[unoczar]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Maybe sunlight reflecting on a spot of water..?

nahi boss, i saw from another angle, there was a rock there.. a very small thing but very shiny. another kohinoor?

====================

Ok, it all started on 1st May. I had asked my dad for the car 2 days prior to departure, I got it 2 hours prior to departure.

HYDERBADI SHTYLE!

It was around 1 am on saturday and had to pick up a friend and his brother with their wives from there house. He originally

had some business thing in Mumbai, so i had planned a Hyd-Mum-Udaipur-Del trip. At 3 am, when we're just about to leave, he

says...

Chal yaar, mumbai chor de, seedha jayenge, jaisa pehle soche they.
kya bolra hai saale, maine 2 ghante baith ke planning ki hai, roads wagareh! (i even spoke to HVK sir, and asked for appointment at mumbai.)

nahi nahi, mujhe delhi mein bhi kaam hai, wo karletu mai. chal jayenge!
no problem, chal. Bags gaadi mein daal de.. (he brings 3 huge suitcases!)
abe gadhe, ye scorpio hai, volvo nahi...only 3 small soft bags allowed, jispe peeche baithne waale do log apne legs rakh sake.
ok, ok, (rushes in, spends another half hour, and brings 4-5 smaller bags.)
i said- mai to peeche nahi baithne waala, tum jaano tumhara samaan jaane.
theek hai ab chal bhi.

Off we go to my house. I already have a bad feeling about this, as the car is already full of their stuff. We somehow manage the luggage (i regret not putting the carrier on the roof later when the ladies shopping stuff comes in!!!).

Its a 0430 start, great! not so bad as its dark and roads are empty. We stop near cantt. GHMC office for a fuel fill, and then take the medchal highway toward Nagour. Mumbai cancelled at the last moment!

Its all merry merry up till now, we reach Nagpur (500 km) by lunch time and eat at Tanveer hotel at Mominpura, friend wanted to eat biryani and spent half an hour locating the place. I would personally never go back to the hotel.
By nightfall we are in jabalpur, Bad roads of MP have started to show up, and its midnight when we reach Jabalpur. By the way, we had zabardast anda bread near Seoni bus stand. SLURP!

CHoo CHaa # 1:

At midnight, very few hotels are open, and those who are open are refusing to let us in.

Full hai bhai,
ek room bhi nahi?
nahi, jao!

I was like what the...?
We are stranded in this city and everyone is refusing us a room.
Finally at 1 am, we find Hotel Vijan, the guy at the reception, red silk shirt and 3 gold chains, says,

do room mil sakte hai, subah saat baje khaali karna padega sharp!
Gulp! do room saat baje? bhai hum teen couple hai, do mai kaise...
do hi hai bas!, aur subah aath baje khaali. Rent Rs.1020 only - AC room! aur kya hai, hum time pe bahut sharp hote hai!

We were like, ab ladies gents alag alag karke lena padega! We said OK, and slept for just 5-5.30 hours before rushing against

time to vacate the rooms, we gents came out at 7:50 ish, ladies made it out at 8:20ish. I paid him 2000, and he says,

"Chalees rupaya aur!" i pay and we get out of there. We enquire about local speciality for breakfast, and everyone says, Poha and Jalebi. My friend says,

subah suabh jalebi khilayga?
are, yaha ki special hai kete..
nahi, hum to idli vada khayenge!
ye MP hai, AP nahi!
whatever, jalebi nahi.

Next: samosa breakfast near Dhudhar waterfalls and bhedaghat! No choo chaa here! Fortunately.

some pics: of the car in good shape, sunset, traffic jams and some animals en route!

[Irish]

Originally Posted by unoczar

He originally

had some business thing in Mumbai, so i had planned a Hyd-Mum-Udaipur-Del trip. At 3 am, when we're just about to leave, he

says...

Chal yaar, mumbai chor de, seedha jayenge, jaisa pehle soche they.
kya bolra hai saale, maine 2 ghante baith ke planning ki hai, roads wagareh! (i even spoke to HVK sir, and asked for appointment at mumbai.)

nahi nahi, mujhe delhi mein bhi kaam hai, wo karletu mai. chal jayenge!
no problem, chal. Bags gaadi mein daal de.. (he brings 3 huge suitcases!)
abe gadhe, ye scorpio hai, volvo nahi...only 3 small soft bags allowed, jispe peeche baithne waale do log apne legs rakh sake.
ok, ok, (rushes in, spends another half hour, and brings 4-5 smaller bags.)
i said- mai to peeche nahi baithne waala, tum jaano tumhara samaan jaane.
theek hai ab chal bhi.

I hope you didn't have to research for Hyd-Nag-Del ?

Appreciate the casual approach of your friend towards his business. Dropped the idea to visit Mumbai just before starting the journey.

I hope there is more to come on this approach.

