Once the driving bug hits you, the only cure is to keep on driving to new destinations.
Long Blog. We had to cover all the days of driving. We would be happy if you go through the entire write up. If you are interested only in driving conditions then please read the Blue colored text. Black if you are interested in Facilities. Brown text, you cant miss this. Interesting points.
Long Blog. We had to cover all the days of driving. We would be happy if you go through the entire write up. If you are interested only in driving conditions then please read the Blue colored text. Black if you are interested in Facilities. Brown text, you cant miss this. Interesting points.
Why Drive?
For us "Why" does not exist, When & Where are the only things that matter. We love to drive, love the long straight roads on the plains, love the winding roads going up & down the hills, And love the roads leading to beautiful beaches. Or to put it simple, we Love to see the country passing by though windows of the car.
India is a Great country with many fantastic places to visit, & if we could drive down to those places, it makes, not just the destination but the entire journey extra special.
Where?
Where?
After completing the drive to our home town Tenali from Noida & Back in Nov 2016, we knew we had to make another trip. The craving started In the summer of 2017 & we started contemplating on the places we could drive to. After much deliberation we were no where close to the choice of destination, after considering factors like, "Number of days Leave from work", "Weather conditions", "Road conditions" (which are very dynamic in India), feasibility, attractions etc. Leh was one of the pending destinations, but it was kept aside for another year. Finally we decided on driving down to Thane, Mumbai where we can visit our relatives and come back. Which would be close to 3000 kms.
We had almost finalized it when suddenly we came across the news in July that the Road to Dhanushkodi point from Rameswaram had been completed & made operational for public. Excitement flooded us & the YES was unanimous, It had to be DHANUSHKODI.
Suddenly we realized that, the whole scope of our Road Trip got multiplied several times.
About Dhanushkodi: I had been fascinated by the geography of this place since childhood. This is a narrow strip of land extending from Rameswaram into the Sea for 22 kms. Rameswaram is itself an Island connected to main land India by the famous Pamban Bridge.
Dhanushkodi was a thriving business town complete with a Railway station & a harbor. But as fate would have it, a massive cyclone in 1964 wiped out the town including a train full of passengers, killing thousands of people. The sea took in most part of the land surrounding it leaving a narrow 200 feet strip of land. Now Dhanushkodi lies as a ghost town with ruins of the past glory . Its not permitted by the govt to build or stay at this place as its surrounded by sea on 3 sides, hence called a Ghost town.
From the Lands End at Dhanushkodi, a chain of Islands in the shallow sea connect to Srilanka which is just 18 km. These chain of Islands are also known popularly in the Hindu Mythology as Rama Setu, the bridge build by Lord Rama.
The Prospect of Driving over this narrow land flanked by sea & reaching the Lands End is a dream.
The Planning:
We were again met with now very familiar dramatic reactions from friends and family. Expressions changed from shock to incredulous. Statements like- must be crazy. You did it last year, why not go by flight. It would be dangerous, car is for commuting to work & shopping...etc.. We also got lot of positive responses, encouragement and many many good wishes which strengthened & helped us during the trip.
The planning was most important part for us and it took us almost 2 months of meticulous studying & planning to come up with all the details necessary for a Road trip of this kind.
1. Route & Research: We followed our initial plan of going via Thane, Mumbai. This would mean a longer route, but on other hand we would be seeing new places, spending time with relatives. On return we would be coming via the shortest route any way. Below was the final route we decided..
- Then over a month the entire route was meticulously studied on google maps, went over crucial places, with satellite view.
- Each major intersection,critical turns, landmarks were noted & marked for help during navigation.
- Time & distance estimations were noted for each day and between major cities which were our check points
- Traffic situation across the route was studied to identify patterns of snarls & planned to avoid them
- Probable Breakfast & Lunch stops were noted, along with possible scenic places.
- Toll gates across the route were noted. We had purchased Fastag sticker, fixed it on the windshield to pass through tolls quickly.
We received excellent first hand information from the largest community of like minded enthusiastic Road travelers in India- HV Kumar Fan, Forum & Message Board.
2. Days of Travel- After many rounds of discussions on factors like, weather conditions, leave from work & days to spend at Tenali (our home town), Mumbai, Hyderabad & Rameswaram, it turned out to be 15 days. Starting on 10th November 2017 and returning on 25th November 2017.
3. Team: We would be in total 5 members.
- My dad, Mr. Vijaymohan & me doing the complete circuit from Noida to Noida.
- My Uncle Mr. MV Ramana, from Bangalore, Noida to Chennai.
- Mr. R Srinivasa Rao, another of my Uncle joining from Noida to Mumbai. Both of them flying to Delhi a night before on 9th
- My cousin Sivaram from Hyderabad to Noida.
4. Hotel bookings - Research was done on prospective hotels to stay & bookings were done in advance. We were to stay in hotels at 5 places for 6 nights. We faced one problem. RTDC was booked at Ratanpur, but 2 days before our travel they closed the property without information. Got to know when we called to know their dinner menu. We had to urgently book hotel kingfisher close by.
5. The RIDE - Our trusted 4 year old Vento Highline Petrol, manual was to be our chariot. It is an extremely comfortable car for long distances proved itself many times over. It just ate up the miles on the highway.
We got it prepped up with great servicing at my friend Laxman's KK Automobiles . With the tyres topped up with Nitrogen & fuel tank full it was ready to go.
6. Items to carry:
- important Medicines,
- First aid kit,
- 5 liters water can,
- some dry fruits, sweets for emergency hunger pangs.
- A stick for moving cattle off the road (yes it may happen),
- Mobile charges & powerbank.
- A torch light. Another important thing which we did not carry but recommend is a tow rope.
- important Medicines,
- First aid kit,
- 5 liters water can,
- some dry fruits, sweets for emergency hunger pangs.
- A stick for moving cattle off the road (yes it may happen),
- Mobile charges & powerbank.
- A torch light. Another important thing which we did not carry but recommend is a tow rope.
