Click for photos here if the word don't entertain you...
And, to track the tour:
Click "Bangalore to Aurangabad" and "Aurangabad to
Bangalore" here
Note: Follow the links throughout to read a bit about the place, mostly Wiki links
Note: Follow the links throughout to read a bit about the place, mostly Wiki links
A trip to rejuvenate is
always on the cards in October, when son has his holiday's. "Where
to" is the only question and options are
too many and not easy to finalise...
With son's holidays from
1st October to 12th, our plan was to take off for a week and make it 9/10 days.
Let's drive was the unanimous decision and Maharashtra was finalised (Thanks Pranav for suggestions). Wanted
some freedom with the destinations and nothing was booked. A look at the map
and Ajanta/Ellora was the farthest we could see a known place and like the
earlier trips, we decided to cover whatever we can on the way and be flexible
with it...
One of the places on this trip was suggested by Vishruta taking inspiration from an Auto Magazine he was reading and it proved to be one of the best places we visited! Keep reading to know more...
One of the places on this trip was suggested by Vishruta taking inspiration from an Auto Magazine he was reading and it proved to be one of the best places we visited! Keep reading to know more...
Day
1 : 1st October 2016 : Bangalore - Davangere
Stay : Davangere, In-laws place
Distance Covered : 260 KMs
Total Distance : 260 KMs
We decided to take a short break on the first day after few hectic weeks because of Bandh/Saturday working..
Started around 7AM and with a breakfast stop near the house, it was a non-stop drive till Davangere except for a short fuel break in between. We were in Davangere by 11:30AM. The day was over without getting out of the house.
Stay : Davangere, In-laws place
Distance Covered : 260 KMs
Total Distance : 260 KMs
We decided to take a short break on the first day after few hectic weeks because of Bandh/Saturday working..
Started around 7AM and with a breakfast stop near the house, it was a non-stop drive till Davangere except for a short fuel break in between. We were in Davangere by 11:30AM. The day was over without getting out of the house.
Day
2 : 2nd October 2016 : Davangere - Kolhapur (Via Belgaum) - Pandharpur
Stay : Aishwarya Hotel, Pandharpur
Distance Covered : 540 KMs
Total Distance : 800 KMs
Stay : Aishwarya Hotel, Pandharpur
Distance Covered : 540 KMs
Total Distance : 800 KMs
Started at 6:30AM and off we were on a good highway. The roads are good till Kolhapur and we were near Kolhapur (300+ KMs) by 12 Noon. On the way, took a break on the outskirts of Belgaum to purchase the famous "Kunda", though not from Purohit's who are famous for that.
Being the second day of Navratri and Sunday, Kolhapur was too crowded. Mahalakshmi temple here is one of very few in India having Lakshmi as a deity (other one I can think of is Goravanahalli near Tumkur). With the serpent line it looked almost impossible to get a Darshan on the same day:-). We had an option of "Mukh (Face) Darshan which will be a Darshan 20 feet away from the deity and went for it. It was little irritating to see mis management of crowd (as always).
On normal days, there are touts who can get you inside quickly through back door for a fee. (No comments here, I will move forward).
Kolhapur is famous for "Kolhapuri's" which are sandals made from Buffalo skin. Did some shopping for that here.
Left Kolhapur around 4:30 and we decided to drive towards Pandharpur which is 175 KMs away to gain sometime and avoid the rush next day at temple. The roads are broken throughout and the pattern in this part of Maharastra continued for few more days, till we hit Ellora. Reached Pandharpur around 9PM and even the pattern of driving late in the evening continued for few more days to gain time.
This was one of the longest driving day in our trip. The hotel was decent enough.
Day
3 : 3rd October 2016 : Pandharpur - Solapur - Tuljapur - Beed
Stay: Yashraj Inn, Beed
Distance Covered : 260 KMs
Total Distance : 1060 KMs
The decision to drive paid off. We went for an early Darshan (6:30 AM) and finished it within an hour, though we had to go through a queue spanning multiple buildings. It was a brisk walk through the place. Also visited Kaikadi Maharaj Ashram which has statues depicting epics and is a nice place in this remote corner.