Originally Posted by unoczar

We are stranded in this city and everyone is refusing us a room.
Finally at 1 am, we find Hotel Vijan, the guy at the reception, red silk shirt and 3 gold chains, says,

do room mil sakte hai, subah saat baje khaali karna padega sharp!
Gulp! do room saat baje? bhai hum teen couple hai, do mai kaise...
do hi hai bas!, aur subah aath baje khaali. Rent Rs.1020 only - AC room! aur kya hai, hum time pe bahut sharp hote hai!

We were like, ab ladies gents alag alag karke lena padega! We said OK, and slept for just 5-5.30 hours before rushing against

time to vacate the rooms, we gents came out at 7:50 ish, ladies made it out at 8:20ish. I paid him 2000, and he says,

"Chalees rupaya aur!" i pay and we get out of there.

Good one.

[MX6]

Your father's driver is an amazing guy. He's even managed to chip off a part of your front registration plate!
Can you post his photo? I'd like to print and stick on my dash!

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by Irish

I hope you didn't have to research for Hyd-Nag-Del ?

Appreciate the casual approach of your friend towards his business. Dropped the idea to visit Mumbai just before starting the journey.

I hope there is more to come on this approach.



Good one.

this is just why i have made up my mind for next time.. my car, my place, my way... my swift, just the two of us - thats it.

Originally Posted by MX6

Your father's driver is an amazing guy. He's even managed to chip off a part of your front registration plate!
Can you post his photo? I'd like to print and stick on my dash!

Here you go!





you can also choose which one. talking about number plates and body scratches, wait till you see the latest photo of the beast.. you'll surely take out your knife/revolver!!!

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by MX6

Guess your driver was singing "Har fikr ko duve mein udatha chala raha" ...
Please use the multi quote option to respond to messages. back to back posts will attract choo chaa from mods!.

MX6, nice one here. Choo Cha, such a common word in Hindi speaking states. Nice to read it on TBHP.

Originally Posted by unoczar

we spent close to 27,000 on the car itself, details of which you'll all know.

Originally Posted by unoczar

Spending on Diesel: Rs. 25,541
Road Taxes: Rs. 1050-1100 Approx. biggest was manali tax Rs. 300
Police Challans: Rs. 1350

Khaleed bhai, to put in perspective, your total repair cost of the scorpio was equal to the total fuel cost+road taxes and challans.
hmm..what smiley do I put here..ok

Nice start.Following it keenly.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by unoczar

Here you go!

Attachment 350613

Attachment 350614

you can also choose which one.

Are you sure this guy was even 18? Old enough to hold a DL? And a professional DL at that? And he's been driving the Scorpio for 2 years!??! Amazing...

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Are you sure this guy was even 18? Old enough to hold a DL? And a professional DL at that? And he's been driving the Scorpio for 2 years!??! Amazing...

hehe.... he's been driving cars for i guess 3-4 years.. he was first recruited to drive my swift, i guess 4+ years ago. unceremoniously kicked out by yours truly.

about his age.. he's 18 now... and about the DL... LOL.. you guys will know in due time - all the doubts will be answered!


remember the challans?

[aargee]

This guy looks like a person acting in Hindi serial, I like him though. But I wouldn't hand over my car keys to him.

OT - Oh!!! God!!! look at the way he's holding!!! the steering wheels. If you hadn't posted the pic of sunrise in between, it symbolically represents under whose hands the Scorp is with.

Originally Posted by unoczar

hehe.... he's been driving cars for i guess 3-4 years.. he was first recruited to drive my swift, i guess 4+ years ago. unceremoniously kicked out by yours truly.

4+ years & still drives for your family? Really amazing guy.

[unoczar]

mornin' guys.

Please keep in mind that the journey northward was a fairly uneventful one, except for the ignition which wont just crank on this morning, the 2nd of may, 2010. I rapped him behind his ear as he had slept in the car and might have used up the battery,

raat ko car mein kyun soya? reception ke baazu room tha na..
nahi bhai mai meri gaadi mai ich achha hun.
ab start nahi hori na?
thoda dhakka maaro, abhi start ho jaati
(me - angry!), theek hai chal

we push it for about half a KM and we are wet with sweat! she starts! PHEW!

We head to dhuadar waterfalls, my wife was crazy about this as she had been here in her bachpan!

abhi naashte ki pareshani solve karna hai..
we stop on the way at a samosa/jalebi shop, and gobble down 2-3 samosas each, jalebi wasnt good. breakfast out of the way, we headed straight into the parking for the waterfalls.
The marble market here is pretty large and very cheap items are available. Hand crafted pieces for as cheap as Rs. 10!! We bought a few things.. and onto the cable car - headed straight for the deserted side of the falls.
Brilliant view, no public .. NICE!

Back into the marble market, picked up some more stuff and headed straight into the narmada boating spot after downing a glass of fresh sugarcane juice. Heat was terrible!

