Travel Experience During Maharashtra Downpour

EVO6 · 23rd August 2005, 11:31

I know this might be a very late post considering that its been over 4 weeks now after the Mumbai downpour but it was some experience and I wanted it to share with you guyz...

In the month of May a couple of friends from Mumbai Pune and Satara decided to take a trip to the Konkan Area (Amboli, Tarkarli, Malvan) sometime during the 3-4 week of July.. Everyone was really excited about the trip ... Remotely did we know that we were in for a really adventurous trip...

On the Evening of 25th July me and another friend from Mumbai left Pune to reach Satara at about 9.30 in the night... I was in the Skoda and typically since the Octavia has a light problem there was trouble seeing the road as it was raining and the trucks flashing Full beams from the other side ... On reaching Satara we had a nice Dinner with the remaining set of 4 friends ... Till then everything was ok .. We all decided to leave for the Konkan side at about 11 in the morning .. As it was a leisure trip no was in the mood to get up early and start .. We were out to relax.. So on the dreaded day of 26th at about 1.00pm a Octavia and OHC Vtec hit the Pune Kolhapur highway (Couldnt get up as we had lots of beer the night prior :-P) ... We were to get into the Konkan are by climbing down the ghats from Kolhapur via Radhanagari ... I got a call from my father at about 3.00pm saying that its been pouring heavily in the konkan area and there have been landslides and even Mumbai there was flooding and water logging ... We thats when the adventure began .. It was actually raining very hard even between Satara and Kolhapur so our average driving speed was very slow ... He warned us from going ahead ... But the petrolheads/dieselheads that we were we didnt take any heed and said it will be an adventure ..

So after taking a small advice from my father about watching the news .. we stopped at Karad to get hold of a TV.. For about 30 mins we watched the news and realised then that we were in for a seriously adventurous journey ... We had left and no one was in the mood of turning back so we decided to continue .. One strategy we decided was that at every chance that we could we would stop at the ST stand and get info about the roads from the bus drivers..

So the journey continues.. We hit Kolhapur at about 5.00pm .. WE hit the ST stand and find out that both the ghats from Gaganbauda and Radhanagari and shut ... Well there goes our first chance of getting down into the Konkan area ... We decided to have a snack in Kolhapur and then move towards Karnataka and try to get down from there ... I was very happy to be hitting that road as I would once again get the drive on one of the best roads that India has ever seen ... So we hit the road at 6.00 pm .. We reach Nipani in about 30 min and on checking on the ST stand we find out that even the Amobila ghat (Nipani to Sawantwadi) is closed... All of us were wondering whether we are going to be running out of luck to hit the konkan side ... Then after a small huddle we decided that we should go to Goa if not the Konkan area.. So we continue ahead towards Belgaum.. Our last chance to hit the coasts of Maharashtra using the Phonda Ghat ... About 5 kms from Nipani we see a major traffic jam ... To our horror we find that the river has over flown and there was 1 feet water on the road... Many cars had stopped .. We stopped about 500 mts before the traffic jam so that we could turn back if we wanted .. When inquired with the locals they said that there was 1 foot water on the road but you can drive thru ... So without any further adue we just starting driving towards the water.. Some scared driver had parked their cars on the side unwilling to cross it ... But we the daredevils cut the flowing water wishing that our cars dont stall ... Our luck and determination was with us ... Finally thanking God we moved ahead ... We reached Belgaum at about 8.00pm and decided to stay the nite in a Hotel as we didnt want to take the risk of getting stuck in any ghat in the nite as there was a heavy downpour ... We hit the sacks early as we wanted to reach Goa sooner .. Up at about 7.00am I put on the news channel and we get the news the the Highway between Belguam and Kolhapur was shut down for traffic at 10.00pm onwards .. What LUCK !!! .. So at 9.00am we continue our adventurous journey.. Same routine .. Hit the Bus stand and found that the Ghat was clean and no traffic jam at all .. All excited we move on ... We kept asking for directions as many direction boards were in the Local JILEBI language ( No offence ) and we coudnt understand a word... And there is a peculiar style of giving directions in Karnataka ... Whenever u ask where to go they wud say STRAYTHA (Straight in English)... U have to make out the correct direction by looking at where the hand is pointing ... We had such a laugh in the car about this STRAYTHA direction ... So at any turn my friends wud point in the direction and say STRAYTHA...

