2022) – Bagdogra to Guwahati

My return itinerary (with layover in Kolkata for a few days)

• Day 1 Solo Drive (Jan 2, 2023) – Guwahati to Siliguri
• Day 2 Solo Drive (Jan 3, 2023) – Siliguri to Kolkata
• Day 3 (Jan 6, 2023) – Kolkata to Puri
• Day 4 (Jan 7, 2023) – Puri to Vijayawada
• Day 5 (Jan 8, 2023) – Vijayawada to Bengaluru

Plan for this trip started 3 months prior to target start of Dec 14th. Carefully planned the whole trip including but not limited to:

• Booking hotels – CHECK
• Packing luggage – CHECK
• DL, RC, Insurance, PUC – CHECK
• Two cartons of 500ML water bottles – CHECK
• Additional Airtel SIM card for GPS – CHECK
• New DDPAI dashcam – CHECK
• Kotak Fastag recharge Rs. 5000 – CHECK
• Tons of food/snacks – CHECK
• All possible tools – CHECK
• Tyre pressure and fuel top up – CHECK
• Medicines / First Aid Kit – CHECK
• Pillow & Blanket – CHECK
• 400+ songs on my pen drive with back up on my laptop - CHECK
• Office & Personal Laptops with charging bricks – CHECK
• Jiofi for internet – CHECK

With luggage loaded in the car the previous day, I was all set. I split the luggage such that on my halts at the hotels, I would leave my larger suitcase in the car boot (out of anyone’s sight) while just carry two bags during check-in:

• Small bag with essentials (toothbrush, toothpaste, light Ts & shorts, medicines, body lotion, mobile chargers and fresh clothes for the next day’s drive)
• Backpack with two laptops

Few weeks prior to the trip, I got the car checked (2nd free inspection) plus a proactive engine oil change from Kataria Automobiles, Kanakapura Road.
Note: All pictures were taken by me while on the move and/or at random using my mobile, so pardon the photo quality.

[palsaumik]

Day 1 (Dec 14, 2022): Bengaluru to Anakapalle via Chennai ORR (Solo Drive) - Excitement Got the Better of Me!

Until afternoon of Dec 13th, plan was to start the trip on Dec 14th at 04.00 hours sharp (good muhurat as per the stars). But I knew that another good muhurat was available earlier until 00.05 hours on Dec 14th. I hit the bed sharp at 10PM on Dec 13th and slept for an hour or so, when I suddenly woke up thinking I overslept. Saw the clock and it was about 23.15 hours. Excitement got the better of me. Told myself – why waste time sleeping - let’s have the affair! Took a nice hot shower, got dressed, switched off the mains, locked the house and walked straight to my car at 11.55PM. Turned the ignition on and off I went over fresh lemons (call me superstitious – I am) sharp at 00.04AM

Going out of the city via KR Puram would take at least 1 hour for me and purposefully wanted to avoid the Chittoor stretch due to bad roads. So, chose the Krishnagiri highway as the escape route. Within 35 kms, I was in Tamil Nadu.


Somewhere on the way to Chennai ORR


Let’s cruise all the way to Anakapalle!

I halted for breakfast and lunch for no more than 30 mins each, 10 mins for petrol refills and intermittent stretch out breaks. Weather and roads were excellent all through. To my surprise, the highways on Day 1 of the trip were surprisingly empty. Barely any trucks, barely any private cars or taxis, even the cities I passed through did not have much traffic. It was a breeze all through and was loving every moment.

Coming from a Brio, Brezza was way more comfortable – higher ground clearance and better visibility, more upright seating position, better traction, good brakes with ABS, awesome suspension set up, very spacious, powerful 1.5L engine and superb air conditioning. Comfort was at a different level altogether.


Early morning haze



Not that far away from Kolkata! At one moment, it was here that I thought let’s make it a non-stop drive to Kolkata, but then with all the analyses that followed for the next few minutes, it was clear I would kill myself if I did that – being solo. So, stuck to my plan of making it to Kolkata in 2 days. I was in no hurry.


View from the cockpit and cruising


Beautiful morning sky!


Flooding on the highway – very surprising!

For lunch and snacks, I stopped at random hotels but was in such a hurry, that I barely captured any photos.


Re-fueling somewhere in Andhra Pradesh

Rest of the day was uneventful. Reached hotel at Anakapalle at 19.30 hours and believe me, there was no fatigue, no motion sickness. Brezza performed flawlessly all through. Roads in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were in the best of shapes – barely any potholes, diversions and/or barricades. I was expecting traffic snarls at Vijayawada and Rajahmundry, but nothing at all. I could maintain God-speed.

