[amayjoshi]

Introduction:
After doing the 4th Service schedule, you always feel that you should go out on the road and take the car's trial. Well, after this schedule, the trial was a 1676km trip to South Kerala and back to Pune. So much so for the excitement that the return trip to Pune was a non-stop endurance run of 830km in 16hrs with myself as a single driver accompanied with my family.

Well, looking at our history in the last 10 years, before my marriage, I and my friend have completed such endurance tasks a couple of times, namely Chennai to Pune in 22 hours, Thrissur to Pune and the most endured run was Gurugram to Pune in 27 hours. Both of us shared the wheel.

Back the, the machines were my 2010 Tata Aria and later, 2015 Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320.







As you are married, you know that you need to travel mostly with your family and that's why there was a this kind of a road trip with an endurance non-stop return, but with no one to share the wheel.

THE JOURNEY



My current car is the Tiguan 2.0 Tdi. I wanted to revisit this exclusive and amazing resort called the Taj Vivanta, in Bekal, Kerala. During the booking process, even the staff doubly checked if we really don't need a cab, if we are not coming by Air. Not a huge distance from Pune to Kerala, but usually their interstate guests come mostly by Air.

Started the first leg of the tour till Belgavi, at 12:21pm.


245km after and 3:30 hours past, we took the first halt at the Kognoli mall, probably called as the Viraj Junction. This is a well maintained place for all kinds of cravings you desire, just after the southern MH border ends.






After much needed cup of coffee and a Dosa, we headed to stay at the Fairfield Marriott, after some shopping in the city.



Note that the location of this Marriott is convenient for those who wish to stay and return on their journeys on the NH48.
There are Tata Power fast and slow chargers for EV owners reading this, those who yet to have discover this place.

At 340km down the trip, filled cheap diesel(read diesel at a cheaper rate).
Much later, I realized that Kerala sells diesel at an even premium price of 96/- higher than MH. So advisable to fill as much as fuel within the KA territory while bypassing the states.




DAY2:

The booking at Ginger Mangaluru was confirmed, so I wanted to leave as early as possible to traverse the NH66 and the beautiful Yellapur ghats in time.

So started the Leg 2 of the tour at 9am with a full tank of cheap Diesel!
The Tiguan's fuel tank is a whopping 71L and if driven sedately it at least shows a range of upwards of 1000km on the instrument binnacle.



The route:



The drive ahead was an 8hour long 420km wide one, though with some beautiful stretches in the Yellapur forest area and the most scenic of all, Marvanthe Beach, with one side Kolluru river and the Arabian sea on the other side, and the Prince of highways, the NH66 stretching in between. (The king of highways for me shall always be the NH4(8)).


Then there is this shortcut from Kittur via Alnavar which shaved off a few minutes and kilometers, from the traditional Hubballi-Sirsi route.

Belgavi-Kittur stretch is fun to drive, with good speeds achievable. You lose a lot of momentum in the ghats of yellapur till you reach NH66.

3 hours after, at Hebbul, an hour after crossing Yellapur, we halted for a lunch break at 12:30pm. (This is a perfect time to stopover for a lunch)



Now as I said earlier about the timing of the lunch ( and also witnessed the same at udipi for the legendary snacks stopover), 12:30pm was the best timing for it, as when we finished ours by 1:10pm, here I saw 3 to 5 cars stopping over for the same. Saw the rush and delay in their orders. Here we saved time by stopping early than the crowd lunch time. By this time we had done and started the second half.



After Hebbul, when you take a turn towards Yana, you begin to feel your nearness (proximity is very technical, nearness has emotion) to coastal Karnataka, and you hear the sweet tire sounds of the NH66, from here itself.



Above is the scenic Bridge which crosses the river Gangaavali.
Enroute Mirjan-Ramnagar road, we are on narrow roads till a point comes where the Prince of the Highway is seen.


At Gokarna Cross near Madangeri water supply you see the smooth tarmac visuals of the much awaited NH66. From this point till Murudeshwar, there is no stopping.



After the Glorious Statue of Shri Shankar and the Tall Gopuram, we continued our journey towards Udipi for a halt at the Legendary MTR cafe.

But before Udipi comes the iconic, the scenic Maravanthe beach, before Kundapura. The winds on this patch carry a brewed scent of sweet aqua of the Kolluru river and the saline waters of the Arabian sea.