The ghat was a lovely drive ... It was raining but not so heavily ... All our families were against us from going ahead but then ... Adventure is an adventure and we continued ...

Phonda Ghat-Look at the awesome roads in Karnataka

Goods Train Crossing in Phonda Ghat

All waving at the Train

Friends and me(white T-shirt) at the Karnataka - Goa Border in Phonda Ghat

Waterfall in Phonda Ghat

Reached Goa at about 1.30 pm ... The Mandovi river was almost touching the roads of Panji ... But to our luck no Rain in Goa it was pleasant ... nice weather and completely dry as compared to the rest of Maharashtra.. It seems the rains had just stopped yesterday afternoon.... We were all very excited to have reached our destination .... Some bad luck had to happen ... SO while stopping for lunch at Mum's Kitchen in Panjim i banged my front bumber on a square man hole cover and the Mudguard of the front left tyre came off ... We gently removed the cover put it the boot ... After lunch we found out the Skoda dealer in Goa who is in the middle of a field between the the Panjim and Mapusa ... We reached there and found there were more VW beetles than Skoda's in the Garage ... The guy told us it will take 20 min the refix ... So we waited there when a friend of mine spotted the old VW microbus ... Excited we went to see it Picture follows ... Cant image there was Sofa come bed and a small storage cabinet and wash basin inside it ... Just imagining what concept it was so many years ago .. Dont get to see too many caravans in India anymore, except for DC vans ...

Volkwagen Old Microbus

Spend good 3 enjoyable days in Goa and waited for the rains and water to recede in Maharashtra... On 30th morning we left from Goa .. Same old trick ... Went to Sawantwadi had lunch and after inquiring around and at the Bus Stand found out the the Amboli Ghat had opened up .. So we move ahead ... What a drive i must say ... The ghats was so lush and green ... It was like u were in some other country and not India ... Uploading 2 Videos(drive1.mov and drive2.mov) on the following site ..

http://www.metagraphs.enas.in/tbhp/
You have to right click and say save file as to download ..

Well as we hit the waterfalls on Amboli the fog becomes so thick that one could barely see the car ahead ... Slowly and steadyly we moved ahead .. People were enjoying themselves getting wet in the waterfall ...

Amboli Ghat

Nothing can be seen

Thick Dense Fog - Beautiful Experience

We didnt stop thereand hit the check post were we were harrased by the cops.. They found 3 bottles of Vodka which we carried in the car amongst 6 people.. They started saying things like you are smugglers and criminals. One of my friend got so mad that he gave the guy a Dhamki ... The cops started wondering who the hell we were... Suddenly they mellowed down and asked who we were .. We told them that we were nobody and we are ready to pay what ever taxes necessary... They let us go... Finally one cop came out and asked was anyone of us was a collector and then I told him yes one of my friend is Deputy Collector who was sitting in the other car... He asked me whether it was the one who was shouting at them and I said no it wasnt him ... The look on his face was like a Kodak Moment ...

Stopped by the Cops at Check Post

We stopped in Amboli and for tea ... After that it was a normal clean journey from there to Kolhapur ...

Now another problem that we had heard was the road between Kolhapur and Satara was also shut for traffic because of flooding ... So we were trying to map our route via Sangli and Vita into Karad and mover ahead .. But to our luck the road had opened up and we reached Satara at about 10.00 pm... Stayed back the nite and early morning drove back to Pune home sweet home ...

What an adventure of a drive ... Something that I will remember for a lifetime ....

Hope you all T-bhpians enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed experiencing it !!!

Cheers
EVO6

Dippy · 23rd August 2005, 11:58

Hey EVO6

One of the best write ups I have read in quite some time. You guys really had a great time taking risks at the same time. Nice report with pictures to go with it. There are a few VW Micro buses remaining in Goa , the one you saw seems to be well kept.

Good show

Dippy

P.S I thought your Octavia was an RS . Do you have both or was it not your car?

Dippy

EVO6 · 23rd August 2005, 12:01

Hey Dippy,
Thanx for the compliments on the report..
I have a TDI .. Dont have a RS ... But want one so badly ...
Cheers

Surprise · 23rd August 2005, 12:12

Appreciate your patience for a long write up & you kept interesting through out.

Pictures at the Amboli ghat section are impressive. What's the distance between GOA and Amboli? Have plans to visit GOA first time in October first week. What's interesting over there?

sandeepmdas · 23rd August 2005, 12:16

Excellent write up EVO6...

