1st March 2010, 18:04
| #196 |
| Team-BHP Support   | Rajasthan Trip (Climax): Pic 1: After the Sambhar Lake fiasco, we decided to go back home. Our route plan -> Sambhar Lake - Bundi - Kota - Ujjain - Indore - Nashik - Pune - Bangalore.  Pic 2: On the way to Bundi, on a state highway. Backbenchers watch "Friends" on a laptop while the frontbenchers tackle the potholes & manic tractors.  Pic 3: But the state highway to Bundi from Sambhar Lake really slowed us down. We reach Garh Palace (Bundi) after closing time - so this is the only shot we got of the palace. We proceeded to Kota to stay for the night.  Pic 4: The next day, we reached a place a Jhalawar (between Kota & Ujjain) in Rajasthan. Disaster struck us! A bike with 3 on board (including one woman) brushed us from the side in a crowded junction. What happened next was very dark & gloomy, so I'm putting up a "dark" photo of nothing   The three on the bike fell down. The woman did an acrobatic somersault and had a few scratches on her arm. Because of the low speed impact, the front number plate had fallen off. Immediately, a mob of 20 - 30 people surrounded us and started banging on our stationary car. Because of the mob attack, the car had minor dents on the bonnet. But a traffic cop (I call him the Good Cop. Bad Cop comes in later) came out of nowhere and pacified the crowd (dekh loonga, mein hoona etc). We got out of the car among hateful stares, and put the injured woman in the car and headed to the hospital. I got into a bike with a Good Samaritan (he refused to take money from me), who warned us not to go to the police station - and to settle the matter at the hospital itself. But at the hospital, the biker asked for Rs. 10,000. We obviously refused and we had to go to the police station, with the Good Cop sitting in the car with our front number plate. Inside the police station, there was this Bad Cop who too suggested that we pay Rs. 10,000 or else face "action". That is, we'll have to leave the car at the police station for the day. We refused to pay, as it was not our fault, and the bike was carrying 3 people. But, as you might have guessed by now, the Bad Cop and the biker were insisting that there were only two on the bike. We stuck to our guns and stayed in the police station compound for an hour, refusing to pay. At the compound, we had only the Good Cop with us suggesting that we should settle the matter. He would go back & forth between us and the Bad Cop/Biker with our offer of Rs. 1000 & then Rs. 3000. For a moment, we thought of simply getting into our car and driving off (when the Good Cop was not around). We decided against it, got bored of waiting in the police compound, finally agreed to pay Rs. 5000 and get out. I have been so mentally scarred by the mob incident that, even now, I feel a bit uneasy about taking my wife out on our highways. After marriage, we momentarily thought of driving to Sikkim - but I dropped the idea - because we'd have to pass through "unknown" (for us) areas like Orissa/WB. Pic 5: It took us some time to get into good spirits again. An excellent late lunch at a dhaba somewhere near Ujjain (MP) helped us recover. But unfortunately, our stomachs couldn't take in the dhaba food. While I had a stomach upset which was solved temporarily by popping a tablet, Jagga has to flee to the bushes with a Bisleri bottle in hand!  Pic 6: We reached Indore in late evening, but a few locals asked us not to proceed further in the night because of highway robberies. We stayed put in Indore that night and continued our journey the next day. The ghat road just outisde Indore on the Indore - Nasik highway was brilliant.  Pic 7,8 & 9: It was pouring buckets near Nasik. For the first time in our life, we drove the whole night (in shifts) and reached Bangalore via Pune. Boy! We were eager to get home or what!    Pic 10: There is no place like home. Car looks like it has just done a Raid-De-Himalaya!  |
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1st March 2010, 22:04
| #197 |
| Team-BHP Support  | |
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2nd March 2010, 00:31
| #198 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands.
Posts: 2,878
Thanked: 233 Times
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2nd March 2010, 00:58
| #199 |
| Team-BHP Support | |
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2nd March 2010, 11:37
| #200 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands.
