15th February 2009, 08:23
| #1 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
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Thanked: 56 Times
|  Coastal Karnataka and Goa in Swift D - 2000+kms in 9 days Route : Bangalore - Hassan - Chikmagalur - Sringeri - Agumbe - Udupi - Kundapur - Murdeshwar - Gokarna - Karwar - Goa - Sawantwadi - Belgaum - Hubli - Davangere - Tumkur - Bangalore Just back from a long vacation which covered most of Coastal Karnataka and Coastal Goa. The distance covered was 2050KMS in Swift VDI. The plan was made some time in August 2008 and was decided to do this road trip in Nov- Dec 2008. But due to other priorities I had to postpone this trip to February 2009. I did a Bangalore-Ooty/Coonoor-Bangalore road trip instead in November 2008. I had done the Mangalore to Udupi coastal stretch in July 2008 and really enjoyed the drive. Never done the coastal stretch beyond Udupi and this time I decided to start from Udupi and continue all the way till North Goa. Applied for leaves much in advance and planned the route looking at forums on TBHP and help from Google. I have been a regular visitor to Goa. A Goa trip a year is a must with friends. So after marriage, this was my first Goa trip. My wife has never been to Goa and I really wanted her to experience Goa. So this time it was only me and my wife in my Swift D. Preparation: A week before the road trip I had the car serviced at Mandovi Motors, Wilson Garden. This was an unscheduled service at 15000KMS. Just 2 days before the road trip, while cleaning the car, thought of cleaning the stock air filter. Removed the air filter and slightly banged it against the wall and in the process tore the paper filter. Cannot do this trip with a broken air filter. Called up Mandovi Motors. Air filter not in stock. Sagar Automobiles on Bannerghatta Road not willing to sell air filter over counter and told me I had to bring the car. Not willing to drive the car with a torn air filter. I just wanted the filter and told them will change it myself. They then directed me to Essar Automotives on JC road next to Urvashi Theater. Dealer for MGA. Picked up an air filter for Rs.260 and a 10 minute job to install the same. A day before the road trip. Filled up diesel at IOC bunk on RV Road and realized diesel is cheaper by 2 rupees. Pleasant surprise. Was not aware of the fuel price cut that happened the previous day. Tyre pressure checked. Batteries for the camera charged and bags packed. Took a printout of the route and also places I intend to visit. Hotel in Goa was booked in Panaji. This was done through my Dad’s office as they have this hotel as their Holiday home at Goa. So accommodation was free at Goa. Though I usually prefer a beach side resort, my wife insisted we make use of this facility in the time of recession. Slept early the night before as I planned to leave by 5:30AM next morning. No sleep because of the excitement about the long road trip and finally forced myself to sleep by 12:00AM. Day 1 (31st January, 2009) : Bangalore - Hassan - Chikmagalur - Sringeri - Agumbe – Udupi Odometer Reading : 0KM – 567KMS Alarm rang at 4:30AM. Got up and ready by 5:15AM. Take the car out of the garage and load the bags. Set the trip meter to 0. Keep the camera at an accessible distance. Also the printout of the route plan and a notepad for making notes. Water bottle and some eatables inside the cabin. Connect the pen drive loaded with music and we are ready to go. Leave my house in Jayanagar by 5:45AM and take the Kanakapura Road to reach the NICE road. It’s still dark and cold outside. The whoosh is more prominent now with the new air filter. The turbo whistle is music to my ears and is now more audible. Did not want to take a jacket with me on this trip as I know I will never be using it again in this road trip. Just kept the heater on in the cabin. Pay the toll on the NICE road till Tumkur road (Rs.16 for Kanakapura Road to Mysore Road and Rs.33 for Mysore Road to Tumkur Road). Enter Tumkur road and encounter truck traffic. Lots of construction activity going on here as the road is being widened. Take the left at Nelamangala junction towards NH 48. The traffic is not much and I encounter a few cars. Overtake an Opel Corsa and play “catch me if you can” for some time. Then wifey realizes what I am up to and speed is restricted to 100KMPH. The NH 48 is being widened and you encounter patches of broken tarmac all the way till Hassan. Ideal for speeds up to 110-120KMPH.  