[sriswe]

Hi,

Reading Team-BHP inspired me to take a long drive from Hyd to Vizag in my Indica...This is my first travelogue in the forum, kindly bear with my mistakes if any..

Background:

This is my first long drive due from very long time.My car was
Indica - DLS, bought in October 2008.

Car Ready for the drive ....



I am new to car driving. Although I made 3 short trips around hyderabad, my dream was to drive all the way to my home town Salur, a small town in Vizianagram District (exactly 105 KMs from Vizag).

So to convince my wife about the 800 KMs ( one way from Hyd to Salur), I used to tell her (from Nov 2008 itself) about the advantages in going on a car, about the NH5 from Vijayawada to Vizag ( showed some photos from Team-BHP) , about the scenic places in coastal andhra etc... But somehow she is not convinced, she thought that I will be not able to drive 800 KMs in a single day .

By February 2009, she had some confidence on me for the long drive, but we postponed the trip to April/May due to my sister-in-law's exams. But due to circumstances it happened that we have to go to Salur during the April 2nd week. As usual, I purposefully not booked any train or bus tickets to Vizag .

So on thursday April 9, I have decided to do the trip. I planned the trip for 3 days April 10 - 12. As we have to avoid night driving, I planned to start on April 10 from Hyd and reach salur by night, Stay there on 11th and start return journey on 12th morning. By seeing my planning wifey said it is not at all meaningful to do 800KMs drive to just stay 1 day at home and she strongly refused and suggested to book some private travel buses.

So till April 9, night 9 PM, I was not sure whether I will do the trip or
not on the next day. I didnt get sleep till 11 PM, thinking all about the
trip and drive on NH5.

The Journey Starts:

On April 10, I woke up at 2-30 and decided to go for the trip. Woke up my wife and told her to get ready. Reluctanltly she wokeup and said that she will verify my drive till Ramoji Film City, and if she is not comfortable with the journey in Car, we have to return back to Hyd. Also woke up my brother and told about the trip. He is ready to join us..

At 4:45 AM, started off from home, reached LB Nagar at 5:50 AM ( 45 KMs), nearly till choutuppal the road was 4 Lane , so it was very easy for me to drive. Reached choutuppal at 6:40 AM ( 85 KMs). The road becomes narrow and it is not at all deserved to be called as NH. I was cautious in overtaking although the oncoming traffic from Vijaywada to Hyd is less.

NH-9 4 Lane right after hyderabad.....



NH9 Becomes 2 Lane ........















Reached Nakirekal at 7:55 AM ( 145 KMs), and now wifey wokes up from sleep and asks us where we were? we said we are half-way through to
vijayawada.. Hearing this, she was delighted and said She was OK to
continue with the trip. I felt very happy and continued the drive, now much relaxedly.

Reached Suryapet at 8:25 AM ( 168 KMs). Initially we thought we will decide the route to be taken to Vizag ( via khammam or vijayawada) at Suryapet. I know that the khammam route is shorter and will save a lot of time. But I was always eager to drive on NH5 from Vijayawada to Vizag ( 400KMs). So headed towards vijayawada.

Luckily till suryapet not much hurdles in terms of traffic jams. After
Suryapet I was surprised to see that the traffic is very very less. No
Trucks, Not many buses. It was a very comfortable drive. Reached Kodad at 9:10 AM ( 213 KMs) and Nandigama at 10:05 AM ( 259 KMs). After Nandigama NH9 gets 4 Lane till vijayawada. This road is superb. We reached vijayawada at 11:10 AM ( 310 KMs).

NH 9 from Nandigama to Vijayawada .....

















We had our breakfast and lunch in Vijayawada. Took a long break of 1 hour 45 minutes. Just before reaching vijayawada, I noticed that some thing is leaking from my car ( not really sure whether it is Oil or water as I was a completely new to Cars). So took my car to TATA *** in vijayawada. They verified and said it is nothing but Water from AC and there was no problem with the car.

Me .....





My Brother ....







To Be Continued ......

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Sriswe - it is really good to know that you made your first long trip. A word of small caution though, your driving posture in the photograph is not correct, your seat needs to move back, the seat backrest needs to be at the correct angle and your hands must rest properly on the steering wheel. If you do this, your driving experience will be more delightful. Also I can see a foot on the instrument panel, which means that the person sitting next to you may not be wearing the seat belt. Please DO NOT allow anybody to sit inside the car without wearing a seat belt.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[muralisk]

Hey Sriswe, congratulations on your first long drive. As Behram said, you need to more relaxed while driving and especially on highways. I see you are too close to the steering. You can get back a bit. And coming to your steering grip, ideally, your hands should be placed few inches above and the bend in your arms should be minimal.

