We are the best candidates because...

Typically, it is sufficient to have one of the following to succeed at a task: Skill, passion, dedication, experience, great idea, support from friends and relatives. What if we try and combine all these factors? The resulting combination would be unbeatable. This is precisely the reason why we are the best candidates! Let us describe each of the above reasons to you, while you watch our video "Why we are the best" on our blog at this link ___(1)___ We have a great idea and a great plan – our route plan “Mitsubishi Constellation” is not just an innovative idea, but also our unique way to highlight the myriad threads that form the richly interwoven tapestry that's India. Yes friends, we have managed to pull through the toughest route challenge! We have made a route plan that showcases India from 15 different perspectives, is all within the daily limits set by the TGDC guidelines and still manages to draw a Mitsubishi insignia when plotted on a map! Please refer to our travel plan and the google map for more details. What’s the point we are making? Well…it proves beyond doubt that when you are in India, it just doesn’t matter what direction you decide to travel in, coz India is sure to surprise you with its beauty at each corner! Nothing else could have brought out India’s richness any better! To be honest, to design the route within the parameters of the daily kilometers limit plus the self-imposed constraint of forming the “Mitsubishi Constellation” was like solving a complex puzzle- the moment you increase or decrease the kilometers here, there goes the aesthetic appeal of the insignia, and the moment you pin down the end-points of the constellation, you realize suddenly that the kilometers got exceeded! Phew! Despite the constraints, we designed the route (a whopping 50-60 man-hours spent on that!) and as is evident from the testimonials, the efforts haven’t gone in vain! ___(2)___ We're Traveloholics! We have visited 17 countries worldwide and enjoy traveling immensely. So much so that we’ve decided to set up home at one of the world’s favourite tourist destinations- Singapore! The last we heard, the visa offices of the world (and environmentalists the world over) have been pretty unhappy with us…thanks to the rate at which we’ve been using up the pages in our passports! That’s why we believe that this contest is tailor made for us- an exact fit with our travel passion! ___(3)___ Driving, Driving, And Driving!! We love driving and we love cars, and also anything and everything that comes with being in love with driving and cars. We have driven across 4 different continents, and been on several long road trips world over (in 8 countries). In fact, saying that Anupam loves cars is an understatement- he lives them! What else would you say about the guy whose Mom asks her prospective daughter-in-law if she is prepared to live out of a car after marriage! And Aditi? Well, she has decent driving credentials too although she prefers to enjoy watching the scenery and contemplating on life’s philosophies while Anupam drives! ;) But despite what writers Allan & Barbara Pease may tell you, this woman is out to prove that “Women can read maps”! For us, driving is not just about passion, but it is something that needs the right mix of technique, experience, endurance and passion! Check out our blog for more details on our driving trips .___(4)___ We love to Jog… err…we mean Hog….oops…apologies, we meant We love to Blog! We’ve been blogging since 2004- about travel, driving, auto, cricket, self improvement, and everything else under the sun. But humour is our forte (or so we like to think!!) and we derive immense pleasure out of unleashing our PJs on the world! Check out our latest attempt at doing that- The Car-toon series called “Puncture ke Car-namey!” on our blog, which we intend to continue publishing while on the drive as well, deriving inspiration from the life-on-the-road. Please also see our Flickr album to get a flavour of our photography skills. Aditi is an artist at heart and some of her shots portray just that- an eye for detail and an eye for beauty in the mundane…. ___(5)___ They say rolling stones gather no moss, but it seems rolling stones do gather a lot of votes! We’ve gathered almost 750 votes so far and we are seriously overwhelmed with the support that our family, extended family, friends and even people who don’t know us have extended to us. It feels really nice to have 750 odd people backing up your application…and we can’t wait to thank each and everyone of them by sharing the stories from our experiences on the drive! All-in-all, we are not just the best candidates with required "skills and experience", but we will also ensure that all the avid followers of Great Driving Challenge have fun reading our blog posts, photo essays and updates. In short, Entertainment Guaranteed!

