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-   -   Solo drive Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai, A decision made in split second (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/82204-solo-drive-chennai-mumbai-chennai-decision-made-split-second-4.html)

@Rahul,

sorry to hear about the heating woes, did you get it checked again at VST ?

Hey RK
Planned a trip from Delhi to Pune and there after to Goa, Mangalore. Kerala and to Kanya Kumari. The return journey will be from Kanya Kumari to Bangaluru, Pune and back to Delhi through NH8. Will be doing the trip in my Sx4, and will be driving approximately 6,500 Kms solo. Suggestion and advice please. The trip will start on the 28th May 2010.

I know mate its little risky, but i was always looking straight on the road with just pressing the shutter button with one hand. I was not looking in the camera hehe.
These are just few of the pics, i have many more blurred, out of focus, dashboard photos :).

Well while driving on highway i don't take any risks at all. i was comfortable clicking the snaps, otherwise wouldn't have done it at all :)

Will post it tomorrow mate, return journey was much shorter coz i did mumbai to chennai in one go :) without any stop at all.
have left the paper in the office in which i had written the timings, otherwise would have posted tonight itself :)

well that would be one hell of a trip.
first of all i will suggest you to take a notebook and make a log for Tbhp :D

Plan the trip well, which areas you would be stopping. on road like GQ you can do 800-1000kms easily in a day even more than that but on dual lane road i guess 600-800kms max. Coz you need to break and accelerate many times. You need to calculate the overtaking from slow trucks and it take toll and you will feel fatigued fast.

Carry a lot of snacks like fruits, juice etc. Donot eat heavy at road side dhabas.

If you feel fatigued of sleepy, DO NOT continue driving and halt at some place.

Fill your tank when it goes halfway mark.

Check your car thoroughly before. better get it serviced before the trip. change all oils and stuff. Keep 1 ltr of engine oil and coolant in case of any emergency.

Keep a lot of drinking water in the car.

Do not stop unnecessarily. it will reduce your progress a lot.

start as early as possible, best time i feel it 3-4am.

stay very alert for other vehicles and do not stop/slow down in middle of the highway without looking in the rear view mirror. if need to stop, look for a place on side of the road and park as out of the way as possible. do not block heavy vehicles like trucks and always try to give them way. stay alert for fast buses with maniac drivers. either give them way of get ahead of them.

These are some of thing i tried to follow in this trip, others might have different view. let other people also reply

Saw a freak accident this time which coming back. I think it was on the 3rd toll from chennai towards bangalore.

One swift while paying toll was hit by a truck was taken back when i went there and they were trying to remove the car which was completely stuck and was standing side ways between two toll booths, with the rear side on one of the toll booth. They were trying to take it out with a tow vehicle but it was completely stuck and the car was almost sideways.

looking at that i was very shaken and was always looking in the rvm for next two toll booths. So you have to be alert always, because in these situations you are in big danger without any fault of yours. I guess the truck driver must have dozed off and hit the car.

I think there should be chain of small bumpers before the toll booths, which are there in most of the places but sometimes they forgot while relaying the road.

nopes, so far car is working fine. i guess it healed it self like last couple times hehe

Man! I just have one word for you, "AWESOME"clap:

Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai is my dream trip, my friend did it a couple of years ago and i wanted to do one myself since then. But a solo one, is outta the box, U gotta be so brave to do that, i need a company all the way, just incase if something happenslol:, But, i don't want to share the driving seat.

Oh!!! God!!! couldn't even think in these lines? How come some one rear ends / cause accident at a toll booth? But could be one in a million kind of case. Anyway, Thanks for sharing, I'll keep a double watch at tolls.

@ rahul, By any chance did you get the inspiration to do a chennai - mumbai trip after seeing the movie "Payya". If in am not wrong they also took the same route in the movie lol:. The photos that you took while driving are pretty dangerous stunts buddy. Next time take some one along so that you can drive and the other person can shoot with the camera.

Yeah even i was very surprised and shocked to see that.

No mate, haven't seen that movie neither heard the name .....

Here is the return journey.

19th May 6:00pm
Just went out to get fuel and a round around haji ali. This is the second time i have driving in mumbai city, First for the repair work and then today to refuel. Mostly i was staying at home. On the return drive went to heera panna just to time pass. Come back home feeling sad that i have to leave tomorrow morning. After dinner decided that i will stay back today and will leave on 21st morning :D.

20st may 9:00pm
Went out and got few things for the return trip and after having dinner went to bed early around 12:30am. Set the alarm for 3:30am.

21st may 3:00am
Switch off the alarm lol, woke up at 4:00am. Loaded everything into car and i was on the road around 4:40am.
Entered expressway exactly at 5:45am, paid the toll only to get stuck in traffic. There is too much traffic on expressway today, many overloaded trucks all over the road. Somehow i was moving using every inch of the road to overtake. after a while things improve and traffic is less.