Total time taken 19.5 hours to cover 1,105 Kms on Day 1. After a quick dinner at the hotel, I called it a day at around 22.00 hours.

[palsaumik]

Day 2 (Dec 15, 2022): Anakapalle to Kolkata (Solo) – Power Nap on the Highway!

On this day, 1 got up at about 01.00 hours and started the onward journey at 02.00 hours sharp. Messaged my wife that I am on my way and to my surprise, she immediately called me. Wife was already in Kolkata few weeks prior to me reaching there and was expecting me to be there soon. We spoke for some time as I cruised on the highway. I drove non-stop for the next 4 hours but drowsiness got the better of me.

At around 06.00 hours, I stopped somewhere on the highway next to a small chai / coffee tapri for a 30 min power nap. There were trucks around that place and seemed a pretty safe place. This was the first time I took a nap on the highways. After 30 mins, I was up, washed my face and had two coffee back-to-back. It was very refreshing – beautiful early morning blue skies, chilly weather and coffee that tasted equivalent to that of Café Coffee Day (believe me). I stood there for a while looking at my car and the highways. Reminded me of a dialog from the movie – “The Pursuit of Happyness” wherein Will Smith recalls saying – “This little part of my life is called happiness…”. True for me as well!


The Pursuit of Happyness – indeed!!




Beautiful sunrise – another day, another drive! We really live to drive, isn’t it?

As I entered Odisha, I was greeted with the most painful part of navigating through the roads of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Choco-block with trucks, buses, cars and especially absolute zero riding sense of 2-wheelers (no personal offence meant) – every minute was a test of my patience. The tarmac quality was pretty bad as well in a lot of stretches which slowed me down significantly.

Remember - there are speed interceptors on Odisha highways and speed limit is capped to 80 KMPH. And rightly so, I saw two interceptors on the highways. I was consciously maintaining 80 KMPH, so no violation there.
Passed through some of the greenest of lands and some of the worst diversions that slowed me down significantly. But whenever I got good roads, I made quick progress.

Some random shots:


Lush green fields


Picked up some local sweets from Bhubaneshwar.




A quick stretch out break somewhere in Odisha

Passed by the Chilika lake and was on the lookout for a dhaba / restaurant but could not find anything available or open. Finally, I saw a small tapri on the roadside with loads of puri / luchi and immediately stopped to have my full.

As I proceeded through multiple diversions and over millions of potholes, there was nothing much to write home about. I kept my momentum and just when I thought I would make it to our home in Kolkata on time (estimated ETA 20.00 hours), I got stuck somewhere in the city.


Is this the EM Bypass?

Massive traffic jam in Kolkata that ate into my ETA for good 45 mins to 1 hour. Pile up of 3-4 Kms at least. While we all waited, a car with a family on my right lane came over and asked me if I was driving all the way from Karnataka (they noticed my KA number plate). On hearing an enthusiastic YES, they were pretty much stunned if someone could really do this. Later, once the traffic cleared, I made some good progress and reached home by 8.30PM.

Meeting my wife and in-laws was wonderful and we ended the day with a my mother-in-law’s birthday celebrations.



Total distance covered on Day 2 was 905 KMS in 18.5 hours. This day, I was pretty tired – not from 2 days of non-stop driving but more so from chaotic traffic in Cuttack and Bhubaneshwar, non-stop honking by cars and buses in Kolkata (coming from Bengaluru, it does make you very uncomfortable) and of course, the unexpected traffic pile up few hours before home.

[palsaumik]

Day 3 (Dec 16, 2022): Kolkata to Bagdogra – The Worst Was Yet to Come!

As planned, wife joined me for the remainder of the trip to Guwahati. We started sharp at 05.00 hours from Kolkata and took us quite a while to pick up speed due to high truck traffic.

In 2020, I had driven Kolkata > Siliguri > Kalimpong and was aware that Kolkata-Siliguri is a painful strip – especially Farakka, Islampur, etc. But this time, to my surprise, 50% - 60% of the roads were actually very good and newly laid (maybe). Rest of the 40% - 50% was painful as ever with barely any roads and whatever tarmac was there, it was super bumpy.

I have very few pictures of this stretch.


