Hyderabad to Ballarpur and back

pgupta · 10th January 2010, 17:21

I have been driving for last couple of years though never gone out of the city. Going through the posts in this forum somewhere ignited the desire to go on a long drive and finally we (wife and 8 yrs old daughter) decided to take the first plunge in highway drive.

We spent some time in discussing about the destination. Couple of things were there to consider since it was our first trip and specially I was the only driver. The main idea was that we wanted to test the waters, so we were sure that we dont want to go more than 300-350Km. Also night driving obviously was out of question. I was also not sure about how the car would behave since it was 5 year old but very less driven ( 18000 only) specially when last 18 months it was not used. I was also worried over the thought that I have not spent much time with the car and never knew how to change a flat tyre too - never had to actually . I was going through couple of posts to get prepared for the trip but what happened was actually entirely different. One fine morning a relative of mine called us up and invited us to come over i.e. Ballarpur. Although I was in no mood to go ahead on a road trip without planning but actually started the trip with no planning at all. So here we are ..started at 9 AM from home went to a near by Gas station and filled up the tank. At 9:30 we were asking people how do we get to the highway to go to karimnagar.

We were on the Hyderabad Karimnagar Road around 10 AM and finally a broad highway in front of us. The route we followed was Hyderabad-Siddipet-Karimnagar-Mancherial-Belampalli-Rajura-Ballarpur. Hyd - Karimanagar road condition was super. Being the first venture I kept the speed below 100km/hour. Karimnagar-Mancherial (around 95 Kms) road is also good however after Mancherial road condition gradually worsens as we approach Rajura.

We reached Ballarpur at 5PM. There was no hurry to reach early and also we wanted to enjoy every bit of it so had 4-5 stopovers ( for snacks, fruits, even for buying recharge coupons and bio-breaks). I had to ask for road direction many a times however luckily we did not end up getting on a wrong direction and spending time. Most of the places the directions to nearest city is provide but I felt they are bit confusing sometimes.

Overall experience was pretty good. Having the car in a new city and the flexibility associated with it was a bonus. I was not worried about Fuel Effieciency so have not really tracked it at all.

While coming back we started relatively early but again took lot of breaks. Spent more than 2 hours for lunch, snacks and other related acitvities. Started at 8:30 AM and reached Hyderabad around 5PM.

Overall we enjoyed ! My daughter not so much though. Hope she would also start loving the journey's over a period of time.

One strange thing happened though - before our return journey I went to a local workshop and asked them to top-up the Engine oil. They did it and also cleaned the air filter. But when one of their mechanic tried starting the engine it did not start. Many a attempts and all in vain. Finally I took the key from them and when I tried and it worked fine. All were surprised as they were thinking that it might be a fuse problem etc. I still do not know if it had to do anything with Oil top up etc. Any guesses ?

Ravveendrra · 10th January 2010, 18:06

Welcome to TBHP. I see this is post no. 1 for you (posts in the introduction section do not count) and am glad to see that it is a travelogue. Congratulations and way to go.

Nice travelogue and the description of the road conditions is useful to others. I hope you will upload some pictures soon. Tell us a little more about Ballarpur, what can one do there? what are the local places of interest there? Is there anything interesting to see en-route.

A car with 18K on the odo is in its prime so you need not worry. Hope to see many more travelogues from you.

Cheers,

unoczar · 10th January 2010, 18:10

gupta saab,

first of all, thanks for sharing your experience. It could have been better though if it had some pictures in it and had you explained in detail about the trip and any interesting places/buildings/nature you saw.

thanks.

pgupta · 10th January 2010, 21:55

Thanks Ravveendrra.

Ballarpur is an otherwise small city apart from the fact that Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) has a Paper Mill here. I heard that weekly once general public is allowed to see the production process i.e how paper is made from bamboo trees. Also there is a beautiful Balaji Temple close to the newly buit paper mill quarters.

Fordmanchau · 15th January 2010, 11:15

Welcome to TBHP gupta ji,
That was a nice first trip to Ballarpur. How was your experience there. I know about it as you rightly mentioned about BILT.
You did not mention which car do you have? also please post and share any photographs of your ride and snaps taken on tour.