Day 0: Noida
We packed our clothes, sorted out the list above & neatly arranged in the car boot in the evening so that we start on time in the early hours. But Suddenly there was a change in the weather. Delhi & Neighboring states were engulfed in a thick heavy smog. This was unexpected, usually the smog comes by November end, it was a month early.This was very worrying as it would make early morning driving very difficult & dangerous. We decided to go very slow & careful, but leave on time as we had to cover 800km that day.
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| As per actual |
As the Sun came up we were still fighting the truck traffic which stayed with us till Jaipur By-Pass. 6 lane work between Delhi & Jaipur was still underway with some incomplete flyovers and many diversions which required cautious & patient driving. After kishangarh toll till Udaipur, NH48 had improved from our last visit in 2015. We Chose to avoid the terrible Udaipur by pass and went through the city which was a good choice although there was some erratic local traffic, it was way better than the Moon surfaced bypass. We would recommend the same to other travelers driving through. After Udaipur the road went into the hills, winding through the scenic landscape & was a pleasure to drive on till we reached our destination of the day Kingfisher hotel, Ratanpur ( Rajasthan - Gujarat Border ). It was already dark during the last 40 mins of the drive.
Facilities: Lot of food options between Gurgaon & Jaipur with many new decent hotels. We halted for our first coffee break at hotel Orbit at Kotputli, which was a decent property with clean washrooms. Not many facilities after kishangarh till Bhilwara except some dhabas. We had lunch at Hotel Midway, Bhilwara. Food was good with fast service to the hungry souls. Two hotels have come up just after the turn to Chittorgarh from NH48. Elegance & Hotel Vishal. Both seemed good but not tried by us. There were no decent facilities after this till Udaipur. Had tea while crossing Udaipur city.
Rooms at Kingfisher hotel were good & large with clean washrooms. This and other hotels cater mainly for people coming from Gujarat state for Alcoholic Drinks, which are banned there. Hence may not be a good choice for families, though we did not face any issue.
We were not much tired but sleepy after 810km drive, so had a nice & early dinner at the attached restaurant & hit the bed.
Fastag: was available at all tolls except Lambiya, Khedi & Khewara. Issues were- non fastag vehicles being allowed in the fastag lane.
- Manual scanning of the tag by toll employee instead of automatic scanners & controlled barriers.
We started at 0410hrs excited as we would be driving into Mumbai for the first time. There was a short delay at the Rajasthan - Gujarat border just after 2km. Police were checking for smuggled alcoholic beverages in the trucks as its banned in Gujarat. The 4 lane roads towards Godhra & Vadodara were excellent to drive on even before sunrise with clear reflective markers & in no time we reached Vadodara.
From Vadodara onwards it was a fantastic 6 lane highway, But the fun was ruined by very heavy truck traffic. Along with them, Impatient, unruly car drivers made the drive till Surat a headache. It was very tiresome to drive avoiding the trucks driving in every lane at different speeds & also letting the impatient cars go past. Patient driving was the key while holding a steady pace. It was like a video game.
We had lot of expectation to stop & enjoy a little at the Narmada river bridge at Bharuch town, but it turned out to be a big disappointment. There was neither a clear view of the river nor was there any view point. More over it was stinking horribly, we slammed back in to the car with AC full on, abandoning any thoughts of taking photos. Its a pity that rivers are most neglected in India. A little effort from govt and people could make this place so beautiful that they would be proud of, like the river front in Ahmadabad.
We had lot of expectation to stop & enjoy a little at the Narmada river bridge at Bharuch town, but it turned out to be a big disappointment. There was neither a clear view of the river nor was there any view point. More over it was stinking horribly, we slammed back in to the car with AC full on, abandoning any thoughts of taking photos. Its a pity that rivers are most neglected in India. A little effort from govt and people could make this place so beautiful that they would be proud of, like the river front in Ahmadabad.
After Surat the traffic eased out a bit & after Vapi, it was a pleasure drive on the 6 lane scenic highway climbing up & down the serene hills as it headed towards the coast.
Excitement mounted as we crossed the Thane creek ( which is usually packed) without any traffic on to the Mumbai Island. Three kms before we called up to inform of our arrival in 5 min and requested for coffee on arrival as well. Thane had other welcome plans for us. Entire 6 lane highway was packed and jammed. It took us 30 min for the last 3 km with traffic hardly moving & had to use all the experience to make the sharp left turn into Brindavan society. Ultimately when we reached home, the satisfaction was enormous. And our relatives greeted us saying, we knew you would take 30min, its a regular here.
Fastag: Available at all tolls with automated scanners but same old story all vehicles were allowed in the designated Fastag lane causing more delay than in the normal lanes. On mentioning fastag they switch on the autoscanner. At one such toll we missed the tag lane due to the queue of non tagged vehicles. We could not see the tag lane.
Facilities: not many options till Vadodara and plenty after that. We had coffee from our kit at an IOC petrol station after Godhara in the early hours. It had ok sort of restrooms.
Halted at Varsad Food court for breakfast at 0800hrs and only few outlets were open. Food was ok but very expensive, would prefer any other if there was chance.
Lunch stop was at hotel Swagat after Valsad bypass. It was ok, there were better places but we were too early there & our lunch timing did not match. Reached Thane home by 1554 hrs.
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| Narmada Bridge at Barauch |
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| Sunrise near Vadodara |
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| Crossing Vasai Creek to Thane |
Drive & Road Conditions:
Today was third longest drive of the trip just by one km.
We decided to stop at Chitradurga for the night to avoid driving through the Bangalore traffic in the evening & reach the next day early.
We started a little late at 4:55 am, to meet up with my uncle who was returning from Dubai. Way out of Mumbai was a bit confusing for us to negotiate, till Pune expressway entry. In the early hour darkness, entered the famous Mumbai - Pune Express way by 06:09 hrs.
And we instantly liked it. In terms of surface it ranked below the YEW, but this had more character, was more fun and extremely scenic. Vento was as excited as we were, taking on the hills with grace, gliding over the curves & providing optimum feedback to slightest tough as we went over the western ghats.
The traffic slowed down at the famous switchbacks where heavy trucks occupying all 3 lanes tried to climb the steep incline. Other than that it was smooth going.