Humidity takes a toll on you even in a closed Air controlled cabin. You feel you could nourish yourself with a chilled drink, but why would you when the iconic MTR cafe is just a few miles ahead.






We reached MTR, Udipi at 4:20pm. By the time, the sweet Udipi locals and other visitors got out of their houses and hotels to visit this place, we were trying their third Benne dosa. If I could make you feel the taste of the coffee and the dosa, by writing some more here, I still would be unable to express that exact sensory pleasure that unfolded just by tasting the dosa. Hard and golden brown on the outside, and soft from the inside. I must tell you, the dosas, the coffees we do it here in MH are just not the dosas and the coffees we try when we are in Southern India.

The 2nd day leg was about to end in Manguluru after 442km since refuel and 9 hours later from Belgavi.




Ginger Manguluru is another Budget hotel just next to NH66 for a quick stay and run across the costal sides of the states.
So the total trip from Pune has been 783km with one fuel stopover at Belgavi.

From Hereon, we cut the word BUDGET and not use it till the end of the trip.
Because here comes the day 3 of the tour starting in Manguluru towards Bekal, Kerala, in a short distance of 65km.



Welcome Taj Vivanta, Bekal.
From here more feast to the eyes than talking.

[amayjoshi]

So Continuing from the first post of this topic, as I could not share or add more images in the original post. Here are the Taj Vivanta Bekal, Kerala, resort images.
Less talk and more pictures will do the talking here.












With a 2 day stay in this unbeatable resort, we start our Return Journey from Bekal,Southern Kerala to Pune, Maharashtra.



At 12:20pm we started from Bekal, while travelling on the same route as before, we were on empty roads throughout Karnataka, as that day was the Voting day. This helped us gain more average speed and reach Belgavi by 10:30pm.

Now through the journey we stopped for the second Diesel fillup. Approximately 45L was enough to fill her up again from 1/3rd fuel left of the Belgavi fuel station, filled on day 1.


Then again captured some stunning beach side clicks of my Tiguan as we passed Maravanthe, this time by going inside as small town parallel to nh66 on a road called as Fisheries road, where all the fishermen resided.




In the meanwhile, completed 1000km of the total journey somewhere near Honnavar



In between, at Honnavar, we halted at the Kamat Hotel for an as usual butter dosa and a strong filter coffee. Enroute nh66 you are bound to get couple of Kamaths here and there. You need to look for one at the right time.




From here onwards, there was as urge to finish off the drive to Pune.
Experienced never before like rains in the Yellapur Forest while returning.
Here I decided to take the route from Yellapur to Hampi, which breaks off in between Dharwad and Hubli, instead of crossing the entire forest during the night.
Once we reached Hubli, we had to take another short break at the Kamat Upachaar, where next to the hotel, I filled the Tiguan up again till the brim.



It was 9pm when we left and Belgavi was to come by 10:30pm. As scheduled we reached Marriott in Belgavi by 10:30pm. The odo shouted 1300km. I was unsure If I should do the leftover 300+km which we do most of the times with ease. I was here worried of the KARAD dual flyover demolition drive that will chase me the next day I begin my journey to Pune. With this fear only and only, we decided to finally rest at our own sweet home in Pune. Took an easy hour for refreshment at the hotel, with the family and kid doing their dinner. I enjoyed 2 cups of tea, and with experience I wanted to have a can of Redbull, which in our early days, I and my friend relied upon for non stop drives, I resisted.

It was close to 11:30 we started our final Heavy run from Belgavi (Kakti to be precise) towards Pune with close to 500km and 12hrs of driving the same day from Bekal.

From Kerala Check post in South Karnataka at around 1:20pm till the KA-MH border near Kognoli at around 12:25am I had traversed the Entire Karnataka State within 12 hours of driving, and 520 some kms run in entire KA, was now entering MH.




Managed to bypass karad and its demolition drive successfully at this hour of time with ease. Now it was hardly a 3 hour journey to the FLagpost.

This was one of the rare moments where Tiguan has an inbuilt driver fatigue detection system and therefore seemed to have detected a fatigue in my driving style.

