Apologies

This trip blog has been procrastinated, blocked, delayed and interrupted for as many reasons as could be imagined by an average human brain.

Promise to complete it this week with maps and routes for other enthusiasts who wish to make a trip on this route.

Happy to back on the blog !!

Satix

Hyderabad !!

I once again take the dreaded hyderabad evening traffic head on and weave my way through to the skoda showroom. For the first time in my life in India, I get a service ON TIME. Not only that they called me exactly 5 minutes before 6:00 PM, the scheduled delivery time, to inform that the car is done.

The car is returned back squeaky clean with every problem fixed. It roars as I step on the gas and head to my "5 star" hotel. We quickly pack our stuff and "check out". Checking out here is just tossing the key back to the bored guy watching some cheap gyrating actors on the TV.

Kaps calls to inform his location and offers to come over if required. My masochistic tendencies again play up and I decided to drive through the city traffic again to go and meet him wherever he is. He is at a friend's place and again we ask hundreds on the way to find the place. I drive into this gated community and there it was, the famous AP11 -69. The Red RS look-alike Rider.

Kaps looks at me and yells. "Kenny, is this how you look? Why dont you put up your pic on the social networking site?".. "Its too risky", i reply back. Risky for what is something i dont know.

He introduces me to Rahul his bulky "Passat obsessed" friend. Rahul quickly asks where we would like to go and in the same breath offers a single option. I agree without even hearing a word. I add, "I am ok wherever as long as I am not driving".. We take Kaps car and we drive down to this ice cream shop. On the way I am shown all the famous cars and car drivers living in hyderbad. We also stop by a building gate where the infamous unbeatable skoda driving chick lives. We all roll our windows and gasp, "WOW"..

3 icecreams for us and a bunch of manikchands for Kaps. Being a perfect host, he picks the tab for the icecreams and I pay for his manikchand.
Inquisitive Kaps asks what i do for a living etc. I feel he wanted to know what profession allows you to be a nut case to drive across india in your car. I tell him what I do and he is impressed, I spice my profession a bit and he goes wow. I am impressed at myself by now.

Rahul gets a call from home and we decide to get back quickly. We go back to Rahul's apartment where my car was parked. We also check out Rahul's Passat and hear a few escapades he had with it.

We all then decide to call it a day and wave goodbye. Kaps would be accompanying me for a few miles before splitting off towards his direction. We stop at a gas station before that and click loads of pictures of our cars.
It was getting late for us. The next destination is Nagpur and its quite far. We wave him goodbye and I get on NH7 which will take me to Nagpur. I make myself comfortable in my seat, load a few music CDs and I set the temperature. I stop at the city limit and I take one last picture of our Silicon Valley's skyline.

End of Leg 1

The first day began almost 18 hours later than the earlier decided time. Like any god fearing religious person, the journey began with a visit to the local deity to help me restraint myself from crushing the morons i would be meeting in my trip.
The route, finally, was agreed to be - Chennai, Vijayawada, Hyderbad, Nagpur. From there depending on the timelines adherence we would decide on the route.
Balu & I took a short nap in the evening after the last scrumptious chennai meal that we had at a local restaurant. As expected we woke up wondering if its too early or too late to start. Reluctantly we packed the stuff and shoved it into our car. Not realizing our blunder we had a string of visitors "wishing" us luck, of course at the same time shamelessly demanding some "kaas" for their problems.
The dhobi, the driver, the car cleaner, the maid, the gardner, the auto guy and finally the landlord's help.
We quickly gave them 'red each and decided to leave before we get showered more blessings.
The first half of the journey was nothing short of awesome. My one finger royal salute to all those who suggested not to travel at night. The road was perfectly lit, least traffic and the weather was just awesome. The coast line and railway line to your right, gave you the perfect view that you wanted at the start of your journey.
3 tea breaks for the 480 km trip to vijayawada and we touched river krishna bank with less than 5 hours of driving. A short one hour nap and then began what could be described aptly as the mother of all crappy roads. Vijayawada to Hyd is a one lane each side road without any divider and the roads have deep pits on each side. This 240 kms trip took us more than 8 hours to complete. To give you a probability math, we encountered 7 major accidents in this stretch. I will upload the pics of all of these accidents when i am back home.
Nearing Hyd we stopped at the famous Punjabi dhaba to taste the authentic andhra punjabi cusine. To be polite, I would just say that it killed the appetite for the day.
I called up Kaps in Hyd to let him know I was in the outskirts and would soon be there. I enquired for the skoda service center address to check my car. Little did I know that this short trip to the service center will make hyderbad earn the tag of most rude city in India. 63 auto drivers had to be asked till one finally agreed to show us the way to Sanath Nagar where the skoda service center was located. Hari, the manager was kind enough to get my car serviced on urgent basis and hand it over before 6:00 PM (I gave it at 2:00 PM). I however think that Kaps might have used some of his muscle/brain/contacts/strings to get my car preferrential treatment.

