Our Travel Plan

This is one of the toughest and most interesting drive plans that we have ever made, and it truly deserves to be the one because this is for “The Great Driving Challenge”. We spent several days brainstorming, reaching out to friends, and browsing travel books. I scribbled on every inch of whiteboard available to me and Poonam utilized every blank portion of newspapers, pamphlets, her cookery diary, kids’ daily diary’s last page! (We were summoned to Kids’ school for an explanation!) .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. There were several decision criteria: 1. Rules, 2. Timing of drive, 3. Approximate weather conditions, 4. Return On Investment (ROI) for Mitsubishi 5. Have Fun, learn and appreciate what we have, click the shutter and share with the World. 6. Above all, enjoy the Indian driving odyssey in the all new Mitsubishi Cedia Sport ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The first plan of driving Mumbai-Delhi-Leh-Kargil-Srinagar-UP-MP-Mumbai was ruled out since it would not fit within the framework of this challenge –Daily driving distance limit, Network connectivity and Mitsubishi’s market presence ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... So finally, we set ourselves to get a perfect mix of Soul Curry, ROI, Culture, History, Palaces, Passion, Mountains, Plains, Plateau, Beaches, Waterfalls, Coast line, Forests, Growing India, Divine Interaction, The Rains and The Cuisine!! Touch Mitsubishi’s product presence and dealer network to showcase the Great driving Challenge event…Phew…this was tough!! ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Theme of our drive is "The Great Indian Discovery Trail Part-1" ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Day-1 Start from Mumbai on the scenic NH17, explore the hill station of Mahabaleshwar which also spawns 5 Indian rivers, discover Maratha history at Pratapgarh Fort and enjoy to the Vashisti River Valley at Chiplun ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Day-2 The magnificent Sahyadris soaked in monsoon rains will lead to the ocean at the golden Tarkarli beach, savour some fiery Malvani cuisine before reaching Panaji to explore more beaches, churches, temples and of course gorge on seafood at “Johncy’s” on Benaulim beach. Over dinner cherish our 3 year old memory of First Club meet at Goa and plan for the next day ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Day-3 South of Goa beyond Karwar is Gokarna (famous for its Om beach and mythology of Sage Parasurama who threw his axe from here), clamp our ears to the deafening roar of the “Jog falls” enjoy some excellent picture perfect nature and camp for the night at the rich agricultural town of Shimoga and learn whether the rains have been good or not this year ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Day-4 Head south, pass through the coffee plantations of Chickmagalur, the rolling mists, gape at the incredible Hoysala carvings in Belur-Halebid and pay our respects to the gigantic Mahavira statue at Sharavanabelagola, finally halting at Hassan for the night ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Day-5 Head out to Mysore to visit and capture the beauty of the magnificent palaces, take a quick look at the tombstones of Tipu at Srirangapatna and the sugar lobbies of Mandya before getting stuck in jams of Bengaluru - India’s Silicon Valley, the glitter and symbol of the growing modern India - and enjoy a night out (in fact late night) at the pub city of our country ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Day-6 Gasp at the fumes of the auto boom on our way to Electronic City, and sing along to Rahman’s Jai Ho! (After all you never know if we become “Autodog Millionaires” couple of days later!) as we speed through Hosur to Saint Ramana Maharshi’s Tiruvannamalai and to take a halt for the night at the old French charm that is Pondicherry ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Day-7 From the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, the rock-cut temples of ancient Mahabalipuram, reach the auto city of Chennai (Detroit – the Chennai of USA?) and reach Tiruvallur for a quick HM-Mitsubishi plant visit to appreciate people who work diligently and also appreciate the World class auto technology which brings the rally pedigree Mitsubishi Cars to us. Next, we seek divine blessings of Lord Balaji in his golden temple at Tirupati to win this Challenge and proceed with our Great Drive ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Day-8 Visit The Perfect Vastu Temple at Sri Kalahasti, appreciate the beauty of Golden Quadilateral highways on the east coast, feast on the green paddy fields of Nellore, scald our lips on the hot spicy food of Ongole before reaching the tobacco and chilly market town Guntur ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Day-9 Vijayawada – across the massive barrage on the Krishna river, drive through the heart of Andhra to Hyderabad, the city of Charminar, Pearls, Buddhas and the culinary excellence of famous Hyderabadi Biriyani! ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Day-10 Explore the barrenness of the Rayalseema region as the road winds through Kurnool and Raichur on the way to the opulence of the Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi for some refresher lessons in History .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Day-11 Listen to echos inside the “Gol Gumbaz” at Bijapur, and go via Solapur to reach the industrial mega-city Pune to enjoy an evening of fun and food in the royal kingdom of the Peshawas ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Day-12 Visit India’s first modern hill station Lavasa, enjoy the pristine waters of the Mulshi lake, explore the interior mountain regions and breathtaking beauty of Lonavla and Khandala before touching the finish line at Mumbai ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... While we drive thorough this dream journey, we want to stop by at most HM dealerships en-route to shake hands and say little “thank you” for making this driving adventure possible. We will not miss collecting mementos and souvenirs en-route to cherish our “The Great Driving Challenge” memories for ever :) .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... We have a “PLAN-B”, being a management guy I can’t miss BCP (Business Continuity Plan)!! Plan above is just a synopsis; I am making a detailed PowerPoint presentation to walk jury through when we make it to final three ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ A lot of hard work has gone in preparing this itinerary, our measure of success would be meaningful Blogs, Beautiful Pictures & Mesmerizing Videos and most important a message that we want to disseminate while promoting The Most Beautiful and Mighty Cedia and love for driving… keep watching this space and visit www.followmydreamz.com for more details. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Till then wear your seat belts and Keep Driving ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Never stop dreaming and always follow your dreamz...