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| Sunrise on Mumbai - Pune Expressway |
Crossed Pune, escaped the building traffic. As we crossed Khed Shivapuri Toll, we were stopped by traffic police. We had all documents in order and the constable could not find any fault, but he played a master stroke at the end by asking for First Aid Box. (It is mandatory by law to have one with you in the car). We had read about this in the forums and since we any way had to carry medicines we thought why not label it bright red - "FIRST - AID - BOX". We replied in affirmative & invited him to take a peek in the boot. He smiled for the first time & waved us off.
We entered another ghat section, and stopped for another round of coffee from our kit at a picturesque location and did some photo shooting.
Best part of today's drive was yet to come. Starting from just before Kolhapur till Chitradurga, What a road it was, a real pleasure to drive on. Encountered very less traffic. We got one of our best Speed average of 76.49 without breaks and we never crossed 100kmph. Between Dharwad & Hubali was Single lane but good surface. NH 48 goes through Haveri town while going south, hence need to be careful for 4 kms. We reached Chitradurga town by 1745hrs. Google maps lady mislead us though very narrow lanes to our stay for the night, where a direct approach was possible, took it the next day on the way out. Reached Mayura Yatri Nivas - KTDC hotel by 1800hrs.
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| Sai International Hotel & food court |
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| Add caption |
Fastag :
No
fastag at Airoli Toll in Mulund and Khalpur in Mumbai – Pune EWay.
Beyond that, At 7 tolls Fastag was working with dedicated lane and automatic sensors. Only one had manual scanner.
At Khed Shivapuri toll after Pune Bypass, vehicles without Fastag were allowed or they jumped in to fastag lane, which took lot of our time.
At 6 tolls Fastag is not working or not installed.
Facilities:
Beyond that, At 7 tolls Fastag was working with dedicated lane and automatic sensors. Only one had manual scanner.
At Khed Shivapuri toll after Pune Bypass, vehicles without Fastag were allowed or they jumped in to fastag lane, which took lot of our time.
At 6 tolls Fastag is not working or not installed.
Facilities:
Plenty
of very good restaurants and food
options throughout and we regretted that we could not try them as we passed them at odd timings. First stop was at Food Carnival after
the Telegoan Toll for bio break and coffee. Since many of the shops were not open, we made coffee from our kit.
Next we stopped at a very picturesque location on a ghat section after Satara for in car snacks and Coffee. We could not resist taking some pictures of the beautiful valley.
We stopped for Brunch at Sai International Food Court before Kolhapur . It was an excellent place with delicious food. The rest rooms are very good and clean. Definitely a recommended place for any one is passing through. Food was very tempting and had enough that Lunch was out of question, which saved us atleast 45min to 1 hour.
After entering Karnataka, we found Kamat Upachara Restaurants every now and then. We had coffee at one such Restaurant after Hirebagewadi toll with attached IOC fuel station. Coffee was ok.
Last stop for the day for coffee at a way side Dhaba after Davangiri. It was just to flex our legs and driver change.
Next we stopped at a very picturesque location on a ghat section after Satara for in car snacks and Coffee. We could not resist taking some pictures of the beautiful valley.
We stopped for Brunch at Sai International Food Court before Kolhapur . It was an excellent place with delicious food. The rest rooms are very good and clean. Definitely a recommended place for any one is passing through. Food was very tempting and had enough that Lunch was out of question, which saved us atleast 45min to 1 hour.
After entering Karnataka, we found Kamat Upachara Restaurants every now and then. We had coffee at one such Restaurant after Hirebagewadi toll with attached IOC fuel station. Coffee was ok.
Last stop for the day for coffee at a way side Dhaba after Davangiri. It was just to flex our legs and driver change.
Mayura Yatri Nivas, was very close to the Chitradurga fort. Missed it as we reached after dark. We had booked Ac double room which was nice & spacious with attached clean washrooms, rather large one too. We had delicious food in its restaurant, which was simple and good. Only issue with this property was that the staff were not well trained (Govt style) though good, cooperative and helpful.
Drive & Road Conditions:
We started a little late than usual at 0500hrs as we had to cover just over 200km today. Took the correct road this time to the highway and sped on. Road condition was very good and very less traffic till end of Neelamangala flyover. After that we merged into the morning Bangalore traffic as IT city executives woke up and rushed towards their offices. Wow we had reached Bangalore driving your own car all the way from Noida. I could not resist clicking a picture of the car at Iconic MG Road.
We reached Domlur to Mr. Ramana's house (Co driver till Chennai) by 0829hrs. We spent the day leisurely meeting friends and having lunch at Legendary MTR at Indira Nagar, that was an amazing lunch. Hit the bed early as we planned to leave at what had become our Standard time of departure at 4am.
Fastag : Auto sensor Working at all tolls and the lane was free.
We reached Domlur to Mr. Ramana's house (Co driver till Chennai) by 0829hrs. We spent the day leisurely meeting friends and having lunch at Legendary MTR at Indira Nagar, that was an amazing lunch. Hit the bed early as we planned to leave at what had become our Standard time of departure at 4am.
Fastag : Auto sensor Working at all tolls and the lane was free.
Every day of this drive was something new to look forward to, each day there was excitement of driving on new roads to new destinations, anticipation that we were going to see a new place. Today we would be driving off the Indian subcontinent over the Pamban bridge on to Rameswaram Island.
It was very dark as we started our drive and Bangalore roads were, yes EMPTY. We crossed the Dreaded Silkboard Junction. A Junction which is Every Bangalorean's traffic Nightmare. It was without a soul and it felt really eerie to see it empty. The entry to Electronic city flyover was blocked and had to go under it for some distance before taking the next entry. From here on it was smooth & fast going. Crossed Hosur in no time the elevated road there helped. Then on it was an excellent 6 lane highway up to Krishnagiri toll. Beyond that it was another excellently laid 4 lane highway. It was a very pleasant drive, maintaining 100kmph was difficult as Vento was iching to go faster, eating up miles. We never got tired of sitting for long hours in the car, it was extremely comfortable.
By 0650hrs we crossed Salem and headed towards Madhurai, the traffic was even sparse.
After Madhurai, the beautiful roads ended & the fun part started. Airport – Kappalur Ring Road and NH 38 were under expansion to 4 lane, condition of road was very bad, full of pot holes and lot of diversions till NH 38 and NH 85 intersection and turn to Rameswaram/Dhanushkodi Road.
