[naman]

Hey guys,

I recently did a solo trip from delhi to bombay and back on the 5-7 Sep Weekend. It was the best driving experience of my life so far.

Backdrop : I was planning to visit bombay that weekend and had almost booked the flight when 1 of my friends suggested that we go down by road. Just the mention of the word "by road" made me ecstatic and then and there we decided that we are actually going by road. For those who don't know, I recently got myself a Getz Crdi. Its running on Michelin PPs and got Kenwood + bull ICE.

Then a few days later we find out that he has to leave for the US for official work. I was seeing my plan going down in a jiffy but by that time return airfare had already risen to 10.5 K ( when i initially planned to go by flight, it was 6.5 K return ). Coupled with my enthu for driving, I finalized that I'll do the trip solo.

Day 0 :
Initially the plan was to leave early morning on Fri ( 2 ish ) and make it to bombay fri night (9ish). Thursday was usual in office with printouts and final preparations during lunch break. Came back at a leisurely 7 in the eve. I had decided to stay at a friend's for the night since he was in gurgaon. All the preparation was done.
Car check : Engine oil, Coolant, Windshield jet, fueled up, tire pressure.
Refreshers : got 3 amul lassi, 3 red bulls, 7 liters of bisleri, 2 tropicanas
Snacks : got 3 packets of monaco, 2 packets of lays, 3 apples, 2 bananas
Music : Made 3 mp3 CDs, 1 Hindi new songs, 1 English romantic and soft, 1 English rock and rap.
Medicines : Kept disprin, paracetamol, vitamin C and combiflam.
I also kept the wheel spanner under the front seats ( just in case )
Chatted with him for a while, had early dinner, made final checks of the map and route ( special thanks to HVK for sharing his log book ) and slept at 8 pm. Instantly fell asleep because of the tiring day. However, the excitement didn't let me sleep for long. I got up at 10. After that it was impossible to sleep. So decided to leave right then. Freshened up and left his home at 1030 pm. What began was a trip which was fun, tiring, challenging and above all fulfilling.

To be continued...

Naman

[Dude77]

Nice writeup Naman...plz continue and post pics too!!

[rkbharat]

OMG, I am waiting buddy, keep scribing.

And you planned to cover the stretch in 19Hrs, 2am till 9pm. Was this discussed with HVK

[Dragonov]

Great Naman ! Eagerly waiting for the rest of the log and ofcourse how did the little beast fare

[akroy]

Eagerly waiting for the entire report and pics too

Abhi

[naman]

Guys, in all the preparations I forgot to get the camera and hence don't have any pictures. So continuing

I left my friends place in Gurgaon at 1030 pm, joined NH8 in 10 mins and crossed the first toll gate at 11 pm. By this time the butterflies were gone and I was wide awake ( I generally sleep at 2 ). Traffic was a little on the heavier side with lots of truck traffic. But good road surfaces and diesel torque made it a nice drive. Consistently did 100-110 with occasional 40-50 when caught behind the trucks overtaking each other. This was time to listen to some good hindi numbers. It helped keep the environment light and cheery. The traffic lightened as I entered Rajasthan but became heavy again when I was nearing Jaipur. Jaipur bypass was reached around 115 am and after that the real fun began.

The roads are amazing. The traffic was zilch. The road markers made it look like a runaway. Felt as if I was driving in Europe. Increaed the speed to 120 but didn't exceed 130. Reached Kishangarh turn off at 245 am. The six lane is a wonder from Jaipur to Kishangarh. Took leg stretching break here. Relaxed for 15 mins and had my first Red Bull. Walked on the side for a while and was as fresh as ever.

Started again after the pitstop at 3 am. The roads although 4 laned were again too good. Smooth tarmac, sparse traffic and very good markings made it real pleasure. Consistently did 120-130. Now it was time for Metallica, Maiden and the likes. The rock music was blaring at full volume and it was similar to playing NFS underground. Was nearing Chittorgarh at 445 am. It took me almost quarter hr to cover the Chittorgarh patch from the point where 4 lane ends till the point where 4 lane again begins. Udaipur was 100 odd kms and the distance was done in less than an hr. By the time I reached Udaipur, it was already broad daylight. Man, its amazing driving in the dawn. The headligths coupled with red horizon. Never had this feeling before. My second break was after crossing Udaipur at 630 am. I fueled up at a BP pure for sure and had a cup of tea at a dhaba.

Started at 700 am. After Udaipur 1 encounters ghats for 50 odd kms. Its such a different experience to drive on the ghats on 4 laned roads. Now it was time for some slow romantic stuff. Still did over 100 and pushed the PPs to the limits. After an hour the roads changed from ghats to arrow straight and i started feeling sleepy. That's what arrow straight roads do. Downed another red bull and was up again. For the first time touched 140 on the trip. Now was consistently doing 130-140. Traffic was light and the road surface as usual awesome.

Was touching Ahmadabad around 930 am. Expert guidance by ramky made sure I didn't waste time asking directions here. Quickly got on to Ring road and was at NE1 entry at 10 am. Relaxed drive for the last half hr made sure that I was again fresh and pushed the car to the max. I could manage 180. Getz didn't do further. Stayed there for a minute and then consistently cruised at 150-160. Next break was at 1030 am at a food court near the shut down Reliance pump about 5-10 kms before the NE1 end. Had to attend the "bigger" nature call. Had a chicken sandwich with orange juice. Walked for 5 mins, did some stretches and started for the next leg at 11 am.

