100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights

SmartCat · 15th February 2010, 18:38

This is not a travelogue, because I don't know how to write one. Plus the distance was covered over a period of 6 years - so I would have forgotten most of the finer details.

We covered the distance mostly in my Optra (70%), friend's Palio 1.2 (20%), Wagon R/Santro/Getz (remaining 10%). Over the years, we have visited 17 states - Karnataka, AP, TN, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, MP, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Diu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Haryana, Chandigarh, New Delhi and HP.

Interested tidbits:

- Had one major accident. The definition of major accident is -> No Injuries, but the car has to be towed.

- Got fined Rs. 700 by cops when we tried to drive in straight into Taj Mahal (didn't know only electric cars were allowed)

- Got mobbed by a rowdy crowd in Rajathan when a biker with 3 people on board slammed into us from the side. We had to go to the police station where we had to shell out Rs. 5,000 to extricate oursleves from the situation.

- Slept in the car twice (bachelor life, baby) because we couldn't find hotels.

- Usually started the day at 10:00 AM and drove still 12:00 AM midnight, with lots of places to see in the middle.

- Oddly, never had a tire puncture in any car.

- Almost fell into a river flowing 100 ft down below, almost ran into an old woman trying to cross the Golden Quadrilateral, almost got taken out by tractors that appear out of nowhere (esp. in haryana), almost...

- Truck drivers can be incredibly courteous.

For now, I am uploading photos & videos of our trip to Vizag & Araku Valley in AP and Chitrakoot Falls in Chattisgarh. Will upload the other pics later.

Pic 1: Fishing Boat in Vizag - photo taken by my amateur photographer friend with his Rs. 1.5 Lac camera!

Pic 2: Some Bird near the Vizag beach

Pic 3: Old submarine near the Vizag beach

Pic 4: This guy was performing some kind of puja to the car, going round the car twice and throwing some flowers on it - Vizag beach road again.

KRRaj · 15th February 2010, 18:41

I am hooked onto this Thread. This promises to be interesting.

Do share your experiences wherever you can.

SmartCat · 15th February 2010, 19:00

Pic 1: Araku valley is around 100 kms from Vizag. Nobody told us it would be packed. No hotels - slept in the car.

Pic 2: We are in Orissa now. And my friend has had enough of this cruel world. But he eventually chickened out.

Pic 3: Chitrakote Falls in Chattisgarh

Pic 4: Bats near Chitrakote Falls. Yes, photo taken on that big Rs. 1.5 Lac camera.

Pic 5: Standing "over" the Chitrakote Falls

Pic 6: Borra Caves, in Araku Valley. The coloured effect in the photo is because of lights inside the cave.

aargee · 15th February 2010, 19:20

Oh Boy!!! Fantastic pictures; superb clarity
Don't tell me you're working for NatGeo

Waiting eagerly for your travelogue; keep them coming

MX6 · 15th February 2010, 19:29

The caves are amazing. Do you have more photos on the caves?

StarVegabond · 15th February 2010, 19:42

It is a very good idea to retrospect ones entire driving life
i liked the photos shared by you. thanks for sharing

theMAG · 15th February 2010, 19:59

Next obvious question - what was your camera gear ?

anekho · 15th February 2010, 20:43

beautiful stuff, man!

Please keep uploading pics!

your optra looks as good as ever!

ptushar · 15th February 2010, 21:04

Very nice thread indeed. And absolutely fantastic photos.
Can I suggest that you also mention where these places are. Maybe a one liner like the state and the closest large city / town should do the trick.

sdp1975 · 15th February 2010, 21:30

Wonderful pictures indeed. Keep them coming, I'm glued.

MX6 · 15th February 2010, 21:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by smartcat

Pic 6: Borra Caves, in Araku Valley. The coloured effect in the photo is because of lights inside the cave.

The colored effect is not because of the lights in the cave. The lights just highlight the caves. The rocks are rich in minerals. The minerals give the color to those portions. Copper makes it green, Iron red, to name a few.
These rich minerals show those natural colour which is accentuated by the strategic positioning of the lights.

Here's a photo I took of Shenandoah Caverns.

Under ground river in the caverns

100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-shenandoah-1.jpg

Just a point and shoot. So pardon the shake. Missed my SLR.

100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights-shenandoah-2.jpg

SmartCat · 16th February 2010, 00:27

Quote:

Don't tell me you're working for NatGeo

I like driving, not taking photographs of birds and bees!

Quote:

Next obvious question - what was your camera gear ?

Hey, the photos were taken by my software engineer friend who tagged along with us to the trip. He is also an amateur photographer. He is a half-nut who drove all the way to Arunachal Pradesh from Bangalore on a Pulsar 150! No idea about the camera gear - I just call it the 1.5 Lac camera. The lens looks a lot similar to a Bazooka.

This is his website -
Flickr: Alemaari's Photostream

Quote:

your optra looks as good as ever!

Thanks! Even now, I childishly look back at the car sometimes after I lock it and walk way.

Quote:

The colored effect is not because of the lights in the cave. The lights just highlight the caves

Coming to think of it, yeah, this makes more sense. We were always wondering why they "ruined" the natural beauty of the caves by putting different coloured lights on the walls.

Quote:

Can I suggest that you also mention where these places are. Maybe a one liner like the state and the closest large city / town should do the trick

Will do. If my info is not enough, you can also a do quick Google search.

Chitrakoot Falls is apparently called the Niagara Falls of India - best seen during the heavy water flow season. It's about 50 km from Jagdalpur (2nd largest city in Chattisgarh). We went to this place from Bangalore via Vizag & Araku Valley.

The road from Bangalore to Vizag is on Golden Quad, and hence is quite boring. But sparse traffic makes the drive easy. Borra Caves is on the way to Araku Valley.

