An Incredible Road Trip of a Lifetime to Udaipur, The Most Romantic City in the World

Chevy_lover · 21st January 2010, 17:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by venki.bala

Hey CL, Great start and excellent snaps. I was also puzzled by the yellow sticker on the right head lamp. Atleast black stickers would help, yellow really strange.

Some rules have a strange logic behind it. I still have not understood this logic. Let someone from Gujarat clarify!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Majic

Finally CL , you heeded to my threatenings and came up with the travelogue, looking out for more form your side....

Hey Majic, how can I take your words lightly??? I will surely post more pics after processing it. I can assure you that you will be astonished when you see some of my pics later!

I put in a tremendous amount of effort in photography during this trip!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Hi CL,
Fantastic start to the travelogue. Amazing write-up and photogrpahs to follow with.
Your Hella's did light up the road like a christmas tree.
Do commend your wife for the wonderful job that she has done with the camera.
I am glued.

Thanks Fordmanchau. I had to shuffle through 700 odd photos (taken in 2 hours) to select the ones I posted! My wifey is happy to read all the comments! I think I will need to buy another memory card before our next trip!

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit_3306

Chevy_lover... I m amazed with your flawless write up. I ve gone through your previous threads numerous times and still feel like reading it manier times.
I m sure this one is going to be equally good.I m glued.

BTW,where do you stay in Pune? I m from Pune too.

Thanks Amit. It is an honour to know that my narration is captivating! Please keep reading. The best is yet to come!

I stay in Kondhwa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRRaj

Good Start as Usual

I really feel I am travelling on the road with you. Good Photos and nice detailed travelogue. Looking forward to continue the onward journey

Thanks Raj. I want all my readers to be with me all the way. Only then, will they be able to experience what we did! That is why my poor wifey clicked non-stop. I hope her effort pays off!

sriswe · 21st January 2010, 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chevy_lover

Thanks Sri. I enjoyed reading your log too! Getting fined in Hyd after the trip was lucky for you! If you had got caught in TN or Kerala, you wouldn't have been let off, before parting with four Gandhiji's green notes!

Thanks chevy_lover for your appreciation....

Yes, was a bit lucky on not getting caught..However, my wife had a permanent driving licence with her (but she is a learner in driving and wont drive the car). So I guess, even some police stopped me, I could have shown my LR ( which is valid) along with my wife's DL..(as far as I know, a person driving with LR should have someone next to him with a valid DL)..

Back to your travelogue, As usual your narration is superb and Pics are really nice..Really tempted for a drive on those roads..

Waiting for more ......

Chevy_lover · 22nd January 2010, 10:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriswe

Back to your travelogue, As usual your narration is superb and Pics are really nice..Really tempted for a drive on those roads..

Waiting for more ......

Hey Sri, thank you. The highway drive has just started. Just wait till you see the rest of the pics. The road was brilliant!!

The rest of the story of day 1 will be posted shortly. There are 200 odd pics coming up. Get ready for a wonderful drive ahead ;-)

advaitlele · 22nd January 2010, 11:24

Hey CL, so you have started your Sooper travelogue with Sooper-Dooper Fotos.

Regarding that rule of yellow strip, what I heard is those strips help the oncoming car driver from headlight flash. and prevents blinding the oncoming driver. I dont know if its effective and I dont know which color is more useful black or yellow.

BTW, I regularly drive from Pune (work place) to Vadodara (native place) and I dont have that sticker on my car, and never had a problem.

Chevy_lover · 22nd January 2010, 12:01

We speeded along the super smooth NH8 at 120 kmph and soon reached Vapi at 8.56. The drive was so refreshing and we never felt bored because of the morons driving on the right lane at 60 kmph. I gave them a piece of my Hellas and it was funny seeing them bolting to the left lane almost instantly

. I was more understanding towards the trucks. They were very courteous and just two powerful beeps were enough to get them out of the way.