Ready to leave Bangalore  Tripmeter set to zero  Cockpit At around 7:30AM stop at Café Coffee Day near Kunigal for some coffee and use the rest room. Have not so good coffee and hit the highway again towards Hassan. Cross Channarayapatna and after about 6-7KMS stop at Kamat Yatrinivas for breakfast. Breakfast was pretty good and the hot filter coffee was just perfect for the cold morning. Get back on the highway and head towards Hassan. The roads have been re-laid inside Hassan town. The last time I was here there were no roads, only potholes. Take the deviation towards Belur and the roads just get better. Reach Belur in no time and asking directions for the shortcut to Aldur which will bypass Chikmagalur. Speak to a couple of guys who suggested me take the Chikmagalur road and then head towards Aldur as the Belur to Aldur road is in bad shape. Continue towards Chikmagalur and as you enter the town encounter bad stretches for a couple of kilometers. Go past Chikmagalur town and past the KSRTC bus stand and you get the road towards Aldur.   Cafe Coffee Day near Kunigal  Breakfast at Kamat Yatrinivas at Channarayapatna  Stretch towards Hassan  Beautiful Hassan - Belur stretch  Just before Chikmagalur town After Chikmagalur town you will encounter stretches of broken tarmac till Aldur. After Aldur you encounter super smooth roads with twisties. Had lots of fun pushing the car around corners. One of the best stretches I encountered for pushing the car around corners. Just like the way the car sticks to the tarmac. About 80KMS from Chikmagalur after Balehonnur at Jayapur take the Left U turn towards Sringeri. The straight road takes you to Koppa. This entire stretch from Chikmagalur to Balehonnur is a 2 lane road through coffee and tea plantations.   After Aldur - Nice curving roads  Somewhere between Aldur and Balehonnur  Tea plantations at Balehonnur  Towards Sringeri  Just before Sringeri Reach Sringeri town by 12:15PM. The weather is hot and humid. Park the car and head straight towards the temple. The temple is crowded because of Saraswati Puja. Visit the Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham and Vidyasankara temple here and finish darshan. Sit inside the temple for sometime as the temperature inside is cool and relaxing compared to the searing heat outside. Then have lunch at the temple consisting of a sweet, rice, sambar and buttermilk. Then go to the Tunga river right next to the temple which if full of fishes. Watch the fishes for sometime in the river and take some snaps. Leave Sringeri by 2:00PM and head towards Agumbe. The stretch from Sringeri to Agumbe Village is in good condition and as you descend the Ghats you will encounter bad stretches. Stop at the sunset spot for 15 minutes. And continue the drive towards Udupi. After the Agumbe Ghats the road till Hebri is single lane and will encounter potholes regularly.  Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham at Sringeri  Vidyasankara temple at Sringeri  Dining Hall at Sringeri  Fishes in river Tunga next to the temple  Towards Agumbe  Agumbe Ghats Cross Manipal and check into Hotel Kediyoor near the bus stand by 4:00PM. Nice decent hotel with good Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian food. I am staying here for the second time and would recommend this hotel at Udupi. Clean AC Double Room around Rs.850. Rest for sometime in the room, change to beach wear and head towards Malpe Beach which is around 7KMS from Udupi town. Swim at the beach and watch the sunset. The water is calm and the beach is crowded as it’s a weekend. Spend a couple of hours at the beach and get back to the hotel by 7:30PM.  Malpe Beach   Sunset at Malpe Beach One back from Malpe beach take bath and then have dinner in the room. Watch TV and doze off by midnight. Continued.... |
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15th February 2009, 09:14
| #2 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 5,743
Thanked: 4,213 Times
| Laavliess.. Dil maange more. Please continue! |
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15th February 2009, 09:54
| #3 | |
| Team-BHP Support   | Great report there dreamdiesel, it is always interesting see my neighbourhood through other's eyes. Looking forward for more. Quote:
 In July this stretch was hellish, specially between Mangalore-Suratkal. | |
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15th February 2009, 10:32