From then on it was single lane, and the highway passed through small villages & towns with narrow streets, giving us a glimpse literally into their simple lives. 4 Lane work was underway causing many diversions cutting the speed down. From Paramakudi town the road became wider, though still without divider. The local traffic of bikes, autos and trucks were a pain in this section.
An unusual thing: There were barricades placed like a chicane every 4-5 kms at every crossing in small towns the highway went through to slowdown the vehicles. This feature we found all over Tamilnadu. While this is effective in a way, but is very dangerous, particularly at night. You have to judge while coming on to one, which barricade comes first, the left one or the right one, then place & pace your car accordingly.
We reached crossed Ramanthapuram via a fantastic divided bypass.
The pamban strait was a beautiful place, the road bridge is along side the Cantilever railway bridge which crosses the sea to the Rameswaram island. And the railway bridge is known for its beauty and also one of the most dangerous railway routes in the world. Trains are stopped if the wind is over 35knots as the waves would be dangerously high.
After our photo session on the bridge we crossed on to the Island and reached Rameswaram town. Reached our hotel Jiwan Residency by 14:30hrs.
Hotel Jivan Residency, on the water front was a Decent hotel with large rooms. We had a sea view room. The food at the Pure Veg restaurant was very good, particularly the Buffet Breakfast, but a bit expensive. Had a decent parking where our ride - Vento rested for a day.
We rested a bit and at 1700hrs went to the famous Rameswaram temple. The architecture was amazing particularly the famous long corridors were majestic inside the temple. We were back in the hotel by 1930. Had a nice early dinner at the hotel restaurant and hit the bed. Tomorrow was the Big day of Dhanushkodi Point, and we wanted to be there by Sun rise which is the best time to visit.
Fastag: Fastag was working great, with strictly maintained Tag lane. All 7 Tolls we crossed had working auto Sensors adding to our time.
Facilities: Lot of good options till Salem. After Salem not many good
Restaurants till Dindigul and Madurai. Most of them were inside the towns including Madhurai. Hotel Temple City Restaurant
between the Kozhinjiipatti Toll and Vagai river, before Madurai which seemed to
be good. After that no decent restaurant or Rest room facilities till Rameswaram.
We had our usual 3, 4 coffee breaks, and had breakfast at a fake Sarvanabhavan after
Dindigul town. Food was ok, but ambiance was not good.
Day 7: 16 Nov 2017- Rameswaram - Dhanushkodi - Rameswaram.
Distance 25.5 km each.
Today was the BIG day.
Dhanushkodi is 22km from Rameswaram out of which 20 km is a needle straight narrow road which goes into the sea to the Dhanushkodi point.
We were up by 5am and hit the road by 0530hrs excited. It was dark while we crossed the narrow streets of Rameswaram lined with shops & houses still in slumber. We had to be careful as goats and dogs were sleeping on the road till 2-3kms where the town ended. There was a hint of grey towards the east as we took the road towards Dhanushkodi. The excitement was great, anticipation was overwhelming. Would it be nice?, would it be worth driving all the way? Such questions were floating in the mind as we drove steadily out of the town. But soon they were blown away by the vista that was coming up in front of us.
As we crossed the town the scenery changed dramatically. The road had just become fantastic. A two lane needle straight road with excellent tarmac welcomed us. Trees lined up on both sides for couple of kms and then there were shrubs as sand started showing up.
Suddenly a spectacular view engulfed us. The shrubs were gone and blue sea was on both sides and a straight black road ahead. I pushed the gas and we touched 100kmph as we sped towards our dream destination.
A unique feature needs mentioning: The sea to the right was rough with waves crashing on the beach and the Sea to the left was calm with hardly any waves. "Any geology or Oceanography experts reading this may enlighten us on this feature."
After few minutes I could see a column in the middle of the road still far away, I realized we were reaching the Dhanushkodi point. We sped past the ghost town and reached the Column which was the Ashoka Pillar. We were elated, we had made it, we had achieved our objective of our trip, and IT WAS BEAUTIFUL beyond imagination.
The Sun rose showing us the complete beauty of this place. We parked the car on the edge and walked down to the beach which was massive. We could walk down a long way to the east towards Srilanka. Words cant put this place in perspective. Do take a look at the pictures below which still don't do justice.
We could see the next island towards east. The beach was quite neat, as the main tourism had not hit this place YET. We spent about 90 minutes just enjoying the peaceful morning & Sinking in the feeling. We had no mobile network there but suddenly we received this sms which was funny. We latched on to Srilanka network.
We had our mandatory coffee from the kit and took the U turn symbolizing the start of return journey. This was the farthest point of our road trip. It was an incredible place.
We drove slowly taking in the views, as you would not often drive on a road hardly 70 feet wide with sea on both sides. We stopped many times for pictures. We spend few minutes at the Ghost town of Dhanushkodi. We found a Jetty and drove over it. The view was amazing. We reached back to the hotel by 8 very much satisfied and hungry. Had breakfast at the hotel restaurant.
Rest of the day was spent visiting some of the popular places.
- Ramapadam Hill, Rama & Lakshmana teerthams where we got a first hand experience of floating rock. It is said that these rocks were used to build the Ram Setu bridge which floated on the sea. I lifted one such porous rock, it was very very heavy and as I dropped it into the water it floated.
- Dr. Abdul Kalam memorial. Its maintained by DRDO hosting many photos taken during the life & work of Dr. Kalam.
- Then we visited the actual house of Dr. Kalam where he was born. Its turned into a museum and souvenir shop.
Had lunch at Hotel Tamilnadu. But was disappointing. It was a very famous hotel and we had lot of expectations. My parents stayed there during their visit in 1980. Food at Jiwan Residency was far better.
We went in search of a Light house we saw on the map, but it turned out to be closed or non existing. Returned back to the hotel and took a boat ride for 45 min on the sea. The Sunset from the sea was something definitely to be seen. We met some friends who worked with my father in the department, which was having a station in Rameswaram. It was nice meeting them.
It was very satisfying to drive down to this place, but we realized at dinner, we now have the entire return journey ahead of us. We hit the bed early by 8 pm.
