[shady_lawyer]

What happens when you buy a new car?

A. you baby it and keep in the garage.

B. You take lots of photos, and flood your Insta(whatever) feed/wall.

C. You go mad, fill diesel, and again, and again, and drive from Delhi to Pune to Bengaluru to Hampi to Goa to Pune and back again-why? because you can.

Total Distance covered-6363 KMS (including local intra-city running)

read each from bottom right to top left










This is what happened after Aragorn came home. I started on the 18.09.2021 and came back home on 01.01.2022

Disclaimer-I came back to Delhi a few times in the middle. Which actually got me thinking. In pure driving terms, it takes a good 2 days to reach Pune. The flight about three hours end to end.

It was a journey to last me at least all of 2022. Elation, happiness, tiredness, frustration, anger, joy, relief, sleep, wake, repeat.

Having recovered from Covid and learning a few life lessons along the way I decided to drive to Pune to stay with my Mom.

Day 1
Total Distance-745 KMS
Fuel-49.57 Lts.
Mileage-15.03 Km/lts.
Started at 0500 Hours on 18.09.2021 and reached Udaipur the same evening at 2000 Hours. Stayed at Oasis Park (not a family hotel) but ok if you are a guy travelling alone.

Before leaving tanked up at COCO Ashoka Hotel. Delhi to Jaipur, same old nonsense. Pathetic roads, unruly drivers all the way till Ajmer Bypass. From there on the roads improve dramatically. 4 laned with hard shoulders. Stopped for lunch somewhere near an IOCL Tanker filling station, Ajmer, at a place called Roopali Midway. Great Service, good food.

Genuinely bizarre area though. Apparently they have an automated system to call out truck numbers, so all the while you'll hear a tinny mechanical voice going, Six-Eight-One-Four-BEEP-Five-Nine-Three-Three. Its like a nutty Tambola game.

Post Ajmer however you rapidly hit the as yet single lane old NH8 that takes you all the way to Nathdwara. While the widening works are in progress, it gives you a taste of the old highways. Be careful in this stretch since you get a lot of third lane overtaking psychopaths. Despite driving the XUV I was run off the road twice. Nathdwara to Udaipur is all elevated or banked sections, just watch out for cattle though. Cross TMG on the right and you'll soon be in Udaipur. If you're with family Paras Mahal is an ok option (desperately needs upkeep-the place and the people). I stayed at Oasis Park, clean, but a little seedy, good enough for a guy though.
On the way though, I saw this!





Special express trains to Pune-Check
Improved and Accelerated-Check.

A genuine window into the years gone by







The Plate and the Mouth (the tender and the firebox)




Talk about your "Engine" throwing a rod!


and then the most famous of them all



The companies that built the Indian Railways, names so long forgotten




and those who lived and passed (the death certificate of one the giants)




Day 2
Udaipur to Vapi-Left Udaipur at 0600 Hours and reached Vapi around 1600 or so.

Tanked up at Reliance, Rishabdev (36.29 Lts. Avg. 14.11 kmpl), though I shouldn't have, because diesel/petrol are super expensive in RJ, and Rs. 6 Cheaper in Gujarat, and there is a reliance pump just across the border.

Was carrying my RT-PCR report, but no one checked me at the border. Crossed over into GJ and proceeded till Shamalji, before taking the left at Shamlaji for Halol.

Road Condition-like a dream. If you are male and you are breathing, then you know the effect good curves have. You see, you pause, you catch your breath, breathe out, and then you hit the engine start stop button. Incredible is the word I would use, fast corners, flowing apexes, tight hairpins and long straights all the way till Shamalji. If you have a low slung sedan and a 100 horses or so, you're in for a treat. I couldn't very well swing the XUV curve to curve, despite which I had fun.

From Shamalji its the usual state highway. Please note that post Udaipur your stop options are super limited and the next three-four-five (Depending on how you drive) hours are non-stop. The State Highway passes through really small towns or farmland all the way till Halol, which has one decent place, otherwise its Vadodara.

The MG factory is visible from the road, what is funny however is that their pre-forged body panels are just kept in the yards in the front. Also this area has all the biggies, Pharma, wind power, sanitary ware. I don't think I saw a factory in this area, that wasn't a common household name.