21st may 6:45am
Before i know it i have reached pune, This time i am not going to stay in Pune so used the bypass instead entering the city. Even on GQ there is much traffic today unlike while coming to mumbai. There are huge lines on toll booths which takes your precious time.

21st may 10:14am
I have reached Kolhapur, filled petrol on one HP petrol pump. After driving out of city had breakfast. By breakfast i mean some bicuits and juice. Again i am back on road. traffic has reduced to great extent and i am averaging 120-140kmph. The overheating problem is not there anymore and i am relaxed.

21st may 12:19pm
Reached Dharwad. Weather is not good today, its too hot outside. Can't stop the car and get outside for fresh air. Car AC is on full blast.

21st may 12:58pm
Passed hubli. Decided not to stop anywhere till Chitradugra, as i am planning to reach bangalore by 6:00pm.

Ever wondered? Always the return trips are faster or is it only me who's thinking that? I can attribute that to few reasons - the way looks litte familiar as I went by this road earlier & I don't stop to ask anyone which way to take to reach my destination.

So it takes around a little over 13 hours from Mumbai to Bangalore is it?

Some more random pics.....

21st may 3:53pm
Reached Chitradurga and the saw wind mills all around. Talked to one more palio owner in between somewhere, so had to stop once. He was following me for around 100kms then on toll he asked to stop. I wasn't very sure but being a toll booth. He just said he has rarely see palio on this stretch(he told me that he travel frequently between pune and hubli) so just wanted to talk, we talked a while and i invited him to join on Tbhp. He knew about the site :).

21st may 6:23pm
Reached Bangalore and was very relaxed thinking that i can go to Chennai same day. Now the Bangalore traffic torture started. Saw one exit for hosur road through nice road. But couldn't stop in time, called up my cousin and he told me that i can take it to go to hosur. So make a long u-turn, and got on nice road. Toll was way to high for 30kms(not sure about the distance) stretch. but still i thought its a small price to pay to leave the Bangalore traffic.

21st may 7:00PM
I am cruising on nice road, all the exits have been properly marked and hosur road is the last exit it seems. well i was wrong, nice road ended abruptly into t junction which leads to a small road, no where its marked to take left or right for Hosur road. There is no lights or anything, i took left because couldn't stop there to ask for direction.
Took out my phone and switched on the GPS, its not getting any signal :Frustrati. Waited for 5-10mins still no signal, then i realized that its a cloudy day so its not getting any GPS signal damn !!!
I kept going straight and asked few people for direction but couldn't understand or missed the road of turns they told to take.
Well i have been in this situation before in Bangalore but thing is i don't have time for this today.
Then i saw one junction which said Dairy circle ahead, then i realized that i am completely wrong road. Took a right turn to get on a small street.

21st may 8:00PM
I am still roaming around in Bangalore asked on guy about route to hosur road. He told me to go straight take right ......... took that route and ended up in a very small crowded street. Again asked for way and felt that i am on the right direction.

21st may 8:30PM
I am still in bangalore. still GPS is not working but now i am using the India GPS, asking people for directions. Anyways i am very close to hosur road just 500 meters ahead but the street i am on is very crowed and there is no oncoming traffic, first thing came to my mind that i am on one way road but saw one two wheel coming.

21st may 8:45PM
Then again asked for directions, one guy told that just take a right and keep on driving the road straight goes to hosur road. I am relieved, took that road but its very narrow and getting narrowed by inch. at one moment i thought i am completely stuck. but somehow managed to get on hosur road, phew !!!!

21st may 9:15PM
Now looking for fuel station i am driving slowly on hosur road, i remembered that there was a shell pump on this road but no idea if i have left is behind or whatn. Again missed one flyover and had to take left, now to get on the hosur road have to take on u-turn. Another detour took 30 more mins argh !!! i have been lost in bangalore several times but this is the worst by far lol. Anyways after that took the toll road and thought about filling up later.

21st may 9:45PM
Filled up at one HP pump and was happy that finally the ordeal is over and i will be in chennai soon.
Well i was wrong, just 5 mins later stuck in a big traffic jam, haven't seen such a traffic jam on GQ. There are millions of buses on road and traffic is not at all moving. Anyways somehow got through that to only see that some stupid celebration is going on the highway.

21st may 12:45PM
I am cruising on highway, there isn't much traffic. Reached chennai around 1:30am IIRC.

So total driving time on return journey was 17-18hours.

Total tolls paid was 697rs while going and 697+nice road toll(IIRC it was 75bucks not sure) for returning.

THE END :D

Was there any specific reason you decided to take the Nice road and then hit the hosur road? Not only you traversed a longer route, you also got stuck in traffic and the bannerghata stretch is a mess.
I'd have turned off at Dobbspete and took the devanahalli route to join Hosur (if to take NH7 to Krishnagiri) or branched off at Hoskote to keep on NH4.

Yeah it took me exactly 13 hours.

No reason mate, i just thought nice road will directly lead me to hosur road. So can avoid the traffic :( . well i was wrong, these things happen if you not plan well.