Our Travel Plan

Our plan for The Great Driving Challenge is to create what we call the “Mitsubishi Constellation". Just as our forefathers saw the stars in a dark starry night and joined them by imaginary lines to form shapes and symbols and called them constellations, we intend to visit various places in Dakshin Bharat which when joined by imaginary lines across the map transform into an insignia of Mitsubishi. Please see the google map for details on the places we plan to visit, our night halts and the vertices of the Mitsubishi Constellation! To see how the map transforms into the Mitsubishi Constellation, please see our Flickr Photostream :) The route plan is: Mumbai-Goa-North Kerala-Alleppy-Munnar-Coimbotore-Mysore-Bangalore-Chitoor-Hampi-Belum Caves-Pune-Mumbai. The whole itinerary maintains the maximum limit of 350 kms and minimum of 300 kms on all 12 days. And to top it all, the “stars” on our constellation have been painstakingly chosen to bring out the best perspectives that India has to offer… (We will be exploring India from 15 different perspectives to give you a complete package!) ___DETAILED ITINERARY ________ ///_____ DAY 1 _____///____ ___ ROUTE:___ Mumbai-NH-4a-NH17-Chandoli National Park ___KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Chandoli National park, Mumbai Sea Link ___PERSPECTIVES:___ National park, Modern Infrastructure ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 300kms + a few kms inside National Park, easily within 350 km limit ___DETAILS:___ On the first day, we plan to drive from Mumbai to Chandoli National Park, covering a total distance of 300 kms (50 spare kms left to explore Chandoli National Park and buffer for Mumbai travel). We will start off in the morning, driving across the new Sea Link in Mumbai and then head towards Vashi, going through Panvel creek to join NH-4c. After traveling for about 10 kms on NNH-4C, we will take the Pen bypass and join NH-17 to drive down south to Chandoli National park. We plan to visit the following places inside the national park: Kandhardoh, the Kandhardoh Falls, Tanali Falls and Vasant Sagar Reservoir. Would have been a long day by then- we plan to check-in to the guest house inside Chandoli National Park to blog, upload photos and share our travelling experiences on the day-1 of our journey. _________///_____DAY 2 _____///____ ___ ROUTE:___ Chandoli National Park- NH17-South Goa ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Goa beaches ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Beaches, Architecture, Cuisine, Education ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 301kms + a few kms within Goa, easily within 350 km limit ___ DETAILS:___ We will get up relatively earlier (i.e. before 9am!) to explore Chandoli National Park a bit more, before heading off to Goa. The idea today is to get to Goa as early as possible to give ourselves maximum time to enjoy the beaches at Goa. We will head south from Chandoli National Park on NH-17 all the way to Goa. We will explore the key spots in Goa – e.g. Arjuna beach, Mapusa, etc. Other than the beaches, we will look to explore the cuisine of Goa and understand the intermingled Portuguese architecture and remains in Goa. We will be staying at one of the resorts by the beach in South Goa. We will also visit the BITS-Pilani Goa Campus – a testimonial to modern India’s education systems. As an Alumni of BITS-Pilani, Anupam is really looking forward to visiting Goa campus. __________///_____DAY 3 ____///______ ___ ROUTE:___ Goa-NH17-NH 206 to Jog Falls from Manki-get back on NH-17-Bhatkali ___KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Jog Falls ___PERSPECTIVES:___ Waterfalls ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 320kms includes travel to and from Jog Falls, easily within 350 km limit ___DETAILS:___ After strolling on the beach in the morning, we will get into our Mitsubishi Cedia, fasten our seat-belts and vroom we go  We will head down South on NH-17, passing through Nagorcem, Karwar, Ankola, Kumta to Manki. At Manki, we will take turn left to NH 206, driving to Jog Falls (at a distance of 50 kms or so). After enjoying our time at Jog falls, we will head back on NH-206, reach Manki again and head southwards on NH-17 to Bhatkali for the night stay. ________///_____DAY 4 _____///____ ___ ROUTE:___ Bhatkali-NH17-Mangalore-Mahe ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Cannore beaches, Bekal Fort ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Beaches, Forts ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 