| #4 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 420
Thanked: 56 Times
| Coastal Karnataka and Goa in Swift D - 2000+kms in 9 days Day 2 (1st February, 2009) : Udupi – St. Mary’s Island – Kollur – Marwanthe – Murdeshwara Odometer Reading : 567KMS – 655KMS Wake up late only by 9:00AM. Go down to the parking lot and clean the car. Just the seats, mats and windscreen. Get back to the room, wake up my wife and get ready. Have breakfast in the room. South Indian breakfast at Udupi is good. Once done with breakfast we leave the hotel by 11:00AM. The weather is hot and humid. Go towards Maple harbor to take the ferry towards St. Mary’s Island. As you approach the harbor the air is heavy with smell of fish. My wife is slightly uncomfortable being a veggie. Find a place under a shady tree to park the car and head towards the ticket counter. The place is already crowded. Buy the Rs.70 per head tickets for the boat ride and back. Wait for the boat looking at the huge fishing trawlers that are being built at this harbor. The boat shows up in another 20 minutes and people just rush in. The boat comfortably holds up to 50 – 60 people. The boat ride to the islands takes about 30 minutes and that includes changing to another smaller boat in mid sea.  Malpe Harbour  Fishing Boats at Malpe Harbour  Huge trawlers being built at the harbour  On the way towards St. Mary's Island  St. Mary's Island in the background  The smaller boat approaching for the mid sea transfer At St. Mary’s island, one can find a unique formation of volcanic rocks which are vertical hexagonal rocks. The whole island is a big collection of these rocks in different sizes. Once the boats drop you at the island you will be given an hour’s time to roam around, will be picked up in smaller boats and transferred to a big boat which takes you back to the harbor. Spend some time on the islands looking at the clean blue water and white sands. The rocks look amazing. At the other end of the island the entire beach is filled with broken sea shells of different sizes. I was actually standing on a huge heap of shells on the beach. There is a makeshift shop on the island that sells fish fry, mineral water, ice creams and cool drinks. As we were running beyond schedule, we decide to take a boat that was leaving half and hour early with the previous batch of tourists. Back to the harbor in 30 minutes and get back to the hotel by 1:45PM. Rest for sometime in the AC confines of the hotel room, freshen up and leave towards Sri Krishna Temple very close to the hotel.  View from the Island  View of the beach  View of the Island  Beach filled with broken sea shells  Volcanic Rocks at St.Mary's Island  The entire beach covered by this The temple area resembles a living ashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living. Surrounding the Krishna temple are several temples, the most ancient being made of basic wood and stone of 1,500 years origin. The insides of the temple has air conditioned which has been done cleverly which does not disturb the temple ambiance and architecture. Finish darshan of Lord Krishna and head towards the dining room for lunch. The lunch at Udupi temple consists of rice, 2 types of mouth watering sambar and buttermilk. Lunch done in 15 minutes and after spending some more time at the temple, head back to the hotel and check out by 3:30PM.  Arch at the entrance of Udupi town on NH 17  Sri Krishna Temple  Inside of the Temple complex On the way exiting Udupi stop at Diana’s Ice cream parlor for the famous Gadbad Ice cream. I always make it a point never to miss Gadbad Ice cream at Diana’s when at Udupi. Gadbad ice cream is basically a hodgepodge of fruit, nuts, ice cream and jelly served in a tall glass. The ice cream they say first originated here at Diana’s in Udupi. Once done with the ice cream we join the NH 17 and head north. We will be traveling this Highway for the next 4-5 days all the way till north Goa.  