As we crossed the town the scenery changed dramatically. The road had just become fantastic. A two lane needle straight road with excellent tarmac welcomed us. Trees lined up on both sides for couple of kms and then there were shrubs as sand started showing up.
Suddenly a spectacular view engulfed us. The shrubs were gone and blue sea was on both sides and a straight black road ahead. I pushed the gas and we touched 100kmph as we sped towards our dream destination.
A unique feature needs mentioning: The sea to the right was rough with waves crashing on the beach and the Sea to the left was calm with hardly any waves. "Any geology or Oceanography experts reading this may enlighten us on this feature."
After few minutes I could see a column in the middle of the road still far away, I realized we were reaching the Dhanushkodi point. We sped past the ghost town and reached the Column which was the Ashoka Pillar. We were elated, we had made it, we had achieved our objective of our trip, and IT WAS BEAUTIFUL beyond imagination.
The Sun rose showing us the complete beauty of this place. We parked the car on the edge and walked down to the beach which was massive. We could walk down a long way to the east towards Srilanka. Words cant put this place in perspective. Do take a look at the pictures below which still don't do justice.
We could see the next island towards east. The beach was quite neat, as the main tourism had not hit this place YET. We spent about 90 minutes just enjoying the peaceful morning & Sinking in the feeling. We had no mobile network there but suddenly we received this sms which was funny. We latched on to Srilanka network.
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| We were just 18Km from Srilanka |
We had our mandatory coffee from the kit and took the U turn symbolizing the start of return journey. This was the farthest point of our road trip. It was an incredible place.
We drove slowly taking in the views, as you would not often drive on a road hardly 70 feet wide with sea on both sides. We stopped many times for pictures. We spend few minutes at the Ghost town of Dhanushkodi. We found a Jetty and drove over it. The view was amazing. We reached back to the hotel by 8 very much satisfied and hungry. Had breakfast at the hotel restaurant.
Rest of the day was spent visiting some of the popular places.
- Ramapadam Hill, Rama & Lakshmana teerthams where we got a first hand experience of floating rock. It is said that these rocks were used to build the Ram Setu bridge which floated on the sea. I lifted one such porous rock, it was very very heavy and as I dropped it into the water it floated.
- Dr. Abdul Kalam memorial. Its maintained by DRDO hosting many photos taken during the life & work of Dr. Kalam.
- Then we visited the actual house of Dr. Kalam where he was born. Its turned into a museum and souvenir shop.
Had lunch at Hotel Tamilnadu. But was disappointing. It was a very famous hotel and we had lot of expectations. My parents stayed there during their visit in 1980. Food at Jiwan Residency was far better.
We went in search of a Light house we saw on the map, but it turned out to be closed or non existing. Returned back to the hotel and took a boat ride for 45 min on the sea. The Sunset from the sea was something definitely to be seen. We met some friends who worked with my father in the department, which was having a station in Rameswaram. It was nice meeting them.
It was very satisfying to drive down to this place, but we realized at dinner, we now have the entire return journey ahead of us. We hit the bed early by 8 pm.
Our destination for the day was Chennai. We have few very close friends whom we wanted to meet & we were happy that they confirmed to meet us at the hotel in the evening. Chennai turned out not just an overnight stop but a place to relive old memories.
We started out at our usual time at 0420hrs, expecting to reach Chennai by lunch time.
Crossed the sleeping Rameswaram quietly, drove over the Pamban bridge with the indian ocean waters splashing below in the darkness and reached mainland India. Traced the route back to Ramanthapuram bypass. From there we turned right towards Devipattinam and reached in quick time by 05:22hrs.
From here on till Karaikudi we faced the worst driving conditions so far.
It stared with car windows getting foggy, including the windscreen. I could not set it right, I tried all the combinations possible on the AC settings but did not work. Finally I had to drive with two windows down.
Next the road deteriorated, it was a single lane narrow road with surfaced washed out at most places. Potholes every where.
Added to this, in the early morning darkness, trucks & local buses were coming on at breakneck speed, with their headlights on high beam making visibility zero. Had to literally get off the road to let them pass. Visibility was better after sunrise but road was the same. All of them made the 1.5 hrs drive till Karaikudi bypass terrible.
From Karaikudi onwards a two lane freshly laid smooth surface was a welcome change & I pushed the car to make up for the time lost. But had to be very cautious near towns as cattle & goats tend to stray on the road. Crossed Tiruchirapalli town by 0822hrs, luckily did not encounter much local traffic.
We took the Tiruchirapalli - Chennai highway, it was an excellent 4 lane highway. We were back to our cruising speed of 100kmph. We were expecting heavy traffic between the two popular cities but it was sparse and we made good time. Reached Kalyan homtel Chennai by 13:30hrs.
It was an evening well spent with our friends, reliving old memories.
We started out at our usual time at 0420hrs, expecting to reach Chennai by lunch time.
Crossed the sleeping Rameswaram quietly, drove over the Pamban bridge with the indian ocean waters splashing below in the darkness and reached mainland India. Traced the route back to Ramanthapuram bypass. From there we turned right towards Devipattinam and reached in quick time by 05:22hrs.
From here on till Karaikudi we faced the worst driving conditions so far.
It stared with car windows getting foggy, including the windscreen. I could not set it right, I tried all the combinations possible on the AC settings but did not work. Finally I had to drive with two windows down.
Next the road deteriorated, it was a single lane narrow road with surfaced washed out at most places. Potholes every where.
Added to this, in the early morning darkness, trucks & local buses were coming on at breakneck speed, with their headlights on high beam making visibility zero. Had to literally get off the road to let them pass. Visibility was better after sunrise but road was the same. All of them made the 1.5 hrs drive till Karaikudi bypass terrible.
From Karaikudi onwards a two lane freshly laid smooth surface was a welcome change & I pushed the car to make up for the time lost. But had to be very cautious near towns as cattle & goats tend to stray on the road. Crossed Tiruchirapalli town by 0822hrs, luckily did not encounter much local traffic.
We took the Tiruchirapalli - Chennai highway, it was an excellent 4 lane highway. We were back to our cruising speed of 100kmph. We were expecting heavy traffic between the two popular cities but it was sparse and we made good time. Reached Kalyan homtel Chennai by 13:30hrs.
