[LongDrive lover]

Hey Tirthankar,

That cartoonistic expression is so cute, so aptly depicting the situation one might find when one is inside the Master's cabin and HE is on the wheels. BTW, nice to know that you finally had that impressionable sensory experience.
Great timings.
have a safe journey back. Looking forward for more details.

[n.devdath]

This could very well be amongst the most interesting travelogues on TBHP, eagerly waiting for the next instalment.

[pramod]

Thirthankar, HVK : Thanks for a very interesrting travelogue.
Somehow your travelling style, the objects you click , everything seem so very myself..

I want you to share a few things:
1. Conversations on the driving styles you both have. And in wat way they are different. Who brakes when, Who rips and who doesnt.
I presume, even though HVK may be a fast driving, i dont expect him to rip. A driver with so much experience is sure to do things in a smoother way (may be fast).

2. The type of hotels you guys preferred, to stay and to eat ...

These info will make the log even more interesting to read.

Cheers
Pramod

[btirthankar]

Next Destination after Gwalior and the "MP ka COP dekho" was Khajuraho.

Though both myself and HVK were first timers for this, I went my own way of experiencing it

Let the Khajuraho Photosophicals begin:

[btirthankar]

The Khajuraho Sculptures affirmed my belief that Hindu Religion and Convictions got modified to peoples conveniences through the ages. Reminds me of what I realized at the Varanasi Trip Varanasi

"The Hindu Faith is contrived on mythical imaginations, passed on and wishfully modified by Generations to Generations to their fantasies."



A short Video (don't know what language they are speaking)

YouTube - Tourists Khajuraho

[btirthankar]

Discovery of a Beautiful Jungle Road after Khajuraho. Looked similar to the Srisailam Highway.

More Details awaited from HVK

[btirthankar]

Photosession of HVK,

A Human GPS: "The Routes he plots are the Roads many Trundle"

[hellstar]

Nice work Basu , i think its such a great opportunity to have traveled and photographed the HVK.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by hellstar

Nice work Basu , i think its such a great opportunity to have traveled and photographed the HVK.

, way to go, Basu.

HVK Sir's feats would remain the benchmark for many ordinary mortals like me.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by btirthankar

Photosession of HVK

@ hvkumar: I would probably look forward to your reaction and comments to this photosession by BT.

[btirthankar]

Originally Posted by hellstar

i wonder which route they took and how was the road conditions.

HVK will be posting shortly the route details.

Originally Posted by LongDrive lover

That cartoonistic expression is so cute, so aptly depicting the situation

When intention becomes the inevitable.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

HVK along with Tirthankar left from my house at 2.40 am and were about 80 Kms away from Trivandrum at 7.35 pm. They were at Bangalore at about 10 am completing the 560 Km drive in about 7 hours with an 80 kmph average

The Boss dosent blink an eyelid for this one.

Originally Posted by laluks

I have met them at Attibele Cross on Hosur road at 11:40AM.

Nice meeting you.

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Shall love to catch up with you the next time you are here in Hyderabad.

Same here.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

This could very well be amongst the most interesting travelogues on TBHP,

Originally Posted by Hurrycane12

Great write up Tirthankar; waiting for more pics and updates.

Originally Posted by sbraj

HVK Sir's feats would remain the benchmark for many ordinary mortals like me.

Originally Posted by hellstar

Nice work Basu , i think its such a great opportunity to have traveled and photographed the HVK.

Originally Posted by Majic

WOnderful reading. I think as mentioned you are on a learning trip.

Many Thanks and the experiences are shared below.

Originally Posted by pramod

1. Conversations on the driving styles you both have. And in wat way they are different. Who brakes when, Who rips and who doesnt. A driver with so much experience is sure to do things in a smoother way (may be fast). 2. The type of hotels you guys preferred, to stay and to eat ...

You asked what I was about to post.

We are two different individuals with a generation gap with different set of beliefs, notions and even vehicles. So no merits/demerits ever drawn on those points.