Crossing Farakka Barriage

Some YouTubers had suggested stopping at Pardesi Dhaba for lunch on Malda bypass and I had book-marked it prior to my trip. The place turned out to be wonderful location. We had our full with wife opting for almost all non-veg dishes they possibly had (esp. Hilsa) and I was good with a vegetarian thali.


Temple inside Pardesi Dhaba

As we headed on, the roads were excellent and went through 4 or 6 lane highways – maybe the Dalkhola/Kishanganj stretch? I actually have no clue which route I had taken but it was getting pretty late and kept my focus on the road, the GPS and silently counting the miles.

We finally reached our hotel at around 21.00 hours. We quickly checked-in and proceeded for dinner as their dining area closes by 22.00 hours. Anyways, after quick dinner, we called it a day.

This stretch, though 600 kms, took us good 16 hours. Though tired, I was running high on adrenaline as the next day would be my dream run – to my home (Guwahati).

Day 4 (Dec 17, 2022): Home Run!
Fatigue was really showing its signs on me. This day we were awake by 05.00 hours but I just couldn’t pull myself out of bed. While she got ready, I slept for another 30 mins and felt much better. By 06.30 hours, we checked-out and were on our way by 06.45.

Roads were butter smooth all through. We went via the arrow-straight Sevoke Forest road which has always been a delight. I had seen many YouTubers taking the historic Coronation Bridge as it was one mark closer to my home.


Crossing Coronation Bridge – another wish come true!

I was not sure if stopping on the bridge was legal, so we proceeded from there and stopped further down.



It was super chilly and the road signs said we were in Kalimpong – I was ecstatic! All memories from my 2020 trip came alive.


Somewhere downhill from Coronation Bridge towards Guwahati

We continued non-stop and at around 09.00 hours, we started looking for a place for breakfast. Well, there were almost no good / decent places to stop, so we continued until we found a small family-run tapri where they were selling puri and bread-omlette. We spent around 1 hour enjoying breakfast, basking under the sun and slightly chilly weather. The kids of the tapri owner were super cute and my wife handed over few chocolate bars we were carrying. The kids were super happy and so were we!

The location and weather conditions couldn’t have been better. Again, I was so focused on completing the trip, I completely missed taking any pictures of the place.

Being born and brought up in Assam (place famous for hills and tea gardens), we came across multiple stretches wherein the highway ran along with lush green tea gardens. On first sight itself, I promptly stopped and took as many pictures as I could.







First proper selfie!

Rest of the journey was super smooth – other than about 20-30 odd kilometers wherein roads were under construction. I must way that the road from Siliguri to Guwahati is way better Kolkata to Siliguri but of course, not comparable to the quality of roads down South.

On this day, I purposefully took a lot of breaks on the way – firstly because I had been driving for four consecutive days and roads just seemed never ending. I was enjoying the drive, but it was getting a bit too much.

Nonetheless, rest of the journey was uneventful with few stoppages by the police for priority VIP movement. We reached my home in Guwahati around 19.30 hours. Our trip (one side) came to an end finally! It was an achievement and a dream come true – I was euphoric!

Total distance driven on Day 4 was about 440 Kms and took about 13 hours. This could have been done in 9-10 hours but took long breaks and took it easy.



Next day morning, I went down and checked if all was okay with the car. I felt proud of making it to Guwahati without any fuss / issues / breakdowns. My Brezza with brother’s Amaze on the left.


Got the car washed thoroughly that day.

[palsaumik]

Over the next two weeks, we visited few places and rekindled some of my childhood memories:


My school – Don Bosco, Guwahati. Any Bosconians on this forum?


Maa Kamakhya Temple Visit


Enroute to Umiam, Meghalaya – the weather can change anytime without notice – from being cloudy…


…to bright sunlight in a matter of 10 mins


Orchid Lake Resort for family lunch, Umiam, Meghalaya

Visit to Jorhat
Visiting my Engineering College (Jorhat Engineering College) was always a dream and was pending from 17 years ever since I graduated. It was a proud and nostalgic moment.


Somewhere on the way to Jorhat














We had spent some of the most beautiful and memorable years on these desks and chairs!


Hostel 7 in JEC - my second home


A parting picture


Meeting our beloved Rubul da after 17 years. There's no JECian who doesn't know him. He owns a pretty big shop right opposite our Engineering College main gate. To my surprise, he immediately recognized me.

