[rohan_2911]

Coastal Travelogue Part 1 - MUMBAI to FORT TIRACOL (Goa)

Prologue:
Our last road trip was a memorable 2,000 km journey from Mumbai to Jodhpur and back, which included stops in Ahmedabad and Udaipur, and even a camel safari near the Osian, about 50 km from Jodhpur. That trip was done in August 2023, and it had been quite some time since we embarked on a long drive. An opportunity arose when my cousin's wedding was scheduled in September 2024 in Thiruthani (outskirts of Chennai) . This provided the perfect excuse for another road trip from Mumbai, allowing us to attend the wedding and spend time in Pondicherry, where my wife is originally from.

The Plan:
My wife and I had previously completed a long road trip in 2022, driving from Mumbai to Pondicherry and back via the Goa-Karnataka route. This time, I wanted to explore new places we had missed during our last trip. Additionally, my parents had always expressed a desire to visit Coastal Maharashtra, specifically Ratnagiri. Therefore, I planned our first stop to be Ganpatipule for an overnight stay and temple visit before heading towards Ratnagiri. From there, we would head to Goa for about two days with my parents before they flew to Chennai.
However, at the last moment, some relatives were scheduled to visit us in Mumbai. Consequently, we modified our plans so my parents could return home by Tain after visiting Ratnagiri while my wife and I continued further on the road trip. I booked tickets for my parents to fly down to Chennai closer to the wedding.

Since both me and my wife have jobs that allow us to work from home - the thought was to make this into an extended trip where we would take the first week off (when the major part of the road trip would be done) and then take a few leaves here and there before coming back to Mumbai. My brother’s place in Bangalore would also serve as a very strategic pit stop enroute!

By my rough estimates this was going to be a > 3500 km road trip and I would be doing ALL of the driving.

The Preparation
The vehicle had already been serviced in May. I had to get the rear right brake lights replaced and also top up the engine oil as well as the coolant which was done. I was also monitoring the tyre pressures closely in the weeks leading up to the road trip and I noticed that the front left tyre was deflating at a faster rate and when I got it checked there indeed was a puncture which was fixed promptly. It had also been close to 2 years since the purchase the car and I was aware that the batteries in The key FOB would be at the end of life so I replaced the battery in the main key that we had and had a spare battery handy for the spare key which my wife had in her purse (more on this later).



Replacing the Key Fob Battery ; Getting the puncture fixed

Day 1 (30th August) (Mumbai - Ganpatipule) :
We started from Mumbai at around 0730 in the Morning of the 30th of August - we were a bit delayed as I had to use all my Tetris skills to make sure all of the luggage fit in the boot since the rear seat was going to be occupied by my parents The first stop for breakfast was at Go Green restaurant near Karnala - it had rained a little and I was very disappointed to see that the sides of the car was already covered in fine mud.



Pantree restaurant at Go Green - You can see the car covered in fine mud spray. Pictures on the right show the weather and drive along NH66

The drive towards Ratnagiri was on NH66 which was a refreshing change from the usual route taken when heading towards Goa (Mum - Pune expressway) - since it was just the end of monsoon season - the surroundings were lush green which made for a pleasant drive
We reached Chiplun around 1:30 -2 pm - we were searching for a good place to eat and finally ate lunch at a restaurant called Swad about 50 kms south of Chiplun.



Left: Parked at Swad, The Thali; Right: Ride along NH66 and Stopped by a cop to check my paperwork and to see whether I had some fines pending

Post lunch we crossed the River Bav at the Parchuri bridge - the location was quite remote and scenic and we stopped to click some photos.


The car parked over the Parchuri Bridge



Some more pictures of the drive from the dash cam

Thereafter there was a slight incline on the road and we actually passed over a tunnel that was a part of the Konkan railway followed by a drive on a plateau region on top of the hill. Finally the coast came into view and we descended towards Ganpatiphule.

We had chosen to stay in a Beachside Hut which was a part of the MTDC resort at Ganpatipule . I was surprised to see how big the MTDC property was - I had to drive for a few minutes to reach the Beachside hut from the entrance of the property. By the time we had settled into the hut it was already around 5 pm. We spent the next few hours by the beachside and soon it was time for dinner.



Car at the entrance of the MTDC Resort, Ganapatiphule


Picture of the drive , car parked at the resort and the beach

I wanted to eat in one of the many eateries near the Ganpatipule temple but my wife had other plans and insisted we go to a restaurant that she had found on Instagram - the restaurant was called Mehendale's Swad Dining which was about 3 kms from the resort.


Cows on the narrow road leading out from Ganapatiphule



Dinner Thali at Mehendale's Swad Dining - easily the best thali we had on the entire trip

Day 2 (31st August) :

We went to the Ganpatipule temple early in the morning and then had a simple breakfast in one of the small roadside hotels surrounding the temple

It was then time to check out and head towards Ratnagiri.