10th January 2010, 17:21	#1
pgupta BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 217 Thanked: 162 Times	Hyderabad to Ballarpur and back I have been driving for last couple of years though never gone out of the city. Going through the posts in this forum somewhere ignited the desire to go on a long drive and finally we (wife and 8 yrs old daughter) decided to take the first plunge in highway drive. We spent some time in discussing about the destination. Couple of things were there to consider since it was our first trip and specially I was the only driver. The main idea was that we wanted to test the waters, so we were sure that we dont want to go more than 300-350Km. Also night driving obviously was out of question. I was also not sure about how the car would behave since it was 5 year old but very less driven ( 18000 only) specially when last 18 months it was not used. I was also worried over the thought that I have not spent much time with the car and never knew how to change a flat tyre too - never had to actually . I was going through couple of posts to get prepared for the trip but what happened was actually entirely different. One fine morning a relative of mine called us up and invited us to come over i.e. Ballarpur. Although I was in no mood to go ahead on a road trip without planning but actually started the trip with no planning at all. So here we are ..started at 9 AM from home went to a near by Gas station and filled up the tank. At 9:30 we were asking people how do we get to the highway to go to karimnagar. We were on the Hyderabad Karimnagar Road around 10 AM and finally a broad highway in front of us. The route we followed was Hyderabad-Siddipet-Karimnagar-Mancherial-Belampalli-Rajura-Ballarpur. Hyd - Karimanagar road condition was super. Being the first venture I kept the speed below 100km/hour. Karimnagar-Mancherial (around 95 Kms) road is also good however after Mancherial road condition gradually worsens as we approach Rajura. We reached Ballarpur at 5PM. There was no hurry to reach early and also we wanted to enjoy every bit of it so had 4-5 stopovers ( for snacks, fruits, even for buying recharge coupons and bio-breaks). I had to ask for road direction many a times however luckily we did not end up getting on a wrong direction and spending time. Most of the places the directions to nearest city is provide but I felt they are bit confusing sometimes. Overall experience was pretty good. Having the car in a new city and the flexibility associated with it was a bonus. I was not worried about Fuel Effieciency so have not really tracked it at all. While coming back we started relatively early but again took lot of breaks. Spent more than 2 hours for lunch, snacks and other related acitvities. Started at 8:30 AM and reached Hyderabad around 5PM. Overall we enjoyed ! My daughter not so much though. Hope she would also start loving the journey's over a period of time. One strange thing happened though - before our return journey I went to a local workshop and asked them to top-up the Engine oil. They did it and also cleaned the air filter. But when one of their mechanic tried starting the engine it did not start. Many a attempts and all in vain. Finally I took the key from them and when I tried and it worked fine. All were surprised as they were thinking that it might be a fuse problem etc. I still do not know if it had to do anything with Oil top up etc. Any guesses ?
	() Thanks

10th January 2010, 18:06	#2
Ravveendrra Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,391 Thanked: 446 Times View My Garage	Welcome to TBHP. I see this is post no. 1 for you (posts in the introduction section do not count) and am glad to see that it is a travelogue. Congratulations and way to go. Nice travelogue and the description of the road conditions is useful to others. I hope you will upload some pictures soon. Tell us a little more about Ballarpur, what can one do there? what are the local places of interest there? Is there anything interesting to see en-route. A car with 18K on the odo is in its prime so you need not worry. Hope to see many more travelogues from you. Cheers, Last edited by Ravveendrra : 10th January 2010 at 18:08.
	() Thanks

10th January 2010, 18:10	#3
unoczar BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 536 Thanked: 224 Times	gupta saab, first of all, thanks for sharing your experience. It could have been better though if it had some pictures in it and had you explained in detail about the trip and any interesting places/buildings/nature you saw. thanks.
	() Thanks

10th January 2010, 21:55	#4
pgupta BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 217 Thanked: 162 Times	Thanks Ravveendrra. Ballarpur is an otherwise small city apart from the fact that Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) has a Paper Mill here. I heard that weekly once general public is allowed to see the production process i.e how paper is made from bamboo trees. Also there is a beautiful Balaji Temple close to the newly buit paper mill quarters.
	() Thanks

15th January 2010, 11:15	#5
Fordmanchau Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,666 Thanked: 340 Times	Welcome to TBHP gupta ji, That was a nice first trip to Ballarpur. How was your experience there. I know about it as you rightly mentioned about BILT. You did not mention which car do you have? also please post and share any photographs of your ride and snaps taken on tour.
	() Thanks