[laluks]

Day 2
12th August 2012

Some time to check the 4x4 and some photo shoots for the Aria














continued...

[laluks]

Day 2
12th August 2012

By 15:30 hours our trip completed 1000Kms


By 21:25 hours we reached home at Bangalore


Parked the Aria


The fuel still has a range of 194 KM


It was 1417Km total for the trip


Cleared all the luggage and checked the Aria for any of our belongings and locked it up for the night. It was the last I will see of her. She will have to go back tomorrow. Said her a good night and we retired for the night.


What a car!

What a place!

What a drive!

[laluks]

13th August 2012

First thing in the morning was to have a look at the Aria


4x4 Prestige, never got to use the 4x4. Any ways I don't know to use it either




She was comfortably resting after the long drive




She was all dirty from the drive


I wanted to take her for spin again, but she had to go


ARIA - you will be in our memories for sure



Trip Details
1417 Kilometres total, 11.7KMPL mileage, 45 hours.


The END

[Rudra Sen]

Mods note: Thread moved to Travelogues from Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing.

[hvkumar]

Fantastic drive in the Aria to what could be one of the best places to go during the monsoons in the Western Ghats!
Thanks for the detailed route guide & the photos.

Tell us one thing, where does one turn off the NH4A for Kollem?

[mjothi]

Saar, how do you get time for all these. No, not the holiday for the travel, but the travel itself. 2 days, and so many photo stops, trek, logs, foods...

Amazing. And thanks for the superb details about the intro to the place.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Fantastic drive in the Aria to what could be one of the best places to go during the monsoons in the Western Ghats!
Thanks for the detailed route guide & the photos.

Tell us one thing, where does one turn off the NH4A for Kollem?

Thank you sir
on the NH4A once your reach Mollem there is a forest checkpost. If coming from Belgaum side just after crossing the Checkpost there is a left turn to Collem.

Originally Posted by mjothi

Saar, how do you get time for all these. No, not the holiday for the travel, but the travel itself. 2 days, and so many photo stops, trek, logs, foods...

Amazing. And thanks for the superb details about the intro to the place.

Sir, I am trained by HVK

[lloydofcochin]

Lalu,

Truly amazing trip log with beautiful Green pics & the majestic Dudh Sagar Falls.

800+ kms in a day can be tiring but if you everyone is enjoying the trip it would be a pleasure and you are lucky to have a travel happy family

Thanks once again for this super t-log. Your logs are an invaluable asset for future travelers. My 5 stars added

[laluks]

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Lalu,

Truly amazing trip log with beautiful Green pics & the majestic Dudh Sagar Falls.

800+ kms in a day can be tiring but if you everyone is enjoying the trip it would be a pleasure and you are lucky to have a travel happy family

Thanks once again for this super t-log. Your logs are an invaluable asset for future travelers. My 5 stars added

Thank You lloydofcochin.

We had done 833KM on a previous trip to Nelliyampathy with a lot of stops for sight seeing, photo shoots etc. which had kind of set a standard for us
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-valparai.html


This trip is 832 KM and felt the same josh. 1KM short of equaling the record!

Moreover the run of the mill trips to hometown and back always hovers around 750+ Kms for a day. But those are non stop drives. I guess the bio rhythm has been set for us due to these travels.

[rkurup]

Laluks,

Your travelogues never cease to amaze me. Travelling so far with two young children, weathering the elements, and a good trek thrown in, how did you get the time (and the energy) for such stunningly beautiful photographs?

I am hooked to your thread; rating it a well-deserved 5-stars.

[moralfibre]

laluks, I cannot thank you enough for the details in your thread. Ever since I saw this post on the forum, I've been wanting to find out more details to reach Dudhsagar falls. Thanks once again.

Back in the 90's when there was no Konkan Railway from Bombay to Goa, we used to take a train to Londa Junction. This station was the changeover point to another rail route for reaching Goa. I used to love the mesmerizing views offered at Dudhsagar falls and would love to relive those memories.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by rkurup

Laluks,

Your travelogues never cease to amaze me. Travelling so far with two young children, weathering the elements, and a good trek thrown in, how did you get the time (and the energy) for such stunningly beautiful photographs?