The beachside huts at the resort , me with my Wife and parents



Left: Entrance to the temple; The temple

The drive was on the scenic Arrey Warrey road - I’ll let pictures that we clicked from one of the viewpoints do the talking



The Drive towards Arrey Warrey Road - you are driving along the coast with the sea to your right - there are numerous 'view points' with small shacks serving food


The view from one of the 'view points'

I had my eye on the Arrey Warrey Zipline for quite some time - this is a 400 mtr zipline over the sea. Here, it was by sheer coincidence that I bumped into one of my childhood friends who also happened to live in my apartment complex in Mumbai ! He was with some of his friends in another Skoda Kushaq (yet another coincidence) driving from Ratnagiri to Ganpatiphule while I was going the opposite way.

So me, my wife, my Mom and my friend rode the zipline. Now - I had already done the zipline at Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur - but this 400 mtr zipline over the sea was a different and thrilling experience. We were ferried back to the starting point by an activa that the zipline operator had for this purpose.



The silver Skoda Kushaq driven by me friend ; My Wife, Me and My Mom on the Zipline

Next stop was the Ratnadurg fort in Ratnagiri - where we could see a rolling mass of clouds heading straight for us - it was surreal to be in an area that is dry and see the approaching rainfront , and in a few minutes the rain was upon us. It rained quite heavily for about 10-15 minutes and then the rain front passed further inland. One advantage of this burst of rain was that it gave the car a free and thorough wash !



Top : The entrance to the Ratnadurg Fort ; Bottom : Rain clouds moving towards us

It was already about 1:30 pm and we were quite hungry - so I found a good restaurant in Ratnagiri and had our lunch.



Some pictures from my dash cam, Top Right shows the car parked on Narrow lanes opposite the restaurant where we had our lunch

My parents were supposed to catch the Madgaon - LTT express from Ratnagiri to Mumbai at 5 pm so we had about 2.5 hrs at our disposal. We visited the Thibaw Palace in Ratnagiri next. King Thibaw was a burmese king who was forced by the British to abdicate his throne and then coerced to move to Ratnagiri around the year 1885. The British built an official residence for the king in 1906 which was the Thibaw palace. The palace was built of lava and laterite rock and cost about 125000 Indian rupees at that time. Although we were not allowed to click pictures inside the Palace, I did manage to get a wonderful shot of the car with the palace in the backdrop.



My Car with the Thibaw Palace in the background

It was already about 3:30 pm and we started driving towards the Ratnagiri Railway station. There was construction work going around the approach Road to the station so we had to park the car and then walk towards the platform. The train was delayed by about 45-50 minutes, so I located the correct coach position and since it was getting quite late me and my wife then proceeded towards Goa.



Left : Ratnagiri Railway Station ; A random beautiful spot with small temple along the shores of a mini waterfall - we didn't have time to dip into the water unfortunately

Goa was about 270 kms away and I did not want to exhaust myself driving all the way there - so we planned to stop at Devgad which was about 130 kms away. We booked a place to stay (Aalayah Stays) as we were driving. This place was a container hotel - basically they had transformed shipping containers into rooms where each room was made up of 2 containers placed side by side.

It was already past 8 pm when we reached Devgad. I took some time to reorganise the luggage in the car till Dinner arrived. We had dinner and slept off by 10 pm.

Day 3 (1st September) :

We woke up by 6:30 - 0700 the next day, had some tea with a nice view of the Kunkeshwar Beach, checked out the hotel and the surroundings now that we had daylight.



The approach to 'Aalayah stays' at night ;few shots of the container hotel room; the hotel is on a cliff overlooking the beach ; the car with the luggage being reorganized

Just a few kms into the drive we stumbled upon the Kunkeshwar Temple - a temple situated right at the coast. We visited the temple - it was fairly early on a weekday ( 0900) so there were hardly any people present. I will again let the pictures do the talking



Car parked along the shore at Kunkeshwar temple

The small eateries that were present near the periphery of the temple were just opening up and we had VadaPav and Misal Pav from one of them - it was just heavenly to eat spicy fast food sitting at the edge of a beach and listening to the sound of the waves hitting the rocky shore



My wife standing in front of the temple entrance ; Spicy Wada Pav and Misal Pav ; The road leading to the temple



Some pictures of the drive along the narrow roads of coastal Maharashtra ; we also came across the Sindhdurg Airport on a nice flat area near the Tarkarli beach

Continuing our journey and searching for other places of interest on Google maps I stumbled upon a ‘Dutch Factory’ that was located in Vengurla. However, on visiting the site we found out that it was closed for renovation by the ASI.