[palsaumik]

Visit to Kaziranga

Let the pictures do the talking here:


































Assam Tourism Guest House - Type 1


Assam Tourism Guest House - Type 2

Our stay in Kaziranga – Tushita Bon (wouldn’t quite recommend this place)
We chose “huts” for our stay on Kaziranga – Jakhlabandha stretch. The facilities inside the huts were too bare minimum, bad washrooms and no great facilities available. However, the owner was very warm in welcoming us and food was good. It was anyways just an overnight stay. So, we were sort of okay.

[palsaumik]

After spending few more days in Guwahati, wife took a flight to Kolkata on Dec 27th to spend more time with her mom before we drive back to Bengaluru together. The New Year was spent at home and it was soon time for me to start my return trip.


A good car wash again was a must – inside out!

My return trip started on January 2, 2023. With an extremely heavy heart, I started solo from Guwahati at 04.00 hours sharp over fresh lemons again. For the first 30-45 mins, I was extremely emotional – leaving family behind – and another long 3,000 kms before getting back to the daily grind. For few minutes, I kept on thinking if I could turn back but had to keep myself head strong. Moments passed and I was much better now and focused on my affair with the road again.

The return trip was via the same route albeit a few twists (read-on).

Day 1 – Guwahati to Siliguri


Day break while leaving the North-East


On the way to Sevoke




Approaching Coronation Bridge and greeted by a pile of traffic. Good that it was moving.

Day 2: Siliguri to Kolkata


Early morning start from Siliguri to Kolkata – 03.00 hours. I was alone, extreme low visibility and empty roads. I must mention here that LEDs headlights are crap. While in the picture it seems that the lights were great, it was just the camera adjusting itself to get max light into the picture. In reality, I could just see few meters ahead. Speed remained limited to 30-40 KMPH for the first few hours.


Few stretches had street lamps, which provided much needed visibility, solace and confidence.


Day light - finally

Day 3: Siliguri to Kolkata


Back on the Farakka Barrage


Worn out but not beaten

[palsaumik]

Day 3: Kolkata to Puri

Our initial plan was to halt at Bhubaneswar, but we decided to take a detour and stop for the day in Puri. We canceled our hotel at Bhubaneswar via MMT app on-the-fly but could not get any good hotel at Puri. I knew January was peak tourist season in Puri, so we took our chances to reach Puri and search for a hotel. Fortunately, we got a pretty good one.


Our hotel in Puri


Night life at Puri


At the beach


Days just fly – it was time to call it a day. One final look!

Day 4: Puri to Vijayawada (This stretch was just never ending)

We reached Vijayawada pretty late – around 21.00 hours. Did not even have the energy to have dinner. We just munched something and hit the bed.

Day 5: Vijayawada to Bengaluru (the last drive before I take a sabbatical)


Early morning check-out and snap at Hotel Illapuram, Vijayawada


Last picture taken during a final refuel session and washroom break before reaching Bengaluru.

If you sustained this long, here are my 2-cents for such freaking legendary drives:

• My solo drive from Bengaluru to Kolkata in two days flat was next to an impossible feat. I have no clue how I did it. It was purely my passion for driving and reaching my hometown (Guwahati) gave the kick. Ask me to repeat, my answer would be – Sorry Sir, No! – at least for the next few years
• Endless patience and determination are key to achieving such crazy milestones. My wife doesn’t drive and I did not have a fallback plan in case I needed to switch. Planning and mental preparation was key to this successful trip
• Be extremely vigilant every minute. In my case, I am mostly a sedate driver and bake in a few hours extra for every trip. Its good to go slow but surely will help you reach the destination
• Food & water – Come what may, do not run out of these two. You can survive without proper meals, but will not if you fall short of these
• Stay hydrated – Drink as much water as you can – frequently. Its okay to stop multiple times for loo breaks. These days, good petrol bunks have mostly clean washrooms. But if you are dehydrated, that’s the end of it
• Knowing the bare basics – How to change tyres (I had a punctured tyre at Jorhat and it took me just 20 mins to get back on the road). Also, add soap-based solutions to the windshield washer water. It can do wonders without needing you to step out and manually clean the windshield
• Stretch out every 3 hours or so – Give a life to your legs and knees.
• Cruise control – About 40%-50% of my overall drive was on cruise control. It’s a blessing and a must
• Motion sickness – On my drive back to Bengaluru, I had motion sickness at a different level. Since cruise was mostly set at 80-90 KMPH, if my speed dropped below 80 or went above 90, my brain & eyes were not able to adjust to the new motion below or beyond this range. I had to maintain this speed range for rest of the day
• Brezza proved its CSUV capabilities – be it on good or bad roads. Zero issues. The only niggle I had post reaching Bengaluru was that driver-side window glass made some noise if kept half open. Its resolved post 3rd service
• Fuel up – I strictly follow a principle to fuel up the moment I am running on half tank. You never know what’s ahead and its good to stay full on petrol / diesel
• Rats – Whenever parking your car in hotels or any unknown places overnight, use rat spray – I wouldn’t like to see a half-eaten hose when I am on the road
• Share GMaps Location – I ensured that I shared my GPS location with someone (friend when starting from Bengaluru, wife post midway and with dad when on the way to Guwahati). Gave me the peace of mind to know that someone’s there observing my steps
• When in doubt, sleep! – If there is an iota of drowsiness or sleepiness, its best to pull up at a safe place and get a power nap – it helped me twice and I am now a stern believer of its advantages

