The Great Driving Challenge | TRAVEHOLICS ANONYMOUS

A VROOM WITH A VIEW

07:08 PM

27 July 2009

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On the road to Timbaktu

Posted By Vamsi & Charu

Each time I stepped out of the car for a break during that road trip, it took me a few minutes to feel “grounded” - the sensation of swaying ever so slightly even on solid ground was one that I got used to eventually, but never liked. But that was to be expected on such a long trip by road - Bombay to Hyderabad and Bangalore and Kasargod in North Kerala via Madikeri and all the way up coastal Karnataka and Goa before reaching Bombay ten days later, dazed and bedraggled but full of good memories, some of them unique to road travel.

Like stopping for steaming chai at roadside shacks early in the morning… Like stumbling upon a sign post leading to Timbaktu in the middle of nowhere… Like feeling the cool breeze on your face, whooshing and roaring as you drive on open lonely roads, music louder than usual, competing against the sound of the wind… Like stopping at railway crossings, watching tiny bicycles make their way under and through the gates down in anticipation of the train… Like the happy surprise of making and changing plans as you go along, turning off from the highway to explore that small temple, climb that inviting hill or just take another snack break…

Like the sense of deja vu as you pass through small towns bang in the middle of national highways, civilization slowly spilling on to the main road in search of a livelihood, shops selling everything from flowers to plastic buckets on either side of the road… Like the unparalleled pleasure of catching a golden yellow orange pink red sunset, as the day winds down slowly and lazily, the road stretching as a dark snake in front of you…

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take? she asked. Where do you want to go? was his response. I don’t know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn’t matter. And that pretty much defines our approach to travel - it doesn’t matter where you are headed - have fun on the way, keep your eyes and ears - and mind - wide open, and much fun will be had

Note - A friend later explained the mysterious Timbaktu angle - it is a fascinating venture devoted to sustainable development in the drought-prone regions of Andhra Pradesh - read here about the Timbaktu collective

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From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 17th Aug 09 12:59:02 PM

Beautiful drive from Nashik to Bombay, one of THE best roads we have driven on!

From : TWaC

Sent : 17th Aug 09 12:40:00 PM

Had fallen in love with Cedia. Now, it s time for detachment.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 16th Aug 09 03:20:55 PM

Bright, blue sky.. Cotton candy clouds.. We head to Nasik

From : TWaC

Sent : 16th Aug 09 01:30:31 PM

Heavy rains in Konkan. Near zero visibility.

From : TWaC

Sent : 16th Aug 09 11:58:04 AM

Back to Maharashtra

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 16th Aug 09 08:27:16 AM

on the road again, heading from udaipur to baroda

From : TWaC

Sent : 15th Aug 09 04:28:50 PM

Rain welcomes us at Goa

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 15th Aug 09 03:54:33 PM

In pot-hole territory. Thank god we are on empty stomachs!

From : TWaC

Sent : 15th Aug 09 03:36:16 PM

Now on the fringes of Western Ghats

From : TWaC

Sent : 14th Aug 09 04:05:56 PM

Touched Kerala once more. At Bekal Fort

From : TWaC

Sent : 14th Aug 09 04:02:45 PM

Morning drive through misty Coorg

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 01:31:24 PM

just reached jaipur... Its super warm here

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 14th Aug 09 01:17:21 PM

300km from home! :) :) racing to indore!

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 12:18:33 PM

Still pouring, hoping its also raining in MP where the soyabean farmers are looking up hopefully at the sky

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 14th Aug 09 12:08:08 PM

2361 Shivpuri

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 11:51:43 AM

Pouring all the way from Agra into Jaipur

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 07:54:28 AM

On our way to Jaipur

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 11:12:33 PM

Blogging! The bed beckons..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 07:46:54 PM

Just out after seeing the taj mahal!

From : TWaC

Sent : 13th Aug 09 04:51:36 PM

Madikkeri - Ghats, rains and pot-holed roads

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 13th Aug 09 04:10:44 PM

10km from Gwalior, pulled over by the police to be asked Kya yeh sports gaadi hai? ;D

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 13th Aug 09 03:43:28 PM

Had breakfast AND lunch today! Niiiice! :D

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 12:38:26 PM

Still on the road to Agra...

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 08:04:32 AM

Heading to Agra. Its going to be a long drive..

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 06:31:31 PM

On our way back to Mysore

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 05:35:06 PM

In Wayanad. Western Ghats Kerala episode

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 02:42:18 PM

Tan! Tandan!! .. Aaja aaja dilli chhodein! .. Delhi dropped from plans. We head straight to Agra!