Boating experience - i wont forget it for long! one must hire a single boat (Rs.320 onwards) and not sit as a passenger (Rs.31 onwards)
Having the whole boat to yourselves is pretty neat. Plus the boat commentary... hillarious!

Exited the Bhedaghat area, took the car to a battery fellow and he wasted an hour trying to figure out what had gone wrong.. the ignition wont just work. He said battery is fine. Our driver saab insisted that it is the battery fault. Well, we argue and we push start the car again...

Some Photos from Jabalpur. I took out sugarcane juice (wasnt easy), rowed a boat (tough!), other pictures of the market and the falls, boating guys etc.




































To Jhansi...

[LongDrive lover]

@ unoczar, see how smart is your driver! Has become a star on this thread! for all that he did! Just a look at your drivers' 2 pics that you posted, is enough to make out what could be his maturity, attitude and approach towards things including driving. Boss, he looks fit for driving those autos recklessly in city, NOT, a Scorpio on such a long trip. Very foundation of this trip seems to be adventurous. So many issues are coming up here as discussed by others. But, I am impressed with your resolution after this experience, 'no more trips with borrowed cars, drivers..etc, etc.., Its going to be you, your swift, etc etc.' I too don't believe in taking a driver for a long trip and thinking that we are safe. Actually, its opposite is quite true.

[ranjith.rajaram]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Are you sure this guy was even 18? Old enough to hold a DL? And a professional DL at that? And he's been driving the Scorpio for 2 years!??! Amazing...

Hey SS, those were the same thoughts stuck on my head as well. He looks like a kid..... Wonder what MX thinks ....

I am still @ MS need to know your comments.

[n.devdath]

Brings back my memories of JBP. One question. Did you stay at Seoni or JBP? JBP would have had plenty of hotels..

Your driver, well gladly, your ex-driver, I m happy you fired him.

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by LongDrive lover

@ unoczar, see how smart is your driver! Has become a star on this thread! for all that he did! Just a look at your drivers' 2 pics that you posted, is enough to make out what could be his maturity, attitude and approach towards things including driving. Boss, he looks fit for driving those autos recklessly in city, NOT, a Scorpio on such a long trip. Very foundation of this trip seems to be adventurous. So many issues are coming up here as discussed by others. But, I am impressed with your resolution after this experience, 'no more trips with borrowed cars, drivers..etc, etc.., Its going to be you, your swift, etc etc.' I too don't believe in taking a driver for a long trip and thinking that we are safe. Actually, its opposite is quite true.

Originally Posted by ranjith.rajaram

Hey SS, those were the same thoughts stuck on my head as well. He looks like a kid..... Wonder what MX thinks ....

I am still @ MS need to know your comments.

reckless, adventurous.. whatever - getting rid of him is probably good.

BUT, when i ponder on his driving skills... he actually did pretty good on the mountains of himachal and JK. Continuous 300 KM of twists and turns of jammu to srinagar in one night isnt easy folks. he did it, but in the process spoiled the car.. i guess.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Brings back my memories of JBP. One question. Did you stay at Seoni or JBP? JBP would have had plenty of hotels..

Your driver, well gladly, your ex-driver, I m happy you fired him.

we landed at jabalpur at midnight as i said.. very few were open, and only 1 of them let us in... CHoo CHaa?

even i was surprised..

[MX6]

Originally Posted by ranjith.rajaram

Hey SS, those were the same thoughts stuck on my head as well. He looks like a kid..... Wonder what MX thinks ....

I am still @ MS need to know your comments.

Appearances are deceptive. Hyderabad traffic is so unregulated that one can't manage to keep their vehicle gleaming new. A vehicle as big as Scorpio can easily become targets even of mob frenzy in a place like Old Hyderabad. So just because the driver looks young one can't pass comments. Guess he's passionate about driving and it shows in his face!

Originally Posted by unoczar

reckless, adventurous.. whatever - getting rid of him is probably good.

BUT, when i ponder on his driving skills... he actually did pretty good on the mountains of himachal and JK. Continuous 300 KM of twists and turns of jammu to srinagar in one night isnt easy folks. he did it, but in the process spoiled the car.. i guess.

You got rid of him? That's a shocker! Anyway I'm going to print his photo and paste it on my car's rear with the words "He's not driving, but I can do an encore". That will frighten away the helmet-less, zig-zagging morons from my tail.
And yes, 300 kms of twists and turns overnight is not an easy task. I knew he's possessed!

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Brings back my memories of JBP. One question. Did you stay at Seoni or JBP? JBP would have had plenty of hotels..

Your driver, well gladly, your ex-driver, I m happy you fired him.

If his father's fired the driver, I'm sad.

But thanks to unoczar and friends, the driver got to see India and was featured in a travelogue in T-BHP as well!

[kaushik_s]

Man, this is a very intriguing travelogue. I'm totally hooked to it. Please post up fast.