Quote:

The caves are amazing. Do you have more photos on the caves?

Here you go -

Nikhilb2008 · 16th February 2010, 00:33

Oh boy!! What a lovely thread!! Got some lovely pics as well.

MX6 · 16th February 2010, 00:55

Aha, the bacon! I meant the formation in the photo 1878.jpg. It's a very interesting cave formation. Too bad that they didn't have a light positioned there. It's towards the right of the photo.

rainthreat · 16th February 2010, 07:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by smartcat

Pic 1: Fishing Boat in Vizag - photo taken by my amateur photographer friend with his Rs. 1.5 Lac camera!

Pic 2: Some Bird near the Vizag beach

Great Picture of the Boat. The bird is an Indian Roller aka Nilkanth

15th February 2010, 18:38	#1
SmartCat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,904 Thanked: 48,927 Times View My Garage	100,000 kms on Indian Highways, 6 treks & a Couple of Flights This is not a travelogue, because I don't know how to write one. Plus the distance was covered over a period of 6 years - so I would have forgotten most of the finer details. We covered the distance mostly in my Optra (70%), friend's Palio 1.2 (20%), Wagon R/Santro/Getz (remaining 10%). Over the years, we have visited 17 states - Karnataka, AP, TN, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, MP, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Diu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Haryana, Chandigarh, New Delhi and HP. Interested tidbits: - Had one major accident. The definition of major accident is -> No Injuries, but the car has to be towed. - Got fined Rs. 700 by cops when we tried to drive in straight into Taj Mahal (didn't know only electric cars were allowed) - Got mobbed by a rowdy crowd in Rajathan when a biker with 3 people on board slammed into us from the side. We had to go to the police station where we had to shell out Rs. 5,000 to extricate oursleves from the situation. - Slept in the car twice (bachelor life, baby) because we couldn't find hotels. - Usually started the day at 10:00 AM and drove still 12:00 AM midnight, with lots of places to see in the middle. - Oddly, never had a tire puncture in any car. - Almost fell into a river flowing 100 ft down below, almost ran into an old woman trying to cross the Golden Quadrilateral, almost got taken out by tractors that appear out of nowhere (esp. in haryana), almost... - Truck drivers can be incredibly courteous. For now, I am uploading photos & videos of our trip to Vizag & Araku Valley in AP and Chitrakoot Falls in Chattisgarh. Will upload the other pics later. Pic 1: Fishing Boat in Vizag - photo taken by my amateur photographer friend with his Rs. 1.5 Lac camera! Pic 2: Some Bird near the Vizag beach Pic 3: Old submarine near the Vizag beach Pic 4: This guy was performing some kind of puja to the car, going round the car twice and throwing some flowers on it - Vizag beach road again. Attached Thumbnails
	(1) Thanks

15th February 2010, 18:41	#2
KRRaj BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 514 Thanked: 35 Times View My Garage	I am hooked onto this Thread. This promises to be interesting. Do share your experiences wherever you can.
	() Thanks

15th February 2010, 19:00	#3
SmartCat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,904 Thanked: 48,927 Times View My Garage	Pic 1: Araku valley is around 100 kms from Vizag. Nobody told us it would be packed. No hotels - slept in the car. Pic 2: We are in Orissa now. And my friend has had enough of this cruel world. But he eventually chickened out. Pic 3: Chitrakote Falls in Chattisgarh Pic 4: Bats near Chitrakote Falls. Yes, photo taken on that big Rs. 1.5 Lac camera. Pic 5: Standing "over" the Chitrakote Falls Pic 6: Borra Caves, in Araku Valley. The coloured effect in the photo is because of lights inside the cave. Attached Thumbnails
	(2) Thanks

15th February 2010, 19:20	#4
aargee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN Posts: 6,315 Thanked: 9,910 Times	Oh Boy!!! Fantastic pictures; superb clarity Don't tell me you're working for NatGeo Waiting eagerly for your travelogue; keep them coming
	() Thanks

15th February 2010, 19:29	#5
MX6 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands. Posts: 2,878 Thanked: 233 Times	The caves are amazing. Do you have more photos on the caves?
	() Thanks

15th February 2010, 19:42	#6
StarVegabond Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,891 Thanked: 43 Times	It is a very good idea to retrospect ones entire driving life i liked the photos shared by you. thanks for sharing
	() Thanks

15th February 2010, 19:59	#7
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,219 Thanked: 1,816 Times View My Garage	Next obvious question - what was your camera gear ?
	() Thanks

15th February 2010, 20:43	#8
anekho Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: . Posts: 1,997 Thanked: 685 Times	beautiful stuff, man! Please keep uploading pics! your optra looks as good as ever! Last edited by anekho : 15th February 2010 at 20:44.
	() Thanks

15th February 2010, 21:04	#9
ptushar BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 352 Thanked: 282 Times	Very nice thread indeed. And absolutely fantastic photos. Can I suggest that you also mention where these places are. Maybe a one liner like the state and the closest large city / town should do the trick.
	() Thanks

15th February 2010, 21:30	#10
sdp1975 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,716 Thanked: 1,275 Times View My Garage	Wonderful pictures indeed. Keep them coming, I'm glued.
	() Thanks

16th February 2010, 00:33	#13
Nikhilb2008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,198 Thanked: 10,162 Times	Oh boy!! What a lovely thread!! Got some lovely pics as well.
	() Thanks

16th February 2010, 00:55	#14
MX6 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands. Posts: 2,878 Thanked: 233 Times	Aha, the bacon! I meant the formation in the photo 1878.jpg. It's a very interesting cave formation. Too bad that they didn't have a light positioned there. It's towards the right of the photo.
	() Thanks