Anyways, please continue and am eager to read your journey fron Vijayawada to to destination.

[akroy]

Good Start of your long drives.
I can see your brother not wearing seat belts. I hope front passengers were wearing it. If not, Pls adhere to it for your long drives (or otherwise).

Abhi

[rkbharat]

very good start. BTW one suggestion, keep your dash clear of devices/objects when driving long. These could be messy on sudden braking and can even hurt.
Or use some holders to keep them fix

[pranava999]

great.. the first long drives always a lovely feeling..highway driving is a different ball game compared to city driving as your average speeds are greater and requires greater concentration. Reaction times get lower as you increase your speeds Get adequate rest.drive safe don't get too eager to overtake on the highway and please don't blindly follow a vehicle in front of you that is overtaking another vehicle... he overtakes considering that there is enough space and time for his (one) car/vehicle and not the vehicle following him...

Enjoy and waiting to read the rest of your experiences

[gadadhar]

Congrats on your first long drive and I am sure there will be many to follow. Please make note of the tips from senior members on seat belts, loose objects and driving posture.. Happy motering

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by sriswe

NH-9 4 Lane right after hyderabad.....

Must be a really enjoyable trip. Roads look nice (as compared to other NH that are not on GQ or Corridor) .

I noticed that you have kept cell phone on dash and it is connected to charger.

Are you using GOS to record routes / trace route by any chance?

[Rudra Sen]

Picture 4/5 showing you were on wrong side of the road. Why?

[anainar]

Sriswe,

Good going man. Yes, first long drives are always memorable, with we not being sure of what is going to come in the way. You ace it once, believe me, you will never go back to bus/train or even flight for the sheer fun of it. I drive all alone to Pune from bangalore for the sheer fun of it every two months or so, though a flight would workout cheaper.

But please do not compromise on safety. Don't ever let your front seat passenger sit without wearing seat belt.

Hope you enjoyed the drive and wish you to have many more such safe drives.

Nainar

[Rajesh Rawal]

: Is it okay to venture on the highway with the 'L' Sticker on your car?

First long drives are indeed memorable

[ashthedivx]

Indeed a nice start, congratulations for the same.

Some flaws i can pickup
> Driving posture was not correct including your grip on Steering should be like clocks hands at 10:10.
> Driving on wrong side, though it may be a short distance but drive safely.
>Do always wear Seatbelts.

And yes I hope that "L" wasn't for you i.e. you have a proper driver licence not the learning one.

[Ravveendrra]

WOW - 800 Kms in one day. That is a lot. Congratulations.

I wish you had referred to the section on routes and roads here for ascertaining the best way to get to Visakhapatnam. Most people recommend taking a left at Suryapet to get to Rajahmundry via Khamman and Aswaraopet. That route is shorter and the roads are reported to be excellent.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Sriswe - it is really good to know that you made your first long trip. A word of small caution though, your driving posture in the photograph is not correct, your seat needs to move back, the seat backrest needs to be at the correct angle and your hands must rest properly on the steering wheel. If you do this, your driving experience will be more delightful. Also I can see a foot on the instrument panel, which means that the person sitting next to you may not be wearing the seat belt. Please DO NOT allow anybody to sit inside the car without wearing a seat belt.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Picture 4/5 showing you were on wrong side of the road. Why?

Originally Posted by rkbharat

very good start. BTW one suggestion, keep your dash clear of devices/objects when driving long. These could be messy on sudden braking and can even hurt.
Or use some holders to keep them fix

+1 to all of the above.

The foot on the dashboard is downright dangerous to the owner of the foot. Please have the passenger adjust the seat to find a comfortable sitting position.

One cannot over-stress the importance of all persons in the car wearing seat-belts.

Please stick to your side of the road (left) unless you are overtaking or avoiding a hazard.

[Surprise]

That's really a looonnnnngggggg trip sriswe.

Approximately 6.5 hrs of traveling covering 310 kms. With 2 hrs break as you mentioned, your next start is at 13.00 hrs with still 500 kms looking at U. Interesting......

Driving at that position for such a long distance shows your interest. Waiting for the next part

[watashi75]

Good report! Waiting for the remaining part.

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Picture 4/5 showing you were on wrong side of the road. Why?

I think the picture was taken from the rear of the car.