So now the fun part for the onward journey was about to end. The roads till now was awesome. What was about to start was a stressing run to Surat and further.

To be continued...
Naman

[mjothi]

Solo trip? Thats interesting. So, I see one more basu out there?

How many episodes are your Travelogue. Lol? Please dont make us more anxious, do it in one stretch, if possible.

[naman]

Hmm, so continuing after the NE1 exit, it was horrible for 10-20 kms where one has to travel in single lanes with no scope of overtaking due to construction of flyovers. But once Baroda bypass was passed the situation was much better. Although due to construction most of the roads are single laned but its wide enough for overtaking and surprisingly road surface was good as well. Now it was time to test the overtaking prowess of the little beast. It simply amazes with the power it has. Two scenarios

You are cruising at 90 in 5th. And approach a slow moving vehicle. The lane for oncoming vehicles is empty. Neither do you slowdown nor do you downshift. Simply press the pedal and it zooms forward.

You are stuck behind the traffic at 50 since the other lane is not empty, put in 3rd and press the pedal. By the time you have to move back to your lane you have already overtook 4-5 trucks and doing 100 in 3rd. Simply upshift to 5th ans continue.

Most of the sections are quite good. The main bottlenecks were the sections where flyovers are being constructed and single lane bridges over narmada and tapi. Anyhow, I managed to cross Surat by pass in less than 3 hrs. By 130-145 I had already crossed the bypass and the construction activity was over. The regular 4 laned roads again started.

The road surface was now average with irregular repairs. Once can't exceed 90 on this. To add to the agony heavy downpour had started reducing to zero visibility. It tool almost an hour to cover the next 50 kms. By 245 I was at the twin BP pumps ( where there are two adjacent BP pumps for either direction ). Had the third red bull along with fruits and biscuits to make my lunch. Stretched for a couple of minutes. Also tanked up here. ( Diesel is more than Rs 39/Lt )

Started again at 3. The distance to bombay was aprrox 230 from here. Now the rain had stopped. I was fresh again. Road surface became pretty nice. In less than an hour I entered Maharastra. After this the roads were amazing for 60-70 kms. I did 120 easily on this stretch. It was relief after what I encountered post Surat. It was 445 and bombay was 100 kms.

By now, I was damn tired and thought that I'd be home in an hr and a half ( i had to go till powai ). But the roads suddenly changed. There were literally non-existent roads. There were potholes all over. At places the road was washed away and only 1 lane was reconstructed meaning on had to follow slow trucks for long. It was hard to drive over 50 and i barely was able to do 40 kmph average speed. Took the road towards Thane and joined EEH at 630 pm to reached home @ powai at 730 pm. In the last 4.5 hours barely managed to do 200 kms. All this while I was in agony, I watched the roads on the other side which had already been redone and were in mint condition. Agonizing, yeah it was, at the same time I cherished the fact that couple of days forth, I'll be driving on this side as well .

Surprisingly, after washing up I didn't feel sleepy. We ( my gf and me ) had loads of fun and discussed the my whole journey before finally sleeping off at 12. A couple of friends had also joined us at her place. It was time for some scotch and toast making.

One the whole, it was a really amazing drive. Overall, I enjoyed it. I saw it all. My little beast was a delight. Its Crdi mill is so much drivable. Its very relaxing and you don't have to stress the engine at all. You are doing 140, and a glance to the tacho tells you its spinnig at a mere 3K. Suspension setup in Getz is very good and it absorbs most of the irregularities. With upgraded tires, the braking and handling has improved by miles. Only, negative point is the seats. It could be very tiring for some.

So, the next two days are in bombay. Return trip started on Sun eve. It was equally enticing and exciting.

Naman

[kutlee]

I like the wheel spanner precaution. Red bull is the best companion. Nothing else is OK. Pics please.

[gd1418]

I did not understand this..

"just in case" you thought if the wheel came out, then you could.....

Originally Posted by naman

Hey guys,

I also kept the wheel spanner under the front seats ( just in case )

Naman

[Shakensoul]

Originally Posted by naman

Guys, in all the preparations I forgot to get the camera and hence don't have any pictures. So continuing

Well, thats a sin not to carry a camera while travelling atleast for me. But we will pardon your crime one time for your wonderful narration.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by kutlee

I like the wheel spanner precaution. Red bull is the best companion. Nothing else is OK. Pics please.

He already told he forgot to take the camera. I think that was the only mistake he did in the entire trip.

Abhi

[naman]

Originally Posted by gd1418

I did not understand this..

"just in case" you thought if the wheel came out, then you could.....

do u seriously need explanation ... anyways here it goes

I removed it from the boot and kept it under the front seat just in case i want to hit some moron if the situation so arises.

Thanks guys for appreciating the effort. Yeah, camera was the mistake. Will not do it again. And will put down the pics of Delhi-Bombay-Goa route in Dec. Already planning has started for epic run down the west in the Christmas/new yr holidays.

Naman

[snaronikar]

Naman, it is nice write up. But a disappointing thing is no pics. But there is always next time. BTW, is this the end of your write up ? How about there turn trip narration though you mentioned that it was equally enticing and exiting. Can we expect more?

[vkochar]

Originally Posted by naman

. Only, negative point is the seats. It could be very tiring for some.

Looking at your narration, you drove from Delhi to Mumbai NON STOP !!! Without sleeping or taking a night's break !!

Even a Beemer's seat would prove to be uncomfortable

Anyways, a very well written travelogue. Makes you a true driver. I plan to do the Agra - Mumbai road trip in December in my Verna CRDi.