Funny incident, I drink only coffee (filter or French press) so I was carrying my coffee powder and press with me, and asking tapri's for boiling water and milk, except I forgot my "chalni", so the coffee throughout was extremely muddy. At every Tapri I was only charged for the milk and that too measly sums like Rs. 3-5 because I'd take two three spoonfuls and return the rest.

On the way, somewhere near Lunawada, I saw two motor cycles piled high with Chairs and all sorts of knick knacks, so I promptly sped up and overtook them. Stopped a distance ahead near a bus stop to flag them down. They thought I was trying to rob them!! Anyhow confusion cleared I bought a chalni from them for Rs. 15, which they found extremely amusing. They were travelling salesmen, driving all the way from Bharaich, they pick up household items from big towns in bulk, and ride into remote villages selling them, from chairs to spoons to plates, combs, mirrors. Its amazing. all they asked from me in return were the directions to Halol. What a hard life, but nothing but smiles on their faces and lightness on their shoulders.



It was raining, these guys were soaked and still riding. They carry their stove and buy provisions at whichever village they stay at night. Mostly, they said the Mukhiya's permit them to sleep in the Panchayat Office area, otherwise they said, they request some farmer and sleep on the ground.

At the end of the State Highway take a left again and you'll be a Diamond Chokdi, Vadodara.

Have you seen Peepli Live? I have


From here the road gets bad. The flyovers have been eaten away by those overloaded trucks, the expansion joints toss you into the air, and the tarmac is riddled with potholes due to run off water. Also all the 'hotels' you find along the highway are huge, but they are filthy and the food substandard.

I don't get it, I've travelled extensively in Gujarat, and found that the folk are quite cleanliness minded, and keep their business premises, hotels etc. clean and hospitable. This stretch however just defies logic, I mean I'm sure lots of families travel Mumbai-Vadodara, business folk definitely. The situation was so bad that I stopped at a petrol pump and ate the bread and butter I was carrying, along with the coffee I'd make with my new Chalni.

Day 3
Vapi to Pune

I had some work in Vapi, so stayed at the Ginger, which is right off the highway. Standard Ginger Experience, nothing good, nothing bad. Decent breakfast and opposite a Mc'D that serves Chicken!

Spent a day and a some hours in Vapi, pucca industrial city, the two wheeler traffic is high, and every second vehicle is an EECO.

Left Vapi around 1300 Hours and reached Pune at 2000 or so. I've seen bad roads, but this takes the cake. The highways in MH are amongst the worst of the lot, coupled with the rains continuing last year, it was a nightmare.

Tanked up outside Vapi at some Reliance pump (47 Lts. Avg-11.something, thanks to all the rubbish roads).

If you ever thought ESP/TC and all the other alphabets were rubbish, think again. Somewhere after Parsi Dairy, I lost the rear in a rain shower, even before I could react the electronics were at work and arrested the slide. Quite shaken I pulled over, only for a Verna driver, who was tailing me, to come over and congratulate me on my driving skills, little did he know that it was the clever electronic brain. The Duellers are terrible tires, they squeal like rats at the first instance.

Entered Mumbai, where I've chronicled my frustrations in the "route queries thread". Somehow managed to get on to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and reached Pune.

I never exceeded 100 KMPH throughout. The cattle menace is extremely high and I don't want to kill an animal, not just because of the attendant problems, but I have a thing for mute creatures that surround us. We are incredibly cruel to them as it is. They don't understand the difference between a highway and their village road, their owners do, but who cares? It's easier to let them loose on the highway median to graze, because its free fodder and water. Where there are cows, there are dogs. Also, because I'm not setting speed records.

Some takeaways:

1. Stock up on juices, water (I carry a 15 litre camper), washing water (in a big 2 ltr. coke bottle), and eatables. Also carry a flask to keep some chai/coffee/milk warm. The only thing I ate and drank from Udaipur to Vapi, was what I was carrying, I got some milk at Shamlaji. Keep wet wipes and a good old face towel as well, a quick splash of water on your face totally refreshes you.