So finally completing the leftover sum of Kilometers with following the 60km/hr speed reduction on the stretch of the Viaduct tunnel till Navle Bridge near Pune (this is a stretch where you need be be utmost careful of the steep slope and where most of the wierd accidents are occuring now a days), we complete the task of Kerala to Pune in 16 hours of our Journey. My daughter was stressed a little. But after completing such feat, after so many years, I was more than relieved.







Thank you all!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Hayek]

Nice journey. Reminds of my own non stop drive from Poona to Bangalore and of our return drive where we went non stop from Coimbatore to Belgaum (and yes stayed at the same Fairfield by Marriott).

The shots of the Tiguan are really nice - it is indeed a wonderful car. Am also amazed at the nearly 16 kmpl mileage you seem to have got on this trip - have never managed anything close to that I must say.

Am a little surprised you started so late from
Bekal if you intended to drive all the way to Poona. Personally prefer driving in the dark very early in the morning (we started before 5 am on both these drives and I often do 4 am starts when heading out of Bombay), to avoid the stress of night driving when tired. Perhaps you should have stayed at Belgaum and started 5 am for Poona. But all’s well that ends well - do keep driving and keep posting.

[libranof1987]

Looks like a good extended weekend getaway! And the roads are generally brilliant once you cross Kolhapur.

I've heard only good things about the Taj Bekal. Hope you got a chance to visit Bekal Fort; it is right around the corner.

How are the roads from Gokarna - Belgaum now? We did the same stretch last year as part of our larger South coastal drive, and criss-crossed several NH and SH between Gokarna and Belgaum. The SH weren't in great shape.

[anirudh_85]

Very well written travelogue, sir. Makes me want to emulate this drive in my own car someday. Keep travelling and keep writing.

[Ethnicul]

Very nice travelouge. One query, why is it mentioned south Kerala everywhere? Bekal is almost at the north end of Kerala.

[amayjoshi]

Originally Posted by Ethnicul

Very nice travelouge. One query, why is it mentioned south Kerala everywhere? Bekal is almost at the north end of Kerala.

Apologies thats the blunder when you write a writeup for the first time here. South KA and North Kerala it is..

Originally Posted by anirudh_85

Very well written travelogue, sir. Makes me want to emulate this drive in my own car someday. Keep travelling and keep writing.

Thank you from my heart. Been traveling since a few decades, got to write this time. Kindly read North kerala in place of South Kerala. Go out now somewhere before the rains start their job. Thanks again

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Looks like a good extended weekend getaway! And the roads are generally brilliant once you cross Kolhapur.

I've heard only good things about the Taj Bekal. Hope you got a chance to visit Bekal Fort; it is right around the corner.

How are the roads from Gokarna - Belgaum now? We did the same stretch last year as part of our larger South coastal drive, and criss-crossed several NH and SH between Gokarna and Belgaum. The SH weren't in great shape.

The Resort is a 5star top-bottom and just amazing where you get a private plunge pool inside your villa.
The road to Gokarna can be done with the same route I did, taking only right at the nh66 access from Alnavar. A few patches here and there are a bit tiresome especially in the ghat sections. Rest the route is such that you can do 50-60km/hr average speed. Kindly read North Kerala in place of South Kerala in my travelogue. Apologies

Originally Posted by Hayek

Nice journey. Reminds of my own non stop drive from Poona to Bangalore and of our return drive where we went non stop from Coimbatore to Belgaum (and yes stayed at the same Fairfield by Marriott).

The shots of the Tiguan are really nice - it is indeed a wonderful car. Am also amazed at the nearly 16 kmpl mileage you seem to have got on this trip - have never managed anything close to that I must say.

Am a little surprised you started so late from
Bekal if you intended to drive all the way to Poona. Personally prefer driving in the dark very early in the morning (we started before 5 am on both these drives and I often do 4 am starts when heading out of Bombay), to avoid the stress of night driving when tired. Perhaps you should have stayed at Belgaum and started 5 am for Poona. But all’s well that ends well - do keep driving and keep posting.

