[pravarag]

Before this road-trip I've been to Kolkata about 4 times involving the one visit for my own marriage 3 years back . After hearing few experiences and watching videos on Youtube, driving down the NH-16 from Bangalore to Kolkata was always in my mind ever-since I've had Shadowfax (Ford Freestyle). Not only the love of driving, I've always had a wish to see Kolkata at the time of it's biggest festival of the year, Durga Pujo. And after cancelling 3 times in last 3 years, me and my wife finally made-up our mind to drive to Kolkata this time on the occasion of Durga Puja. Though my wife being Bengali had warned my very well of the rush the City of Joy sees during this most awaited time of the year, I was all ready to face it no matter what. Apart from this, we also planned to travel with our 1.5 year old fur baby Cosmo on this long journey. Though he is a seasoned traveller for trips like Bangalore to Goa and other places within 500-600 kms, but we weren't sure how he'd behave on a 2000 km long journey. All things aside, we decided to travel in the week of 2nd October and selected 5th as the date to start from Bangalore. We had planned our halts at Vizag and Bhubaneswar keeping pet-friendly stays in mind.

All the preparations were made, I got my car checked at Ford Mahadevpura service center few days before the trip. I was facing some issues with steering position, which was fixed after alignment and balancing.


Day 1 Bangalore to Vizag

We though of starting as early as possible the first day so that 1000 kms distance of Vizag from Bangalore can be covered without any rush. Also since I was travelling with my dog, I wanted to take as many breaks as possible so that he'll also be comfortable and should not feel much irritated at any point. We carried enough food for the day 1 so that we can avoid stopping at places for ordering breakfast and lunch and save some time. With everything being set, we started off around 3 AM from Bangalore. Luckily, I somehow retired to bed earlier the previous night and was able to get some good 4-5 hours of sleep which really helped me next day. This was my first time driving the max distance of 1000 in a day, my previous best being 700 Kms. Driving at a steady state and with very less traffic, we managed to reach Thirupati by 6 AM. We took a short bathroom break for us and Cosmo few kms after crossing Thirupati. By this time, Google Maps was showing our estimated time of arrival around 7:45 PM at night. The roads till Thirupati are very good from Bangalore, post that we did encounter some bad patches until we joined NH 16 which I believe would take you through connecting state highways. Hopefully, these will be repaired until next time. Once we checked-in Nh-16, it was a smooth ride till Vizag. NHAI have done a really good job building this highway and I think most of the work has been done recently. I remeber folks mentioning lots of diversions especially post Rajahmundry few years back. We were running well on time, crossed Vijaywada around 2 PM. Took a short break for lunch since we carried all of it for the first day with us. I popped in one red bull at this time which I thought would be enough to get me going till we reach Vizag later in the evening.

Couple of pics from our drive:







Started seeing the boards for all 3 of our destinations

The scenary was changing well and good even though it was all lush green throughout so far. Rice fields all around, big wider roads at times, roadside stands for coffee, food. I was really excited to see all of this and driving on these highways was just like a dream getting fulfilled. We were lucky enough to see the sunrise and sunset the same day in our beloved car. As soon as we inched closer to Vizag the scenary changed again and we were welcome by I believe was eastern ghats maybe and ocean breeze. Around 7 PM we were 30 kms away from Vizag, took a small bathroom break for Cosmo. As soon as we started, I somehow missed a turn towards the left which would have taken us inside the city and instead I continued straight on NH 16. This resulted in increasing our distance by 30 Kms, an extra toll fee of about 100 Rs. and time increament of 45 mins. The horrible thing was getting re-routed via very narrow lanes of villages and then making our way back to Vizag city and to the hotel. At last, around 7:45 we managed to reach our hotel winsor park. We quickly settled in, gave dinner to Cosmo and finished his night time walk quickly. We ordered food from hotel itself, though we asked them to keep it very less spicy but the chef couldn't help in adding his little touch of Andhra. We had planned to start for Bhubaneshwar early next morning around 5 AM so that we can reach by 2 PM and settle in early for the day at our next stay.

