[kpzen]

Hey Guys !

I'm not too good at writing travelogues so this thread would have only log data and pics from the trip.

Day 1: Faridabad --> Mumbai

Car - Hyundai Getz


Start Date : 22nd Oct 09
Time :2345 hrs

End Date: 23 Oct 09
End Time : 1900 hrs
End Location : Hotel Express Inn Ghodbander, Thane

Total Distance : 1362 kms
Time Taken : 19.15 hrs

Highlight of the day : 3 meals in 3 different states.

Breakfast - Rajasthan
Lunch - Gujarat
Dinner - Mumbai


Teaser pic. More to come

Kilometers covered on hourly basis


Fantastic roads all through but the toll booths were quite irritating.. Too many IMO.

[kpzen]

We started off from Faridabad at midnight. The traffic was not too much on the Gurgaon expressway but once we reached Manesar we were greeted by a huge line of trucks, some racing each other, some trying to cruise at 25kph and cover both lanes. Somehow, we managed to squeeze out of the truck chaos but used to get stuck behind them at every toll booth. The toll booths were quite frequent and annoying as they used to break the momentum.

Within 3.5 hrs we were crossing Jaipur and as we moved along the roads just got better and better. Jaipur- Ajmer is one fantastic tarmac to cruise.
After crossing Ajmer it was time to be alert to turn for the NH 79 & NH 76 at Krishangarh. The route through Chittorgarh was absolutely deserted and pitch dark but the roads were butter smooth. Stopped at a few dhabas on this route and all we could find was lights & Television ON with people sleeping on charpayis..

Finally, after stopping at couple of dhabas we managed to get chai at some Dhaba with people awake. The amazing thing about Rajasthan is that the day and night temperature difference can be huge. It was bloody chilling that night and all of us had to get hold of jackets after getting out of the car.

Rest of the night drive was smooth and un-eventful. We were about to reach Udaipur at sunrise and we found a nice place with roads going in all direction like a huge AIIMS flyover so, we stop for re-fuelling and some muscle stretching.




The sun rises, people wake up, we start seeing more 2 wheelers on road. We cross Udaipur and stop for breakfast at Rishabdev. We freshen up & get treated with some nice Rajasthani aloo paranthas.

Another 100kms and we enter Gujarat. WOW! The moment we cross the border the roads were just brilliant.



On the way, we stole Sugarcanes from the field



Some insanely loaded trucks.



Exhausted !! The last few kms before reaching Ghodbander were really testing our patience after 18hrs DRIVE.

[Fordmanchau]

Hey kpzen,

This is a very detailed log of distances. Pretty neat distances you covered up in an hour. Also very good photographs . Hope there are lot more to come. Roads look very inviting indeed.
Eagerly awaiting for fresh updates.

[suman]

Nice start, loved that first pic & the one of the sunrise, keep 'em coming! Useful info on the Tolls.

[ramkya1]

Hai,

I second Suman, the sunrise picture rocks. Pretty decent timings considering the truck menace.

More detials and picures coming?

========

[akroy]

Kp, wonderful teaser pic. GUJ roads are pretty tempting isnt it?
I even that Toll Booth as well.

More pics?

Abhi

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Hey kpzen,

This is a very detailed log of distances. Pretty neat distances you covered up in an hour. Also very good photographs . Hope there are lot more to come. Roads look very inviting indeed.
Eagerly awaiting for fresh updates.

Thanks! The roads were indeed good and it got better and better till we entered Maharashtra.

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Hai,

I second Suman, the sunrise picture rocks. Pretty decent timings considering the truck menace.

More detials and picures coming?

========

Thanks. More coming up.

Originally Posted by akroy

Kp, wonderful teaser pic. GUJ roads are pretty tempting isnt it?
I even that Toll Booth as well.

More pics?

Abhi

Thanks Abhi

Where are you? Long time no travelogues from your side.

[theMAG]

Sounds like a download from LCARS on the Starship Enterprise! KP- keep it going.

[kpzen]

We started of with our final destination as Ghodbander and Manor as destination B
in case we get late. As we reached Ahmedabad in good time, HVK sir suggested us to try
crossing mumbai and target Vashi for night stay. With all the good roads we had seen
we were quite hopeful to hit the target by late evening but the moment we crossed Vadodara
and entered Maharashtra, the roads started getting bad and along with the traffic we
became slower and slower.
We still kept hope and kept driving but as we were crossing Vasai i get a call from HVK sir
saying that some bridge in Thane has broken down and all traffic is blocked so we immediately
decide on sticking with Ghodbander as the final destination for night halt.