It was an evening well spent with our friends, reliving old memories.
Fastag : No Toll till Karaikudi bypass
and 8 tolls after that, 6 of them had Fastag enabled. At the
Lembalakudai Toll, in Karikudi bypass
Manual Scanner was used and Rest of the tolls Auto Sensors worked well. Two tolls at Attur and Parnur,
near Chennai had no Fastag, paid cash.
Facilities/Breaks
: No decent facilities for food or rest rooms between Rameswaram & outskirts of Tiruchirapalli. We stopped at an IOC Petrol Pump after Devakottai town for the first coffee of the day from our Kit. It also had good washrooms.
Once on NH45 - Tirchi - Chennai highway, plenty of very good Restaurants. We stopped at Hotel Sangeeta after the Samayapuram Toll for our second Coffee of the day. The Rest rooms were decent.
We couldn't resist a breakfast stop at Adayar Anand bhavan (a famous chain of restaurants), which we found was just after Sengurichi Toll. Had a wonderful breakfast of idles & dosas which eliminated any thought of lunch. We purchased some popular sweets and snacks as well which we were fond of since our Bangalore days.
Our 3rd & last coffee stop next stop was at Manoj Bhavan, after Athur Toll. Coffee was very nice but expensive, may be because they served in brass utensils, which was actually nice. It also had an attached sweet shop.
About Kalyan Hometel - This was an excellent hotel, on the highway near Vandalur Zoo. We chose this because of its vantage location. We need not enter the city and also exit easily via the bypass, without crossing through the main city and avoid the Traffic.
We got a good deal on the double bed room. It was spacious and luxurious. Restaurant was good but highly expensive. My uncle Mr. Ramana exited the trip here & went back to Bangalore.
Once on NH45 - Tirchi - Chennai highway, plenty of very good Restaurants. We stopped at Hotel Sangeeta after the Samayapuram Toll for our second Coffee of the day. The Rest rooms were decent.
We couldn't resist a breakfast stop at Adayar Anand bhavan (a famous chain of restaurants), which we found was just after Sengurichi Toll. Had a wonderful breakfast of idles & dosas which eliminated any thought of lunch. We purchased some popular sweets and snacks as well which we were fond of since our Bangalore days.
Our 3rd & last coffee stop next stop was at Manoj Bhavan, after Athur Toll. Coffee was very nice but expensive, may be because they served in brass utensils, which was actually nice. It also had an attached sweet shop.
About Kalyan Hometel - This was an excellent hotel, on the highway near Vandalur Zoo. We chose this because of its vantage location. We need not enter the city and also exit easily via the bypass, without crossing through the main city and avoid the Traffic.
We got a good deal on the double bed room. It was spacious and luxurious. Restaurant was good but highly expensive. My uncle Mr. Ramana exited the trip here & went back to Bangalore.
Road & Driving conditions: Our decision to stay near the highway paid off as we were quickly on to the bypass and crossed Chennai comfortably in the early hours. However we had to deal with truck traffic. Additional caution was required due to haphazard trucks parked on the road. Road was potholed after the bypass, added to that the truck traffic, through which we had to zigzag, was a bit uncomfortable & cut down our pace. this went on till the Andhra Border.
From Tada the border town, road condition improved with a smooth 4 lane spread ahead of us, also the truck traffic eased. But encountered frequent two wheeler & tractors driving in wrong direction, another reason to be extra cautious, yes you read right "Tractors". But the smooth surface of the road was amazing to drive on till Nellore.
20 kms after Nellore Bypass the 4 lane suddenly became a wide 6 lane butter smooth highway. It was mostly straight bypassing all small towns and we could see atleast two km ahead. Added to that very light traffic. We got an average of 80Km/h without actually crossing 100kmph & without stress. It had rained and every thing on either side of the highway was green. Reached Ongole town which had a brand new bypass that went very wide of the town with two huge flyovers which crossed the railway line twice. It was so far, that we could not even spot Ongole town. Was a pleasure to drive on this section.
We reached outskirts of Guntur & took the turn towards Tenali. Driving to Tenali is always special. We did it last year, came via Vijayawada, now we were entering from Guntur side.
The road to Tenali after the turn from NH 16 is undivided 2 lane narrow road with good surface. But plenty of local mixed Traffic. It was great to finally reach our hometown driving again from Noida.
From Tada the border town, road condition improved with a smooth 4 lane spread ahead of us, also the truck traffic eased. But encountered frequent two wheeler & tractors driving in wrong direction, another reason to be extra cautious, yes you read right "Tractors". But the smooth surface of the road was amazing to drive on till Nellore.
20 kms after Nellore Bypass the 4 lane suddenly became a wide 6 lane butter smooth highway. It was mostly straight bypassing all small towns and we could see atleast two km ahead. Added to that very light traffic. We got an average of 80Km/h without actually crossing 100kmph & without stress. It had rained and every thing on either side of the highway was green. Reached Ongole town which had a brand new bypass that went very wide of the town with two huge flyovers which crossed the railway line twice. It was so far, that we could not even spot Ongole town. Was a pleasure to drive on this section.
We reached outskirts of Guntur & took the turn towards Tenali. Driving to Tenali is always special. We did it last year, came via Vijayawada, now we were entering from Guntur side.
The road to Tenali after the turn from NH 16 is undivided 2 lane narrow road with good surface. But plenty of local mixed Traffic. It was great to finally reach our hometown driving again from Noida.
Fasttag
: No fastag at the three tolls on Chennai bypass, paid cash.
All the 6 Tolls after that till turn to Tenali are all having Fastag with Auto sensors, dedicated lanes ( Strictly enforced) and very fast. Could clear toll under a min.
All the 6 Tolls after that till turn to Tenali are all having Fastag with Auto sensors, dedicated lanes ( Strictly enforced) and very fast. Could clear toll under a min.
Facilities
: Not many decent facilities till NH5 Food Plaza above the
Tangutur Toll.