325kms ___DETAILS:___ We will drive down from Bhatkali on NH-17, passing through Mangalore. Our first point to visit would be Bekal Fort - spreading over 40 acres, Bekal Fort is the largest and best preserved fort in Kerala with an alluring view of the sea shore. We would then drive down south further to visit Muzhappilangad Beach which is a long clean beach. Its Kerala’s only drive-in beach, one could drive the entire length-4 kms. Driving Mitsubishi Cedia sports model on a beach, would be yet another innovative way to test drive the car! :) The next place to visit would be another beach nearby called the Meenkunnu Beach. This beach is a tourist’s paradise with golden sand & surf. We will continue driving south on NH17 to reach Mahe for our night stay. _________///_____DAY 5 _____///____ ___ ROUTE:___ Mahe-NH17-Kozhikide-Kodungallur-Join NH47 at Cochin-Alleppy ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Kodungallur (first Mosque, Church, temple), Cochin, Alleppy ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Secular India, Back waters ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 320kms ___DETAILS:___ We will start from Mahe and head south wards on NH-17 all the way, enjoying the green beauty of Kerala, along the coast. We will visit Kodungallur – which has the first mosque and church in India and has a temple also in close vicinity. This stands as a true testimony to “Secular India”. After that, we will drive further south on NH-17, joining NH-47 at Cochin. We will visit key attractions of Cochin (e.g. Fort Cochin) and then head to Alleppy. We would stay in a houseboat at Alleppy (Aditi is damn excited about it!). There will be plenty to blog today – though it will be a tough balance to strike – should we blog and update for the benefit of the avid followers of GDC or enjoy the scenery around, which would add to the overall experience for everyone! Can’t wait to get there! ________///_____DAY 6 _____///____ ___ ROUTE:___ Alleppy-NH47 to Cochin-right turn on NH49-Kotamangalam- Munnar-Udumalaipettai-NH209 to Coimbatore ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Munnar, Eravikulam National Park, Indira Gandhi National Park ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Hill stations, water falls, National parks ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 300kms – enough room to visit places in Munnar ___DETAILS:___ Its time to get up early again, Day-6 has a lot in store for us! We will start from Alleppy and head northwards on NH-47 to Cochin. We would need to turn right on NH 49, at Cochin and then head all the way to Munnar – enjoying the fabulous drive on the serpentine roads all uphill. At Munnar, we will visit waterfalls, the highest peak in South India, tea plantations and other key attractions. At around 3pm, we will head out of Munnar all along NH49 to Udumalaipettai through the lush green forests of Indira Gandhi and Eravikulam National Parks, where we will take left on NH 209 and drive down to Coimbatore for night stay. _________///_____DAY 7 _____///______ ___ ROUTE:___ Coimbotore-NH67 to Gundalpet - then NH 212 to Mysore- Bangalore ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Mysore Palaces (e.g. Ambavillas, etc), Brindavan gardens ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Palaces, Gardens ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 335kms ___DETAILS:___ We will drive down from Coimbatore, taking NH67 to Gundalpet, where we will join NH 212 and drive down to Mysore. At Mysore, we will visit the key attractions of Mysore – Ambavillas Palace and other palaces of historical significance. The theme at Mysore will be “Historical Heritage” as we explore the great forts and palaces at Mysore. Towards the evening, we plan to visit Brindavan Gardens, and see the fountains post sunset. Later, we will head off to Bangalore for night stay. _________///_____DAY 8 _____///_____ ____ ROUTE:___ Bangalore-NH4 to Chitoor- then NH 18 to Rayachoti ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Bangalore, Kolar Mines, IT Park ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Mines, Information Technology ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 310kms – room to go around Bangalore ___DETAILS:___ On day-8, we will start with exploring the great attractions of Bangalore, the garden city of India visiting one of the key gardens (e.g. Lalbag). We also plan to visit ISKCON - A blend of modern and traditional south Indian temple architecture, the ISKCON temple houses a multi-vision