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Old 14th April 2011, 14:38   #31
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

Day 4: Ooty – Mysore – Bangalore – Hyderabad (885 km; 4:25 am)

As usual, our day began very early. We like starting early. That way we have time on hand if we wish to stop some place for photographs or generally frolic around. This time, however, we started too early. Little did we know that the checkpost right outside Ooty does not open till 6 am. We reached the checkpost at 5:30 and caught 40 winks in the time that we had.

Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight-img_9846.jpg
On the way from Ooty to Hyderabad

At hairpin bend number 25, we stopped at the viewpoint. It was a nice chilly morning. The vistas were decent. But the Bolero looked absolutely stunning in this early light of the sun.

Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight-img_9859.jpg
Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight-panorama01_resized.jpg
At hairpin bend number 25

This time our drive through Bandipur was even more fantastic. We did not see animals apart from deer and the occasional donkey. But the fog and the mist was simply unbelievable. This time my wife was driving. I went totally mad with my camera, clicking away to glory. And I did manage to get some pretty good shots, if I may say so myself.

Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight-img_9936.jpg
The sunlight filters through the canopy and makes this a scene straight out of a horror movie

Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight-img_9947.jpg
From here to infinity

We stopped for breakfast. About 35 km before Mysore, the infamous crash happened. Believe me, I would love to share details of how it happened. But the insurance claim is being processed. I cannot say any more than this. The day the Bolero is restored to its former glory and the insurance makes its payment, I shall post the exact details.

Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight-img_9989.jpg
The bliss before the crash

But I will tell you this. It took me over 6 hours to sort the mess out with the police. The crash took place at 8:30 in the morning. By the time we finally got underway, it was past 2:30.

Amazingly, the Bolero still drove well. Yes, it was damage only to the body and the beast is not exactly known for its aerodynamics. Yet, the only factor limiting its speed was my lack of visibility on the extreme left due to the cracked windshield. Not going above 80 kmph, we still reached Bangalore in 2 hours.

We stopped for a late lunch around 5:30 pm at the BP Kamat at Chickballapur. Half an hour later, we were on the road again. Hyderabad-Bangalore had taken me less than 6 hours. Despite limiting my speed to 80 kmph, I still did Chickballapur-Hyderabad in 8 hours with a half-an-hour stop to catch up on sleep and a 10 minute stop for fuel. Surely, that is a testament to the brilliance of the highway where one can average 70 kmph even by doing a top speed of 80 kmph.

We reached home at 2:30 in the morning. There was only one thing to do. Crash. I slept like a log, only to be woken up by the sound of my cell phone.

The Bolero is currently at VVC Motors, Hi-Tech City. The insurance survey has happened. Another inspection will happen before work can commence. I am expecting anywhere between 4 and 6 weeks for the repairs to be completed.

Last edited by lucifer1881 : 14th April 2011 at 14:43.
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Old 14th April 2011, 15:47   #32
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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Originally Posted by lucifer1881 View Post
I am expecting anywhere between 4 and 6 weeks for the repairs to be completed.
Lucifer don't you think 4-6 weeks is a bit too long?

Looking at the Bolero I could say that if it had rained you would have had difficult times to drive back to HYD.
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Old 14th April 2011, 16:53   #33
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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Originally Posted by ranjith.rajaram View Post
Lucifer don't you think 4-6 weeks is a bit too long?

Looking at the Bolero I could say that if it had rained you would have had difficult times to drive back to HYD.
The entire body is getting replaced. It will take about 2 weeks for the body shell to arrive from the stock yard.

Thank God it did not rain!
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Old 14th April 2011, 18:46   #34
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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The entire body is getting replaced. It will take about 2 weeks for the body shell to arrive from the stock yard.

Thank God it did not rain!
Oh that's nice. Even I was guessing that you might replace the entire body. Post a pic once its done completely and the insurance cost + the history of the accident.
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Old 14th April 2011, 21:25   #35
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

Hi lucifer1881, good to know you and your wife are fine. By any chance did the accident take place near Gundlupet?
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Old 15th April 2011, 10:49   #36
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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Hi lucifer1881, good to know you and your wife are fine. By any chance did the accident take place near Gundlupet?
Took place exactly at this village called Sindhuvallipura, almost at the 35km Mysore milestone.
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Old 15th April 2011, 11:29   #37
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

Well I can guess how such crash is happened. It must be raining heavily on crash day and some tree branch fell off on roof due to storm.

While going to Ooty from Munnar some small tree branch fell on my Safari during storm, it made loud noise inside. After storm over, I checked roof there was not any damage. But it was real scary moment. I was driving slowly. I had no place to stop as both side of road were covered by trees.

Anyway, nice shots of Ooty and I was also in Ooty between 5th April - 8th April.
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Old 16th April 2011, 15:54   #38
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

Good write up and pics lucifer.Sad to know about the accident.Hope your jeep is restored back to its glory.And do you know kannada,tamil?How did you communicate with the police wallas.I have heard that they are very cold to outside state vehicles
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Old 16th April 2011, 17:54   #39
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

My interaction with the police was quite nice actually. They were empathetic to our situation. Only thing is that it took about 6 hours to sort the mess out. Other than that, the experience was rather pleasant. Well, as pleasant as such an experience can be anyway.
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Old 16th April 2011, 19:24   #40
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

Lovely pics Rohit. But this suspense is too much. Perhaps you should have used the assembly line feature and published the entire log after your repairs were done? Just a suggestion!
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Old 16th April 2011, 22:14   #41
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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Lovely pics Rohit. But this suspense is too much. Perhaps you should have used the assembly line feature and published the entire log after your repairs were done? Just a suggestion!
Ah, but the log is complete. The repairs are going to take a long time indeed. Is it justified to wait that long before publishing a log?
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Old 17th April 2011, 10:43   #42
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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My interaction with the police was quite nice actually. They were empathetic to our situation. Only thing is that it took about 6 hours to sort the mess out. Other than that, the experience was rather pleasant. Well, as pleasant as such an experience can be anyway.
Thats good to hear.But do you know to speak kannada/tamil??Are these police people willing to communicate in hindi/english?
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Old 17th April 2011, 13:42   #43
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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Thats good to hear.But do you know to speak kannada/tamil??Are these police people willing to communicate in hindi/english?
I cannot speak any language except Hindi / English. I have had to speak with police in AP and now Karnataka. And both were quite willing to communicate in Hindi / English.
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Old 18th April 2011, 11:28   #44
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

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I cannot speak any language except Hindi / English. I have had to speak with police in AP and now Karnataka. And both were quite willing to communicate in Hindi / English.
I would say you are luckier in this part as well, incase if the accident had happened in Tamilnadu you would have has difficult times. Most of the Cops in TN speak only Tamil may be one or two words on English and there is no scope for Hindi.

From my experience may be some cops in the city speak English but still even 80-90% for city cops don't speak Hindi.

Last edited by ranjith.rajaram : 18th April 2011 at 11:30.
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Old 19th April 2011, 14:29   #45
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Re: Hyderabad - Ooty - Hyderabad: The Highlight, The Sidelight, The Lowlight

Wonderful travelogue, Rohit. The pictures speak a lot. Very sorry to hear about the crash and great to see both of you handled it well. I’m planning my Pune-Bangalore-Ooty-Kerala and back trip end of May and Sabol Holidays is on my list. Thanks for sharing.
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