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Old 10th June 2010, 16:14   #916
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Originally Posted by aargee View Post
Why? Is it another trekking?

But I loved that evening sunset pic very much; new one on my desktop.
Attachment 340465
Now the TBHP site comes first & then Outlook
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Old 10th June 2010, 17:23   #917
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took 3 days (ofcourse on office time and resources :-))to reach the end of this log and enjoyed every bit of it! way to go smartcat, drive safe!
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Old 10th June 2010, 18:43   #918
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Thanks ExtremeTorque. You will enjoy unoczar's thread too - I have personally never laughed so much after reading about somebody else's misfortune.


MUMBAI SOLO ROAD TRIP PICS


The year was 2005 and it had been hardly 6 months since I had bought the Optra. I saw an ad for Xenon lamps in Autocar India magazine - at that time, only Skoda Octavia L&K had xenons as standard. I wanted one for my car and it wasn't available anywhere in Bangalore at that time. At the same time, my business partner had been pestering me to come to Mumbai to see his new house and office and "talk business".

Since I had just got the car from the dealership after the little "Munnar incident", driving solo to Mumbai in the Optra was an absolute NO NO with the home ministry. So I mentioned that I will be driving to Mumbai and my friend's parents would be joining me on my drive - the "story" was that they have to meet their daughter & son-in-law in Pune.

So, on 11th Feb 2005, I left early in the morning to pick up my "imaginary passengers" and headed towards the NH4. In 2005, traffic was quite sparse on the Golden Quadrilateral - its only now that the road is full of trucks.


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc02840.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc02844.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc02845.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc02850.jpg



That's when I got to test the mileage of the car under "standard test conditions" - cruising at 80 kmph with AC on. I got 16 kmpl at that time (usually gives 12 kmpl). I also reached my official top speed record of 160 kmph on the Pune - Expressway highway.

My imaginary "friend's parents" took some good photographs on the way (I never take photos when I'm driving).


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc02851.jpg



Met my business partner in Mumbai and instead of "talking business", we went to watch a 4D movie in IMAX. After fixing xenon lamps to the car, we also drove down to Lonavla (to buy Chickies) and came back the same day.

100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc02854.jpg

Mission accomplished, I headed back to Bangalore. The drive to Hubli was uneventful. But then when I saw a small sign board "PANAJI 150 KM", the car's steering inexplicably turned right automatically - and I ended up in Goa.

100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03836.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03838.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03839.jpg


A mandatory visit to our annual pilgrimage place - the Palolem Beach.


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03847.jpg
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Old 10th June 2010, 18:46   #919
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That's fantastic road & loved the 2844.jpg, simply beautiful & the greenery in 3836 is superb, but somehow looks like KL to me.
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Old 10th June 2010, 18:57   #920
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Finally the cat is back! And I see a lot of iron ore dust on your wheels! Seems you took the NH63 from Hubli to Ankola and up north to goa looking at the red mud on your wheels.
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Old 10th June 2010, 19:05   #921
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aargee View Post
That's fantastic road & loved the 2844.jpg, simply beautiful & the greenery in 3836 is superb, but somehow looks like KL to me.
Yeah - KL, coastal Karnataka, Goa & coastal MH look the same in the rains.

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Finally the cat is back! And I see a lot of iron ore dust on your wheels! Seems you took the NH63 from Hubli to Ankola and up north to goa looking at the red mud on your wheels.
There was no serious iron ore mining in 2005. Problem started in 2007 - 2008 because of Chinese boom. I might have done a little bit of "mud-roading" in Goa - that explains the red tinge on the wheels.





MUMBAI SOLO TRIP PICS (concluding part):

On the way back from the Palolem, it poured like it does in coastal areas!


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03851.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03853.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03854.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03855.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03856.jpg


I had rains & wet roads for company on the way to Mangalore too.


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03857.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03860.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03865.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-dsc03866.jpg


Made a quick visit to my cousin's place there. "Departed" from Mangalore at 6:00 PM and reached Bangalore by 2:00 AM. And what do I see in my room? Cats. Lots of cats!


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-imag0006.jpg

Last edited by SmartCat : 10th June 2010 at 19:08.
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Old 11th June 2010, 18:13   #922
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smartcat View Post
I'm actually an author who was written a book on advertising - which unfortunately didn't sell very well
There are some hidden gems here!

Know what, this story has so many tales and one liners, enough to make one an addict and keep checking every now and then whether anything new has cropped up!!

Smartcat, I hope you aren't "Omkar Sane" in disguise or vice versa.....
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Old 11th June 2010, 20:15   #923
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vrprabhu View Post

Smartcat, I hope you aren't "Omkar Sane" in disguise or vice versa.....
He's Baand. James Baand! By the way who is this Omkar Sane?
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Old 12th June 2010, 11:12   #924
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MX6 View Post
He's Baand. James Baand! By the way who is this Omkar Sane?
Omkar Sane is the guy who wrote a book on advertising - a real eye-opener on the ad business. Witty - just like smartcat!
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Old 12th June 2010, 14:44   #925
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My book was more of an "eye-closer" - even I fell asleep while writing it. Googled Omkar Sane - quite an interesting character.
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Old 15th June 2010, 13:02   #926
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VIVA kitty!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by smartcat View Post
"Departed" from Mangalore at 6:00 PM and reached Bangalore by 2:00 AM. And what do I see in my room? Cats. Lots of cats!
Attachment 364784
Smart kitty has little kittens in his DEN!!!

Good to see you back on the travelogue post buddy. Thought you are having never ending date with your latest crush - CIVIC. By the way, have you named it yet?

Would like to read your book. Ping me with the details - off late i'm not sleeping properly .
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Old 15th June 2010, 17:56   #927
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Originally Posted by Prancing Horse View Post
Would like to read your book. Ping me with the details - off late i'm not sleeping properly .
LOL!

Smartcat, if it's not much of a hassle, can you share the name of the book?
My name had also appeared in the acknowledgments section of a book on Advertising!

Did you christen the kittens?
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Old 22nd June 2010, 10:58   #928
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Smartcat there is a lull in your travelogue since past few days. Are all the trips penned down or you busy with planning for arrival of smartkitten
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Old 22nd June 2010, 13:27   #929
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Trips don't cease for the SmartCat. He's busy driving down his lady to maike.
Just now got an update that SmarCat and his family have reached Surathkal safe and sound!
Expect a log shortly when the cat comes back to Bangalore.

Without his wife for the next few months, I'm pretty sure that SmartCat will get transformed to Bokya (Marathi friends will know what it means)!
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Old 6th July 2010, 12:03   #930
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mpksuhas View Post
Smartcat there is a lull in your travelogue since past few days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MX6 View Post
Trips don't cease for the SmartCat.
So far logged 1500 kms in a month in the Civic - highway runs included a visit to Mangalore sometime back and to Nandi Hills last weekend!

I don't know why somebody put up this new "DANGER" board - a big curious crowd was hanging around that place to see what's on the other end.

100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-img_2687.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-img_2692.jpg


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-img_2680.jpg


Meanwhile, I'm quite tempted to drive down to Chennai for the trackday next week - especially since gansan/aargee would be there. But finally, good sense prevailed and I've decided not to risk wrecking the Civic on the track since it has only been a month since I got the car.


Quick question to MX6/Other experienced camera hands -

How do I take a photo in the night when there is oncoming traffic, in a moving car? This is what I got -

100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-img_2705.jpg


When there is no oncoming traffic headlights, the photo looks quite decent (but still not good enough)


100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-img_2703.jpg

Last edited by SmartCat : 6th July 2010 at 12:10.
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