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Drive to Wayanad and Mysore in my BMW 328i: Odo crosses 50,000 km mark

20th April 2025, 14:29 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

A day and a half into our stay, I was itching to walk to our designated parking spot to check on my little car, and I saw a clean and well-maintained VW Jetta was giving it some company.

BHPian suhaas307 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Update - October-December 2024:

Wayanad drive:

Subsiding rains and tempering weather conditions call for frequent weekend getaways, and I wasted no time in booking a short two-night-three-day stay at Tranquil, a lovely little resort nestled in the forests adjoining the sleepy town of Sulthan Bathery. I'd already penned a short note on this drive here.

A quick stop for breakfast at our regular haunt, Renuka Tiffanies (Bidadi):

The road condition was generally fantastic. We maintained a steady 100 on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, where the car clocked a minor milestone - 50,000:

Getting off the expressway and onto Mysore's ring road eventually led us to the Gundlupet stretch, which was also pretty alright. An unscheduled stop at a slightly desolate Cafe Coffee Day had to be made since the skies opened up rather spectacularly:

30 minutes later, we were back on the road and navigating the speed-breaker-riddled roads that thread through the gorgeous Bandipur forest. Popped open the sunroof and switched to my favourite CSNY album as we cruised to Sulthan Bathery, and eventually reached our destination:

Tranquil Homestay offers spectacular views and hiking trails:

A day and a half into our stay, and I was itching to walk back to our designated parking spot to check on my little BMW, and that's when I saw this clean and well-maintained Jetta giving my 328i some company:

Turns out that the owner is also a fellow enthusiast (no surprise), and his Jetta (1.4 TSI) was carefully identified from the used car market and purchased by him after much deliberation. Our final evening at Tranquil was spent discussing our cars and other interests. Fun times!

As we left Sulthan Bathery, we were pleasantly surprised by a day in the life of this sleepy town. The name is derived from the days of Tipu Sultan, when the town was used to store his artillery and ammunition. The town is adorned by smooth roads with clearly marked zebra crossings that are used by the town folk the way it is meant to be, and vehicles on the roads are expected to give way, as they should. The roads are lined by clean fences and flower pots. Order and discipline is taken seriously, and it's quite refreshing:

Cruising through lush green forests on a cool, drizzly day, with Mark Knopfler on the stereo for company - unmatched!

A drive to Kerala is not complete without a quick stop for banana chips!

The total journey to-and-fro was around 540 km. It took us 5.5 hours onwards and about 5 hours on the return leg.

Mysore / Srirangapatna:

A few years ago, I made a promise to myself that I would prioritize fitness and health over everything else.

With great reluctance, I had to pass up on an amazing drive to Danushkodi with a bunch of folks and their Bimmers, as we had signed up for a 10k trail run on the banks of the Cauvery river scheduled on the same weekend!

It was our first late-night drive in the 328i, and the weather-gods delivered quite the curve-ball as incessant rains lashed the Mysore highway. Thankfully, the drive was incident-free and we reached safe and sound.

The next morning, we put on our running shoes and took part in the 10k trail run.

About an hour and 10-15 minutes later, the 10k trail was done and dusted! Pretty decent, as we hadn't really prepared for this run. My personal target would be 1 hour, and I hope to achieve this by the end of 2025!

Famished after the run, we fueled up at the designated guest house in Srirangapatna and relaxed for about an hour before high-tailing it back to BLR.