Within 2hrs, we reach Ghodbander and thanks to precise directions by Mr. Highway Kumar we
find the hotel FOUNTAIN in no time. We enter, one guy obliges with room tariffs and asks
for what room we would like to have. All of a sudden the guy sitting next to him tells us
that no rooms are available. We were quite amused at his reaction. May be he wasn't sure
that we would pay up or we looked wicked enough for him after 19hrs of driving.

While entering we had seen that the whole place is surrounded with hotels so we check out
the Hotel Express Inn which is right adjacent to Hotel Fountain. This time before entering
we make ourselves look as good as possible and carry all our high end mobiles in hand,
hoping that would impress them in someway. We decorate all the gadgets and our wallets on
the reception table and ask for the rooms. lol

Sir: All types of rooms are available, which one would u like to have ??
We : VOILA !!! Double Bed + AC + extra bed would do.
Sir: Total 1850/-
We: Wokkay!


We check in, freshen ourselves in an hour and move out for dinner in some Dhaba suggested by HVK sir. It was just 2kms from the Hotel, the ambience of the hotel was nice but as we
flip through the menu we were surprised to see the 5 star kinda rates. As we were travelling
we stuck to only veg and the food was just ok, nothing great but may be thats because
we ordered only veg (mushroom & paneer dishes) and non -veg might be their speciality. (May be someone else can confirm
on this).

By 9:15pm we were back in hotel and we loitered around the complex for a while for an ice
cream before crashing onto the bed.

Day 2 plan :
4:15 am Alarm
5:00 am : Check out and leave for Bangalore

[aZa]

Glued to this thread kp awesome data logging and pictures...

[rawnak]

Faridabad to Mumbai (1 day) , bhai itni bhi kya jaldi thi, aaram se rukh
ke jate. still looks like you were having fun, ganne ka ras woh bhi muft ka.
good going guys, waiting for next post.

[shishir_bn]

Nice travel kp. The dsc_004(4th pic) pic was amazing. By the way did you take the pictures correctly or was that pic morphed. Great distance covered. 18hours of driving. Are you guys "OK"

[rjstyles69]

Well from what I heard the drive south was a mere reason to go see Nandi Hills on the outskirts of bangalore. Duh !! Gotto meet this fella and also auditioned his getz. If I had known a day earlier I sure would have made arrangements to have that Eclipse whacked from his getz.

kp please complete the travelogue at the earliest.Its a humble request .

[kpzen]

4:15am : 3 alarms go beserk and after putting it in snooze mode 3 times,we finally wake up.

5:00 am ; All fresh after a nice shower.

5:30 am : We clear the hotel bill, warm up the engine, clean the windscreen and we are ready to hit the road.

We had the elaborate & precise notes of HVK sir on how to by-pass Mumbai.
Within 5 mins of leaving the hotel we were greeted with a huge truck jam, later we came to know it was just a
horribly organized toll both @ Ghodbander. After wasting around 30mins in that jam, we get moving
but we take it easy while following HVK's instructions. Finally, after negotiating all the
turns carefully we reach the Mum- Pune expressway.

For some reason, all of us were starving badly so early in the morning so we stop at Food Plaza for breakfast.
We have Poha/ Dahi vada and my friends ordered some 8 paranthas to have it on the way..It took some 25 mins for
the paranthas to come. The time of clicking and i knew we were late by at least an hour. In the mean time
The initial few kms of the expressway were slow because of twisty roads and one lane blocked for some reason but once
the roads opened up we were flying. Hit a top speed of 190kph on one of the stretches.

One lane of expressway blocked with drums. Reason ??





Enough is Enough !! Please let me go HOME


The roads got better and once we crossed Satara we were amazed by the roads in this part of the country
I always thought all the good roads are up north, i was so wrong. The stretch between Satara - Belgaum - Hubli
was galloped by us in 2 hrs. To be precise, we covered 254 kms in flat 2hrs.



Coming Soon............

[esteem_lover]

Beautiful pictures Prajesh. Your Getz sure has eaten up quite a few miles in a very short period. What are you ? A traveling salesman ?