• Common
• Both of us are not speedoholics. Whatever the road permits, the vehicle cruises in that fashion. You may consider us as paced and not fast drivers.
• Both of us have no qualms about hotel and food quality
• I incidentally discovered, that while overtaking he is extra careful and much to my amazement reacts quite the same manner as I do to an array of trucks stopped ahead of him. So no superhero stunts there as well.
  
  Uncommon
• He logs every possible thing like hotels, crossroads, Fuel Bunks, eateries, 2/4 laning and marks those as waypoints from his GPS readings, while I keep on taking photographs of things of interest as it provides me a Date & Time stamp. Two different approaches but useful to the 'individual us'. Of course his approach is much more mathematical, mine is more artistic.
• HVK has an immaculate memory enhanced from the documented trip logs and his past experiences. I am nowhere close to that.
• While I would not be able to drive without loud music on, he prefers silence and sometimes low volume music.
• I do not travel with as many gadgets, tools and food items as he does. Again no debates on this one.
• While I would have 1 meal in 24 hours and drink coke/pepsi etc. , he would live off biscuits and dry snacks with electral and leh berries.
• The only displeasure I ever expressed to him was that he brakes slightly more in advance in a decelerating situation, but then its a subjective matter based on personal approaches.

Realisations
Overall he is an extra safe and defensive driver, contrary to what might appear otherwise from the efficient durations he consumes. As you can see there are uncommon points outnumber the common ones and that is what is behind his consistent performance.

We both are solo drivers and the scenario changes a lot when two people are travelling together long distances. Each assumes the role of a crew member with his sets of duties which can never be compromised especially things like handling supplies, vigilance during pit stops, log book writing etc. Due to very long durations together, one has to be considerate on each other's personal privacy as well. This is the discipline that I realized so far.

For more details see the video in the first post of this thread, where he lists out his rules.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpQwFixEAg

Might sound a bit too formal, but in this game the PILOT makes all the rules which needs to be duly respected and followed as he is handling the greater stress and responsibility.

Regarding conversations, just the usual stuff though I try as much not to speak so as not to distract him. I even voluntarily refrained from making my own telephone calls as imagining myself in his shoes, I know how distracting that can be. So I sometimes switch off to my own world with the ipod whenever the situation demands/permits.

What Say HVK Sir?

[hvkumar]

Well said, TB, I couldn't say it better.

The most dangerous thing that I do is answer mobile calls - since I do not use handsfree.

I carry all my water, never buy bottled water.

We never litter - use plastic bags to collect garbage and empty it at petrol pumps.

I carry full cash, don't depend on ATMs and credit cards (very rarely are there CC outlets).

I prefer to reach my destination ASAP and, as TB put it, I don't like to stop over for food - 1 hour break means 100 kms more to drive!

I never check air on my tyres on teh highway, most dangerous thing to do.

At every fuel stop, I open up the bonnet, check the engine bay thoroughly for leaks, oil/coolant levels, and also a brief underbody check.

I try to keep my car environment as quiet as possible, to watch out for unusual sounds, squeaks, etc that portend some impending mechanical failure.

[btirthankar]

After all those Photosessions etc.(somewhere near Katni, where that newly discovered road finally met NH7 all the way from Panna) we reach Seoni after passing Jabalpur on the NH7

We stay over for the night @ Bison Retreat, Rookhad, on NH7 Seoni Distt. MP
It was terribly cold there and we plan to resume our journey next day early morning towards our next destination: Hyderabad











Details of the MP tourism resort and the place are provided in an earlier thread, based on my earlier visit.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...strict-mp.html

A Preview

[hvkumar]

A little bit of background on this odd circuit that we have taken for this circuit:


Jan 15/16: Bombay-Gwalior, to attend a cousin's wedding
Jan 17: Wedding in Gwalior, drive towards Kajuraho
Jan 18: Kajuraho and drive to jungle camp at Pench on MP-MH border
Jan 19: To Hyderabad, for my nephew's wedding
Jan 20/21: Nephew's wedding at Hyderabad
Jan 22: Hyderabad-Trivandrum, for the wedding reception
Jan 23/26: At Trivandrum
Jan 27/28: Trivandrum-Munnar-Bombay, planned

Bombay-Gwalior, 1101 kms

Distance from Bombay to Gwalior is 1,101 kms, and we decided to do the drive non-stop, via Indore.