Some pictures from the drive ; Right : Car parked in Vengurla in a random housing complex near the closed Dutch Factory

At this point we were only about 4 km away from the Maharashtra- Goa border and our first stop in Goa was ‘Fort Tiracol’ which is located in Querim and is also the northernmost point of Goa.



Entering Goa - the police check post at the border of the Querim Village

Fort Tiracol is a Portuguese fort and dates back to the 17th Century - the fort has a very rich history behind it and was a part of several skirmishes - most notably it was also the symbolic location where freedom fighters from Goa (after India’s independence) would demonstrate from time to time and protest against the Portuguese. At present the fort has been converted into a heritage hotel with a few rooms and a restaurant. There is also a quaint little chapel inside the fort. Our initial plan was to stay overnight at the heritage hotel, but we decided against it as booking it at the last moment would be quite expensive.



The monument to the Goan freedom fighters beside the entrance ; The entrance to the Hotel



The chapel inside Fort Tiracol

The fort is open for visitors to explore - which is what we did and also had our lunch in the restaurant. We had a splendid view as the fort is located on a hill just at the mouth of the Terekhol River and the Querim beach was on the opposite bank.



Lunch at Tiracol Hotel



View From the Lunch Table at Fort Tiracol

END OF PART 1 . . .

[rohan_2911]

Part 2 - GOA

Post our lunch we drove down to the Terekhol Ferry terminal where we could catch a ferry that would take us across the Terekhol river and into mainland Goa. It was a free service - where they just charged us Rs 10 for the car !
However it was a challenging and scary experience to reverse the car from the ferry onto the land on the far side as the sandy and mossy ramp caused some wheelspin and I had my heart in my mouth for a few seconds that seemed to stretch on to eternity while my wife was enjoying the experience oblivious to the stress I was in !



Driving onto the ferry





My wife enjoying the ferry ride from the sunroof on the Kushaq - I do not allow anyone to peek out from the sunroof when the car is in motion - much to everyone's annoyance





Reversing the car - notice how the ferry and the ramp is at an angle - half a minute of sheer terror for the driver as he can hear the wheelspin on the sand - probably when the weight shifts more to one side due to the slope and the angle



We searched around for a nice hotel by the beach and finally settled on ‘Babu Beach resort’ in Mandrem. Since this was the off season - the resort was mostly empty.
We just chilled around on the beach till the next day - anyway there was a storm warning and all the water sports were anyway closed.




Some photographs of the room at 'Babu Beach Resort' - the resort has a restauraunt 'Pagan Cafe' right at the beach with a great view.

Day 4 (2nd September) :
We woke up , had a stroll on the beach, rearranged the luggage , had breakfast and checked out by about 11 am




Some pictures of the food at the cafe - notice the lack of a crowd in the 2nd picture as it was off season



Ashwem Beach in the morning




Pictures of the car parked at the resort (had to find a safe spot away from coconut trees - I do not want a coconut to shatter the sunroof or the windshield !)
The battery in the spare Key FOB carried by my wife was also depleted and I changed it



First stop for the day was Aguada fort - this was one of the locations we had not visited on our previous Goa trip
It was a nice sunny day - perfect lighting for photos.







Some photos from Aguada Fort

After visiting the main fort we drove towards the ‘lower Aguada fort’ - however we were stopped by Parking attendants and told to pay up an additional amount for parking which I thought was excessive since I had just paid parking charges at the main fort so we decided to skip the lower fort

After visiting the fort we drove down to Sahakari Spice Farms in Ponda which was about 50 kms away in the interiors of Goa - it took us roughly 2 hrs as it had started raining heavily by this time



At the spice farms

The visit to the Spice farms included a Goan Lunch Buffet , a guided tour of the Spice plantations , a shot of Feni and a small shop to purchase spices.

We were perhaps the last group for the day and had to wait for sometime for some of the tours to return so that an English guide was available ( as mentioned earlier my wife is from Pondicherry and is not very proficient in Hindi) so in the meantime we were given a welcome drink and we had our lunch.
The spice plantation tour was quite enjoyable especially since it kept raining On and Off and it felt like we were deep inside some rainforest.




Goan lunch at the spice farm




The spice plantation had come alive and looked like a rainforest due to the fresh spell of rain




A traditional 'distillery' used to make Goan Feni (Cashew Liquor)


After the tour we purchased some spices from the shop on the premises.
It was about 4 pm when we left the spice farm - it was raining heavily and there was nothing to see around at this time so we headed to the hotel we had booked which was Treebo Rock Valley in Ponda itself. We picked it simply because it fit our budget and was near Ponda - I didn’t want to drive back towards the coast.

At this point it was raining quite heavily and I had gotten quite wet - so I did what any sane person would do - I wiped/cleaned the car - as it was already quite wet the dirt just slid right off !