Day 2 Vizag to Bhubaneshwar

We were up and ready by 4:45, did checkout formalities from our very comfortable and pet friendly stay in Vizag and accelerated towards next destination well around 5 AM in the morning. I could already see little sunlight indicating we are towards east and sun rises early here. I could also feel very nice and calm morning sea breeze in Vizag, roads were empty and very soon we were back on NH-16. Last night we were able to manage a good sleep along with Cosmo who was looking recharged and fresh for our next destination. I spotted this very big truck lay bye which was empty next to the highway and utilized for giving Cosmo a nice long walk, little playing around followed by his morning food. Next stop was for our breakfast and we managed to get some freshly prepared dosa, idli and some filter coffee. Trust me, this was the last time I had filter coffee for next 22 days as I knew once I cross Odisha border, I'll be in for a delighted trip of tea across the next two states. Soon we could again see scenaries changing, from big rice paddy fields to smaller fields and then again big fields. So far, the roads had been wonderful and I was really thanking highways authority of India for doing such a great job in this region connecting different places. We crossed Andhra-Odisha border, no checking for us though they did ask where are you going and coming from. A quick toilet break for Cosmo and we were inside Odisha heading towards Brahmapur. Entering Odisha, I could see some boards at petrol stations mentioning cheaper diesel than Andhra, which was good to know and so I got Shadowfax refueled with full tank. We had planned to see Chilika lake or at least try to get nearer if that's possible with pet. I think after Ganjam we were suggested to take a right turn, which was showing a long way inside followed by some backwaters of the lake. Before that, I spotted a small tea shop and got down to taste the real energy drink which fuels our entire nation and what a taste it was. I had 2 more cups, asked my wife who's usually not a tea fan nowadays to taste some and she also couldn't stop from ordering one for her. The tea vendor asked me are you travelling from Karnataka seeing our number plate and then we talked about few things, just normal chai-pe-charcha. I thanked him for the amazing tea and started again for our next stop at Chilika lake. By this time we were well ahead of calculated arrival time at our hotel in Bhubaneshwar so I was not interested in driving much fast but a lot slower, enjoying the roads. We took the right turn off Nh 16 towards Chilika lake backwaters and continued about 10 kms inside hoping that we we'll some part of the lake. But unfortunately we got lost, asked around few folks, couldn't find the exact location and had to take u-turn. And then we decided let's continue to our hotel and maybe we'll keep Chilika lake for some other time. We did come across one small part of the lake after few kilometeres which goes through the highway and that was the only memory of it which I have now.

We reached our stay, Vivanta Bhubaneshwar here around 1:30. Two main reasons for choosing this place, it's located right on the highway so we can avoid city traffic and second most important it's pet friendly. The staff at the hotel were very courteous, have some of the great hospitality towards someone especially with pets. They were also amazed to see Cosmo travelling all the way from Bangalore on his way to Kolkata. We had a very nice and comfortbale stay, amazing food for the rest of the day and enough space for Cosmo within the campus to complete his walks. Next we had planned a lazy start, didn't want to miss breakfast at the hotel and knowing Kolkata is just 450 Kms from there, we were okay even if we reach a little late during evening time.

[Few pics from Day 2]



Amazing sunrise from Vizag early morning.


These Hanuman statues are common across entire Andhra, very nice to see.


Taken somewhere near Chilika Lake

[pravarag]

Day 3 Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata

We finished our breakfast, Cosmo's walk and hotel formalities by 8:45 and started for our final leg of the journey sharp at 9 AM. We were rested more than enough but this being office time, had to encounter some traffic while crossing Bhubaneshwar and Cuttak. Driving in Bangalore, the traffic is nothing if compared but still traffic is traffic no matter where you encounter. The day was sunny as we could see and we had planned for a late lunch/snacks stop next at Sher-e-punjab hotel nearer to Kolkata. Of course, there were tea stops in between where I felt I should. As I was praising the highways all along, unfortunately the stretch from Bhubaneshwar till Kharagpur is not in good state. There were too many diversions, roads are also not in good shape. So this slowed us down a little but still we had more than enough time to reach by evening. We didn't stop for any lunch break, only to give Cosmo some snacks on the way. We crossed Odisha-Bengal border after Jaleshwar and roads started getting better again. The scenaries were changing again, and I could observe more greenary, dense vegitation in this stretch but narrow roads probably, not as big as those in Andhra. Afte a quick tea break near to Kharagpur we started towards Sher-e-Punjab dhaba, took right from Kharagpur towards Baghnan and Kolaghat. We could see our final destination inching closer and couldn't escape my happiness in doing so.


Here's Cosmo looking from our hotel room


Couldn't resist having tea at places en-route. The tea scene Orissa onwards was amazing and I tasted some of the very best cups.

We reached Sher-e-punjab dhaba around 4 PM, though it's not a dhaba anymore but more of a resortisque hotel with huge parking lot and few other food joints. We ordered some food but since it was crowded, it took us almost 30 minutes to get our food. Undoubtedly, that was some of the best Afghani chicken I've tasted in my life followed by some delightful kesar tea. In map, it was showing that we'll be able to reach our house in Behala by 6:30 PM and keeping that in mind we started around 4:45 from there. As soon as we crossed Kolaghat, we started encountering couple of jams in pockets and arrival time now increased to 7 and then to 7:30 PM. My wife suddenly rememberd that heavy vehicles are not allowed till 8 PM to enter Kolkata and are halted near santragacchi. Luckily I was able to follow service-lane avoiding the big halted jam of vehicles otherwise we could've been stuck for another 2-3 hours over there. Finally, after lot of traffic and stop-&-go traffic, we managed to enter Kolkata. I was not able to hold my excitement and happiness while driving on these roads which I've always thought about always in my previous trips. We reached our home in Behala around 7:40, manouvering through narrow lanes and Cosmo who was getting little irritated in last one hour was suddenly very happy to run through a house up and down. I was delighted on successfully completing our longest road trip ever in a go, with limited but enough stops and ease.