cinema theatre, computer aided presentation theatres, vedic library and a preaching library. We also plan to visit one of the IT Tech parks in Bangalore – (e.g. International Tech Park) to showcase the IT industry of Bangalore. Any perspective to Bangalore would be incomplete without mention of IT industry that has transformed India in general and Bangalore in particular. We will then drive down on NH-4, visit Kolar Gold Mines (just in case, we don’t win the gold medal in this competition, gold dust from Kolar is all we will need to be content with :) ). We will further keep driving down on NH-4 till Chitoor (which is one of the vertices of our Mitsubishi Constellation). From there, we will take NH-18 to drive down and halt for night at Rayachoti. _________///_____DAY 9 _____///____ ____ ROUTE:___ Rayachoti-NH18 to Mydukur, then turn left and head to Belum Caves continue and join NH 63 to Bellary ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Belum Caves ___ PERSPECTIVES:___Caves, Natural Beauty ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 320kms ___DETAILS:___ On day-9, we will start from Rayachoti and drive up north in NH-18 till Mydukur. From there, we will take left on a less important highway and drive through Proddatur, Gollapalle and then reach Kolimigundala. This is where Belum Caves are located. It is the 2nd largest cave in the Indian sub-continent with a length of 3.3kms! We will spend a major part of our day-9 exploring Belum caves. After exploring the caves, we will drive through Tadpatri, towards Gooty and then take NH-63 to Bellary. Bellary would be our night stop. ________///_____DAY 10 _____///___ ____ ROUTE:___ Bellary-NH63 – take detour to Hampi and join NH63 at Hosapette – NH 13 to Hungund, Left to Pattakadal and then to Bagalkot ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Hampi, Tunga Bhandra Dam, Pattakadal ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Temples, Monuments, Dam ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 300kms – inclusive of detours ___DETAILS:___ On day-10, we will start from Bellary and our first stop would be Hampi to explore various monuments of the mighty Vijaynagara empire in ruins. This is a UNESCO world Heritgate site. Our next stop would be at Hosapette, where we will visit Tunga Bhandra Dam – which is the largest dam in Karnataka. From there, we will get back to NH-13 and head towards Hungund. At Hungund we will take a left to Gudur and then reach Pattakadal. Pattadakal is another UNESCO world Heritage Center, it has 10 major temples representing early Chalukyan architecture. From there, we will drive to Bagalkot for the night halt. _________///_____DAY 11 _____///______ ____ ROUTE:___ Bagalkot-NH218 to Bijapur- NH13 to Sholapur-NH9 to Indapur ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Bijapur (Gol Gumbuz), Kollur (Malik-e-Maidan), Sholapur ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Architecture, Palaces, Canon ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 300kms ___DETAILS:___ On day-11, we will start from Bagalkot, take NH 218 to Bijapur. The key attraction at Bijapur is Gol Gumbuz which is the 2nd largest dome in the world (nearly 44m in diameter). The other attractions at Bijapur include Malik-e-Maidan, which is the world’s largest medieval canon, Jumma Masjid and Ibrahim Roza which is said to have inspired Taj Mahal. Clearly, we would have a lot to do in Bijapur and we look forward to covering as many of these great structures as possible. Bijapur is famous for hand woven sarees as well. After spending nearly the entire day in Bijapur, we will head off to Sholapur and then to Indapur for night stay. ___________///_____DAY 12 _____///____ ____ ROUTE:___ Indarpur-NH-9 – Pune – Expressway- Mumbai ___ KEY ATTRACTIONS:___ Expressway, Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, NDA ___ PERSPECTIVES:___ Museum, Modern India Infrastructure, Defence ___ DISTANCE TRAVELLED:___ 320kms ___DETAILS:___ The last and final day of the trip, we will start with a visit to Ujani dam in Indarpur and then head off to Pune. At Pune we plan to visit Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum. We also plan to visit National Defense Academy – the only academy in the world where all three forces are trained together. We will then drive through on Mumbai-Pune express way, a testimony to India’s great infrastructure. We plan to reach Mumbai at a time preferred by the trip organizers for the closing ceremony of the drive.

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