We - along with TB, I also had my cousin for company - left Bombay at 700 pm on Jan 15, and drove through the night. The first 50 kms till Shahpur has incomplete 4-lane stretches (with detours) from Kalyan Phata onwards, and one has to be careful at night not to miss the badly-indicated detours, and rough patches. I hope the road will be totally 4-laned in the next couple of months. Traffic is very heavy on this road - NH3 - but happily, at this evening hour, truck traffic does not pick up till late night.

The ghat road, starting from Kasara onwards, is simply superb - now they have 2 separate unconnected routes for going up and down and the road condition was also very good. Luckily, there was no fog at the head of the ghat, and once on the Deccan Plateau at Igatpuri, it was a good 4-laner all the way to Nashik (152 kms, 2.38 hrs, 938 pm). Because of the late hour, city traffic - since Nashik does not have a bypass - was not bad, but the 2-laner is irritating till you reach a point 38 kms beyond the Asoka Circle in Nashik. The 4-lane road from thereon is one of the best in thsi region and you can do superfast speeds all the way past Pimpalgaon, Malegaon till some distance before Dhulia, where the road is broken up (under widening). I am told that this last mile to Dhulia has traffic jams at some times of the day, but we reached Dhulia without any fuss (312 kms, 5 hrs, 1200 midnight). Night petrol pumps are many and you should have no problem refuelling on this route even late at night, given the dense truck traffic. Signages are excellent.

At Dhulia, NH3 intersects NH6 (coming from Surat, going to Nagpur/Kolkata), but we have to head for Indore on NH3. From Dhulia onwards, it is conventional 2-lane road in MH, and I am told that this stretch can be unsafe at night - especially at the MH-MP border).

On entering MP around 200 am, we encountered some bad roads - thanks to road widening work - but we did not slacken our speed much. I think in the next 6 months the entire road from the MH border to Indore will be 4-laned. Now, once you cross Damnod (491 kms, 7.45 hrs, 245 am) the road becomes expressway material, and the last 100 kms to Indore is accomplished in less than 60 minutes! Traffic was light and facilities minimal.

We took the Indore bypass at 340 am, after having driven 570 kms in 8.40 hrs, instead of going through the city. The bypass is good for those who want to continue on NH3 since it merges into the Indore-Dewas 4-lane road.

Dewas is best bypassed, but after crossing the town, we settle down for a fast drive on conventional 2-lane roads all the way to Gwalior. This stretch - especially till Shahjahanpur - is narrow, has poor road shoulders, and is prone to heavy traffic jams and damages during the rainy season, but now in the winter road is all made up. The weather outside is terribly cold - in th 5s, and we had heavy fog after Dewas for the next 1 hour or so till sunrise - and we cover the next 115 kms in 1.30 hrs. The towns that we pass by are scruffy and do not even have a decent restaurant, forget hotels and other facilities. Passing the small towns of Sarangpur and Biaora (where the road to Bhopal branches off), the sun is high in the sky when we cross Vijaipur (848 kms, 13 hrs, 800 am). There are lovely bypasses for both the Guna and Shivpuri towns and we enter Gwalior (which has no bypass) at 1130 am (1,101 kms, 17.30 hrs).

[viv1984]

Superb blogging TB and Superb drive, as usual by HVK!! I am really amazed by the speed in which you covered Thane-Indore and Hyd-TVM!!

And that cartoon is really funny and really good sense of humor, TB. Aptly describes the situation during drive with HVK. Wish I can get a chance like the one you are experiencing!

Bon Voyage and safe journey guys!