2. Keep switching to fresh air mode every couple of hours or so or open your windows. I was feeling groggy only to realise that I had not had fresh air in the car for 4 hours or so.

3. Be mentally prepared to lose time. I wasted 3 hours in Mumbai and was super frustrated. Don't drive in that situation, calm down, reassess. You'll get destination vision otherwise, and that isn't a nice thing. I was so obsessed in reaching Pune, that I belted up the expressway at 120-130, not nice. God knows how, but I escaped getting challaned.

4. Switch off the music once in a while, it really gives you time to just be.

Once in Pune step out into your balcony and relax




We need a bath, but then as some members have said before Dirty Cars have stories to tell.


a special mention to Dhankude's car wash on Pashan Road, very professional and reasonable. Also dropped by Aquatint, very good chaps but with me having to WFH and travel, couldnt sync up and give Aragorn some much deserved. TLC.


And that's the End of Part I

[shady_lawyer]

I spent a few weeks in Pune, when Mom said lets go to BLR, a very dear friend of mine, was getting married. Incidentally my Sister and BIL also decided to come from Manipal, where they work. Bags were packed and I do mean bags, what is with Indian weddings, even the scaled down ones and clothes

Having loaded up the car, off we went. Since mom was on board, never exceeded 100. For the first time I realised just how bad the highways in MH are. Potholed, patched up, bumpy, bouncy. They are killers. Saw numerous accidents just from Baner to Satara. Trucks gone of the road, cars having lost control. The icing on the cake is the toll though Rs. 100 at Khed. I have an excellent idea where the money is going, I just assumed though that with Fast-Tags, things would have changed.

In the Satara Ghats, I found the gear box to be a bit dim-witted. The AT, simply does not drop gears fast enough, nor does it hold them on the descent. It just revs and hums-haws and does nothing. I simply shifted to M Mode. Now I realise why that button is so difficult to use, it's weird and unergonomic.

However, the ghats were despatched and the lovely () Satara-Karad-Kolhapur section began.

However, from there you know Nipani is not far. Cross over into KA-strict RT-PCR check and entry in registers before you proceed. Crossed Sankeshwar and Hattargi in a flash and soon reached Belgaum. Stopped at Thatte Idli for a refreshing meal and reached Dharwad for the night. Stayed at Ocean Pearl, lovely property, only issue is its right next to the tracks.

What is this? It's a huge soulless palace, something that Ceaușescu might build. I was allowed inside thanks to my SC stickers and ID. I guess its a projection of power and might, but at what cost?


The wiki entry is hilarious and extremely sad if its actually true.
"The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha was constructed as a part of Karnataka's reiteration of its control over Belgaum in its inter state rivalry with Maharashtra for control of the district. While the proposal to build a legislature building in Belgaum to counter Maharashtra's claim to the area had been mooted several years ago, Work began on the building in August 2009 and it was to have been completed in 18 months within an original budget of ₹ 2.30 billion. The Pune based B.G. Shirke Construction Technology Pvt. Ltd. were given the contract to construct the building. The contract for interior design and services consultancy was awarded to Gajbar & Associates headed by Ar. Vijay Gajbar from Belgaum and Kolhapur. ."

So to project power over Maharashtra, they got people from Pune and Kolhapur to build it. Talk about sabotaging yourself. Bizarre, utterly bizarre. Also did they spend so much on the building that they ran out of money to paint the place? Up close is just ugly poured concrete. I have no idea how hot, Belgaum gets, but anything north of 35 and that building is going to be an oven. So much empty land, no trees, nothing. What a god awful waste.

While crossing Dharwad, the car suddenly threw a check engine light around 1600. Though there was no power loss, I immediately pulled over and called the With You Hamesha Helpline. They directed me to Sutaria Mahindra, Dharwad, which I reached at 1800 which is closing time, was driving extremely slowly in the left most lane. However to my surprise a SA (who I later found out had come in despite it being his off) and a whole team (one co-tech, one e-tech, and two techs) were waiting for me. On hearing I was driving from Pune to BLR they immediately put the car on the ramp and asked me to stand right there since it was full of luggage. After checking everything, they told me the error was due to an intake hose which was not clipped tightly to the intercooler. Their dedication was amazing it took them till 2000 to find that the issue, since the entire I/C was removed to check. They were actually internally discussing a soft recall Mahindra has going for BS-VI vehicles, which I believe has something to do with the turbocharger and its associated plumbing.