I am hooked to your thread; rating it a well-deserved 5-stars.

The energy comes from the passion I have for driving and photography. You tell me after a hefty drive find a place to eat - I'll switch off, but if you tell me there is an interesting location another 100Km away - I am all charged up for the drive.

Further my wife and kiddies have been a part of my passion all these years, and bear with my tantrums with so much maturity that I owe everything to them. Also they share the same craze for travel. Having said that my smaller one started her travel right from her 6th month onwards. She would have traveled almost all over Europe by the time she turned 3! She complains now to me to take her back all over again as she was too small to have comprehended what she saw then.

Originally Posted by moralfibre

laluks, I cannot thank you enough for the details in your thread. Ever since I saw this post on the forum, I've been wanting to find out more details to reach Dudhsagar falls. Thanks once again.

Back in the 90's when there was no Konkan Railway from Bombay to Goa, we used to take a train to Londa Junction. This station was the changeover point to another rail route for reaching Goa. I used to love the mesmerizing views offered at Dudhsagar falls and would love to relive those memories.

Thanks moralfibre.
Hope you got all the required details you were looking for.

[MaverikMahesh]

WOW! That is the first response from my wife when i showed your travelogue. We are already planning a trip to Dudhsagar for a weekend - probably the weekend of 25th. But one thing is for sure, my wife would not dare to cross the stream / river where the water is seen coming up to the thighs. Can we do the trip from Castle rock railway station to the falls, disembark, spend time at the spot, maybe pack a picnic lunch and catch the train back to Castle Rock station?

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by laluks

Sir, I am trained by HVK

Where can we apply for this training? Is there some entrance exam/test?

Originally Posted by laluks

Thank you sir
on the NH4A once your reach Mollem there is a forest checkpost. If coming from Belgaum side just after crossing the Checkpost there is a left turn to Collem.

One more query on the Khanapur - Kolem route; GMaps shows two different route options, could you please update which one did you use? I understand you stopped over at Castle Rock station, but apart from that, do update the exact route details.


Route 1


Route 2

Also how much time did this part take, not counting the time spent at Castle Rock station? Apologies if it has already been mentioned earlier. Also a bit of info on the road conditions on this stretch - by the pictures, I'm assuming it was decent SH quality.

P.s. It goes without saying - rated 5 stars for the amazing TL with beautiful & crisp pictures!

[laluks]

Originally Posted by MaverikMahesh

WOW! That is the first response from my wife when i showed your travelogue. We are already planning a trip to Dudhsagar for a weekend - probably the weekend of 25th. But one thing is for sure, my wife would not dare to cross the stream / river where the water is seen coming up to the thighs. Can we do the trip from Castle rock railway station to the falls, disembark, spend time at the spot, maybe pack a picnic lunch and catch the train back to Castle Rock station?

In all probability, if the issue between the bikers and railway authorities are not sorted out - the bike ride will be ruled out.

Regarding the train ride, the information I have confirmed from the source is there is a train at 10:15 on a Saturday from Castle Rock, and return by 17:30. But I am not sure is the return from DudhSagar, I was told the train used to stop for a minute or so. Where to get the tickets - you will have to figure out. Possible - but do collect more information. Better will be to find a phone number of Castle Rock station master and talk to him. He is happy about the attention he is getting already

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Where can we apply for this training? Is there some entrance exam/test?

No entrance tests. But more stricter selection process. First you should survive three drives of 20 days duration in HVK's team. If you do, then consider yourself trained well

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

One more query on ... route options,
Also how much time did this part take, not counting the time spent at Castle Rock station? Apologies if it has already been mentioned earlier. Also a bit of info on the road conditions on this stretch - by the pictures, I'm assuming it was decent SH quality.

Stick to route 2. I have not entered NH4A from Belgaum but before that through some village routes. Khanapur to Mollem is the NH4A. Normal SH road, but twisty and slippery and almost all vehicles are fast here.

Regarding time Castle Rock to Dudh Sagar parking 1 hour
From near Khanapur to Castle Rock -1.5 hours with photo stops breaks etc.

I'll try to upload the GPS trail by evening.