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 01:46:03 PM

It s hot at the Hawa Mahal! :|

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 12th Aug 09 12:59:33 PM

In Varanasi, walking along the ghats and looking at the Ganga

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 11:48:58 AM

Through Nagarhole National Park

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 11:41:21 AM

At Akad Cars, the Mitsu showroom. Mr. Abhinav, the MD, is tellim us the best way around Jaipur.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 09:13:27 AM

Good morning world! We are in Jaipur! Today s objective: getting Joe a pink shirt/kurta ;)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 10:20:04 PM

In Varanasi, just got back to the room after the ganga aarti. Stunning.

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 09:03:36 PM

Swine flue alert in Hassan. We cancelled our stay and hit Mysore.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 07:55:47 PM

On NH8, long day comin to an end.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 04:51:56 PM

Dust storm outside, but IIM Outdoors is snugly cocooned in the Blackhawk :)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 04:06:41 PM

30kms from Varanasi and its pouring..

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 01:51:31 PM

Leaving Jodhpur ... On our way to Ajmer.. Hoping to visit the dargah today .. Jodhpur was beautiful! *sigh*

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 01:40:47 PM

Cedia Sports turns its SUV mode on. Climbs Kemmana Gundi peak.

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:28:05 PM

Superbly bad roads on route to Varanasi. Soaking in the last sights of Madhya Pradesh.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:20:07 PM

Just had a long conversation with Mr.Brijraj Singh - great-grandson of HRH Ratan Singh .. Visit to Mehrangarh Fort delayed

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:20:02 PM

Driving through coffee estates to Kemmana Gundi peak

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 10:23:44 AM

Bhadra dam & WLS. Touch & go.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:52:51 AM

Just got up, not a single post been uploaded so far, gotta hurry.. ttyl :)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:31:52 AM

Passing through the Panna Forest Reserve..stopped on a bridge..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:01:54 AM

Heading from Khajuraho to Varanasi..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 10th Aug 09 08:43:24 PM

Sitting at Raja Cafe having a European thali.. :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:56:44 PM

In Jodhpur old markets - SHOPPING!

From : TWaC

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:50:45 PM

At Shimoga after a rainy day in rain forests

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:40:11 PM

Back at the hotel after seeing the absolutely stunning temples of Khajuraho.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 06:47:10 PM

As the sun sets, we enter Jodhpur, today s travel - 396km, but not feeling blue at all :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 04:50:05 PM

100 km away frm jodhpur, horrible truckyktraffic on the way. Had lunch for the second time in four days! :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 9th Aug 09 02:27:22 PM

Just had tea with Mr.Dhanraj Mallik, Rann veteran & advisor to the BBC. Right now, on our way to discover some salt pans, thts how we spend our Sunday! ;)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 9th Aug 09 12:05:24 PM

On state highway 07. Namrata s driving while I m writing and Enrique s crooning.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 8th Aug 09 07:30:34 PM

At the Vintage Villa of classic cars, droolin over the sports tourers. Got here after blastin the 88km NE1 Expressway in 42mins! Cedia, take a bow!

From : TWaC

Sent : 8th Aug 09 12:01:23 AM

Sagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary A manmade forest spread over 84 sq km A haven for deers peacocks an many birds

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 10:25:40 PM

Ab hum bhi poore punjabi! ... Current track: Kangana .. For Gaurav from Chandigarh :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 09:56:45 PM

Just discovered d USB connector for the blackhawk s music sys... one of d best moments of d day! :D

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 05:28:25 PM

Reached our first destination Daman, it even has its own airport! :)

From : TWaC

Sent : 7th Aug 09 04:38:22 PM

We haven't heard the 'Suprabhatham' chant for many many years. While we were in Chennai and Kerala we used to hear that quite often. First day morning. And as we walk into this nice restaurant at Vashi for breakfast, the 'Suprabhatham' chant welcomes us. Perhaps a good omen on the first stop on first day.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 04:19:19 PM

Just drove 21 km in our cedia, for the very first time! This vehicle is just so smooth!! :) 50 km from Daman. Joe s taken over coz we have to reach by 12

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 03:09:15 PM

Good morning! :) on our way frm thane to vapi. Jus done upma n rawa dosa at Kamat Vithals. Catch the pic on our flickr n twitter!

About us

Charu is a travel writer & photographer who publishes regularly in a number of magazines and dailies. She's usually either traveling, or planning her next travel spree. To support her itchy feet, she doubles up in her spare time as a qualitative market researcher.

Vamsi is usually found driving Charu around - within Mumbai as well as around India & executing her next round of travel plan. He is a digital marketing consultant. We live in Mumbai & are currently involved in making our love for travel our career too.

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