Posts: 2,878
Thanked: 233 Times
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The better way when there's a hit and run is to not stop there, go to the nearest police station and file an FIR immediately stating the true facts. Then call up the insurance guys as well and say that you've suffered some damage in the car because some moron banged you and you've also filed an FIR. Read Aryashiv's episode on an alleged hit and run in Nagar road. One needs to be street smart. In case of a mob scenario, it's all your luck and your good deeds of your previous lives. But if you are still too afraid and start thinking of hypothetical scenarios, then I have no answers for it! Being in Gujarat, I will probably ask for help of Ramkya.  | |
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2nd March 2010, 12:46
| #201 | |
| Team-BHP Support | hehe OK! Quote:
Starting a new travelogue on our recent Madumalai -Ooty trip - Pic 1: Went to the trip with my wife Pallavi (in pink) and my old girlfriend Chameli (in red).  Pic 2: Pallavi takes over the wheel on Bangalore - Mysore highway, scaring away poor cyclists on the road.  Pic 3: We reach Madumalai after 5 hours, throw our bags into our cottage..  Pic 4: .. and head into the forests looking for elephants, in a Jeep.  Pic 5: Straight away, we encounter dangerous animals like deer, peacocks etc. That sets our adrenaline pumping.  Pic 6: The Jeep driver stops at a temple in the middle of the forest, waiting for the sun to set completely - so that elephants come out in the open. I use my extra long limbs to take our photos - without using timer or tripod.  Pic 7: After sunset, we drive around for sometime and hear some sounds in the bushes. We then see a small herd of elephants, and one of them gets agitated by our presence.  Vid 1: The driver quickly hits the reverse gear, faces the elehant herd and switches on the high beam. The bright light either has a calming effect or a confusing effect on the elephants, and they keep staring at the lights without moving much. Pic 8: View outside our cottage the next day, early in the morning.  | |
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2nd March 2010, 13:43
| #202 | |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN
Posts: 6,313
Thanked: 9,901 Times
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2nd March 2010, 17:10
| #203 |
| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: New Delhi
Posts: 172
Thanked: 9 Times
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2nd March 2010, 18:03
| #204 | |
| Team-BHP Support | Thanks Kaushik. Quote:
Madumalai - Ooty Trip Continued: Pic 1 & 2: The resort owner looks at the L-Board on the car, assumes that I'm still learning how to drive and offers some basic tips on how to handle the ghats. I politely listen, nod my head and leave our Madumalai resort for Ooty.   Pic 3, 4, 5 & 6: Wife goes berserk with the camera, as we cruise towards the ghats.     Pic 7: Best Ooty ghat drive ever - The road is one way! Vehicles coming down the hill have to take the longer route.  Pic 8: In Ooty, it is cold, misty and windy. We immediately go to a shop where Pallavi dresses up like a biker (note the gloves).  | |
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2nd March 2010, 18:06
| #205 | |
| BHPian  | Quote:
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2nd March 2010, 18:14
| #206 |
| Team-BHP Support | |
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2nd March 2010, 19:04
| #207 |
| Team-BHP Support  | |
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2nd March 2010, 19:52
| #208 | |
| BHPian | Quote:
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2nd March 2010, 22:53
| #209 |
| Team-BHP Support | |
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3rd March 2010, 11:42
| #210 |
| Team-BHP Support | Pic 1 & 2: We first decide to go to the Botannical Gardens. Although we've been to Ooty many times, we usually ignored the "family/touristy" places like the Gardens & the Lake for boating. We get in and take some photos of flowers, birds & the bees.   Pic 3: This picture reminds many software engineers of the salary hikes they got this year.  Pic 4: The smile in this photo is only for the camera. Off camera, there is always a frown "Why did you ask me to wear this stupid skirt? The ground is all wet. Eeyuck"!  Pic 5, 6, 7 & 8: All that pitter patter drizzle get to us and we decide to drive down to Doddabetta - the tallest peak in South India. The problem is - in every state in south India, there is a "tallest peak of South India"     Pic 9: On top, the visibility is about 5 feet. We drive down back to Ooty town - we don't even get down from the car.  |
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