We started after breakfast and were in Solapur (75 KMs) by the lunch time. Solapur is famous for Bedsheets/Towels, Beedi and Sugarcane factories. The only major shopping on this tour was done here for Bedsheets/Towels.
In Tuljapur (50KMs from Solapur) we were again for a quick shock as the police diverted us and made us park at the bottom of the hill. During Navarathri, this side of Maharashtra is abuzz with Tuljabhavani pandals. Again, group of touts asking for money to make a quick Darshan.
Two gentlemen (supposed to be from Police Department at Mumbai) coming down from the temple told us to directly go to the temple as there was not much crowd. We took back our car, pleaded with police and were let go off near the temple which was around 1.5 KMs away. Near the temple, there were enough parking places available and we had our Darshan in 1.5 Hours. Near the deity, there were a group of policemen with their boss, who wanted to take Darshan and our family was allowed with them to go close to the deity. We left Tuljapur around 6PM.
Wanted to gain some time here and looking at the map said, Beed is the next big town at 130 KMs in the direction we were going....
The thrilling part of the drive were these 130 KMs as it started to get very dark around 6:30 and started raining. With the half broken roads which were being widened for our company it was a situation to question our decision of moving ahead. With no towns near by only option was to keep driving.
At around 7:30 PM, the situation became a little worse when we couldn't see the road in front perfectly, and it seemed to be hazy. After 2 minutes, it stuck to me we were driving in thick fog during that time of the day! This situation continued for next 30 minutes and I just drove behind a small truck (with a safe distance of course, taking the tail lamp as a clue) which was zipping through with confidence.
Reached Beed at 10 PM and after searching for few hotels for cleanliness, settled for Yashraj Inn.
Total of 1000 KMs, yeah!!!
Stay: Yashraj Inn, Beed
Distance Covered : 260 KMs
Total Distance : 1060 KMs
The decision to drive paid off. We went for an early Darshan (6:30 AM) and finished it within an hour, though we had to go through a queue spanning multiple buildings. It was a brisk walk through the place. Also visited Kaikadi Maharaj Ashram which has statues depicting epics and is a nice place in this remote corner.
We started after breakfast and were in Solapur (75 KMs) by the lunch time. Solapur is famous for Bedsheets/Towels, Beedi and Sugarcane factories. The only major shopping on this tour was done here for Bedsheets/Towels.
In Tuljapur (50KMs from Solapur) we were again for a quick shock as the police diverted us and made us park at the bottom of the hill. During Navarathri, this side of Maharashtra is abuzz with Tuljabhavani pandals. Again, group of touts asking for money to make a quick Darshan.
Two gentlemen (supposed to be from Police Department at Mumbai) coming down from the temple told us to directly go to the temple as there was not much crowd. We took back our car, pleaded with police and were let go off near the temple which was around 1.5 KMs away. Near the temple, there were enough parking places available and we had our Darshan in 1.5 Hours. Near the deity, there were a group of policemen with their boss, who wanted to take Darshan and our family was allowed with them to go close to the deity. We left Tuljapur around 6PM.
Wanted to gain some time here and looking at the map said, Beed is the next big town at 130 KMs in the direction we were going....
The thrilling part of the drive were these 130 KMs as it started to get very dark around 6:30 and started raining. With the half broken roads which were being widened for our company it was a situation to question our decision of moving ahead. With no towns near by only option was to keep driving.
At around 7:30 PM, the situation became a little worse when we couldn't see the road in front perfectly, and it seemed to be hazy. After 2 minutes, it stuck to me we were driving in thick fog during that time of the day! This situation continued for next 30 minutes and I just drove behind a small truck (with a safe distance of course, taking the tail lamp as a clue) which was zipping through with confidence.
Reached Beed at 10 PM and after searching for few hotels for cleanliness, settled for Yashraj Inn.
Total of 1000 KMs, yeah!!!
Day
4 : 4th October 2016 : Beed - Lonar - Ajanta
Stay : New KP Park, Ajanta
Distance Covered : 360 KMs
Total Distance : 1420 KMs
The hidden place was to be uncovered today! Plan was to Visit Lonar and then stay at Aurangabad. Ellora is near to Aurangabad and Ajanta another 100 KMs to the north.