We passed Bhagwada toll plaza at 9.10 am by paying Rs. 45. My odometer read 82096 km and we had covered 334 kilometres from Pune. We felt relieved that we had covered the bulk of the crowded stretches at dawn. Now we just had to drive another 600 odd kilometres in broad daylight and I was excited at the thought of finally being able to maintain good speeds.

We stopped for our second break and breakfast at 9.28 am. We stopped at a drive-in restaurant by the name Vamosa. We freshened up and ordered lots of Idlis and Uthappas. The food was ok and we relaxed a bit.

We re-started our journey at 10.30 am and sped at 110 -120 kmph in most stretches. We passed Boriach toll plaza at 11.15 am by paying Rs. 39. The drive was just fantastic on the toll road. Here are some pics of the highway.

Majic · 22nd January 2010, 12:14

Mmmmmm, i am loving it..Wonderful pictures please continue with it

Chevy_lover · 22nd January 2010, 13:24

I can go on and on commenting about the quality of the road. But I feel that pics can do more justice in explaining what we experienced firsthand! We saw some astounding scenes en-route. An overturned truck, an Audi, driven by a handsome young man, zipping past us at 140+ kmph (see the rear view mirror), beautiful painting on trucks, Ox carts, roadside dhabbas, cattle grazing, railway bridges, etc, etc. We had such an invigorating drive! There was not even one single dull moment!

Chevy_lover · 22nd January 2010, 16:44

We continued our drive keeping up very good speeds. There was sparse truck traffic. But we were not too bothered by them. We touched Surat bypass at 11.50 am after covering 434 kilometres from our city. The road condition was superb throughout the stretch. There were absolutely no potholes and my Chevy just flew at 100 - 120+ kmph all the way to the next toll plaza at Choryasi. We paid Rs. 45 as toll.

We reached Ankaleshwar after covering a further 38 kilometres in less than half an hour. The highway was awesome throughout. We reached Narmada Bridge at 12.48 pm.

The new bridge has been converted into two-way and we had to be extremely careful about the oncoming vehicles. The old bridge on the right side was open to light vehicles, but we chose to take the new bridge as the traffic was fast moving. We passed the bridge in three minutes flat. I was a bit apprehensive about taking the bridge at first as HVK sir had warned me about traffic blocks. But luckily, we faced no such issues. There were a huge number of trucks trying to cross the toll plaza right after the bridge.

We reached Vadodara Bharuch bypass at 1.20 pm. The toll was Rs. 60 and this section of the highway was maintained by L & T. The road was brilliant. But we couldn’t maintain high speeds due to heavy truck traffic.

Chevy_lover · 22nd January 2010, 17:14

Soon we took the Vadodara bypass and continued our drive. The time was 1.40 pm then. We had covered 570 kilometres till then. We were keeping up very good pace considering the fact that we were travelling in one of the most congested highways in the north. We sped past numerous small towns and tens of thousands of trucks. We were enjoying the drive so much that we completely forgot about having lunch.

We reached the famous Ahmedabad expressway at 2 pm. We had covered 601 kilometres from Pune in less than 10 hours of driving. We were very happy with the progress we made. Our aim of reaching Udaipur for dinner looked very realistic.

We paid a toll of Rs. 69 and sped off towards Udaipur. The sign board said that we were just 333 kilometre away from our destination. I increased my speed to 130 -140 and flew across the highway. The tarmac was superb. Unlike the Pune – Mumbai expressway, this one was a two lane road and we had trouble because of slow moving vehicles on the right lane. I had no qualms in using my Hellas extensively! But I must say that I felt annoyed because of this habit of some drivers. But I am strictly against overtaking from the left lane. So I had to blast my horn till they moved aside. Other than this minor glitch, we never faced any issues on National Expressway 1. We had a super smooth drive all the way!!!

KRRaj · 22nd January 2010, 17:19

Excellent Snaps as usual. Agree with you, the road look real awesome and everyone would want to stretch their legs here.

And the pic of the truck facing the wrong way. , I was fooled in thinking he was coming the wrong way and you had forced him to give way to you

Majic · 22nd January 2010, 17:27

Now that is somehtign like photos speaking more than words.

