[nnandi]

Originally Posted by cpyder

Any idea about roads to Pune?

Sorry dude, no ideas about Pune roads, but what I have read here in the last few weeks, NH4 road after Hubli towards Pune is fine.

[akroy]

Wow, a bengali thali in Goa? simple awesome, I didnt know that. Where is the pics of that thali?

Abhi

[vivekiny2k]

Awsome travelogue. In fact all travelogues in this section are superb.

I used to think I love travelling but now I realize all I do is go the beach and do nothing. I love doing "nothing" on my vacations .

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by akroy

Wow, a bengali thali in Goa? simple awesome, I didnt know that. Where is the pics of that thali?

Abhi

Sorry Abhijit, was too hungry and realized about the pic after every single dish was cleaned up!

[nnandi]

Day 6: (23-Sep)

My son could not sleep the entire night, his ear pain kept him and us awake. I was not comfortable showing him a doc at Goa, as he responds best, sometime only, to his Doc in Blore. So, we opted for plan B & decided to checkout today and drive straight to Blore without any night halt.

Return Route:
Anjuna - Panaji – Madgao – Karwar – Ankola – Gokarna – Kumta – Honnavar – Jog <break to see the falls> - Sagar – Shimoga – Tarikere – Arsikere – Tiptur – Gubbi – Tumkur – Bangalore

Finally checked out at 7:30am after settling the bills at the resort. Put all the luggage in the boot and hit the road at 7:40am. The route was the reverse road all the way to Bangalore. Since it was a working day, traffic was quite heavy in Panaji/Madgao. We reached Karwar at 10:05am, taking lesser time than the onward jouney. The next stretch to Ankola was quite bad roads, drove carefully and reached Ankola at 10:55am. Ripped through Gokarna, Kumta (11:30am) and touch Honnavar at 11:50am. Since it was quite early for lunch, did not stop here and decided to carry on to Jog Falls. Barely 5-10kms from Honnavar, started the broken ghat section road of twist and turns and finally reached Jog Falls parking lot at 13:10. Took a break for 15 mins, took some pictures of the falls. The falls looked very beautiful, with the sound of falling water creating a certain music to the ears. Lot of people were walking all the way down to the falls to take bath. I was in no mood for that adventure.

Jog falls




Around 13:30, I left Jog and started for Sagar. By the time I hit Sagar, it was 14:00 and dropped the initial plan of having lunch at shimoga. Not many restaurants in Sagar and finally found a pai vihar (in almost broken state) where I ordered 2 north Indian thalis. Honestly speaking, food was quite bad and after so many days in Goa where each and every meal was a revelation, this was the cruel jerk back to life! My wife somehow ate some dishes, I just had the daal and rice and left the place after paying Rs. 100 at 14:55.

Reached Shimoga at 16:00, did a full tank-up and tyre-pressure check. Around 28.9 litres went in. Took a bathroom break and left for Tarikere. Unfortunately missed the Bhadravati bypass and instead went inside the city. No traffic rules, entire city road is getting relaid, autos drivers adding their bit of histrionics, finally left the city around 16:30 and reached Tarikere around 17:00 and then crossed Kadur around 17:35.

From there, the skies started turning quite ominous and there was no doubts of a heavy downpour. Kept maintain cruising speeds of 80-90 and slowly got into Arsikere around 18:30. The moment I hit the outskirts of arsikere, heavy showers had started and the visibility got reduced to almost zero. Speeds dropped to 20-30 and at times had to stop the car and find out where the roads were, as water just kept pouring like a typhoon from above! Reached Tiptur around at 19:35 in complete darkness. Several trees were uprooted fell on the main roads with branches scattered everywhere. The overhead electrical wires had broken and the cables lay on the roads amidst heavy rain. It was quite a chaos driving behind the traffic, bypassing trees, branches and potholes. Crossed Gubbi and reached Tumkur around 20:15. Did not take the bypass, instead went inside the city and then took the toll road. Heavy downpours continued all the way to nelamangla where the roads had waterlogged, yet trucks were driving at killer speeds. Took all the deviations carefully and hit peenya bypass into Jalahalli.

By the time I reached home, it was 22:10 and was very exhausted due to the last bit of the journey in tremendous rain! Inspite of everything, felt really good and the sense of fulfillment gave me quite a pleasure.

Journey Stats:
Distance
Onward journey- 665km
Travel inside Goa- 195km
Return journey- 661km.
Total distance- 1521kms.

Petrol
17-Sep (blr)- 30.61 Lit (Rs. 1550)
18-Sep (honnavar)- 30.068 lit (Rs. 1590).
22-Sep (mapusa)- 26.74 lit (Rs. 1220)
23-Sep (shimoga)- 28.9 lit (Rs. 1460) (Half tank empty till home).
Total petrol used/cost- 102.4 litres / Rs. 5110 (approx).
Average FE- 14.9 km/l .