We started around 7/7:30 and breakfast was not in sight anywhere. We decided to move ahead and search on the way or just have fruits/biscuits and energy bars (oops, chocolates :-)). No luck throughout for a clean looking place and we filled our stomachs on fruits/vegetables and the like. The road goes through Jalna and roads are as pathetic as ever and at few places we could see the craters on road, which we were supposed to see at Lonar.
Lonar is the only place on earth with a Crater on Basalt rock and guess its the 5th largest lake created by a Meteor. They have a small road inside the lake circumference and we can drive in that road with few watch towers. It was a breathtaking lake and one of the best places I have visited! Vishruta got all the praise he deserved for telling about this...
The MTDC (Maharastra Tourism Dev Corp) hotel is on the rim of this lake and has a resort. We had our afternoon lunch here (remember we were empty stomach till now...) and this place had nice Phulka's and Dal. This was so nice, we packed for the evening/night from here as the hunger from morning was still fresh in mind.
About this point, wife suggested why we shouldn't go directly to Ajanta as both Aurangabad and Ajanta were same distance. This was a good suggestion as we will have to go to Ajanta and come back (100 KMs each side) if we stay in Aurangabad. A quick search on Trip Advisor and the like showed that there are options to stay in Ajanta.
Left from Lonar at around 4PM and through again some patchy roads were in Ajanta at around 7 PM.
At Ajanta, all hotels are named as Resorts and they are mostly small bungalow types converted to Hotels. Ajanta is a hilly/forest area and hence we had lot of insects around because of the rain. While the hotel was clean enough, the rain had created a havoc around the small town with black soil all around. The staff Ratnakar at the hotel was particularly helpful. When he saw the car with KA registration he was curious on where I am from. When I said I stay in Bangalore and native of Mangalore, he was lit up and said he worked in a Bunt's (a community from Mangalore) hotel at Aurangabad for 30 years. He is now a resident of Ajanta and settled there with family and some piece of land for agriculture.
Stay : New KP Park, Ajanta
Distance Covered : 360 KMs
Total Distance : 1420 KMs
The hidden place was to be uncovered today! Plan was to Visit Lonar and then stay at Aurangabad. Ellora is near to Aurangabad and Ajanta another 100 KMs to the north.
We started around 7/7:30 and breakfast was not in sight anywhere. We decided to move ahead and search on the way or just have fruits/biscuits and energy bars (oops, chocolates :-)). No luck throughout for a clean looking place and we filled our stomachs on fruits/vegetables and the like. The road goes through Jalna and roads are as pathetic as ever and at few places we could see the craters on road, which we were supposed to see at Lonar.
Lonar is the only place on earth with a Crater on Basalt rock and guess its the 5th largest lake created by a Meteor. They have a small road inside the lake circumference and we can drive in that road with few watch towers. It was a breathtaking lake and one of the best places I have visited! Vishruta got all the praise he deserved for telling about this...
The MTDC (Maharastra Tourism Dev Corp) hotel is on the rim of this lake and has a resort. We had our afternoon lunch here (remember we were empty stomach till now...) and this place had nice Phulka's and Dal. This was so nice, we packed for the evening/night from here as the hunger from morning was still fresh in mind.
About this point, wife suggested why we shouldn't go directly to Ajanta as both Aurangabad and Ajanta were same distance. This was a good suggestion as we will have to go to Ajanta and come back (100 KMs each side) if we stay in Aurangabad. A quick search on Trip Advisor and the like showed that there are options to stay in Ajanta.
Left from Lonar at around 4PM and through again some patchy roads were in Ajanta at around 7 PM.
At Ajanta, all hotels are named as Resorts and they are mostly small bungalow types converted to Hotels. Ajanta is a hilly/forest area and hence we had lot of insects around because of the rain. While the hotel was clean enough, the rain had created a havoc around the small town with black soil all around. The staff Ratnakar at the hotel was particularly helpful. When he saw the car with KA registration he was curious on where I am from. When I said I stay in Bangalore and native of Mangalore, he was lit up and said he worked in a Bunt's (a community from Mangalore) hotel at Aurangabad for 30 years. He is now a resident of Ajanta and settled there with family and some piece of land for agriculture.
