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Old 6th February 2010, 18:58   #31
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Good travelogue and nice pictures.I have never seen a rough road that bad as you have mentioned.Your car must have really taken the beating.On a long drive and this kind of road really puts you off.Anyway hope you enjoyed the trip and thanks for sharing.
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Old 6th February 2010, 22:28   #32
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deutscheafrikar, thanks for enlightening me with some very useful information there. Ya, i know that fish curry was authentic goan.
Please read it is - Ya, i know that fish curry was not authentic Goan.
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Old 7th February 2010, 13:43   #33
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I didn't measure it myself, but the vada-pav vendor said its 13km. But the real ghat where you can see the deep valley is quite small. It should be a piece of cake for you given that you have driven Munnar ghat in the dead of the night . This ghat is wide enough and safe. Actually when you are going from Hyd to Goa, you will be driving along the walls of the hills, so you can't see the valley.
Thanks for the info highwaylover !


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For the turn to Amboli ghat which is easy to miss, You need to turn right just after the lake at Sawantwadi.

Srini the Ghat section is easy going down which you will be doing when you go to Goa. Just remember same gear to go down as you would to go up. Keep the car in gear and don't press the clutch pedal and coast down slope and then use brakes. Maybe 20 odd kms and it's wide enough. Also remember that when you go down amboli ghat and just as it ends there is a village which you will cross. I think the name is Danoli. Somewhere after this village you will see a big sign board showing a turn to the left with panjim , banda etc.. and distance. Do not take this left turn but proceed straight to sawantwadi. This left will take you to banda on a very narrow and bad road where cars do not pass each other. And one will have to reverse here
Thanks deutscheafrikar, really good amount of information here...will keep them in mind for the trip :-)
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Old 8th February 2010, 12:09   #34
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Woke up by 5:45 Am and checked out from the hotel by 7 AM. Went straight to Gol Gumbaz which was just 1km from the hotel. Initially I had no interest in it and I went just for the sake of going, but once went there we were amazed by its size and architecture. If you stand inside this place and clap, you can hear the echo upto 7 (or is it more?) times.

Hyderabad to Goa (27th-31st 2010)-dsc03284.jpg

Hyderabad to Goa (27th-31st 2010)-dsc03294.jpg

Hyderabad to Goa (27th-31st 2010)-dsc03307.jpg

Hyderabad to Goa (27th-31st 2010)-dsc03315.jpg

Left the place at 8:00 and after reaching the outskirts, wifey said she wants to drive. Gave the wheel to her and just sat there relaxing. It was one straight and excellent road with hardly any overtaking required. At around 10:30 we were feeling hungry and stopped at Jevargi for breakfast. Had idli, bonda in an extremely crowded udipi joint. Then I took the wheel and reached Gulbarga ring road. Then one autowala guided us on to the Homnabad road which connects to NH-9. Humanabad road looks like a very recently laid road and on the way we passed by the Gulbarga court complex which looked like a five star hotel. Finally we reached NH-9 and started driving towards Zaheerabad. Had lunch at a road side dhaba 5km before Zaheerabad and then did not stop until reaching home.

Hyderabad to Goa (27th-31st 2010)-dsc03349.jpg
We almost had one more misadventure with GPS. We were happily cruising on NH-218 from Bijapur to Gulbarga. At one point we saw the road split in to two. One going straight and one going left. Google Maps says we should take left which goes to Sindgi town. But the sign post on the road says go straight for Gulbarga. I thought google cannot go wrong twice, and took the left. And the drive ahead looked like Deja-Vu. After one Km roads again started deteriorating and after one more Km we saw a board "State Road Project". We knew what will be in store for us if we continue ahead. So, we promptly reversed our car and then went straight as per the road sign and the road was super duper . So my conclusion with google maps/GPS combo is that - one should decide the route prior to the trip taking into consideration the current road status and weather conditions - and GPS/Maps will just help you to show your location on the map so that you know you are travelling in the right direction.

Hyderabad to Goa (27th-31st 2010)-dsc03357.jpg
Bijapur-Gulbarga (NH218)

Hyderabad to Goa (27th-31st 2010)-dsc03369.jpg
Gulbarga-Homnabad Road.

As you can see we have followed different routes for going and coming back, and i think the return route - Goa->Amboli->Bijapur->Gulbarga->Homnabad->Hyderabad is excellent.

One can also take an alternate route suggested by mobike008 - Goa->Amboli->Kolhapur->Solapur->Hyderabad.