This deserves a mention. This unique food court is directly over the Toll Plaza with great view of the highway below. Excellent choice of delicacies and each one of them delicious. Good rest rooms too. We stopped for breakfast and taste was so good, we had to call Tenali & inform we would not be able to take lunch An excellent buffet for Rs199, A must for anyone travelling in this section.
Another recommended stop. Immediately after Budhanam Toll after Naidupeta town, Visit the Tirumala Dairy outlet on the Right side for Milk and Kova products. The Gulabjam sweet here is very famous. We found people purchasing worth many killos. We also go few of each and had coffee from our kit. We did not find any toilets at this facility.
Day 9 - 10: 19th - 20th Nov 2017.
We HAD to take our car to our Village Pothumarru, 14 kms from Tenali. No trip of ours could be complete without a visit to our ancestral village. For us, it gives extreme satisfaction to be able to drive across the country to the village and park our car near our ancestral home & paddy fields. We did this on 19th, spent a very peaceful time walking in the paddy fields which were now turning brown from green a great sight. And had lots of coconut water.
20th November is special as its my mother's birthday. We celebrated by inviting all relatives to a newly opened food court for dinner, which actually boasts as the first food court of Tenali. The food was delicious. Also bought some snacks for the return drive.
This deserves a mention. This unique food court is directly over the Toll Plaza with great view of the highway below. Excellent choice of delicacies and each one of them delicious. Good rest rooms too. We stopped for breakfast and taste was so good, we had to call Tenali & inform we would not be able to take lunch An excellent buffet for Rs199, A must for anyone travelling in this section.
Another recommended stop. Immediately after Budhanam Toll after Naidupeta town, Visit the Tirumala Dairy outlet on the Right side for Milk and Kova products. The Gulabjam sweet here is very famous. We found people purchasing worth many killos. We also go few of each and had coffee from our kit. We did not find any toilets at this facility.
Day 9 - 10: 19th - 20th Nov 2017.
We HAD to take our car to our Village Pothumarru, 14 kms from Tenali. No trip of ours could be complete without a visit to our ancestral village. For us, it gives extreme satisfaction to be able to drive across the country to the village and park our car near our ancestral home & paddy fields. We did this on 19th, spent a very peaceful time walking in the paddy fields which were now turning brown from green a great sight. And had lots of coconut water.
20th November is special as its my mother's birthday. We celebrated by inviting all relatives to a newly opened food court for dinner, which actually boasts as the first food court of Tenali. The food was delicious. Also bought some snacks for the return drive.
Road & Driving Conditions: Tenali to Vijayawada is two lane undivided road but smooth surface. We did not encounter much traffic in the early hours and soon crossed the river Krishna to enter Vijayawada.
A tough challenge lied ahead - Crossing Vijayawada without getting lost. The construction of main flyover was still underway since many years and the road is closed for traffic. So any one going towards Hyderabad had to go through many small streets, with numerous left & right turns, a tunnel, and a railway bridge. Attempting at day time is an impossibility due to the chaotic traffic, hence we started in the early hours. And we were not so sure about the route to take, google maps confused us with many route options, as if saying its your problem. We had just crossed the main bus stand when we found ourselves behind a public bus going towards Nandigama town which is on the Hyderabad route. We thanked our luck & just followed it, which guided us expertly out of the narrow streets of Vijayawada and on to the highway. I blinked a thank you with the lights and passed it.
Vijayawada - Hyderabad highway was great to drive on and we faced little traffic. We stopped for mandatory breakfast at Seven Restaurant. Took the ORR at Hyderabad to reach Kendriya Vihar and again took the ORR to reach Chandanagar. ORR was a delight as usual.
Vijayawada - Hyderabad highway was great to drive on and we faced little traffic. We stopped for mandatory breakfast at Seven Restaurant. Took the ORR at Hyderabad to reach Kendriya Vihar and again took the ORR to reach Chandanagar. ORR was a delight as usual.
Fastag
: All tolls except Pathangi Toll are Fastag enabled with excellent auto sensors. Cleared the tolls in a minute. At Pathangi Toll fastag was not
working.
Facilities/Breaks
: There were some Hotels after Vijayawada on NH. But the best place is 7 Food Court after Suryapet. Excellent food, great ambiance, plenty of parking space. Good restrooms. Nearing Hyderabad,
before the ORR, there were very good restaurants, though we did not have the
opportunity to try any one.
Day 12: 24Nov 2017 - Chandanagar – Medchal – Adilabad – Hinganghat – Nagpur –Savner – Chhindwara – Hotel Kusum Valley, Narsinghpur.
Day 12: 24Nov 2017 - Chandanagar – Medchal – Adilabad – Hinganghat – Nagpur –Savner – Chhindwara – Hotel Kusum Valley, Narsinghpur.
Chandanagar to ORR was bad & confusing for most part involving narrow roads. From Medchal NH 44 was an excellent 6 lane highway till Maharashtra border at Penganga River. However we had to be very cautious near towns as there were plenty of intersections and no proper markings. Overall it was a good road with visibility of at least a km ahead most of the times.
After crossing in to MH at Penganga River, the road became undivided, narrow & pretty bad for some distance. After Integrated checkpost, 4 lane work was under progress with flyovers under construction. The road up to Daroda Toll was a mixed lot with about 20 Kms very bad & no surface around Wadki town. Rest of the 60km to Hinganghat the 4 lane work was complete minus proper markings or signage. We along with other and motorists were confused if there was a diversion or no diversion. If not careful we would have ended up driving on the wrong side. We could maintain around 60kmph.
The
Hinganghat Railway flyover was almost ready. The central portion of the flyover, just above the railway tracks was pending to be joined.
Encountered much Traffic
in Nagpur city after crossing the ORR due to the Metro construction. The road got pretty narrow making it difficult to negotiate in the traffic.
After crossing the IRR to the north it got better, so was the Savner bypass.
We took the route towards Chhindwara due to its excellent surface & nice scenery, although undivided it was free of traffic. The drive after Chhindwara was great with excellent surface and the scenic ghat section added pleasure to the drive. The road went winding up & down the hills through small & content villages.
The road to the Kusum valley Hotel in Narsinghpur was bad from the turn from NH 44 and got stuck for 10 min at the railway crossing in midst of local town traffic.