Some observations:
1. Honda city vtec (2G) is a freaky baby, handling of car is awesome, ride is smooth and never passes the stress of bad roads to its inmates. I was always in love, but after this trip, I respect the car! (Though I was quite cautious not to get the bottom scrapped everywhere).
2. People in Goa are very helpful. There were times when I asked someone in a bike a route, often those people give detailed descriptions and sometimes even go out of the way to guide you to the exact location.
3. Climate in Goa was very humid in the mornings till 15:00. After that it becomes cloudy and by evening it rained, sometime light drizzles, sometimes heavy showers. That was the best time to go out, in case you don’t like to sweat too much. Again this was the 3rd week of Sep, so this might not be the generic climate there.
4. People in Goa love children. My son, like all others of his age, is naughty, but in Goa he became super naughty. In restaurants and other places, no one complained a bit, whenever I apologized on his behalf, people just laughed it away saying it was nothing and he was just a kid. But in Bangalore, half of his tantrums would have brought complaints from restaurant people!
5. Food in goa shacks- The most common site in Goa is beachside or roadside shacks beautifully lit in the nights and serving some specific cuisines, say goan/Indian/Italian or generic run-of-the-mill food. But each and every restaurant makes their food brilliantly. So, any shack you hit, the food would by default be tasty, no doubts about it. Only thing is, order things which you have never tried and the restro’s speciality and you would not complain!
6. Procedure of beach bath for kids- After my experience, I now know that having a swimming cap covering the head and ears of a kid helps prevent water and sand from going into the ears. So, it’s a must for future beach trips. Otherwise, cotton balls used as ear plugs can also prevent any damage.

With that, my Goa journey came to an end. It made us feel quite sad and depressed leaving goa and it happens everytime you leave goa. But then, there would be again a time to go back and re-live all the memories!!

Cheers!
-Nandi.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by nnandi

With that, my Goa journey came to an end.

Was a pleasure reading your travelogue. I am glad i could help you out and was expecting some more calls that day

Looks like you are quite a foody. If i could have known that, would have recommended some really nice restaurants in Panaji itself. But then there is always a next time..

Thanks for the kind words for us Goans. There are some rotten apples but on the whole Goans are very genuine and helpful people. Please do visit again - whoa i am sounding like the Tourist Department of Goa LOL.

It made us feel quite sad and depressed leaving goa and it happens everytime you leave goa.

Oh tell me about it. Sometimes i wish i could let go of everything and get back home...

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Was a pleasure reading your travelogue. I am glad i could help you out and was expecting some more calls that day

Looks like you are quite a foody. If i could have known that, would have recommended some really nice restaurants in Panaji itself. But then there is always a next time..

Well, I can't thank you enough, for all your help and guidance you had already given! As I mentioned here, I always want to go to goa whenever I feel I am under-nourished and thirsty! So, next time I am hungry and thirsty, I would take your suggestion on the eating joints there!

Cheers,
Nandi

[gadadhar]

Nandi - Enjoyed your narration. More than anything I was looking forward for your food descriptions. I am a "Live to eat" guy and your travelogue will serve as a guide for my next trip to Goa. Keep travelling and keep penning more food guides

[swiftnfurious]

What a brilliant detailed travelogue! This is what I call the spirit of team-bhp. I am starting to Goa tomorrow morning 6 AM. Will post my travelogue with pics once I am back! Am trying a different route as well.

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

What a brilliant detailed travelogue! This is what I call the spirit of team-bhp. I am starting to Goa tomorrow morning 6 AM. Will post my travelogue with pics once I am back! Am trying a different route as well.

Thanks swiftnfurious! Will be waiting eagerly for your pics of Goa and the travelogue. I am curious about the route you take, since you said you would be trying a different one than the shimoga route. Have fun!

Cheers!

[SkyWalker]

great Travelogue and nice pics Nandi!

I would like to drive to Goa, but the prospect of a 14 hour drive is not exactly my taste - i guess we can still do it by alternating between me and my wife. Just came back from a 2 week trip, already planning the next one.

[kannan666]

Wow, excellent travelogue Nandi ! Enjoyed reading every moment of it, brought back great memories of my trips to Goa ! Awesome descriptions of all restaurants that you have visited as well as superb pics !

[souravdebiswas]

Nandi,

Thanks for the detailed write up on your trip. I will be visiting Goa next week between 14th and 18th October. Your write up would be useful.

Any idea how much they would usually charge for hiring a small car (zen or 800 etc) per day?

I also intend to stay at the cavala resort near baga beach. Its apparently a 2-3 minute walk to the beach. Have read good reviews about the hotel on travelguru website. Has anyone stayed there and if so can you let me know your opinion on the same?

Regards,

Kanti

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by souravdebiswas

Nandi,

Thanks for the detailed write up on your trip. I will be visiting Goa next week between 14th and 18th October. Your write up would be useful.

It's flooded in Goa now. So please do proper check with the resort people as to how the situation/road conditions are.

Any idea how much they would usually charge for hiring a small car (zen or 800 etc) per day?

They only give Wagon R and Maruti Omnis for hire in North Goa. If you want car with driver, it's around Rs. 1400/day. Otherwise, just the car would be Rs. 1000. You have to put petrol from your side.

I also intend to stay at the cavala resort near baga beach. Its apparently a 2-3 minute walk to the beach. Have read good reviews about the hotel on travelguru website. Has anyone stayed there and if so can you let me know your opinion on the same?

No idea about this resort, but most of the resorts in Baga are good and baga is a very happening place in north goa. so you would have a blast!

@kannan666, thanks and I am happy you liked the travelogue!

@SkyWalker, don't worry about the drive time, it's really nice and you would hardly know the distance if you are alternating between the 2 of you! My suggestion, go for it, while you still have the excitement in your!

[sami316]

Hi Nnandi,

This was a really well written travelogue. Enjoyed reading every bit of it and the snaps of this Picturesque place were awesome. Thanks again for this travelogue, it would be really helpful for others who are planning a trip to Goa in the days to come.