As I type, I am at the internet cafe below my motel trying to kill time until 6. I will probably meet up with Kaps if he gets free by evening.
A more detailed description of my first leg of journey would be posted as soon as I find time.

Before I sign off. Thank you guys for all the wishes that poured into my mail box. In return, I will let you all savor the awesome pics that I clicked on the way. :D

Ciao !
Satix

2 Days to go.

Two more days to begin the epic journey. There are gazillion things that have yet to be done, starting with the most important one. My car insurance. I am yet to get it renewed.

For the last one week I have been flooded with emails from "fans" both known and unknown ones on "How should i prepare for a long trip".. I plagiarized the last blog from some site to help those who wanted to know immediately how to get organized.

This blog is just to let you all know what am i carrying in my car.

1. All weather 4-person tent.
2. Spare Tire
3. Quick fix tire kit
4. Cellphone with car charger
5. Towels (Dont ever leave without one. Read the 'hitch hikers guide to galaxy' to know what all can a towel help you do.. South park's towlie always insists you on taking one and politely asks if you want to get high)
6. Water bottles. (To drink, for radiator, windshield wiper, wash hands and other anatomy that gets dirty on the way. :D)
7. Loads of magazines to read in case you encounter traffic jams.
8. Tons of music CDs
9. Camera with plenty of charged up batteries.
10. Laptop
11. Car DC to AC converter to charge everything that you could charge at home.
12. Tray of Red Bull, sodas, chocolates and an ice box
13. Pillows. Yes you need them for long drives. Your hand gets tired faster than you can think.
14. Sunglasses. If you dont have them you will feel sleepy every few hours.
15. Diary with pencils to make notes, write stuff for your blog, pass your # to the girl in the next car etc.
16. Maps. Paper maps, digital maps, notes in your diary.
17. Sun cream (Please do not take a tan cream unless you are a firang (Caucasian).
18. Cash - change for toll booths, motel stay, road side teas, occasional tip to the beggars.
19. Most important one, Loads of dixie cups.....


I hope "G" gets permission from his manager to join me in this trip. Last I heard he was trying some brain wash strategy coupled with emotional black mail. All the best G !!

It's inevitable that we have to drive a long distance at some point in our lives and we would like to do so safely. Whether we are going on vacation or moving cross-country, getting the drive over with as quickly as possible is usually the objective. Before embarking on your next four-wheeled adventure, consider the following to help you stay alert and safe:

1. Plan in advance. Be sure to plan out your trip well ahead of time. Get yourself a quality road map and determine the best route to take. Study your route often and become familiar with the names of towns and route numbers. The more you familiarize yourself with the route, the less often you will need to refer to your map while driving. Also, determine where the major centers are along your route for gas, meal and bathroom breaks. Another thing to keep in mind is where you might need to stay for the night. Book hotels in advance if you can or you may find yourself in a town hosting an event that takes up every room for a 600-mile radius.
2. Avoid long weekends. Traveling during a holiday period is the worst time for traffic and the peak time for highway accidents. Avoid weekends and peak travel times as much as possible. Plan your trip to take place from Monday to Thursday. Friday and Sunday (or Monday) evenings will be the busiest times on the road.
3. Start your trip at night. Take the day of your trip to finish packing and running last minute errands and also try to squeeze in a little nap. Leave late in the evening when the traffic has settled down and then drive through the night. There is much less traffic on the highways and a lot less distraction. Night driving however is not for everyone. Not everyone is able to stay awake during those hours and you run the risk of falling asleep while driving.

