Bangalore - Shimoga
The day began at 3 :15 in the morning thanks to Danish’s nagging!! Well, thank god for it else I’d have been blogging this first post at noon and not at 8:00 a.m…!!
Stomach full of Coorg coffee, we left home (Koramangala) at 3 55 and picked everyone up and and headed to IISC (Malleshwaram) to meet another friend we’re not gonna meet for quite a while!! Owing to the empty roads we reached there really soon, met Eshita and left by 4 20, richer by a compass for me (as navigator) and a BMW book for Danish!
We took the Tumkur Road at 4 35, where our speed was limited as we hit truck traffic owing to construction on that road. We learnt soon enough that during night driving it’s always better to tail another vehicle. This helps when the vehicle you are tailing is driving at the same speed or slightly faster than you are and isn’t rash! You get a way out of all the truck traffic by following them and you get to know of all the road bumps well in advance!
After driving for 40.3 km we reached a toll gate and fished out Rs. 23. We made two mistakes :P we were concentrating on the toll gates and trucks we missed the bump a couple of feet away!! We had to screech to a halt but still took it pretty bad! The second mistake we made was to drive away without the toll ticket :P!!!
We reached CCD at 5 15, which is 22 km from the toll gate. The rest rooms are clean and it’s a place you can rest for a bit and replenish yourself with a strong cuppa! We did no such thing! Hey, I have Danish with me! ;D
We reached the second toll gate at 7 15, where we had to pay again! Had we kept the previous toll ticket, we’d have sailed right through!
At 76.3 km (5 30 a.m.) after setting out we came to a fork in the road where we took NH 206 from NH 4 that we were earlier following. Most trucks and heavy vehicles take NH 4 which is why we chose the other one. NH 206 goes through Shimoga-Honnavur-Karwar-Ankola-Madagaon-Panaji. NH 4 goes through Hubli.
By the time we reached a small town called Gubi around 5 50 a.m. (97.2 km), we (read I) was starving. We opened a packet of uncle chips (brought specially over from Delhi).
On the highway you make pseudo friends. These guys last you till quite some time, they overtake, play hide and seek and you miss them when they go away!!! We made our very own friend – KA 19 MB 7799 – Qualis! This “friend” was still with us at 153 km at 6 33 a.m. from Yashwanpur.
We crossed Siddapura at 164 km reading. This was when day broke at 6 45 a.m… this is when we left our Qualis friend wa-ay behind!! *sigh*
215.6 km. 7 23 a.m. – Kadur.
A bad stretch from 252 km to 253. Speeds reduced considerably.
After driving for a while, around 8 15, after Badravati at 274 km reading, we hit a stretch that was beautiful… Blanketed with fog and not too cold at all, it is a really nice drive. Although this might slow you down a bit.
We reached Shimoga at 284 km at 8 26 a.m.
Next post… soon :)
The day began at 3 :15 in the morning thanks to Danish’s nagging!! Well, thank god for it else I’d have been blogging this first post at noon and not at 8:00 a.m…!!
Stomach full of Coorg coffee, we left home (Koramangala) at 3 55 and picked everyone up and and headed to IISC (Malleshwaram) to meet another friend we’re not gonna meet for quite a while!! Owing to the empty roads we reached there really soon, met Eshita and left by 4 20, richer by a compass for me (as navigator) and a BMW book for Danish!
We took the Tumkur Road at 4 35, where our speed was limited as we hit truck traffic owing to construction on that road. We learnt soon enough that during night driving it’s always better to tail another vehicle. This helps when the vehicle you are tailing is driving at the same speed or slightly faster than you are and isn’t rash! You get a way out of all the truck traffic by following them and you get to know of all the road bumps well in advance!
After driving for 40.3 km we reached a toll gate and fished out Rs. 23. We made two mistakes :P we were concentrating on the toll gates and trucks we missed the bump a couple of feet away!! We had to screech to a halt but still took it pretty bad! The second mistake we made was to drive away without the toll ticket :P!!!
We reached CCD at 5 15, which is 22 km from the toll gate. The rest rooms are clean and it’s a place you can rest for a bit and replenish yourself with a strong cuppa! We did no such thing! Hey, I have Danish with me! ;D
We reached the second toll gate at 7 15, where we had to pay again! Had we kept the previous toll ticket, we’d have sailed right through!
At 76.3 km (5 30 a.m.) after setting out we came to a fork in the road where we took NH 206 from NH 4 that we were earlier following. Most trucks and heavy vehicles take NH 4 which is why we chose the other one. NH 206 goes through Shimoga-Honnavur-Karwar-Ankola-Madagaon-Panaji. NH 4 goes through Hubli.
By the time we reached a small town called Gubi around 5 50 a.m. (97.2 km), we (read I) was starving. We opened a packet of uncle chips (brought specially over from Delhi).
On the highway you make pseudo friends. These guys last you till quite some time, they overtake, play hide and seek and you miss them when they go away!!! We made our very own friend – KA 19 MB 7799 – Qualis! This “friend” was still with us at 153 km at 6 33 a.m. from Yashwanpur.
We crossed Siddapura at 164 km reading. This was when day broke at 6 45 a.m… this is when we left our Qualis friend wa-ay behind!! *sigh*
215.6 km. 7 23 a.m. – Kadur.
A bad stretch from 252 km to 253. Speeds reduced considerably.
After driving for a while, around 8 15, after Badravati at 274 km reading, we hit a stretch that was beautiful… Blanketed with fog and not too cold at all, it is a really nice drive. Although this might slow you down a bit.
We reached Shimoga at 284 km at 8 26 a.m.
Next post… soon :)
hey guys .. sounds like fun.. all the very best for the rest of this legendary journey :)
ReplyDeleteThanks kavi :) Yeah, it really is tonnes of fun. Come back to Bangalore and we'll definitely so something like this together!! It's crazy fun, phenomenal learning and an absolute experience!
ReplyDelete