The car after I gave it a wipe - making good use of the heavy rain. My wife was wondering If I had gone mad -but I believe petrolheads here would appreciate my efforts


This Hotel was actually a ‘resort’ - it's tucked away on a hill slope along the Mahadayi River. This is one of those resorts that have a lot of outdoor activities one can do - however since it was not the season for outdoor activities we didn’t book that particular package, and this was also the reason this hotel was comparably value for money -it was hardly occupied !




The pool at the 'Treebo Rock Valley' in Ponda - notice the swollen Mahadayi river which had turned murky brown after a spell of heavy rain




Some photos from the drive on narrow Goan streets



END OF PART 2....

[rohan_2911]

PART 3

Day 5 (3rd September) :
We woke up - had our breakfast and had some time to kill before heading out - so I went for a quick dip in the pool. The Mahadayi River was quite murky and swollen owing to the incessant rains over the past 12-15 hours. This was also a reason why we were excited for our activity for the day. My wife had found out a tour operator on Instagram by the name of ‘Local beat’ who organized private tours to off-beat places in Goa.
We were supposed to reach the initial rendezvous point somewhere outside the village of Bicholim by 10 am. From there we were taken to a place where Breakfast for us was arranged and we also met the two other people who were a part of our group.
After our breakfast we drove off road (not exactly rough terrain - but it was more of a grassy field) for about a km and parked the car. We had to walk about 150-200 meters to reach a natural pool.




Walking towards the natural pool with lifejackets and towels


We spent the next few hours floating around on the pool and jumping off a ~ 20 feet cliff off the edge of the pool. Here I would like to mention that while many people would have dreamed of pushing their wife off a cliff - I have had the unique distinction of having done that as my wife couldn’t muster the courage to take the jump off the cliff and provided the much needed push !

As already stated a few times above - I will let the pictures do the talking.




One of the pools




Freeze frame from the GoPro video that captures me in midair as I leap into the water




My wife contemplating her life choices while standing at the edge of the 'cliff' overlooking the water 25 feet below.



That's me giving a mighty push to my wife - to ensure she falls into the waer clear of the wall




That's her surfacing after the jump





Another pool - where we were served 'sweet poha' after the activity - a much needed energy boost - just look at the colour of the water in the background



After we got changed into dry clothes we headed back to a place on the outskirts of the village where Lunch was organized - it was a simple traditional vegetarian Goan lunch



Goan Lunch ! We were famished after spending the past few hours in the water - especially because I had jumped about 8-10 times in the water.





It was finally time to leave Goa and drive towards the Goa - Karnataka border. We made a brief stopover at Mapusa market




Somewhere near Mapusa




Mapusa Bus Stand




Mapusa Market




Some pictures from my dash cam as we drove towards Karnataka - there was a heavily loaded tempo at a crossing wildly gesticulating at people to stop - but none did - I got a Thumbs Up as I stopped well clear of the intersection



As soon as we crossed the border into Karnataka one of the things that I noticed was that there were a lot of stray cattle on the road - I am sure there would be at least a few major accidents every week on this stretch. We stopped overnight at Karwar.



Cattle grazing on the median and randomly jumping onto the road !



Day 6 (4th September):

Next morning we had breakfast and checked out of the hotel - we made a quick stop at Karwar Beach and started driving towards the JLR (Jungle Lodges and Resorts) at Jog falls which was about 155 kms away.



Karwar Beach




Holligedde Toll Booth about 80kms from Karwar




The winding ghat roads leading to Jog Falls - we saw a car that had got into a ditch which was being winched out - thankfully everyone was ok without any injuries





The car entering the Jog Falls Area


The resort at Jog falls was situated at the banks of the Talekalele reservoir. We checked into the Resort and had our lunch after which we were taken for a motorboat ride on the reservoir - we were the only two people who were present and the driver was kind enough to allow me to drive the motorboat !
This was followed by a 90 minute canoe session.




View from the room at Sharavati Adventure Camp, Jungle loges and Resorts (JLR) overlooking the Talakalele reservoir





The room at JLR - our room was named Hornbills




That's me driving the Motorboat

[rohan_2911]

Part 4 : JOG Falls, Bangalore, Pondicherry and a Wedding



Canoeing on the Talakalele Balancing Reservoir

We returned to the room and just chilled around till dinnertime.

Day 7 (5th September):
We woke up - had our tea and we were taken to see Jog Falls.



Driving towards Jog Falls in the JLR Jeep

We were perhaps the first tourists to arrive at that day and the driver of our jeep - literally had to look around for the keys to open the entry gate to the Circuit House - where the Jog Falls view point was located
Since this was just after monsoon season and it had been raining in the area for the past few days the falls were at their absolute fullest and most spectacular, it was the perfect time to witness their full glory.



