[harry10]

Nice pics. Keep them coming.
I missed those ferry pics earlier as they didn't loaded on my mobile properly. I will be scared to put my car on a boat, seriously. Also, in one of the pics while getting it on the ferry I felt if the front bumper might have scraped a bit. Was that the case?

[//M]

Originally Posted by Nariman

//M.
That was surely a delightful drive u took- encompassing the smooth highways to coastal roads- sun, sea & sand. Also, the coastal drive was illuminating - not too many travelogues of that road. One more route to explore thanks to you.

Thanks a lot Sir.

I always wanted to do the coastal Maharashtra route and after the completion of the drive, I knew I had clicked one item in my bucket list. I will be back on this road, the next time on my motorcycle.

Originally Posted by harry10

Nice pics. Keep them coming.
I missed those ferry pics earlier as they didn't loaded on my mobile properly. I will be scared to put my car on a boat, seriously. Also, in one of the pics while getting it on the ferry I felt if the front bumper might have scraped a bit. Was that the case?

Thank You sir. The City did not scrape its bumper while loading/unloading it, its probably the camera angle which makes it look otherwise.

[//M]

Day 9, 5th June 2014

As expected, my cousin was absolutely surprised on seeing us at Manipal. After spending time in the Manipal University campus, we left for Mangalore. By noon, we reached Mangalore and planned to reach Bangalore by night as tomorrow we had to be in Vellore. But I wanted to take another detour and visit Belur and Halebeedu too, having heard a lot about the stunning architecture of the temples situated there.



From Mangalore, we went to Dharmasthala and then to Sakleshpur, before going towards Belur. I was not at all aware that a vintage car museum existed in Dharmasthala. I came to know about it only when I was browsing the vintage car threads in team-bhp a week later. And since then I have been kicking myself for having let go such an opportunity. Dayyum !!







The road from Dharmasthala to Sakleshpur has lots of curves, and dense jungles on both sides. But by then I committed another sin, by not taking the road via the Charmadi Ghats. I would have loved to retreat back and take the road via Charmadi Ghats, but we thought we might lose time and since reaching Vellore was utmost urgent so we skipped the plan of going all the way back. But the next time I travel in this part of the country, I would definitely do two things:

1. Visit the Dharmasthala Vintage Car Museum
2. Take the Mangalore-Bangalore route via the lovely Charmadi Ghats.

I had heard about Sakleshpur, one of the top off-roading destinations in India and also a center for many good treks in that region. It looked beautiful in the hot summer month of June, wonder how much the beauty of this place will multiply post the monsoon season !!







From Sakleshpur, a quiet and serene tarmac runs through the hills to the lovely temple town of Belur. We were in Belur to see the majestic Channakeshava Temple, one example of the magnificent Hoysala architecture, built in 1117 AD. The architecture of the temple complex was impressive, the carvings on the stone walls were absolutely majestic.
































to be continued...

[uniq62]

Hi
I have logged on tonight to do some office work but before having started I thought of checking out teambhp and for straight 30 minutes I was glued to this thread. After every post of yours I would search for the BMW M3 - red Backdrop Profile pic on the left to check what lay ahead.

Truly, AMAZING...must have been great fun....Lovely Picture and great description of the journey...

Please throw some light on the new gen Honda...

[//M]

Originally Posted by uniq62

Hi
I have logged on tonight to do some office work but before having started I thought of checking out teambhp and for straight 30 minutes I was glued to this thread. After every post of yours I would search for the BMW M3 - red Backdrop Profile pic on the left to check what lay ahead.

Truly, AMAZING...must have been great fun....Lovely Picture and great description of the journey...

Please throw some light on the new gen Honda...

Thank You so much sir.

I will surely write about the City's overall performance in due time. Till then you can read my ownership review: Link

[psn]

What a well written narration to a fantastic road trip. Makes one to call up office, take a leave and take a similar trip. And yes, not to mention a brilliant car. I have ivtec city, 2009 model, clocked 65000 kms and she has been with me since 5 years..and I still love it, the way I loved her when she came home. I am sure you'll have the same experience. Wish you lots more such trips.