Day
5 : 5th October 2016 : Ajanta - Daulatabad - Grishneshwar - Ellora
Stay : Vridhavan Resort, Ellora
Distance Covered : 150 KMs
Total Distance : 1570 KMs
Ajanta caves open at 9AM (Off on Monday) and this gave us sometime to have a little relaxed morning. The cave entrance was a kilometre from the hotel and from there we have to take a government bus to the caves which is 4 KMs. The buses start around 8:45 AM and we took one of the first buses. These caves were built during 2nd Century BC to 4th to 6th Century AD. These caves were deserted after probably 6th century and finally discovered by a British Officer hunting a tiger in 1819. (The place is 20 KMs by road and called Ajanta View Point)
I will not go over the history as Wiki link above would be a good place to look...
We took a tour guide for us at the caves. The guides are appointed by the government and the rates are a little steep at Rs. 1370 (compared to other places), but definitely worth as we will get to know all the stories of paintings and in a sequence. We were appointed a gentleman of 72 years as a guide who was from a neighbouring village and been in the guiding profession for 42 years after completing his MA (History) and 2 year guiding course. He takes only one client and goes back to his farm where he works with his son and daughter in law who are MSc and BSc in agriculture.
The tour takes around 3 hours to complete and scintillating to look at the clarity of paintings which were done some 2000 years back. Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has done extremely good job to preserve these paintings by taking off the layers of dust/mud without touching the paintings. All the paintings we see are original and not done any touch up.
Checked out from the hotel after lunch (the hotel had a restaurant, if we can call it so but the food was good and simple) and started to Ellora. Plan was to stay at Ellora or Aurangabad (in case we can finish Ellora).
Reached Ellora at 4:45 PM and got to know the caves close at 6 PM and the time will not be sufficient. We had seen that Daulatabad (Remember Mohd-Bin-Tughlaq?) was on the way to Aurangabad and just 10 KM away. Went back to Daulatabad fort and started exploring the fort as we had another 1.5 hours before the close. This fort is massive and will need a good amount of walking to complete. The last part of the fort leading to the top palace with steps through a dark room (Bool Bulaiya) is the noteworthy feature of this cave.
Back to the parking place, start the car and the car feels strange....and its a flat tyre at 6:45 PM. The foot pump comes for the rescue and filled the car tyre with some air. A quick check with the locals and, we have the puncture shop in 200 metres. After a quick fix (it was a splinter of gravel pierced while driving through the under construction roads..) we directly went to Grishneshwara Temple (within Ellora village) which is one of the twelve Jyothirlinga's. The temple didn't have any queue and was done in 15 minutes.
Searched for the hotel, which was another 500 metres from the hotel and it was the end of the day.
Stay : Vridhavan Resort, Ellora
Distance Covered : 150 KMs
Total Distance : 1570 KMs
Ajanta caves open at 9AM (Off on Monday) and this gave us sometime to have a little relaxed morning. The cave entrance was a kilometre from the hotel and from there we have to take a government bus to the caves which is 4 KMs. The buses start around 8:45 AM and we took one of the first buses. These caves were built during 2nd Century BC to 4th to 6th Century AD. These caves were deserted after probably 6th century and finally discovered by a British Officer hunting a tiger in 1819. (The place is 20 KMs by road and called Ajanta View Point)
I will not go over the history as Wiki link above would be a good place to look...
We took a tour guide for us at the caves. The guides are appointed by the government and the rates are a little steep at Rs. 1370 (compared to other places), but definitely worth as we will get to know all the stories of paintings and in a sequence. We were appointed a gentleman of 72 years as a guide who was from a neighbouring village and been in the guiding profession for 42 years after completing his MA (History) and 2 year guiding course. He takes only one client and goes back to his farm where he works with his son and daughter in law who are MSc and BSc in agriculture.