IMHO, this post is unique, as the timing of the trip was perfect (it was made on that day)..and EVO6 has managed to convey the thrill and that "into-the-uknown" feeling very well...

EVO6 · 23rd August 2005, 14:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surprise

Appreciate your patience for a long write up & you kept interesting through out.

Pictures at the Amboli ghat section are impressive. What's the distance between GOA and Amboli? Have plans to visit GOA first time in October first week. What's interesting over there?

Hey Surprise,
Goa amboli is Approx 90 Kms distance... The only thing good there is scenery and waterfalls in which u can get wet...
Cant say it will be the same in October ... But u can try ...

Sandeep,
Thank you for ur appreciation ...

Rgds
EVO6

dev · 23rd August 2005, 15:35

thats a beautifull writeup... Very nice pics...

Felt as if I am part of your trip...

adya33 · 23rd August 2005, 17:22

hey evo nice writeup man
great photos too.

great adventure!

Scuderia · 24th August 2005, 18:00

Thats a great trip u had there mate.

But looks like there was quite some risk involved... u were pretty lucky though.

Great write up too !

typeOnegative · 24th August 2005, 19:32

Nice writeup EVO. Are the roads really as bad in the pictures throughout?

EVO6 · 24th August 2005, 21:50

Thank u guys ...
Well the roads in Maharashtra are bad ... The ones in Karnataka are brilliant ... Only a patch of 5 km in the Phonda Ghat is bad that too becoz there are tons of dumper trucks moving between goa and phonda to collect construction material from the quarries that exist in the ghat .. Rest of the road is like a carpet ...
Cheers

Deeps · 26th August 2005, 15:53

Man, you have no idea how much i loved reading your report. And the pictures are amazing. More amazing is what is actually in the pictures. The roads look heaven especially in that weather.

Rtech · 26th August 2005, 16:31

Hey evo! Just read this right now. Looks like you had quite an adventure. I always say that the best trips are the ones that are not planned!

