How many ways to climb down a mountain?
Actually, if one were to consider the options to reach Moradabad from Mukteshwar, there are quite a few permutations and combinations possible.
The first is the one we took on the way up to Mukteshwar, crossing Nainital on the way.
Route via Nainital:
https://goo.gl/maps/V811GcB3ej22
The popular route, especially for LMVs, is via Jeolikote, but the road was closed near Jeolikote due to a broken bridge for the last few weeks. We asked locally, and were told that the road had opened a week ago, but closed again 2 days ago, because the bridge was damaged again.
Route via Jeolikote:
https://goo.gl/maps/SUVwUMnUjR62
That left us with the option of descending to Kathgodam and Haldwani via Bhimtal, since we did not want to take the same route back as we had used to come up. Once at Haldwani, we had the 3 choices - going to Kaladhungi and retracing our route on the way up, connecting to Bazpur after Rudrapur, or carrying on straight towards Rampur from Rudrapur.
Via Bhimtal:
https://goo.gl/maps/1nXQJM1xR642
A decision was taken on the go, to drive to Rampur, and connect to the NH9 there - despite an additional 110-rupee toll on the highway. A really bad decision, this, because the stretch of highway between Rudrapur and Rampur is in a state of disrepair / patchy repair, the traffic was terrible in the middle of the weekday, and we had a very uncomfortable time in the Thar.
Via Rudrapur & Rampur:
https://goo.gl/maps/tQ3qYbXoNEG2
Later, a friend who travels to Bhimtal frequently, told us of a rural road to bypass Moradabad and its surrounding traffic, and connecting from NH9 to Tanda and Bazpur more quickly. Got to try this out sometime.
Bypassing Moradabad city:
https://goo.gl/maps/Tet7LvynZ9o
Enjoy the drive in the hills...
...as much as we did, along with TROŽ.
Remember, we were celebrating our Brass Anniversary on this trip? And all shops in Moradabad were closed on Tuesday, the day we left? So we stopped again at Moradabad on the way back, to buy some brass items for ourselves.
A summary of the experience of driving the Thar
In the hills, compared to the Scorpio that I have driven so many times in the same terrain, is where the Thar excels. With its shorter wheelbase, quicker steering, better turning radius, lesser body roll and better grunt lower down in the rev range, it takes less effort to keep up the pace on winding roads - until the road is patchily repaired, bumpy or undulating. Over such patches, the ride is much harsher than the Scorpio's, and the front suspension is noisy. The overall average was 11.2 kmpl for the trip, but that is perhaps because the AC was off and I kept to speeds under 90kmph most of the time on the highway. Above 100 kmph, the air turbulence is irritatingly loud, and the water from the windscreen washer jets swirls around without actually reaching the glass. However, the car does put a smile on one's face, given that traffic gives way (we took advantage of that feature through the crowded streets between Rudrapur and Rampur). Have topped up with a diet of Reliance diesel from Moradabad on the way back, and let us see how much the FE improves.
OTOH, the lady has complained of a painful lower back after the ride, and is not overtly keen to sacrifice the comforts of the Scorpio in favour of the Thar on drives such as from Delhi to Kolkata.
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