The yummy Gadbad Ice Cream at Diana's Ice Cream Parlour The NH 17 is in good condition after Udupi and you will encounter very few broken patches. Cross numerous bridges along the stretch towards Kundapura. Next destination is to visit the famous Kollur Mookambika Temple. Just before Kundapura the NH 17 curves right whereas the straight road takes you to Kundapura town. After this you get the first deviation towards Kollur before a bridge. Try avoiding this route to Kollur at its confusing. Travel further ahead and you get the second right towards Kollur about 6KMS before Marwanthe on NH 17. No confusions on this route and the road is in very good condition. Take the right towards Kollur at around 5:00PM and 32km to go. I really want to get back fast on the NH 17 after visiting the temple for wanting to see the sunset at Marwanthe. The 2 lane road towards Kollur is just too good with lots of curves and little traffic. I enjoy the drive pushing the car on these curves and am flying through the forests before the temple. In 30 minutes reach the temple. The Mookambika temple at Kollur is known for the Panchaloha image of the Goddess Mookambika. You have the towering Kodachadri Hills as the backdrop of this temple. Finish darshan and spend some time at the temple and leave by 6:00PM. Race against time I take the road back to the Highway and miss a turn and end up at the first turn towards Kollur on NH 17 near Kundapura.  Flying towards Kollur  Entrance Arch at Kollur  Kollur Mookambika Temple  Gold plated Dhwaja and Deepa Stambha at Kollur Mookambika Temple  Kodachadri Hills in the background viewed from the temple I make my way towards Marwanthe beach to see that the sun has already set. What a disappointment. I guess I was late by 10 minutes. Nevertheless stop and stare at the crimson sky which leaves you spellbound. At Marwanthe beach the NH 17 cruises along the Arabian Sea on one side and the Sauparnika River on the other side against a mountainous background of the Kodachadri Hills. Spend some time sitting on the rocks looking at the ocean till its dark. And leave towards Murdeshwara.  NH 17 at Marwanthe  Marwanthe Beach  Missed the sunset at Marwanthe  Marwanthe  Swift D at Marwanthe Enter Murdeshwara town by 8:00PM and huge towering Shiva statue greets you. Go to RNS Residency and find that all the AC rooms are occupied. Only Non AC rooms available and the prices are exorbitant.  Shiva Statue at night I decide to book a room at RNS Guest House right next to the Shiva statue. Rs.1000 for a Non AC double bed room. The sea facing rooms are clean and spacious. Rest for sometime at the room and go into the town for dinner. Most restaurants at this town shut down by 10:30PM. Find Nisarga Residency which has a garden bar and restaurant. Have a nice dinner and the fish fry here is good and fresh. Get back to the hotel and sit outside looking at the huge Shiva statue gleaming in the lights. Watch TV and off to sleep by midnight. Continued... |
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15th February 2009, 10:56
| #5 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 420
Thanked: 56 Times
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15th February 2009, 11:09
| #6 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Fantastic report Dreamdiesel, I need to do this coastal Karnataka trip real bad, haven't been there since 1982. Come 1st of May and I'm driving Mumbai-Goa-Mangalore-Bangalore and back . Your report and route is going to come in good use. Thanks for it. The photos are awesome. Didn't you meet up with Samurai in his part of the world!!! |
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15th February 2009, 12:02
| #7 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Wonderful Travelogue DreamDiesel !! I am not yet complete (read only part 1). Eager to see the remaining soon. Keep them posting. Abhi |
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15th February 2009, 14:17
| #8 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Great report their "Dream Diesel" very nicely written! btw its great to know that NH17 is back or better then what it was few months back. Whenever i visit Diana i order Channa Batora, Cutlet and Gudbud  have been doing this for past 20+ years and i feel these thre are among the best you used to get thereWaiting for the next installment. |
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15th February 2009, 16:55
| #9 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
Posts: 1,998
Thanked: 319 Times
| @dreamdiesel, I think this is one of the best travelogue related to coastal karnataka. Ye to pehli zaaki hai, Goa abhi baaki hai. |
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15th February 2009, 17:26
| #10 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: India
Posts: 144
Thanked: Once
| Great Travelogue friend! Enjoyed bit of it. Hope you have more pics to share with us. |