23rd August 2005, 11:31	#1
EVO6 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 488 Thanked: 11 Times	Travel Experience During Maharashtra Downpour I know this might be a very late post considering that its been over 4 weeks now after the Mumbai downpour but it was some experience and I wanted it to share with you guyz... In the month of May a couple of friends from Mumbai Pune and Satara decided to take a trip to the Konkan Area (Amboli, Tarkarli, Malvan) sometime during the 3-4 week of July.. Everyone was really excited about the trip ... Remotely did we know that we were in for a really adventurous trip... On the Evening of 25th July me and another friend from Mumbai left Pune to reach Satara at about 9.30 in the night... I was in the Skoda and typically since the Octavia has a light problem there was trouble seeing the road as it was raining and the trucks flashing Full beams from the other side ... On reaching Satara we had a nice Dinner with the remaining set of 4 friends ... Till then everything was ok .. We all decided to leave for the Konkan side at about 11 in the morning .. As it was a leisure trip no was in the mood to get up early and start .. We were out to relax.. So on the dreaded day of 26th at about 1.00pm a Octavia and OHC Vtec hit the Pune Kolhapur highway (Couldnt get up as we had lots of beer the night prior :-P) ... We were to get into the Konkan are by climbing down the ghats from Kolhapur via Radhanagari ... I got a call from my father at about 3.00pm saying that its been pouring heavily in the konkan area and there have been landslides and even Mumbai there was flooding and water logging ... We thats when the adventure began .. It was actually raining very hard even between Satara and Kolhapur so our average driving speed was very slow ... He warned us from going ahead ... But the petrolheads/dieselheads that we were we didnt take any heed and said it will be an adventure .. So after taking a small advice from my father about watching the news .. we stopped at Karad to get hold of a TV.. For about 30 mins we watched the news and realised then that we were in for a seriously adventurous journey ... We had left and no one was in the mood of turning back so we decided to continue .. One strategy we decided was that at every chance that we could we would stop at the ST stand and get info about the roads from the bus drivers.. So the journey continues.. We hit Kolhapur at about 5.00pm .. WE hit the ST stand and find out that both the ghats from Gaganbauda and Radhanagari and shut ... Well there goes our first chance of getting down into the Konkan area ... We decided to have a snack in Kolhapur and then move towards Karnataka and try to get down from there ... I was very happy to be hitting that road as I would once again get the drive on one of the best roads that India has ever seen ... So we hit the road at 6.00 pm .. We reach Nipani in about 30 min and on checking on the ST stand we find out that even the Amobila ghat (Nipani to Sawantwadi) is closed... All of us were wondering whether we are going to be running out of luck to hit the konkan side ... Then after a small huddle we decided that we should go to Goa if not the Konkan area.. So we continue ahead towards Belgaum.. Our last chance to hit the coasts of Maharashtra using the Phonda Ghat ... About 5 kms from Nipani we see a major traffic jam ... To our horror we find that the river has over flown and there was 1 feet water on the road... Many cars had stopped .. We stopped about 500 mts before the traffic jam so that we could turn back if we wanted .. When inquired with the locals they said that there was 1 foot water on the road but you can drive thru ... So without any further adue we just starting driving towards the water.. Some scared driver had parked their cars on the side unwilling to cross it ... But we the daredevils cut the flowing water wishing that our cars dont stall ... Our luck and determination was with us ... Finally thanking God we moved ahead ... We reached Belgaum at about 8.00pm and decided to stay the nite in a Hotel as we didnt want to take the risk of getting stuck in any ghat in the nite as there was a heavy downpour ... We hit the sacks early as we wanted to reach Goa sooner .. Up at about 7.00am I put on the news channel and we get the news the the Highway between Belguam and Kolhapur was shut down for traffic at 10.00pm onwards .. What LUCK !!! .. So at 9.00am we continue our adventurous journey.. Same routine .. Hit the Bus stand and found that the Ghat was clean and no traffic jam at all .. All excited we move on ... We kept asking for directions as many direction boards were in the Local JILEBI language ( No offence ) and we coudnt understand a word... And there is a peculiar style of giving directions in Karnataka ... Whenever u ask where to go they wud say STRAYTHA (Straight in English)... U have to make out the correct direction by looking at where the hand is pointing ... We had such a laugh in the car about this STRAYTHA direction ... So at any turn my friends wud point in the direction and say STRAYTHA... The ghat was a lovely drive ... It was raining but not so heavily ... All our families were against us from going ahead but then ... Adventure is an adventure and we continued ... Phonda Ghat-Look at the awesome roads in Karnataka Goods Train Crossing in Phonda Ghat All waving at the Train Friends and me(white T-shirt) at the Karnataka - Goa Border in Phonda Ghat Waterfall in Phonda Ghat Reached Goa at about 1.30 pm ... The Mandovi river was almost touching the roads of Panji ... But to our luck no Rain in Goa it was pleasant ... nice weather and completely dry as compared to the rest of Maharashtra.. It seems the rains had just stopped yesterday afternoon.... We were all very excited to have reached our destination .... Some bad luck had to happen ... SO while stopping for lunch at Mum's Kitchen in Panjim i banged my front bumber on a square man hole cover and the Mudguard of the front left tyre came off ... We gently removed the cover put it the boot ... After lunch we found out the Skoda dealer in Goa who is in the middle of a field between the the Panjim and Mapusa ... We reached there and found there were more VW beetles than Skoda's in the Garage ... The guy told us it will take 20 min the refix ... So we waited there when a friend of mine spotted the old VW microbus ... Excited we went to see it Picture follows ... Cant image there was Sofa come bed and a small storage cabinet and wash basin inside it ... Just imagining what concept it was so many years ago .. Dont get to see too many caravans in India anymore, except for DC vans ... Volkwagen Old Microbus Spend good 3 enjoyable days in Goa and waited for the rains and water to recede in Maharashtra... On 30th morning we left from Goa .. Same old trick ... Went to Sawantwadi had lunch and after inquiring around and at the Bus Stand found out the the Amboli Ghat had opened up .. So we move ahead ... What a drive i must say ... The ghats was so lush and green ... It was like u were in some other country and not India ... Uploading 2 Videos(drive1.mov and drive2.mov) on the following site .. http://www.metagraphs.enas.in/tbhp/ You have to right click and say save file as to download .. Well as we hit the waterfalls on Amboli the fog becomes so thick that one could barely see the car ahead ... Slowly and steadyly we moved ahead .. People were enjoying themselves getting wet in the waterfall ... Amboli Ghat Nothing can be seen Thick Dense Fog - Beautiful Experience We didnt stop thereand hit the check post were we were harrased by the cops.. They found 3 bottles of Vodka which we carried in the car amongst 6 people.. They started saying things like you are smugglers and criminals. One of my friend got so mad that he gave the guy a Dhamki ... The cops started wondering who the hell we were... Suddenly they mellowed down and asked who we were .. We told them that we were nobody and we are ready to pay what ever taxes necessary... They let us go... Finally one cop came out and asked was anyone of us was a collector and then I told him yes one of my friend is Deputy Collector who was sitting in the other car... He asked me whether it was the one who was shouting at them and I said no it wasnt him ... The look on his face was like a Kodak Moment ... Stopped by the Cops at Check Post We stopped in Amboli and for tea ... After that it was a normal clean journey from there to Kolhapur ... Now another problem that we had heard was the road between Kolhapur and Satara was also shut for traffic because of flooding ... So we were trying to map our route via Sangli and Vita into Karad and mover ahead .. But to our luck the road had opened up and we reached Satara at about 10.00 pm... Stayed back the nite and early morning drove back to Pune home sweet home ... What an adventure of a drive ... Something that I will remember for a lifetime .... Hope you all T-bhpians enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed experiencing it !!! Cheers EVO6 Last edited by EVO6 : 23rd August 2005 at 11:44.
	(2) Thanks