[anilagdr]

Originally Posted by //M

Thank You so much sir.

I will surely write about the City's overall performance in due time. Till then you can read my ownership review: Link

OK, it seems fair enough especially on such a long journey you relly need some rest. I have to congratulate you for those stunning photographs that do real justice to the exquisite structures. Well done friend!!

[//M]

Continued...

We left Belur for Halebeedu. The 10 kms stretch between these two temple towns was not in a good shape. Way too many potholes and slush. It suddenly started raining, making things worse. However, we reached Halebeedu soon and headed to the amazing temple complex to see the grand Hoysaleswara Temple, also built in the 12th century. Another excellent example of the splendid Hoysala architecture.



































From Halebeedu, we took the road to Hassan. Again, it started pouring cats and dogs. From Hassan to Nelamangala runs a road that makes every petrolhead grin in delight. It is a road designed to take a mid-engined rear wheel drive Porsche to its limits. Smooth, fast straights, minimal traffic and few wide curves. While the City i-DTEC has only a few horses on tap, but this road made me feel like I am at the helm of a sporting Porsche. Absolutely delightful !!



Soon the drama was over as we crossed Nelamangala and entered Bangalore. It was a little dark by then and we stopped over for the night at a relatives’ place near Vinayaka Layout, close to the NICE road exit. It was a little convenient as the next morning we planned to take the NICE road upto the Hosur Road exit and proceed towards Vellore.

Route Taken: Udupi-Manipal-Udupi-Mangalore-Bantwal-Ujire-Dharmasthala-Sakleshpur-Belur-Halebeedu-Hagare-Hassan-Nelamangala-Bangalore

Total kms done: 465 kms

Toll Tax Paid: Rs 171.00

[//M]

Day 10, 6th June 2014

An early morning start from Bangalore ensured less traffic till the NICE road exit, but the heavy vehicles traffic was in plenty in the NICE road specially till the Mysore road exit. Beyond that traffic thinned out and we reached the Hosur road exit soon. The Electronic City exit to Hosur saw quite a lot of traffic. A lot more than expected. It was probably just 7 am but Hosur was choc-a-block with traffic. Road construction work meant lots of diversions had to be taken and the heavy traffic slowed us down.



Once we crossed Hosur, it was a nice, smooth, relaxing drive upto Krishnagiri.



We stopped for breakfast at the McDonalds in Shoolagiri on the way to Krishnagiri.



From Krishnagiri, the road upto Vellore is butter-smooth. 6-laned, flat surface meant it was easy to keep good pace and clock 3-digit speeds with the City on cruise mode.



Soon, we reached Vellore by 10 am. With all the personal and official work done by 3 pm, we left for Chennai. The Vellore-Chennai road was again amazing. However, we were stuck in a massive 2 hour traffic jam on the Poonamalee High Road just while entering Chennai. By the time we reached Guindy, my left foot was exhausted. We crawled to our Hotel in T.Nagar and had a sumptuous dinner at Barbeque Nation before calling it a day.





Route Taken: Bangalore-Hosur-Shoolagiri-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Chennai

Total kms done: 390 kms

Toll Tax Paid: Rs 325.00

[//M]

Day 11, 7th June 2014

The next day we were in Tambaram, my dad had to complete some pending assignments. Surprisingly it was done earlier than expected. So instead of going to Bangalore directly, we took a detour to Kanchipuram. We took the Tambaram-Oragadam route and then towards Kanchipuram. By the time we reached Kanchipuram, it was noon. So all the temple doors were closed but still we went around seeing a few temples, got some pics of the place and proceeded towards Bangalore.























Again, the road to Vellore and then to Krishnagiri was just amazing. It was a very relaxing drive and we crossed Krishnagiri in no time. But again at Hosur, we were greeted by a lot of traffic. We crossed Hosur and took the Electronic City elevated expressway while entering Bangalore.





We reached our hotel near Cubbon Park by evening. While my parents chose to explore Cunningham Road and MG Road, I made a quick dash to the Raasta Café with a few friends.