The tour takes around 3 hours to complete and scintillating to look at the clarity of paintings which were done some 2000 years back. Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has done extremely good job to preserve these paintings by taking off the layers of dust/mud without touching the paintings. All the paintings we see are original and not done any touch up.
Checked out from the hotel after lunch (the hotel had a restaurant, if we can call it so but the food was good and simple) and started to Ellora. Plan was to stay at Ellora or Aurangabad (in case we can finish Ellora).
Reached Ellora at 4:45 PM and got to know the caves close at 6 PM and the time will not be sufficient. We had seen that Daulatabad (Remember Mohd-Bin-Tughlaq?) was on the way to Aurangabad and just 10 KM away. Went back to Daulatabad fort and started exploring the fort as we had another 1.5 hours before the close. This fort is massive and will need a good amount of walking to complete. The last part of the fort leading to the top palace with steps through a dark room (Bool Bulaiya) is the noteworthy feature of this cave.
Back to the parking place, start the car and the car feels strange....and its a flat tyre at 6:45 PM. The foot pump comes for the rescue and filled the car tyre with some air. A quick check with the locals and, we have the puncture shop in 200 metres. After a quick fix (it was a splinter of gravel pierced while driving through the under construction roads..) we directly went to Grishneshwara Temple (within Ellora village) which is one of the twelve Jyothirlinga's. The temple didn't have any queue and was done in 15 minutes.
Searched for the hotel, which was another 500 metres from the hotel and it was the end of the day.
Day
6 : 6th October 2016 : Ellora - Aurangabad - Shani Signapur - Shirdi
Stay : Hotel Sai Gurusthan, Shirdi
Distance Covered : 200 KMs
Total Distance : 1770 KMs
Ellora opens at 6 AM (Tuesday is a holiday) and we were ready there by 6:30 AM. Ellora caves are divided into Hindu/Jain and Buddhist caves, while Ajanta was primarily Buddhist caves. Again, better to read history in the link above :-). While Ajanta is famous for paintings, Ellora is famous for Sculpture.
Hired a guide again at Ellora (same rates as Ajanta) and the gentleman here was with ASI for 35+ years as a guide. Cave 16, which is a temple cut-in from the rock is the major attraction (which is near the main road) and all other caves (except 1 to 16) need to be accessed again in State Bus. We were all done by around 11 AM.
The next stop was Aurangabad with Bibi ka Maqbara and Aurangabad Caves as destination. Bibi ka Maqbara is supposed to be a replica of Taj Mahal and if you have already seen Taj, just skip it. We finished the place in 5 minutes. Aurangabad also has 12 caves and 7th cave is the best of all. These caves look similar to the ones at Ajanta and Ellora.
Next stop was Shani Shingnapur with its famous Shani temple and even more famous houses without doors. While the temple didn't have much rush, there are touts all around telling what to do and what not to do + get as much money (Rs. 500 anyone?) as possible for oil and few threads. We conveniently ignored all of that. By the way, roads were good from Ellora till Shirdi.
We reached Shirdi at 7 PM and it was a Thursday (supposed to be auspicious for Baba's Darshan). We expected a lot of rush, but were done in 1.5 hours. Saved a lot of time here as the roads were good and we were able to get the Darshan the same day. Got the place at Hotel for 1000 rupee (AC Room) on Goibibo, while the rates at hotel were 1600+tax. This was a newly constructed hotel and one of the best budget hotels we have stayed in.
Son had an interesting point to make about Shirdi, "This place has more hotels/lodges than houses".
Stay : Hotel Sai Gurusthan, Shirdi
Distance Covered : 200 KMs
Total Distance : 1770 KMs
Ellora opens at 6 AM (Tuesday is a holiday) and we were ready there by 6:30 AM. Ellora caves are divided into Hindu/Jain and Buddhist caves, while Ajanta was primarily Buddhist caves. Again, better to read history in the link above :-). While Ajanta is famous for paintings, Ellora is famous for Sculpture.
Hired a guide again at Ellora (same rates as Ajanta) and the gentleman here was with ASI for 35+ years as a guide. Cave 16, which is a temple cut-in from the rock is the major attraction (which is near the main road) and all other caves (except 1 to 16) need to be accessed again in State Bus. We were all done by around 11 AM.
