Quote:
Originally Posted by pulsar56 ...
Starting with pics of day 1. (Hyderabad - Vijayawada - Rajahmundry)
Write-up by Ravveendrra will follow soon.
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Jeepers creepers, how come I get stuck with the dirty work?!
Thanks for posting the pics Nazim. They jogged the memory, though day 1 was only 2 weeks ago, i.e. December 19th, we have been through so much in those hectic and wonderful 16 days that it seems aeons ago and the ol' memory needed a fair bit of jogging to get it going. Now, time to get on with the story.
Flashback:
As we went into the final week before our trip, things seemed pretty unsettled. Rajesh Rawal had to drop out as he was moving back to Mumbai in that period. With Rajesh there can be no 'adieu' so au-revior mate till we meet next. Chetan and Shweta had to drop out too so that meant that the Linea would not be doing this trip. Do not fret, Chetan and Mrs. there is always a next time, especially now that the bug has bitten us.
The team was now down to 4 and the only car we would be taking would be the Laura. As the week-end drew closer it was clear that things in AP would be quite sticky on Sunday and Monday with the police hauling off to hospital fasting proponents of Telangana and United AP. The hoodlums in turn were calling for bandhs etc. at the drop of a hat. Some quick calls between the team and we were all in favour of advancing the start of our journey by half a day. The plan was that we set off from Hyderabad after an early lunch and head for Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and perhaps beyond Rajahmundry on Saturday the 19th. We were to take a call on where to stay the night as we went along.
Saturday dawned bright and clear with no bandhs in the Telangana region and Vijayawada reported that there was a bandh for shops but traffic was not being stopped. I loaded my luggage and set off to pick up Nazim. Once Nazim's luggage was in, we had serious doubts about fitting it all in as the dickie and cabin seemed pretty full - and Arun's stuff was yet to be loaded. A quick lunch at my place and we set off around 1.00 for Arun's place. At Arun's place we unloaded all the luggage and started loading it methodically in the dickie and the cabin. The space in the Laura is truly humongous and it swallowed in 2 suitcases, 7 tote bags, 2 laptop bags, 2 cartons of food & medicines, one carton of tools and spares, an ice-box as well as misc. bits like dhurries, water, car-cover, extra tool kits and jack, towing rope, jumper cables, engine sweatering material etc. The whole exercise took us about an hour and finally we had the luggage in with enough place left for the passengers to sit and lounge comfortably without your elbow being in someones ribs or knees in another person's back.
Once the luggage was in, the car settled down comfortably and the negative camber of the rear wheels was plainly visible. The GC did go down a bit but all of us soon learnt the art of taking speed breakers at an angle to avoid under-body scrapes. The luggage must have weighed at least 250 kgs and this weight did not affect the handling or ride of the car in any way. Not once did the rear break away or swing out on curves, however sharply or fast we took them. Not once on the trip did the suspension bottom out on the rebound. The fully loaded (overloaded?) Laura was equally surefooted on the smooth and the rough. The ride was very smooth and the engine had enough and more power to lug all that weight around (our GPS showed a max speed of 183). The car loped along in the 120 to 160 range when we found the roads to do it, it swallowed up the bumps and twisties with ease. I undertook this trip only because I was confident about the car and not only has it lived up to its promise but has exceeded expectations.
Several times in the course of the trip, the topic veered to: Which cars (not SUVs) could we have done this trip in? - Obviously it would have to be a saloon car as warm clothes take up a lot of space. The car should be able to takle the smooth fast roads and the bad roads with equal aplomb. The first requirement would be a great suspension set-up as the long distances over unknown roads demanded first class handling and the long hours required good ride. The engine would have to have enough power to cruise all day at fairly high speeds and it should have enough reserve power to overtake or get out of a sticky situation fast. The car should be solidly built and not develop creaks or rattles along the way. It should be capable of taking a fair bit of bashing to the suspension and underbody. The final list was - Skoda Octy, Skoda Laura, Fiat Linea, Ford Fiesta, SX4 and Toyota Corolla. Anything with a longer wheelbase was out as they would have resembled beached whales at several spots where the road is merely slush intermingled with stones. If anyone disagrees with us, please prove us wrong by driving through the extremeties of Orissa and then from Tezpur to Tawang in your candidate car.
Leaving Arun's place around 3.30, we set course for Vijayawada and the ETA showed 8.30. The non-stop run drew complaints from our juniormost team member once he woke up from his nap. He has gotten used to TBHP drives where we stop almost every half an hour. Even on his earlier trips to Vijayawada we had one or two stops - just to chill out, he however saw reason when it was explained to him that we would not be stopping often as we had a really long way to go.
The road to Vijayawada. The only time the lill chap used the flash in the car - the effect was so astounding that he quickly swithced the flash off!
After a boring run to Vijayawada replete with bumper to bumper lorry traffic we refuelled at the designated bunk just outside Vijayawada and headed into town.
At the refuelling halt at the Krishna District Lorry Owners Association bunk in Gollapudi.
Once in town it was obvious that we were in a bandh hit town as the streets which are normally bustling were almost deserted, worse, the eating joints were all closed
. This meant that we had to throw our budget out and hit one of the larger hotels who would have their kitchens open. The Gateway was chosen as I have stayed (and eaten) there earlier and the food is safe. Jr. too likes the place and was in fact all set to stay there for a day or two. However wiser counsel (and the promise of snow) prevailed and a phone call to Hotel River Bay in Rajahmundry got us two rooms there. A hearty meal later we set off with Ms. Ellen of the GPS in her sing-song voice guiding Arun at the wheel to the Hotel River Bay in Rajahmundry. I took the opportunity to savour the delights of the rear seat in the Laura, something I have never had an opportunity to do till now and promptly I fell asleep.
Rajahmundry too welcomed us with deserted streets (what else can one expect at 11 in the night). Soon enough we made our way to River Bay hotel. This hotel is a revelation and is one of the best we used on our trip. The rooms are absolutely clean and quite well appointed. The food (we left after breakfast) is decent. The views of the river are breathtaking.
A view of the plants outside the reception building. The interesting looking reception building. Sir Arthur Cotton astride a horse. Sir Cotton was the man who built the canals and drains in coastal Andhra. These canals and drains are what brought prosperity to a desolate and poor region alterntively devastated by drought and floods. It is therefore not uncommon to find a picture of Sir Cotton amongst the pantheon of gods in the pooja rooms in this region. Rightly is the man deified.
My candidates for best hotels in this trip are (in order of preference) 1. Hotel KF, Tezpur, 2. Hotel River Bay, Rajahmundry, 3. Sarada Lodge, Siuri. The others in order of preferance: Hotel Alpine Continental, Shillong, Hotel Gori Chen, Tawang, Panthanivas OTDC, Rambha, Hotel Presidency, Bhubaneshwar and the Hotel Central Plaza, Siliguri.
I see that there are a fair number of questions that require an answer and will be doing so in the next few days.
Cheers,