23rd August 2005, 11:58	#2
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,561 Thanked: 2,469 Times	Hey EVO6 One of the best write ups I have read in quite some time. You guys really had a great time taking risks at the same time. Nice report with pictures to go with it. There are a few VW Micro buses remaining in Goa , the one you saw seems to be well kept. Good show Dippy P.S I thought your Octavia was an RS . Do you have both or was it not your car? Dippy
	() Thanks

23rd August 2005, 12:01	#3
EVO6 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 488 Thanked: 11 Times	Hey Dippy, Thanx for the compliments on the report.. I have a TDI .. Dont have a RS ... But want one so badly ... Cheers
	() Thanks

23rd August 2005, 12:12	#4
Surprise Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,523 Thanked: 454 Times	Appreciate your patience for a long write up & you kept interesting through out. Pictures at the Amboli ghat section are impressive. What's the distance between GOA and Amboli? Have plans to visit GOA first time in October first week. What's interesting over there?
	() Thanks

23rd August 2005, 12:16	#5
sandeepmdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Varkala Posts: 1,538 Thanked: 2,491 Times	Excellent write up EVO6... IMHO, this post is unique, as the timing of the trip was perfect (it was made on that day)..and EVO6 has managed to convey the thrill and that "into-the-uknown" feeling very well...
	() Thanks

23rd August 2005, 15:35	#7
dev BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR Posts: 109 Thanked: Once	thats a beautifull writeup... Very nice pics... Felt as if I am part of your trip...
	() Thanks

23rd August 2005, 17:22	#8
adya33 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 1,839 Thanked: 183 Times	hey evo nice writeup man great photos too. great adventure!
	() Thanks

24th August 2005, 18:00	#9
Scuderia BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 127 Thanked: 8 Times	Thats a great trip u had there mate. But looks like there was quite some risk involved... u were pretty lucky though. Great write up too !
	() Thanks

24th August 2005, 19:32	#10
typeOnegative Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Vikhroli, Mumbai, India Posts: 1,503 Thanked: 27 Times	Nice writeup EVO. Are the roads really as bad in the pictures throughout?
	() Thanks

24th August 2005, 21:50	#11
EVO6 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 488 Thanked: 11 Times	Thank u guys ... Well the roads in Maharashtra are bad ... The ones in Karnataka are brilliant ... Only a patch of 5 km in the Phonda Ghat is bad that too becoz there are tons of dumper trucks moving between goa and phonda to collect construction material from the quarries that exist in the ghat .. Rest of the road is like a carpet ... Cheers
	() Thanks

26th August 2005, 15:53	#12
Deeps Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Delhi/Noida Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 170 Times	Man, you have no idea how much i loved reading your report. And the pictures are amazing. More amazing is what is actually in the pictures. The roads look heaven especially in that weather.
	() Thanks

26th August 2005, 16:31	#13
Rtech Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 5,770 Thanked: 359 Times View My Garage	Hey evo! Just read this right now. Looks like you had quite an adventure. I always say that the best trips are the ones that are not planned!
	() Thanks