The next stop was Aurangabad with Bibi ka Maqbara and Aurangabad Caves as destination. Bibi ka Maqbara is supposed to be a replica of Taj Mahal and if you have already seen Taj, just skip it. We finished the place in 5 minutes. Aurangabad also has 12 caves and 7th cave is the best of all. These caves look similar to the ones at Ajanta and Ellora.
Next stop was Shani Shingnapur with its famous Shani temple and even more famous houses without doors. While the temple didn't have much rush, there are touts all around telling what to do and what not to do + get as much money (Rs. 500 anyone?) as possible for oil and few threads. We conveniently ignored all of that. By the way, roads were good from Ellora till Shirdi.
We reached Shirdi at 7 PM and it was a Thursday (supposed to be auspicious for Baba's Darshan). We expected a lot of rush, but were done in 1.5 hours. Saved a lot of time here as the roads were good and we were able to get the Darshan the same day. Got the place at Hotel for 1000 rupee (AC Room) on Goibibo, while the rates at hotel were 1600+tax. This was a newly constructed hotel and one of the best budget hotels we have stayed in.
Son had an interesting point to make about Shirdi, "This place has more hotels/lodges than houses".
Day
7 : 7th October 2016 : Shirdi - Gargoti - Nashik - Tryambakeshwar
Stay : Chikki's House, Nashik
Distance Covered : 180 KMs
Total Distance : 1950 KMs
After 6 days of travel the car looked a mess with all the rain that we had throughout. The hotel we stayed had a car wash/service station next to it which opened at 8 AM. Started little lazily towards Nashik as we knew roads would be good enough and plan was to have lunch at Nashik (Wife's Chikkamma stays there).
On the way, per Aunty's suggestion we visited Gargoti Museum which is around 20 KMs before Nashik at Sinnar. This museum is only one of its kind in Asia and one of the few in the world collecting natural crystals/gems (mainly from Maharashtra, Deccan Plateau) from around the world.
Nashik was done in a jiffy and a "home cooked food" after 6 days, we were off to Trimbakeshwar which has a shiva temple (2nd for this trip of the 12 Jyothirlinga's) and Kushavarta where Godavari takes course. Not much queue here and we visited Sita Guha, Panchavati, Ram Kund and the place of Kumbamela. Pandavaleni, which is similar to the caves at Ajanta/Ellora were closed by the time we were there. By this time, not much enthusiasm was left to explore more places.
Evening was spent at Mukthidama and we called it a day after that and it was talking time with the family till late.
A little shy of 2000 KMs by the end of day...
Stay : Chikki's House, Nashik
Distance Covered : 180 KMs
Total Distance : 1950 KMs
After 6 days of travel the car looked a mess with all the rain that we had throughout. The hotel we stayed had a car wash/service station next to it which opened at 8 AM. Started little lazily towards Nashik as we knew roads would be good enough and plan was to have lunch at Nashik (Wife's Chikkamma stays there).
On the way, per Aunty's suggestion we visited Gargoti Museum which is around 20 KMs before Nashik at Sinnar. This museum is only one of its kind in Asia and one of the few in the world collecting natural crystals/gems (mainly from Maharashtra, Deccan Plateau) from around the world.
Nashik was done in a jiffy and a "home cooked food" after 6 days, we were off to Trimbakeshwar which has a shiva temple (2nd for this trip of the 12 Jyothirlinga's) and Kushavarta where Godavari takes course. Not much queue here and we visited Sita Guha, Panchavati, Ram Kund and the place of Kumbamela. Pandavaleni, which is similar to the caves at Ajanta/Ellora were closed by the time we were there. By this time, not much enthusiasm was left to explore more places.
Evening was spent at Mukthidama and we called it a day after that and it was talking time with the family till late.
A little shy of 2000 KMs by the end of day...