Jog Falls

The guide pointed out the various individual falls , there are 4 of them - Raja, Rani , Rocket and Roarer. As we were observing the falls a fog bank moved in and completely masked the falls for about 15-20 minutes. Next we were taken to the other view point at the opposite side of the riverbank from where we could see the MGHE Hydel power plant.



The Mahatma Gandhi Hydro Electric (MGHE) Station with an installed capacity of 120 MW.



The modified Bolero with the Check Engine Light ON ; Me and My wife with our guide for the morning - Mr Shaukat

We returned to the resort and had our breakfast - even here the other people present at the resort asked us if we had seen the falls because whenever they had tried over the past few days it was covered in Fog and mist. I guess we got lucky.
After our breakfast we rearranged our luggage as by this point we had a lot of wet clothes and even our shoes were wet.



Breakfast and Tea at JLR ; Organising the car - placing the wet clothes and shoes on the parcel tray so they can dry



After checking out we started riding towards Belur / Halebidu - it was a long 4 hour drive and just as I was getting a bit bored for having driven for the past 6 days we entered the section between Shimoga and Chikkamangaluru - and it was an absolute pleasure driving the car here as the roads were deserted and I daresay I put the Turbo to good use.



A random spot where we took a break to stretch our legs

At this point I came across a Biker who had fallen down - possible because he had entered a inclined turn carrying a bit more speed than what was permissible - I parked the car about 30 meters ahead by the side where clear space was available and used to first aid kit to bandage the abrasion on his palm and ankle area with help from some other people who had gathered there. I noticed a Police Jeep stop on the opposite lane to ask what had happened - but then the jeep went away without rendering any aid which was very disappointing to see. The biker was feeling ok after 10 minutes and he was ready to be on his way - it turned out that he was a local and was aware of a Govt. Hospital a few kms down the road where he planned to go and get the wounds dressed properly.



Sequence of images from my dash cam of us spotting the biker who had fallen down and then putting the first aid kit to some good use. In all this confusion there was also a parked car that started driving with it's door open !

By this time even If I don’t want to admit it the fact is that some ‘travel fatigue’ had set in and I/We didn’t do proper research on where we were headed - we visited the Shri Chennakesava swamy temple in Belur but by the time we were done there the time was such that we couldn’t have reached Halebidu before the temple there closed. We should have gone to Helebidu first and then come to Belur.



Photos from the dash cam - many tourists had irresponsibly parked their cars on the road leading to the temple when the designated parking behind the temple was empty !



The temple complex



Us at the temple



It was still daylight when we were done with the temple at Belur and we debated on what to do next - we broadly had two options :
Book a hotel nearby and spend another day or two to explore Chikmangaluru and its surroundings - the star shaped Manjarabad Fort in Sakleshpura was particularly interesting
Cut our losses and start heading towards Bangalore (where my brother lives)

Eventually we chose option 2 because as earlier mentioned we had a bit of ‘travel fatigue’ and I knew that one or two days wouldn’t be enough to explore Chikmangluru and surrounding areas. I knew that there’s always going to be a next time to do it anyway !
Reaching bangalore on the 6th September would also allow us to spend ~two full days with my Brother’s family before we headed towards Pondicherry on the 8th (Sunday)

So we drove and ended up reaching Hassan which was about an hour away and settled into Hotel Raama right on the main highway in the town. We spent the next hour or so spreading out all the wet clothes to let them dry properly and then had our dinner and promptly went to bed.

Day 8 (6th September) :

Next morning we had breakfast and started for Bangalore by about 0830 - the destination was just shy of 200 kms and I was well aware of the peak hour traffic in Bangalore - so I chose a time where we would reach Bagalore around lunchtime where the streets would be comparatively empty
The drive towards Bangalore on NH 75 was excellent with cruise control being on for 95% of the time - we took a break for some Coffee at MTR just past the Bellur Cross- Kunigal Toll Booth



Dosa and Filter Coffee at MTR ; driving on smooth straight roads with cruise control ON

As expected we reached Bangalore just around 1 pm with an excellent FE of 21 kmpl over 195 kms !



Impressive FE of 21 KMPL

Day 9 (7th September)
Spend the day with my Brother, Sister in Law and my nieces

Day 10 (8th September) :
Started from Banglore around 7:30 am in the Morning and reached my wife’s place in Pondicherry by Lunchtime (around 1:30PM). FE was an impressive 20 kmpl over 313 kms


20kmpl over 313 km




Somewhere after crossing Gingee on the way to Pondicherry - Tindicanam is also my parent's native place

After having a leisurely and relaxed lunch and a quick nap we unloaded the car and transported all the luggage into the house. Thereafter it was time to do the laundry and get mentally ready to work as the next day was Monday !