Route Taken: Chennai-Tambaram-Oragadam-Kanchipuram-Krishnagiri-Hosur-Bangalore

Total kms done: 388 kms

Toll Tax Paid: Rs 265.00

[//M]

Day 12 and 13, 8th and 9th June 2014

A couple of days in Bangalore was really relaxing. The City got a good wash and we explored a few places in and around the town. We went around the MG Road, Lavelle Road, UB City and a few malls.





I saw some lovely cars near UB City too, which included Porsche 911's, Jaguar F-Type, Jaguar XK-RS, Merc C63 AMG, Nissan GTR, etc. I have already uploaded the pics of the supercars in the "Supercars in Bangalore" thread. Saw the amazing Lamborghini showroom too.



While we roamed around town, the City basically relaxed and enjoyed the pleasant weather that Bangalore offered.



Total kms done: 38 kms

[ampere]

Commenting quite late. Just had to.

Truly a drive of epic proportions. The zest to see anything and everything on the road is quite evident in you guys. Many get tired after some time. But you guys just keep going on and on. More than the travelogue, I wish you the best, to keep that spirit in your afloat.

PS: The City is a true long distance cruiser and now with a diesel heart, it just became more so.

[vsk2009]

Hope you had a great time in visiting those magnificent south Indian temples. Great photos. It worth to read the book 'temples of south India' by Ambujam Anantharaman (http://www.amazon.com/Temples-South-.../dp/8188661422) .
Thanks for sharing the travelogue.

[//M]

Day 14th, 10th June 2014

An early morning start from Bangalore was high on the priority list. We left Bangalore at 5 am and headed towards Kolar. A brilliant road, zero traffic and the cool breeze made for a perfect early morning start.







We crossed Kolar and the road to Chittoor was just about average with road widening work going on. But as soon as we got lose to Tirupati, again the surface was excellent which made for a great drive.



We initially planned to cover the distance upto Vijayawada, but once past Nayudupet the road was amazing. We crossed Nellore and Ongole in no time and were in Vijayawada by 2 pm.



So we thought of driving upto Rajamundry today and spending some time in Vishakhapatnam tomorrow. We stopped over for lunch somewhere near Eluru. Little did we know that the outside temperatures were equivalent to that of a boiler. The City's AC is a chiller, keeping us cool and comfortable throughout the drive but when we got down from the car for lunch we realized that the temperature is hovering around 45 degrees.

After a delicious Andhra special lunch, we headed towards our destination for the day, Rajamundry. The town is situated about 10 kms off the highway but since it was about to get dark, we thought of staying at Rajamundry instead of continuing to drive further. The sunset and the Godavari river was a scintillating sight.



The trip meter read 841 kms, the longest we did in a day in the last 14 days.

Route Taken: Bangalore-Kolar-Chittoor-Tirupati-Nayudupet-Nellore-Ongole-Vijayawada-Eluru-Rajamundry

Total kms done: 841 kms

Toll Tax Paid: Rs 510.00

[//M]

Originally Posted by ampere

Commenting quite late. Just had to.

Truly a drive of epic proportions. The zest to see anything and everything on the road is quite evident in you guys. Many get tired after some time. But you guys just keep going on and on. More than the travelogue, I wish you the best, to keep that spirit in your afloat.

PS: The City is a true long distance cruiser and now with a diesel heart, it just became more so.

Thank You Sir.

The City is indeed a true cruiser. It might not have the outright power of a Verna CRDi or a Vento TDi but it makes up quite well as a overall family runabout. Great space and comfort, incredible fuel economy figures, relaxing to drive and it has an amazing climate control system too. The Honda reliability just adds up to what already is a brilliant package !!

Originally Posted by vsk2009

Hope you had a great time in visiting those magnificent south Indian temples. Great photos. It worth to read the book 'temples of south India' by Ambujam Anantharaman (http://www.amazon.com/Temples-South-.../dp/8188661422) .
Thanks for sharing the travelogue.

Thanks a lot for sharing the link vsk. While I have not read the book, but I am sure it would be a wonderful read. It would be really great to know about the dynasty's that ruled these parts of India and about their incredible architecture, sculptures and about such finest craftsmanship.