   If you are not comfortable or able to drive at night, keep your driving times to daylight hours only. Also be aware that at night, the risk of animals on the highway and the inability to see them increases. Heavy truck traffic will also increase since truck drivers take advantage of the reduction in traffic at this time. Another drawback to night driving is facing a bright sunrise after staring into the dark all night - be prepared to pull over and sleep at this time.

4. Know your limits. If you can only drive for a few hours at a time, don't try to push it for longer. If you are driving a long distance for the first time, start out in small intervals. Be prepared to stop for the night if you are not able to drive through it. If you've gone a long distance and only have a few more miles to go but just can't hang on, pull off and take a nap. Better to be safe than sorry.
   
5. Stay alert. Most people use caffeine to stay alert, and a lot of coffee is necessary to stay awake through the night. A lot of liquid often means a lot of pit stops. Consider high-energy drinks or even chocolate covered coffee beans as an alternative. Be aware of your body's ability to process caffeine if you are not a regular coffee drinker.
6. Share the driving. If you have someone along for the trip, share the driving duties as much as possible. Help each other stay alert while driving by talking and both paying attention to the road for each other. If you will be traveling alone, consider placing an ad in the paper for a travel companion - someone may prefer that to taking a bus or airplane.
7. Take regular breaks. You'll have no choice but to stop for gas regularly, but if you can go eight hours on a single tank, you might want to consider taking a break somewhere in between gas stops. Get out and stretch and have a refreshing beverage.
8. Keep it cool. Whether it's summer or winter, keep the interior temperature of the vehicle comfortably cool. If you have it too warm, your ability to be alert and stay awake will be diminished. Also avoid direct air to your face since it will dry out your eyes and increase your sleepiness.
9. Get comfortable. A few hours into a long drive and any car's armrest can start to feel like a rock. Bring lots of pillows - one for each arm, your neck, butt, and lower lumbar. Try not to get so comfortable that you'll fall asleep, but use the pillows to avoid the discomfort of sitting in the same position for a long period of time. Also, set the temperature to the right comfort level, have your drink and snacks handy, and play your favorite music.
10. Don't pull over - pull off! Never stop on the side of the road to take a nap. Find a rest stop, truck stop, Wal-Mart parking lot, side road or anywhere that you will not run the risk of being struck by an approaching vehicle. Never park on the shoulder of the road, not even to read the map. If you have to pull over on the shoulder for any reason, get out of your car and move away from the side of the road. Don't assume that all approaching vehicles will pass by you safely.

Long distance driving can be fun and exhausting at the same time. Keep safety in mind when driving at all times. Avoid getting too comfortable and throwing off your seat belt to stretch out. Arrive at your destination safely.

The count down begins...

A Road trip in my Skoda Octavia from Chennai, India to New Delhi, India.

Some Statistics...

Distance -

Crow's flight - 1754 KMs (947 Nautical miles)

Actual road distance - 2500 KMs (approx.)

Car -

Make - Skoda
Model - Octavia 1.9 TDI (Auto transmission..PHEW)
Year make - 2006
Odo reading - 69,700


Start date -

1st May 2009

End date -

Depends on the Wild life sanctuaries. I meant how much time I'd be spending there. You'd thought for a moment, depends whether I turn into a tiger's lunch or not?

Notes :

a. Anyone who wishes to join me in this once-in-a-lifetime (at least for me) adventure is welcome. Don't worry you wont be required to share gas bills, etc. Unless, of course, your last name is Buffet.

b. Anyone who wishes to meet up on the way, can leave a message with email id and I will get in touch to see if it works out.

c. Anyone who wishes to sponsor me, will have to pay me a HUGE sum, unless you are into cancer research, feed hungry kid, etc..etc..

c. Please share this blog with your friends..Sorry for being so shameless in advertising for eyeballs...

:D