A few years back I did dobbaspet to sadashiv peth, Pun, counted in 830km but a sunrise came in between my drive and then all things turned ugly as after karad it was unmanageable after sunrise as your body don’t know why makes you close your eyes when you are awake the whole night. This time was a little different. Did not want to get caught in the karad jam of the next day, and as I reached belgavi by 10:30pm, karad showed signs of clear roads at 1am. Pune was doable all thanks to the developed roads

[armumbai]

That’s a great travelogue and an even more commendable test of endurance, good job! As I am myself planning on driving this stretch towards the end of June, just wanted to ask what exactly the issue with the highway/flyover at Karad is? Are the jams severe and how much time should one account for to get past this troublesome spot

[Adam]

Good travelogue man, reminds me of the one I used to do with my Polo, most distance I covered non stop is from Vasai, Maharashtra to Kasaragod, Kerala which was around 1100 Kms and I took around 18 Hours to reach my destination.

This trip made me appreciate my then 8 Year old polo much more and even I postponed my car upgrade plan for 2 more years. Return trip to Vasai was done in two stretch , Kasaragod -Kolhapur; Kolhapur-Vasai, which was very uneventful as it was during Covid travel restrictions and the road was almost empty and I reached Kolhapur by 2:30 PM , much earlier than expected.

Before I sold my polo I had done one more endurance drive from Mumbai to Bangalore, this time I planned bit better and started early around 6 AM and reached Bangalore around 2 AM.

Nowadays I don't do such endurance drives also I mostly avoid night drives.

[amayjoshi]

Originally Posted by armumbai

That’s a great travelogue and an even more commendable test of endurance, good job!

Thank you from my heart. Well the flyover bypassing karad city and the one still standing ahead of it have been demolished and some further demolition work is under progress. So imagine all the heavy nh48 traffic getting re-routed on the small service roads of the highway. you cross the karad university and dmart on these small service lanes including heavy trucks buses, nh48 traffic as well as karad city commuters all coming together in a patch of 2km or less. Its a daily issue.

Originally Posted by Adam

Good travelogue man, reminds me of the one I used to do with my Polo, most distance I covered non stop is from Vasai, Maharashtra to Kasaragod, Kerala which was around 1100 Kms and I took around 18 Hours to reach my destination.

Good to hear about your drives. The more you use your vehicles in such endurance drives, especially the VWs, the more you fall in love with them. Then only you realise how much effort it has gone inside these cars to tune the correct ergonomics, NVH levels beneficial for such long drives. Sad to hear you have sold the Evergreen polo. Hope you have or will buy another VW.

Mod Note - Please use the multi-quote function and quote the relevant portion while replying.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by amayjoshi

Good to hear about your drives. The more you use your vehicles in such endurance drives, especially the VWs, the more you fall in love with them. Then only you realise how much effort it has gone inside these cars to tune the correct ergonomics, NVH levels beneficial for such long drives. Sad to hear you have sold the Evergreen polo. Hope you have or will buy another VW.

[/b]

After weeks of test driving multiple brand cars ,I brought a VW Taigun after selling my polo, its extremely difficult to move to a different brand once you are used to a VW, vehicle handling and dynamics is very much important to me, and the closest I was able to get in a compact SUV within my budget was Taigun.

As you said Polo is a very competent car, it has awesome dynamics and I still doubt if there is any other hatchback which handles better than Polo in Indian market to-date.

I live in Bangalore now and dont have garage space for two cars, thats the sole reason why I sold my Polo, but still I see her daily and drive her occasionally as its sold to one of my colleague. I sold it with one condition as if he ever plan to sell it, I will be the first one to know, may be one day I can bring her back home !

Many more happy miles man

[ampere]

One amazing drive that was! Tiguan sure is a fantastic cruiser. Space, Luxury and Power !

You choice of locations and roads were also amazing.

[Siddy_1998]

The Tiguan 2.0 TDI is a rare car to see on the road. I actually prefer the exterior styling of this model compared to the existing one. The rear taillamps always attract a second look.

Great travelogue. I enjoyed reading it. Thank you very much for sharing.

[rahulskumar]

Nice travelogue and these journeys really test the patience in you. During peak covid time, I did solo drive from Trivandrum to Hyderabad. Left Trivandrum around 2:30 AM and reached Hyd by 9:30 PM, covering 1325 kms in my humble Jazz cvt. After 2 weeks I did the return journey back to Trivandrum in 18 hours. I was really motivated that day and never felt asleep, may be due to less traffic on road. Overall trip average was 18.5 kmpl