Day
8 : 8th October 2016 : Nashik - Belgaum
Stay : At Girish's home, Belgaum
Distance Covered : 550 KMs
Total Distance : 2500 KMs
Started after breakfast at 8:30 AM and next two days are going to be hectic drive. Nashik to Pune is 200 KMs, but with the digging/road work all around its messy in patches. We took the Pune outskirts to join Pune-Bangalore highway. Stopped at a "nice looking" road side hotel for a lunch before Pune and joined the Bangalore Highway. Some rest for google map as there are no deviations now onwards.
The Pune bypass for around 10 KMs is full of skyscrapers and I am not too how many people live there!!!
A small incident to mention on the road, one motorbike fellow was moving with us, pointing to the tyres. If there was a problem, I should be feeling it first!!! Remembered the same racket running in Bangalore as well who make you to stop and might robber with slew of other bikers. Just ignored and hit 100 KMs and the guy was fast gone in the mirror.
A just happened accident on the highway where a XUV was turned 180 degree and in the trenches made us 10 KM slower for the rest of the day. While the accident seemed to have happened because of over speeding and looked a lot damaging, it was heartening to see Ambulances from nowhere on the otherwise deserted highway. India has come a long way in infrastructure!!
The stop for the day was Belagavi (Belgaum earlier), at friend Girish's house. We reached their house at 9 PM. After dinner outside and long conversations till 1 PM with their family (especially the 2 adorable kids...), it was time to call off.
The longest drive day for the trip with 550 KMs ended with one more day to go!
Stay : At Girish's home, Belgaum
Distance Covered : 550 KMs
Total Distance : 2500 KMs
Started after breakfast at 8:30 AM and next two days are going to be hectic drive. Nashik to Pune is 200 KMs, but with the digging/road work all around its messy in patches. We took the Pune outskirts to join Pune-Bangalore highway. Stopped at a "nice looking" road side hotel for a lunch before Pune and joined the Bangalore Highway. Some rest for google map as there are no deviations now onwards.
The Pune bypass for around 10 KMs is full of skyscrapers and I am not too how many people live there!!!
A small incident to mention on the road, one motorbike fellow was moving with us, pointing to the tyres. If there was a problem, I should be feeling it first!!! Remembered the same racket running in Bangalore as well who make you to stop and might robber with slew of other bikers. Just ignored and hit 100 KMs and the guy was fast gone in the mirror.
A just happened accident on the highway where a XUV was turned 180 degree and in the trenches made us 10 KM slower for the rest of the day. While the accident seemed to have happened because of over speeding and looked a lot damaging, it was heartening to see Ambulances from nowhere on the otherwise deserted highway. India has come a long way in infrastructure!!
The stop for the day was Belagavi (Belgaum earlier), at friend Girish's house. We reached their house at 9 PM. After dinner outside and long conversations till 1 PM with their family (especially the 2 adorable kids...), it was time to call off.
The longest drive day for the trip with 550 KMs ended with one more day to go!
Day
9 : 9th October 2016 : Belgaum - Davangere - Bangalore
Stay : Back Home!
Distance Covered : 515 KMs
Total Distance : 3015 KMs
The day started late with us getting up at 7:30 AM and having a leisurely breakfast of Paddu till 9 AM. We started at 10 AM and reached Davangere around 2 PM. After lunch, it was time for my favourite thing to do...sleeping. Got up at 4 PM and we started by 4:30 PM.
Customary clicks to record 3000 KMs on the odo at Nagarbavi and we were home by 9:30 PM. The total distance of 3015 KMs is the first time we have crossed 3000 KMs (previous highest was 2400 KMs to Trivandrum).
What's next? Stay Tuned....
Stay : Back Home!
Distance Covered : 515 KMs
Total Distance : 3015 KMs
The day started late with us getting up at 7:30 AM and having a leisurely breakfast of Paddu till 9 AM. We started at 10 AM and reached Davangere around 2 PM. After lunch, it was time for my favourite thing to do...sleeping. Got up at 4 PM and we started by 4:30 PM.
Customary clicks to record 3000 KMs on the odo at Nagarbavi and we were home by 9:30 PM. The total distance of 3015 KMs is the first time we have crossed 3000 KMs (previous highest was 2400 KMs to Trivandrum).
What's next? Stay Tuned....