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15th February 2009, 17:45
| #11 |
| BHPian  | that is a very nice report dreamdiesel. very thoughtfully written. love the road side pics and beaches. |
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16th February 2009, 03:02
| #12 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 420
Thanked: 56 Times
| Coastal Karnataka and Goa in Swift D - 2000+kms in 9 days Day 3 (2nd February, 2009) : Murdeshwara – Gokarna Odometer Reading : 655KMS – 763KMS Wake up by 9:00AM listening to the sounds of the ocean. Open the door for the balcony and am just mesmerized by the view. The balcony opens up to the Murdeshwara beach with clean blue water and almost empty beach. Numerous boats anchored in the sea and towering Western Ghats in the backdrop almost looks like a picture postcard. Sit in the balcony for sometime taking in all the scenic beauty. Open the door to the room and the towering Shiva statue gleaming in the morning sun greets you. This room is totally worth the price I paid.  View from the balcony - Murdeshwara beach  View from the balcony - Boats anchored in the sea  Calm morning sea Get back down and clean the car for some time. Then head back to the room and wake up my wife. We decide to go to the beach which is almost deserted at this time of the day. Freshen up and head to the RNS restaurant nearby for breakfast. This restaurant is built on the beach with half the restaurant built on water. Take a table at the balcony and have not so good breakfast. Then head towards the beach which is less than a minute by car. You can actually drive on the beach here. I do some wheel spins and some driving on the beach. The Swift handles brilliantly and was fun to drive the car on the beach as its fighting for grip on the sand. Park the car on the beach and run to the sea. Both of us play in the sea for sometime on an almost deserted beach. After an hour head back to the hotel and take bath.  View from the front door of the room  Murdeshwara Beach  Swift D after the drive on the beach  Ready to hit the water After the bath pack the luggage and head back to the temple. Visit the Shiva temple with the world’s tallest Gopura. This 20 storied Gopura is considered to be the tallest in the world and made of concrete. Finish the darshan the head towards the Shiva Statue. This idol is designed such that it gets the sun light directly and thus appears sparkling. The climb up in the heat completely saps the energy out. Take some snaps and head back to the hotel as the heat was getting unbearable. Check out of the hotel by 2:00PM. And leave Murdeshwara town to rejoin NH 17.  Shiva Statue at Murdeshwara  World's tallest Gopura at Murdeshwara  Shiva Temple at Murdeshwara  Entrance to the temple  Shiva Statue viewed from the temple  Chariot with Lord Krishna leading Arjun to the war  View from the balcony  Some shot taken with timer The roads have been good on NH 17 and the highway is almost empty with little truck traffic. Find the fuel gauge below the 1/4th mark and stop at a small IOC outlet for diesel. The fuel station does not look trust worthy and I only fill fuel for Rs.500. Find a restaurant close to Honnavar town on NH 17. I don’t remember the name and was a nice place for decent Vegetarian and Non Vegtarian meals. Cross the long bridge over river Sharavathi before Honnavar town and encounter bad stretch on NH 17 as you approach Kumta. The bad stretch is for 5-6 KMS and then the roads are fine with occasional broken tarmac. By 3:00 PM I take the deviation from NH 17 towards Gokarna town. The road is narrow with broken tarmac and the town is about 10KMS from the Highway. Enter the town and start searching for a hotel. See a couple of hotels and finally decide on Hotel Gokarna International which seems to the best in town. Rooms for around Rs.700 for an AC double bed room. The rooms are just all right with basic amenities. Take some rest in the room and leave the hotel by 5:00PM towards Gokarna beach. The beach is around 2KMS from the hotel and we decide to walk. The roads are narrow and I doubt a big sedan or a SUV can make it through these roads. The place is filled with pilgrims and foreign tourists. Visit the Mahabaleshwar temple. It’s a famous Shiva temple and houses the atmalinga. The main deity here is at least 1500 years old. Finish the darshan and head towards Gokarna beach. The beach is crowded and I was surprised to actually see some cars including a couple of Tempo TRAX at the parking place near the beach. I wonder how these guys made it to the beach thorough the narrow streets filled with people and cows. The beach is not that great and is crowded. Sit at a shop on the beach and have Bhelpuri and Gobi Manchurian looking at the sunset. The Gobi Manchurian was the reddest colored ones I have seen in my life. Watch the sunset and then spend some time sitting on the sand at the beach.  