There is one more shorter route hyd->MahaboobNagar->Raichur->Hubli->Goa, but generally i heard that road conditions are not as good as the roads suggested above. May be the members with the correct information can post their advice. Also, I think amboli ghat will be surely missed if one takes this route?
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Old 8th February 2010, 13:31   #35
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wifey driving. So nice. My wife doesn't have the courage to hold the wheel when the baby is in the car. Boosting her confidence. She's the only licensed driver taking driving classes in India now I guess.

Trust google maps? Man. I got lost in Paris once, using google maps on GPS. I managed to find some shop owners who drew on a sheet of paper explaining in french how to reach my hotel. Couldn't follow what they said. But the map one drew was terrific and spot on!
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Old 8th February 2010, 13:51   #36
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Highway lover,

The pics are inviting for a drive to Goa ... Good that you reversed in time and took the proper route, otherwise the trip would have ended as an Offroad event ...

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wifey driving. So nice. My wife doesn't have the courage to hold the wheel when the baby is in the car. Boosting her confidence. She's the only licensed driver taking driving classes in India now I guess.
Hmm, MX6, my wifey too had a permanent DL, but still taking driving classes ....

Thanks,
Srini
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Old 8th February 2010, 14:16   #37
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Highway lover,

The pics are inviting for a drive to Goa ... Good that you reversed in time and took the proper route, otherwise the trip would have ended as an Offroad event
I was in no mood for off-roading after that disastrous experience driving to Nesargi

Also, i think we have missed quite a few places because of lack of planning and also this being a very short trip. The ones i know of are - a river cruise, visit to one of the sanctuaries.

Also Goa carnival starts mid-Feb so be sure to book accommodation in advance if you plan to go during the carnival.

may be deutscheafrikar knows better about this ?
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Old 8th February 2010, 14:48   #38
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Some videos


1. Trailer



2. Amboli Ghat



3. Sawantwadi to Amboli Ghat

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Old 15th February 2010, 13:43   #39
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Trip cost:

Petrol - 5000 Rs
Goa Accommodation - 4000 Rs
Solapur Accommodation - 500 Rs
Bijapur Accommodation - 900 Rs
Food Cost - 2000 Rs
Tolls - 80 Rs
Entertainment and Sports - 300 Rs

Total - 12800Rs
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Old 15th February 2010, 15:24   #40
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Awesome photos. The road experience you had was scary. When I started reading ur travelogue I thought that after Belgaum you took the Belgaum-KHanapur-Ponda route which is a nightmare in itself. Glad to see you hit the Amboli road both ways. Its very scenic and not at all crowded.
Any kmpl average figures for your Getz ? Just curious
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Old 15th February 2010, 15:42   #41
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Awesome photos. The road experience you had was scary. When I started reading ur travelogue I thought that after Belgaum you took the Belgaum-KHanapur-Ponda route which is a nightmare in itself.
Yes, i came to know about londa-ponda road from this forum, and i took extra care not to go anywhere near that road

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Any kmpl average figures for your Getz ? Just curious
It was close to 18kmpl (petrol Getz GLE)
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Old 21st February 2010, 16:59   #42
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Very nice trip and pictures highway lover.

That 'roadless road' looks like a testing track for 4WD oofroaders. The poor Getz would have taken a beating apart from yourselves. Do let us know how the vehicle performed - any battle scars etc. after all this.

Thanks for all the effort put in to bring this entertaining and informative adventure to us
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Old 22nd February 2010, 00:11   #43
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may be deutscheafrikar knows better about this ?
I missed this thread for a few days. Yes Highwaylover there must have been a crowd for the carnival
Srini did you go to goa? How was your journey and vacation?
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Old 22nd February 2010, 10:04   #44
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Yes Highwaylover there must have been a crowd for the carnival Srini did you go to goa? How was your journey and vacation?
Hi deutscheafrikar,

Plan was to leave on Feb 17th, but some how got cancelled due to some other off/personal works..and now I dont know when I will be having the trip .......Looking at the pics and info from highway lover, really wanted to drive on those roads.. :-(
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Old 22nd February 2010, 10:20   #45
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Originally Posted by R.K.Ramesh View Post
Very nice trip and pictures highway lover.

That 'roadless road' looks like a testing track for 4WD oofroaders. The poor Getz would have taken a beating apart from yourselves. Do let us know how the vehicle performed - any battle scars etc. after all this.
ramesh, it was a deadly road with no persons in sight. I was already making plan B, plan C in my mind as to what would i do if the tyres explode, or if the car stops and refuses to start in no mans land. We saw just one Jeep with full load on the whole 25km stretch. I even thought of abandoning my car and taking that Jeep to the nearest bus station and from there some how send my wife to hyd . finally we were really relieved to see good roads and some 'people'.

Fortunately no noticeable damage to the car. I promised my getz a wheel alignment job after getting back, which i am yet to fulfill.
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