Fixed the car, took a test drive. Total Cost ZERO. They dint take a penny, one because the car is in warranty, but two simply because they knew I was on a long trip. Thy WYH helpline staff was also quite courteous and followed up the next day to check if if the car was ok. Gave the staff some coke and juice cans that I had and some cash to each of them as a small thank you gesture. Hats off to the staff. Why is that service centres outside the metro's are just so much more accommodating, with respect to warranty, work culture. I know the city SVC's are busy, but is it really so hard to have a positive mentality, instead of making it feel like the Dentist's?

A question to people who do this route regularly, why are there so many bolero chassis' being driven down, literally in the hundreds, is it export? or is the demand for the truck really so high in that area?

Left next morning from Hubli and got to experience the spanking new Rannerbennur-Chitradurga Highway. What a road, it spoils you, because Tumkur yanks your bottom to Mother Earth with a thud. Stopped at one of the Vittal Kamat/CCD complex for lunch. From Nelmangala to go to Jakkur I should have taken the left at Jalhalli, but it was late and I was tired, so instead went to Cauvery Theatre and then Hebbal. Oh dear god, how do people in Bangalore survive?

Anycase made a grand entry into the wedding venue in my shorts and stinky Tee!

Stayed for a week in BLR. I had a lot of work to finish, clients to meet. Stayed at the Hyatt MG Road, conveniently located. Fun fact, a corner house thick malt shake, lasts all the way from Airline Hotel to Lido Mall walking time. Also walking is faster than auto/car/bus/bullock/horse, in BLR. Thank god for the Metro. I went to Nagarbhavi to visit the ol' alma mater, and if it weren't for the metro I'd have never reached. Sadly the auto-wallah's are still the same old hooligans they used to be. The RTO/Traffic Cops really need to reel them in, because it's doing the city no favours.

While there I got a chance to roam around in a Kona. Internally, its the size of the Creta. The ride though is fairly plaint, deals with the BLR roads well enough. The owner runs it from beyond the Airport Toll to MG Road daily, and leaves it to charge in his office area, which is why I guess no range anxiety. The acceleration however is quick, and the silence a little unnerving. I guess the future is electric, but it's so, I don't know, sterile? like a video game on mute.

While on the way back from BLR, we decided to make a quick run to Hampi, just a one day trip, but what a trip. Now I know enough has been written about the place and the most gorgeous photo's are already up. However let me add my rather cheap 50 paisa shots.

























stayed at the KSTDC Hotel, its nice and clean, and given that it was one day before Dussera, we were lucky to get any place. The hotel has an archaeology museum right behind, and a road train that takes you around to all the big points.

The next morning I'd barely got into the car when this happened.


I has started at 1638 KMS. Long way from home.

My plan was to start from the Kadekalu Ganesha, walk up the hill, reach Virupaksha and then walk up Matang and its hundreds odd steps (I did 150) to Achyutraya and then to the Vittala Temple and that's exactly what I did.

[shady_lawyer]

You have to experience Hampi. In my opinion Achyutaraya's temple is the best kept secret. So far off the tourist areas that you still see how beautiful the place is. The entire temple is a huge complex, with the bazaar on one side and the Pushkarani on the other, wide avenues, what must have been a very important part of the town once. Right behind this temple is the ten-armed Goddess drawn in the rock I dint take a photo since it seems that its still worshipped, because I saw a homam going on. This temple has the best location under Matanga Hill and behind the Vittala Temple. I'm sure the Pushkarani was once connected to the river which flows close by.

See Hampi in G-Maps once, as is evident, the river now forms a natural divide between what was surely the royal/religious part of town from the Plebian areas. Near Anegudi you don't see such huge temples or palaces. Even in Hampi the palaces, and the residential areas are inward from the river, whereas the religious places are closer to the river.