Sunset at Gokarna Beach  Gokarna Beach  Gokarna Beach Decide to head back to the hotel and take an Auto Rickshaw this time. The driver was driving like a maniac. We both held on for our dear lives as the driver made his way through the crowded narrow streets without horns or headlight at mind boggling speeds. Was a relief getting down from the Rickshaw and realized my knees were actually shaking. Crazy driver!  Head back into the room and then decide where to have dinner.The town is full of small hotels ad nothing really looked decent enough for a quite dinner. I remember some nice shacks at Om Beach when in Gokarna long time back. I decide to head towards Om Beach by 8:00 PM. This again was one of the scariest drives in my life. The freshly done single lane road is dark and deserted. Only me and my wife in the car and a kilometer away from the town I feel I should not have taken this option of traveling to Om beach at this time in the dark. I just carry on with speed taking the curves and trying to cover distance as fast as I can. I decide to stop at nothing till I reach Om beach. In the journey covering 6-8KMS took 15 minutes I encountered only a couple of 2 wheelers. Finally I reach the dead end where some Auto Rickshaws are standing near the gate for Namaste Guest House. Park the car and it’s a 4-5 minute walk in the dark to the beach with the sound of waves. This includes climb down the hill to the beach on steep steps and rocks in the light of our cell phones. Glad to see some lights as we approach the beach and the first shack is Namaste Café. Enter Namaste Café and all the guests having dinner are foreign tourists. Find a cozy place in the corner and have some of the most delicious sea food. The Namaste Café has cute cottages at the back. Next visit to Gokarna I plan to book my accommodation here. The guy serving dinner was actually surprised to know that I drove all the way from town at this time here to Om beach for dinner. Leave the place by 10:30PM take the same route back and relief again as I see the street lights entering the town. Get back into the room and finally call it a day. Continued.... |
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16th February 2009, 03:13
| #13 | ||||||
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 420
Thanked: 56 Times
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I was actually on a lookout for a white GV in Udupi.  Will definitely meet up with Samurai next time I am there.Quote:
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16th February 2009, 09:12
| #14 |
| Senior - BHPian | Nice Gokarna account DD, Although I have passed Gokarna but couldnt enter to visit the beaches and all. Waiting to see the remaining account. Why do you both wake up after 9AM atleast when on a trip? I feel the best time to capture pics as well as appreciate nature of the new place is during sun rise. You are missing a great deal of value by not waking up early. Dont know but this is my personal choice. I always sleep early when on trip (or otherwise too) and get up early before sun rise to feel the new environs. Abhi Last edited by akroy : 16th February 2009 at 09:14. |
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16th February 2009, 09:36
| #15 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 420
Thanked: 56 Times
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I really dont know why we wake up only post 9. I definitely agree about getting up early around sunrise when on a trip in new environs. My personal choice of holiday would be relaxing and not hurry. Going to sleep in the night is usually late and are bound to wake up late. Even If I want to wake up early, the conversation between us would be like this: Me: Wake up! Lets for a walk. Wifey: What time is it? Me : 7 Wifey : Go back to sleep, Honey. We are on a holiday, remember? And me off to sleep again... Last edited by dreamdiesel : 16th February 2009 at 09:38. | |
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