ElantraGT · 22nd January 2010, 18:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRRaj

And the pic of the truck facing the wrong way. , I was fooled in thinking he was coming the wrong way and you had forced him to give way to you

+1 to that. Thats exactly what i thought too. man for a second I thought your hellas were too powerful to scare the oncoming traffic

. Its nice to see that India road Infrastructure has developed a lot.

LongDrive lover · 22nd January 2010, 18:23

CL. The adjective 'Incredible' appears too small to describe your journeys and even more so your travelogues! Today hooked to net after 4 days, and here is another stunning edition from you! I am glued deeply. What to say about those pics, others have already attempted to appreciate the quality, but they are too good to be described. So I'll just enjoy them, and off course, your wonderfully written words.

Chevy_lover · 22nd January 2010, 18:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElantraGT

+1 to that. Thats exactly what i thought too. man for a second I thought your hellas were too powerful to scare the oncoming traffic

. Its nice to see that India road Infrastructure has developed a lot.

If you look closely, I am in the middle lane, in the first pic of the truck! That is because I was so scared when I saw the truck for the first time, that I changed lanes immediately! I thought that the son of a gun was coming towards me!!!

I drove in the side lane and decided to let him pass! But he wasn't coming towards me!

Then I thought that he is going in reverse in full speed!!!

I was astonished to see the driver looking at us, smiling and driving in reverse!!! I really thought he is India's answer to Michael Schumacher!!!

We decided to play safe and went behind him. Wifey went crazy clicking! Then we understood that it was a push-pull truck!!! I had seen a similar sight near Hubli. I had posted that pic in my earlier travelogue! Here it is again for the benefit of new readers!

Well, if I see a truck coming towards me, testing my Hellas is the last thing that comes to my mind!!!

pjbiju · 22nd January 2010, 18:42

Excellent travelogue/photologue as usual CL. This is going to come handy to me one day.