Day 11,12,13 (9,10,11th September) :
These days were spent catching up on work and visits to the Rock Beach in Pondicherry



View from the Old pier at Rock Beach in Pudducherry

Day 14 (12th September) :
Since both of us were a bit free in the morning - we visited Auroville Beach and Auroville cafe before logging in (to work) for the day.



A visit to Auroville Beach and Bakery located about 10 kms from my wife's place - on a trusty Activa that belongs to my FIL.

Day 15 (13th September) :
Spent the day working and staying indoors as it was a face melting 34 degrees celsius outside ( Google Weather said that it would ‘feel’ like 42 degrees and I was in full agreement !)



Day 16 (14th September) :
My cousin’s wedding was on 15th September so we started from Pondicherry early in the morning - the first stop was Tindivanam, a town about 40 kms to the north west (this is where my family is from). I was tasked to bring some sweets and snacks which were specially made for the wedding - so we picked those up and had breakfast and started towards Chennai.
Reached Chennai around Lunch time and we had lunch at my cousin’s place and immediately started for Thirutanni - my parents were also there in the car this time.

The drive to Thiruthani was a bit irritating as there was no open / highway stretch to drive on - the route was along the suburbs of Chennai
We checked into the hotel (Regency Tiruttani) at around 5 pm - got ready and reached the Temple at 7pm to attend the pre wedding festivities. Parking was a big mess as with any other crowded place in India - I don’t know why they charge for parking if they cannot regulate it.



Car parked at Thirrutani temple top in the evening.

Returned to the Hotel by 10 pm

Day 17 (15th September) :
Woke up by 4am, got ready and reached the temple by 6:30 for the wedding.



Temple parking in the morning - relatively empty.

After the wedding we had to head to Chennai for the reception that was scheduled on the next day so we got back to the Hotel in Tiruttani and started driving back to Chennai by around 11:30 am. We stopped in Thiruvallur for Lunch and we were in Chennai by 2:30 pm and checked into a service apartment near my cousin’s house (in Pallikaranai). I parked the car in a decent spot on the narrow lanes with a determination to keep it parked until I had to drive back to Pondicherry - I had no intention of driving the car in the narrow lanes

Day 18 (16th September) :
The reception was in the evening - so we visited a few of my Wife’s relatives and we were back by 3 pm - after a short nap it was time to start getting ready for the reception.
After the reception there was some work to be done at the venue and I went to bed only by 1AM

Day 19 (17th September) :
It was Tuesday and I was supposed to start working again - the plan was to wake up early and then drive to Pondicherry so I could login by 9:30 -10.However I was too tired to wake up that early and slept till about 8:30 am. My brother and his family had already left and were on their way to Bangalore by train.

This was the only day in the whole trip where I was not excited or interested in driving - a sense of ‘mental driving fatigue’ had set in - probably because now that the wedding (the purpose of the trip) was over - it meant that the vacation was going to come to an end !
However - I had to get to Pondicherry - so we packed up , loaded the car and I started driving towards Pondicherry (after drinking some RedBull for the first time in my life at 33 years old)

The Red Bull kicked in by the time the car reached the outskirts of Chennai and it was smooth sailing thereafter.
We stopped at Auroville bakery to get something for my Wife’s parents and reached Pondicherry by Lunchtime - had lunch , got some rest and then woke up at 3:30- 4:00 pm and logged in to work finally (although I had taken the day off) and respond to some messages and email.

Days 20 - 23 (18,19, 20th September) :
Did nothing special - worked in the day, spent some time walking along Rock Beach in the evening - I got into as habit of walking 8-10 kms at one go while listening to some interesting podcast.


END OF PART 4...

[rohan_2911]

PART 5 - Pondicherry, Bangalore, Chitradurga and Hampi

Day 24 (21st September) :
Saturday - we had breakfast at Auroville Cafe and headed to Alamparai fort which is about 50 kms north of Pondicherry. Constructed in the late 17th century during the Mughal era, the Alamparai Fort once had a 100-metre long dockyard stretching into the sea, from which zari cloth, salt, and ghee were exported - however only ruins of the fort exist now.
Had a bit of a scare here as the path leading into the fort was inclined which restricted my visibility on a patch of sand and I got the vehicle stuck there as I drove over it instead of following the gravel path on the right - however a couple of other tourists helped push the car a little ( a few feet) and it became unstuck (I was sweating buckets in the 2-3 minutes) . I usually have some snacks in the car - which I wanted to share with them as a token of thanks - however on that day I did not have any of it.

The fort ruins and the surroundings were very picturesque - I was quite surprised as to how this place is not a major tourist/picnic spot - especially the shallow lagoon with a sandbar in the distance meant that one could do some swimming etc if we had lifejackets.
It was very sunny and hot - however that made for good lighting and we were able to click some great pictures - we climbed up the steps leading to the top of the undamaged section of the fort walls and saw nice panoramic views of the coast and the surrounding areas.