Sher-e-punjab parking

Next few weeks were planned to be with family, visiting market places in Kolkata and of-course enjoy the holiday season of Durga Pujo here. Pasting few pics from the city wide celebration we went through which was incredible and what a sight for the liftetime for me,

Sharing auto rides are always fun in Kolkata,


Just a happy Doggo enjoying the festive season


Got a chance to visit Balwant Singh dhaba at night, food was really good along with some chai and Doodh Cola

Tried the famous Sharma Tea house Kochuri and kesar chai,





Some street wonders during Pandel hopping

Shadowfax made a touchdown at Pricep ghat and Victoria Memorial (from distance),



And no visit is complete without a run across Maidan,


Here's Cosmo enjoying festive lights from our place with Shadowfax in background,


Sharing some delights from the decorations across the city during festive season:






After a fulfilling holiday season and witnessing my life's biggest celebration ever, with a heavy heart we started for our return journey on 28th of October. We followed pretty much the same route with stays in Bhubaneshwar and Vijaywada.
I hope everyone likes reading this short travelogue which was one of my life's biggest travel journey

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues.
Thanks for sharing and wish you a happy new year!

[Sidban85]

Amazing. I wish I could get the courage to do the trip.

I have done Hyd to Vizag around Christmas 2 consecutive years. But was unsure if 3 consecutive days of driving will be too much for pet.

Winsar Park is a hidden gem. Very welcoming. They also got us a cab to Araku daytrip which was ready to take our pet in the cab. Stayed at the Park Vizag this year and although paid almost 3 times more, the place was very unwelcoming.

[AdiSinghV12]

One of the nicest thing I have read lately, full of happiness. Could you help us on how to prepare the doggo for the trip? For eg whenever I travelled with my pug even from one city to another it showed that he’s taken a toll on him and took a couple of days or so getting back to normal. Would love to know more on how to prepare the furry fam for the journey

[texens]

Thanks for this travelogue. This brings back so many fond memories from childhood days as well as college. I used to go visit my uncle and aunt in Kolkata during vacations, and the best thing about these visits used to be enjoying all the street food with cousins - especially mughlai paratha and chowmein!

We used to frequent Shere Punjab back in college days (late 2000s). I just checked on Google Maps Satellite view, and surprized to see that it has expanded so much. And yes, that parking lot is huge, must be doing really well I guess.

[pravarag]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Amazing. I wish I could get the courage to do the trip.

I have done Hyd to Vizag around Christmas 2 consecutive years. But was unsure if 3 consecutive days of driving will be too much for pet.

Winsar Park is a hidden gem. Very welcoming. They also got us a cab to Araku daytrip which was ready to take our pet in the cab. Stayed at the Park Vizag this year and although paid almost 3 times more, the place was very unwelcoming.

I would say all thanks to Cosmo for being a good boi throughout the journey and somehow it was clear he also liked sniffing across different states

Winsar Park is definitely a gem on that route and the staff was really very supportive especially towards pets.

[pravarag]

Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12

One of the nicest thing I have read lately, full of happiness. Could you help us on how to prepare the doggo for the trip? For eg whenever I travelled with my pug even from one city to another it showed that he’s taken a toll on him and took a couple of days or so getting back to normal. Would love to know more on how to prepare the furry fam for the journey

Glad you liked it. Ever since Cosmo was 3-4 months old, we used to take him more frequently on car rides even if it was for a nearby grocery shopping. And we did it almost daily and slowly increased the kms after some time. This came in as a suggestion from our friend and really worked in our case since he started to think our car as his home too.

Also during journeys, I try to take him out more frequently atleast once in 2-3 hours even if it's for a very short break. This gives him enough time to sniff new area, lots of stimulation and brain gets tired easily and then he mostly sleeps in the car.

[pravarag]

Originally Posted by texens

Thanks for this travelogue. This brings back so many fond memories from childhood days as well as college. I used to go visit my uncle and aunt in Kolkata during vacations, and the best thing about these visits used to be enjoying all the street food with cousins - especially mughlai paratha and chowmein!

We used to frequent Shere Punjab back in college days (late 2000s). I just checked on Google Maps Satellite view, and surprized to see that it has expanded so much. And yes, that parking lot is huge, must be doing really well I guess.

I definitely envy you only for the reason you got to visit during your vacations. I can imagine what a time that would have been for you with so many memories. The city hits really different every time I visit, whether it's the smell of tea or any sort of fried items like you mentioned

Even though I saw Shere Punjab for the first time, the place is really big and now more like a complex all around. I think they even do marriage functions as there was a whole big lot behind the parking space. But yeah, I tried some of the best Afghani Kebabas of my life so far over there.