22nd January 2010, 11:24	#49
advaitlele BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Pune, Vadodara Posts: 528 Thanked: 463 Times	Hey CL, so you have started your Sooper travelogue with Sooper-Dooper Fotos. Regarding that rule of yellow strip, what I heard is those strips help the oncoming car driver from headlight flash. and prevents blinding the oncoming driver. I dont know if its effective and I dont know which color is more useful black or yellow. BTW, I regularly drive from Pune (work place) to Vadodara (native place) and I dont have that sticker on my car, and never had a problem.
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 12:01	#50
Chevy_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Köln Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 130 Times View My Garage	Drive on the superb NH8..... We speeded along the super smooth NH8 at 120 kmph and soon reached Vapi at 8.56. The drive was so refreshing and we never felt bored because of the morons driving on the right lane at 60 kmph. I gave them a piece of my Hellas and it was funny seeing them bolting to the left lane almost instantly. I was more understanding towards the trucks. They were very courteous and just two powerful beeps were enough to get them out of the way. We passed Bhagwada toll plaza at 9.10 am by paying Rs. 45. My odometer read 82096 km and we had covered 334 kilometres from Pune. We felt relieved that we had covered the bulk of the crowded stretches at dawn. Now we just had to drive another 600 odd kilometres in broad daylight and I was excited at the thought of finally being able to maintain good speeds. We stopped for our second break and breakfast at 9.28 am. We stopped at a drive-in restaurant by the name Vamosa. We freshened up and ordered lots of Idlis and Uthappas. The food was ok and we relaxed a bit. We re-started our journey at 10.30 am and sped at 110 -120 kmph in most stretches. We passed Boriach toll plaza at 11.15 am by paying Rs. 39. The drive was just fantastic on the toll road. Here are some pics of the highway. Attached Thumbnails Attached Images
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 12:14	#51
Majic BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Kottayam Posts: 588 Thanked: 8 Times	Mmmmmm, i am loving it..Wonderful pictures please continue with it
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 13:24	#52
Chevy_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Köln Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 130 Times View My Garage	More pics from NH8.... I can go on and on commenting about the quality of the road. But I feel that pics can do more justice in explaining what we experienced firsthand! We saw some astounding scenes en-route. An overturned truck, an Audi, driven by a handsome young man, zipping past us at 140+ kmph (see the rear view mirror), beautiful painting on trucks, Ox carts, roadside dhabbas, cattle grazing, railway bridges, etc, etc. We had such an invigorating drive! There was not even one single dull moment! Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 16:44	#53
Chevy_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Köln Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 130 Times View My Garage	The awesome NH8.... We continued our drive keeping up very good speeds. There was sparse truck traffic. But we were not too bothered by them. We touched Surat bypass at 11.50 am after covering 434 kilometres from our city. The road condition was superb throughout the stretch. There were absolutely no potholes and my Chevy just flew at 100 - 120+ kmph all the way to the next toll plaza at Choryasi. We paid Rs. 45 as toll. We reached Ankaleshwar after covering a further 38 kilometres in less than half an hour. The highway was awesome throughout. We reached Narmada Bridge at 12.48 pm. The new bridge has been converted into two-way and we had to be extremely careful about the oncoming vehicles. The old bridge on the right side was open to light vehicles, but we chose to take the new bridge as the traffic was fast moving. We passed the bridge in three minutes flat. I was a bit apprehensive about taking the bridge at first as HVK sir had warned me about traffic blocks. But luckily, we faced no such issues. There were a huge number of trucks trying to cross the toll plaza right after the bridge. We reached Vadodara Bharuch bypass at 1.20 pm. The toll was Rs. 60 and this section of the highway was maintained by L & T. The road was brilliant. But we couldn’t maintain high speeds due to heavy truck traffic. Attached Thumbnails Attached Images
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 17:14	#54
Chevy_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Köln Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 130 Times View My Garage	Finally... National Expressway 1... A beauty!!! Soon we took the Vadodara bypass and continued our drive. The time was 1.40 pm then. We had covered 570 kilometres till then. We were keeping up very good pace considering the fact that we were travelling in one of the most congested highways in the north. We sped past numerous small towns and tens of thousands of trucks. We were enjoying the drive so much that we completely forgot about having lunch. We reached the famous Ahmedabad expressway at 2 pm. We had covered 601 kilometres from Pune in less than 10 hours of driving. We were very happy with the progress we made. Our aim of reaching Udaipur for dinner looked very realistic. We paid a toll of Rs. 69 and sped off towards Udaipur. The sign board said that we were just 333 kilometre away from our destination. I increased my speed to 130 -140 and flew across the highway. The tarmac was superb. Unlike the Pune – Mumbai expressway, this one was a two lane road and we had trouble because of slow moving vehicles on the right lane. I had no qualms in using my Hellas extensively! But I must say that I felt annoyed because of this habit of some drivers. But I am strictly against overtaking from the left lane. So I had to blast my horn till they moved aside. Other than this minor glitch, we never faced any issues on National Expressway 1. We had a super smooth drive all the way!!! Attached Thumbnails Attached Images
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 17:19	#55
KRRaj BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 514 Thanked: 35 Times View My Garage	Excellent Snaps as usual. Agree with you, the road look real awesome and everyone would want to stretch their legs here. And the pic of the truck facing the wrong way. , I was fooled in thinking he was coming the wrong way and you had forced him to give way to you
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 17:27	#56
Majic BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Kottayam Posts: 588 Thanked: 8 Times	Now that is somehtign like photos speaking more than words.
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 18:23	#58
LongDrive lover BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Lucknow Posts: 782 Thanked: 114 Times	CL. The adjective 'Incredible' appears too small to describe your journeys and even more so your travelogues! Today hooked to net after 4 days, and here is another stunning edition from you! I am glued deeply. What to say about those pics, others have already attempted to appreciate the quality, but they are too good to be described. So I'll just enjoy them, and off course, your wonderfully written words.
	() Thanks

22nd January 2010, 18:42	#60
pjbiju Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,357 Thanked: 1,092 Times	Excellent travelogue/photologue as usual CL. This is going to come handy to me one day.
	() Thanks