Some pictures of the fort ruins








ME on top of the Fort Wall - the shallow lagoon is visible in the background





The spot where I got stuck is somewhere to the top in this image - just to the right of the gravel track that is visible



This photo was taken some distance away from the fort


I was also able to click some pictures of the group that helped push the car as that’s the least I could do under the circumstances ! .
After spending about 90 minutes in the fort we drove back home - stopping in between to have refreshing coconut water and to purchase some fruits. We got home in time for lunch by 12:30 pm



My wife buying fruits - you can see a white XUV parked within the white lines and on the road - I get very irritated when I see people doing stupid stuff like this and displaying a total lack of road sense - especially where there is ample parking space available as seen in the second picture of my car

In the evening we visited some of our relatives who lived in Pondicherry

Day 25 (22nd September) :
Attended a few sessions of the Pondi Lit Fest in the Morning and then went to the Manakula Vinayagar Temple.
Later in the evening we went to Paradise Beach with my Wife’s Mom. This is an access controlled beach located a few kms to the south - it’s a nice place if you want to take a dip in the water as they have lifeguards , changing rooms etc… all the facilities are maintained quite well and they are also expanding the place by building rooms where tourists can book a stay

There was also Paramotoring going on - however I found it quite costly as the flight time was hardly 3-4 minutes

Paradise beach - the name makes total sense given the surroundings - one of the best beaches with facilities I've been to in India







Paramotor flight in progress ; Had some "Goli" Soda after a long time


Days 26-30 (23rd to 27th September ) :
Just worked and did the packing for the trip back to Mumbai

Day 31 (28th September) :
We started driving back to Mumbai - we planned to stop over at Bangalore again.

First stop today was at our Ancestral Temple in Neikuppi
We reached Bangalore at around 3:30 - 4 pm in the afternoon



Left : My Ancestral temple in Neikuppi near Tindivanam ; We had lunch at a hotel just inside the Karnataka Border - the gate is visible from the restaurant ; A random stop near Krishnagiri

Day 32 (29th September) :
Went to VV Puram Food Street in Bangalore to have some street food





Days 33-34 (30 - 1st October) :
Worked on the 30th, On the 1st we drove to Chitraduraga in the evening and checked into a Government Guest House (courtesy my brother’s office). It was very late by the time we reached - about 0030 -0100

Day 35 (2nd October) :
Holiday for Gandhi Jayanti , Woke up late, had breakfast and explored the area around the guest house.



Car parked in front of the guest house



My nieces playing with some pet rabbits at the guest house ; we saw a lot of weaver bird nests - we could see the birds in action i.e. catching insects and going into the nests


We drove to the Chitradurga fort after Lunch - the fort is huge so we made use of the limited time and explored as much as possible.
It was the Golden hour - so I got to click some nice pictures of the fort which reinforced the fact that the fort's actual name is Chitradurga, which means 'picturesque fort' in Kannada !
This is definitely a place I would like to visit again and explore in depth

Some photos from the fort





Refueled the car in Chitradurga town and reached the guesthouse by 1930 had dinner and slept off

Day 36 (3rd October) :
Plan was to go to Hampi and work from there for a few days before heading back to Mumbai over the weekend - but since it was a working day we had to get to Hampi y about 9 AM - so we started from Chitradurga early and reached Hampi by 8
Booked a room in the outskirts of Hampi as we were eating our breakfast - checked in and promptly logged in to work - ate lunch and dinner at a restaurant which was at a walking distance nearby.



Our stay at Hampi - it was called "The Hideout"


Day 37 (4th October) :
Early next morning we went to the main temple complex i.e Hampi Bazaar and the Achyutaraya temple complex - since it was early morning on a weekday there was hardly anyone present there. After spending about 90 minutes exploring the temple complex - we proceeded towards the Tungabhadra river for the coracle ride





END OF PART 5 ....

[rohan_2911]

PART 6 - Hampi and Home




Some more pictures from the temple complex


Since we were quite early the coracle rides hadn’t started in full swing yet and we had to wait a fair amount of time. In the meantime the place was ‘raided’ by a big group of monkeys - but they sat patiently at the edge - perhaps they had ample memory of being shooed away.

After some time we finally went for the coracle ride - it was an interesting experience where at one point we were under a huge rock - where the river had eroded a part of the rock away in such a way that the coracle could fit completely in the empty space - the ‘coracle’ man remarked that when water from the Tungabhadra dam is released the space is completely inundated with water. As we went further down the river in the coracle we were shown various temples that were of religious importance.



Photos from the coracle ride


The coracle ride lasted for about 45 minutes - after that we returned to the room - we had to relocate to a room in the neighbouring homestay as we had originally taken the room only for one day.