After crossing the IRR to the north it got better, so was the Savner bypass.
We took the route towards Chhindwara due to its excellent surface & nice scenery, although undivided it was free of traffic. The drive after Chhindwara was great with excellent surface and the scenic ghat section added pleasure to the drive. The road went winding up & down the hills through small & content villages.
The road to the Kusum valley Hotel in Narsinghpur was bad from the turn from NH 44 and got stuck for 10 min at the railway crossing in midst of local town traffic.
Fastag
: Very bad experience with fastag in this section. Of the 14 tolls only at 5
Tolls Fastag was available and at only 2 tolls Fastag auto censor worked and
at 3 tolls Manual Scan was done which took more time than paying cash. At rest of the 9 Tolls either fastag was not installed
or not working. The manual scanning took a lot of time & is a waste. Once we reach the toll booth, they call on the scanner, which is searched & then brought out. It does not work immediately as the toll attendant uses his skill to point at the tag & it reads randomly, after which the gate is lifted. This takes away 5- 10 min depending on the skill of the attendant. At the cash only tolls, the Fastag lane was permanently
barricaded, a sheer waste of time.
Facilities/Breaks : There are no decent restaurants till nearing Nagpur in this section. We found a Ghar Dhaba at BP petrol station near Adilabad but was pathetically maintained. Probably need to go inside towns for any decent restaurant. After entering Maharastra the best options are all near Nagpur. And after Nagpur absolutely nothing till Narsinghpur, except Chhindwara, but need to go into the town.
We had coffee in between near Adilabad and had breakfast of Bread & buns brought along.
Had a wonderful brunch at Vithal Kamat restaurant at Buttibori, near Nagpur.
We had coffee in between near Adilabad and had breakfast of Bread & buns brought along.
Had a wonderful brunch at Vithal Kamat restaurant at Buttibori, near Nagpur.
Stayed
at Hotel Kusum Valley for the night. We had booked a suite and found to be good. Neat & clean room & washrooms. For food we had Poha - the local delicacy and buttermilk. both were tasty. Staff were good and helpful. Its good for a short one night stay. The advantage is that this place is mid way between Hyderabad and Delhi if doing this in one stop.
Day 13: 25 Nov 2017 - Hotel Kusum Valley, Narsinghpur – Sagar – Jhansi – Gwalior – Agra – YEW –KV-2, Noida.
Driving & Road Conditions : Today was the last day of our Road Trip across India.
Once we turned on to NH44 from the narrow lanes of Narsinghpur, it was a breeze till Jhansi. The road was excellent, though at some stretches the surface was a bit worn-out, compared to our drive on the same stretch during November 2016, and the resurfacing work was going on.
The traffic was negligible till Jhansi, but had to be vary of cattle coming on to the highway. And they did in many occasions, sitting pretty on the center lane.
Jhansi to Gwalior stretch is in the same worst condition with unruly traffic particularly around Datia & Dabra towns, where we were left wondering how to get out of the town.
The stretch after Gwalior bypass and outskirts of Agra is good but there is heavy local traffic.
Once we turned on to NH44 from the narrow lanes of Narsinghpur, it was a breeze till Jhansi. The road was excellent, though at some stretches the surface was a bit worn-out, compared to our drive on the same stretch during November 2016, and the resurfacing work was going on.
The traffic was negligible till Jhansi, but had to be vary of cattle coming on to the highway. And they did in many occasions, sitting pretty on the center lane.
Jhansi to Gwalior stretch is in the same worst condition with unruly traffic particularly around Datia & Dabra towns, where we were left wondering how to get out of the town.
The stretch after Gwalior bypass and outskirts of Agra is good but there is heavy local traffic.
We reached outskirts of Agra at 14:30hrs and it was chaotic to say the least. Even though we took the Inner Ring Road via the cantonment to YEW, it was a pain to drive through. Only the cantonment part was nice. Passing or By passing Agra during day time is a nightmare. Got on to the Yamuna Express way at 15:00 hrs and the home run was smooth with a dinner break after Mathura.
As we got on to the expressway we felt as though were home already. We reached home by 18:30hrs completing 6050kms
As we got on to the expressway we felt as though were home already. We reached home by 18:30hrs completing 6050kms
Fastag: Not a good experience with fastag. Only 2 tolls auto sensor
was working. 4 tolls manual scan was done, took considerable
time. 2 tolls had inactive Fastag. On YEW so far Fastag was not enabled & had to pay the 415 rupees.
Facilities/
Breaks: No decent facilities on NH 44
till YEW, unless going into towns. However there were Dhabas and can take a chance.
Sagar has some very good restaurants. Hotel Deepali is very good, approachable from Highway. (about 4km ) There is Pathway Retreat on Sagar Bypass and probably good, but was not opened when we crossed Sagar Bypass. On YEW , the Food Street at Mathura Toll is the best on YEW.
Sagar has some very good restaurants. Hotel Deepali is very good, approachable from Highway. (about 4km ) There is Pathway Retreat on Sagar Bypass and probably good, but was not opened when we crossed Sagar Bypass. On YEW , the Food Street at Mathura Toll is the best on YEW.
Epilogue:
We are extremely thankful for the wonderful wishes from Friends & relatives without whose motivation we would not have made this trip.
We cannot forget the memories of the drive, meeting friends & family during the journey, their hospitality & the lovely time spent in the car talking, laughing and watching the country.
Thanks for reading. Hoping to plan the next one soon.
With Great effort and patience we have prepared the time & distance charts on actual. It might be interesting & very useful for fellow travelers. Click here for detailed Time Distance Charts of the entire trip
Trip Log / Time distance charts / logistics - Vijayamohan
Write up and Editing: Ravindra and Sivaram
Wonderful! Wishing you more pleasurable and noteworthy sojourns in the sub continent!
ReplyDeleteThank You for reading & for your wishes
DeleteIts a great trip North to south and to North exploring the Western route and North South corridor. Driving to dhanushkodi is excellent and pleasure to all driving enthusiasts.
ReplyDeleteGr8
ReplyDeletePerfectly described each and every situation. Kudos on this achievement and wish you many more like this. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Tushar. Glad you liked this. Appreciate your reading through
Delete