Our Travelogue

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” There's a particular thrill about strapping yourself into the driver's seat and gently pressing the accelerator - the start of a journey, full of anticipation. Driving is a great de-stresser for us, and "Shall we drive" would be our first response were you suggest a trip to Timbuktoo. We have countless fond memories of the numerous road trips that we have undertaken in India - the big one from Bangalore to Goa, with the disappointment of our car's hub caps being stolen at Durga Lodge forgotten when we drove through the breathtaking beautiful Sharavathi valley, the non-existent roads on the way to Coorg (apparently undergoing road widening), the bright red gulmohars and shimmering paddy fields en route to Doddamakali and Sakleshpur, the smell of coffee in Chikamaglur, the hairpin bends on the way to Ooty and having our path blocked by a mom elephant guarding her baby right after Bandipur, the awesome golden quadrilateral stretch between Bangalore & Chennai, the twists and turns to Shimla & Kasauli, the dry, arid land running through countless forts and havelis in Rajasthan...and many, many more Both of us have travelled abroad extensively, and whenever possible, we try to drive there too - somehow, the trip seems to be incomplete without one! One of my most memorable holidays is a four day road trip through the Normandy region of France - driving without knowing a word of French is a completely crazy & novel experience (Bon Apetit does not help when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere!)...so we repeatedly got lost (our map said Deauville but we were sent off to Heauville), somehow managed to find the Chateau de Livet (what breathtaking grounds) and the cheese village of Camembert, drove along the English Channel, and went round and round trying to find our way out of a little French town before realizing that we had to drive our car INTO the steamer that would take us across the river! One of the prettiest road journeys we have undertaken is from San Jose in Costa Rica to the hill towns of Grecia & Saarchi, along the scenic Pan Amercian Highway that connects all Central American countries before climbing the gentle hills while listening to English rock to the company of gentle rain outside. En route I also stopped at a small homely restaurant to catch the world cup finals - I was just in time to catch the Zizou head-butt! And then there was the highly eventful drive from San Jose again to Arenal, a live volcano & a tourist hot spot in Costa Rica - after an unsuccessful attempt to bungee jump from a 200ft bridge on the Colorado river, I had my luggage stolen from the boot of my car as I was happily munching away on my nachos and chicken!