Left Hampi, and made the cardinal mistake of taking the under construction highway, which ensured we reached Belgaum only at 2000 hours. That road is absolutely rubbish. Stayed at the Phlox. Really nice place, but very bad parking. There is a restaurant close to the Phlox in one of the lanes, opposite the Medical College, at some of the best Gobi 65! It's simply wicked, If I lived in that town I'd die of a coronary.

If you have the time visit Daroji and the TB Dam head.

On the way back from Hampi we realised were were only a 150 KMS from Goa, so...off we went for a couple of days







Took the Chorla Route both ways, and then did a marathon 13 hour run back to Pune. Remember my gripe about the AT Box in the Khambatki Ghats, on the return up Chorla, the box behaved it self perfectly and never once did I have to intervene manually. I only intervened twice, on descents, to ensure that the box dint shift up and cause the car to run away. In terms of the route, mentally its from that nice fancy hotel just before the ghat section to the village square where you take a right to enter into Goa. Don't trust G-MAPS within Belgaum though, if you are exiting from the ghats, keep going straight and bear left on that broad road. Near the DC Office take a right then left again, it will take you straight back to the highway, if you're crossing over keep in the service lane, the u-turn is about a KM ahead.

Then to Baroda, then to Udaipur but thanks to this new Oh-me-cry-on it was a dash. In passing though Stop and see the Luxmi Vilas Palace and the Museum, the most fantastic Raja Ravi Varma Collection ever assembled.


One runs on ghas the other on gas


Dilli Door Ast!



Closing off with a sweet number.


a few notes on the car:

Loads of connectivity options means you can have two phones connected for calls, and a third for music and navigation. You can run android auto and bluetooth music simultaneously. The 2.2 Mhawk is brilliantly tuned. 100 comes up at a relaxed 1300 rpm, 120 at 2100 or so. Cruise works effortlessly and on a clear day with good visibility, you can literally pilot the car with just the buttons.

The best roads to the worst
1. Udaipur-Shamalji
2. Nippani-Tumkur
3. Shamalji-Baroda
4. Baroda-Pune Express Highway Connector
5. Chorla
6. Pune to Nippani

It simply does not matter, how many new highways, expressways, flyways we build. The truckers in the country though vital, really need to be taught to stay away from the right lane. It's not like they are going significantly faster than each other to occupy the right lane. The trucks are an absolute menace, poorly maintained, no working lights, no under-run protection. Overloaded. The toll operators are in cahoots with the transporters, see any fast tag lane, the trucks are in the car lane, why? no weight counter in that lane. The Cattle issue needs to be dealt with and animal crossings need to be introduced, under the highways using culverts, far too many end up passing away on the highways. Our mindset as a people needs to evolve, tail gaiting, honking flashing lights right behind me, to cover a 50 meter gap, wrong side driving it really needs to stop. Highway planning has to make a generational leap. Do what you want your average speed on Indian Highways will not exceed 54-65 kmph, if you are a normal sedate driver. I drove the entire Ajmer Delhi stretch at 70 on cruise, and according to the NAV only added 7 minutes to my ETA. Go figure.

I've been asked this a thousand times, why did you drive down, why drive back, why not have the car shipped. When I answer, because I wanted to, I get strange looks. How do you explain, the urge to drive? I have cats as it is, am I'm losing 'em marbles?
Total KMS 6363, total fuel 463 Lts. Reliance throughout. Everything else Priceless.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage tomorrow

[SamarthMehrotra]

Originally Posted by shady_lawyer

C. You go mad, fill diesel, and again, and again, and drive from Delhi to Pune to Bengaluru to Hampi to Goa to Pune and back again-why? because you can.

Beautifully summed up! Loved this line especially in your Travelogue!

That's some serious mile munching on the Cheetah. I can confidently vouch for the super comfortable cruising abilities of the vehicle having done Dehradun to Nashik and back 6 months ago!

The 70 ltrs fuel tank does help matters. Happy Touring Man!

[mugen_pinaki27]

Loved the fast paced nature of the travelogue, brother. Rajasthan, IMHO, has some of the best highways in India. Haven't explored other state highways but your travelogue has made me re-think my travel goals more deeply. More power to you!