Signing off for now and until next time – stay safe, drive safe!

[vasanthn21]

Awesome travelogue Saumik bhai! Admire your courage, planning and patience in taking up this drive, especially because most of it was solo.

I am sure this thread will inspire more motorheads to take up this kind of an almost cross-country drive!

[Samfromindia]

Well congrats for completing your long standing wish to drive all the way to your hometown All these pictures are familiar to me as I frequently do Pune - Bangalore - Kolkata - North Bengal on my car, and most of the times alone. While doing Bangalore - Kolkata I normally give a break at BBSR if I am tired or go all the way. Vijayawada is my place to rest while doing Kolkata - Pune. Looking forward for more drive and travel reports from you

[sunil thomas]

Enjoyed reading, good JOSH!!! Only drawback was that it was too tiring, and that takes away a lot of fun. Not getting enough sleep, starting at 2 AM etc and then being on the road till next days dinner can be avoided. 12 hour drives are the BEST and try doing that next time.

[mukeshc18]

Thoroughly enjoyed this post. I have been planning Bangalore to North east trip from sometime. Bookmarking this thread for future reference in case I can make it.

Next time, you need someone to accompany for this trip, I am game.

[Bailey]

Originally Posted by palsaumik

Day 1 (Dec 14, 2022): Bengaluru to Anakapalle via Chennai ORR (Solo Drive) I hit the bed sharp at 10PM on Dec 13th and slept for an hour or so, when I suddenly woke up thinking I overslept. Saw the clock and it was about 23.15 hours. ........ I called it a day at around 22.00 hours.

Day 2 (Dec 15, 2022): Anakapalle to Kolkata (Solo) – Power Nap on the Highway![/b]

On this day, 1 got up at about 01.00 hours and started the onward journey at 02.00 hours sharp.

Excellent travelogue. But IMHO with so few hours of sleep (2 nights on a row) and driving solo that too for 19.5 Hours drive on Day 1 & 18.5 hours on Day 2 you are a danger to your self and everyone else on the highway at the same time as you. Power naps are a good solution when you feel drowsy on highways. But with 1.15 hours sleep on day 1 and 3 hours on day 2 sir you are definitely asking for trouble again IMO.

Happy to note that the trip went well and you reached hope happy safe and sound.

[nks81]

Thankfully you had an amazing trip and thank you for the detailed travelogue. but I would agree with Bailey, 19.5 hrs on first day with 1 hr sleep before that day and then 3 hr sleep before starting 2nd day is bordering on dangerous.

I would suggest folks to refrain from taking such a crunched and fatigued long drive that too at night.

[100Kmphormore]

But IMHO with so few hours of sleep (2 nights on a row) and driving solo that too for 19.5 Hours drive on Day 1 & 18.5 hours on Day 2 you are a danger to your self and everyone else on the highway at the same time as you. Power naps are a good solution when you feel drowsy on highways. But with 1.15 hours sleep on day 1 and 3 hours on day 2 sir you are definitely asking for trouble again IMO.

Cant help but agree more with this. Avoid leaving before 5 am in the morning and driving after 9 pm - if at all, never after sundown. The bodys circadian rhythm is not programmed to be mentally active at night. I did Bengaluru - Mumbai in 18 hours with family including breaks for meals and the night stretch from Satara to the Mumbai-Pune expressway had me mentally exhausted due to the high beams and torrential rain - this is only 3 hours of night driving. We left at 6:30 am, me taking over until Davangere in one shot and then from Hubli to Belagavi, my father driving the Belagavi to Nipani, Davangere to Hubli, and the final 25 km to my relatives place. I can confidently say having my father as a backup for the other 200 km was a godsend especially on an engaging car like the Scorpio.