We worked till Lunch time - and for lunch we went to a famous restaurant called ‘The Mango Tree’ where we had a Thali.




WFH - Work from Hampi ! ; There was a canal carrying freshwater from the Tungabhadra river ; Lunch Thali at the "The Mango Tree"


Post Lunch we again worked till about 5 pm and in the evening went back to the Hampi bazar for some shopping. We planned to climb up Mathanga Hill to view the sunset - but we got late and then skipped hiking up the mountain.



Random Photo at one of the monuments

We had Dinner in a local restaurant and as I was thinking about the places we would visit and explore the next day (Saturday) - I realised how big Hampi was as a tourist destination and that 1 or 2 more days are not going to be enough !


Day 38 (5th October) :
It was a Saturday today - woke up early as the plan was to explore Hampi till about 2-3 pm and then start driving towards Mumbai , stop at Vijayapura overnight and then continue onwards to Mumbai the next day (Sunday) - but the weather gods had some other plans - we woke up to the sound of pouring rain.
We packed the bags , loaded the car and then waited for an hour for the rain to stop, but there were no signs of that happening - the weather reports predicted rain for the next 5-6 hours.
So we decided to cut our losses and abandon plans of exploring Hampi and directly drive to Mumbai which was about 680 kms away -I knew it was going to be a long day - but I was looking forward to the drive.
Also having done multiple 500 / 1000 km drives in a day I knew that the trick to save time was ensuring that the time spent on stops for food and fuel is minimised as far as possible - so the the way we do it is identify the restaurant we want to eat at and also fix the order/what we want to eat. As soon as we enter the restaurant - my wife will have ordered the food by the time I’m parking the car and the food is generally ready by the time we have gone to the washroom. Sometimes we try and combine fuel stop with a food stop - i.e. my wife will order food by the time I’m getting the car fuelled



Leaving Hampi - Next Stop Mumbai

We managed to reach Pune by about 5:30 - 6 PM. It was time to get the car fuelled - we stopped at a Shell Petrol pump which also had a small store - we had tea/coffee and also something to eat - so that we won’t need to stop at the Mumbai - Pune expressway food court.



Some pictures from the drive on NH48 ; Right : Photos from the Shell Petrol Pump in Pune


We reached our Home in Mumbai by about 0900 pm.
Total distance for the trip was 3935 kms !



Hampi to Mumbai : 730 kms in 12 hrs and 45 mins, with an average speed of 57 kmph and FE of 17.9 kmpl ; total trip distance is just shy of 4000 kms




Route Map



Brief Route and Itinerary

[GeeTee TSI]

Beautiful write up, pictures and a crisp summary in a trip covering beaches, hills, archeological sites and more!

I will come back to the this thread for that elusive monsoon drive to Ratnagiri.

[Phantom 510]

That is one great road trip. It was pleasure going through all the details you have mentioned in the article.

[justwheels]

Wow, what a beautiful travelogue and what a 38 day trip you had. Monsoons and western ghats are a marriage made in heaven. You sure had a mesmerizing lush green trip all along.

The whole of Maharashtra and Karnataka turn into a paradise post monsoons, and it sure is a sight to behold watching the rivers and rivulets gushing in their full flow. And to top all of that is the fun of enjoying local food all along.

Thanks for sharing, reminded me of the many trips done along the same route earlier. And inspires to hit the tarmac again this monsoon.

Keep munching miles on the Kushaq!

Deb

[Raghu M]

That's a lovely travelogue. I like the fact that you kept everything very simple and the distance traveled each day is not too high. Great pics too, very well written.

[Mystic]

A very well articulated travelogue. I enjoyed reading it. I am happy that folks working can do such long duration travels due to flexible WFH options. It is a win-win for both employees and employers. Wish you many more such experiences. I liked the way you have placed multiple photos in one picture. I would try this approach next time in my travelogue.

[ketan007]

Kudos to you for completing such a nice trip. Apart from the fuel economy, how did you like Kushaq on various kinds of roads?

[SupraConscious]

Wonderfully articulated! Excites me to go on a trip like this one!

[rohan_2911]

Originally Posted by ketan007

Kudos to you for completing such a nice trip. Apart from the fuel economy, how did you like Kushaq on various kinds of roads?

I've never had a problem - but frankly I do not have enough experience to talk about it as the Kushaq is the only car I've driven for any decent amount of distance. I have had no issues as far as the drivability / handling is concerned.

[rohan_2911]

Originally Posted by Mystic

A very well articulated travelogue. I enjoyed reading it. I am happy that folks working can do such long duration travels due to flexible WFH options. It is a win-win for both employees and employers. Wish you many more such experiences. I liked the way you have placed multiple photos in one picture. I would try this approach next time in my travelogue.

Thanks - it did take some effort to do it and name and organize the pictures which is why it took me so much time to write about the trip