The google maps are a boon, we do not have to stop and ask anybody for directions. We join the highway again and Khatri wants to break his fast. He says, it is urgent. We pull in at a small dhaba. He has nothing but upma and tea. He fill in and hit back the highway. Belgaum is 85km from here.
The late morning traffic is still lazy, the road is winding but good and we pick up speed. At 8:30, we cross the place where all huts/houses are painted with the Airtel advertisement. Khatri cant take a pic at 100kms per hour. In fact, all through the trip, he failed to take a single good shot from the moving car and I dont want to stop. I wanted to keep my date with Karnataka Express at Delhi on the 4th morning. With just 430 kms on the first day, and another 2100 kms to go, I was beginning to get a lil worried.
The speed keeps hovering around 100 and with no stoppages, we enter Maharashtra around 1030 am. Pune is 225 kms from here. We stop at a MacDonald's and it is the most expensive meal of the day. They only have small 500ml water bottles, that they sell at Rs 16 each and for that too there's a queue. What a pity!!!! I drop the idea of getting water after 10 minutes in the queue.
I start looking for a petrol bunk, but the ones near the towns are off the highway and the ones on the highway either do not have petrol at all or only have normal petrol. After driving for 30 kms in reserve, I ditch the idea of getting premium fuel and fill 10 litres of BP normal petrol.
Petrol in Maharashtra is cheap as compared to Bangalore. At Bangalore, Shell, I paid Rs 56.45 for a litre. Here it is just 48.50 a litre for the normal. The air pump again is out of order :-).
The Corsa returns a 16.3kms/litre, with 3 figure speeds and the air in the tyres not proper. I desperately want to get the air check done.
At 11.55am, we cross the Taswade toll plaza. Its Rs. 47 for the next 60kms. At 12:45pm we pay another 25 at another toll plaza. Another Rs 14 as toll and we are at Pune. Its 1:30 pm.
Google maps start working once again, no need for stopping for instructions. I again start looking for petrol pumps, and almost 20 kms later find one BP outlet.
This one is huge but as usual does not have premium petrol. I do a tank full on normal petrol. 43 litres and Rs 2100 later, the air is checked. All tyres had 35!!!! They could have burst. I get the air to 30 in all and we grab some chips and water and move on. 3 kms later, we are on the dream express way. Everyone is excited. At 3:40 pm, we pay the Rs 140 toll to Mumbai.
We break for a Vada Pav and a quick nap at a wayside eatery. There is a huge rush there and the food is bad. This is the first eatery on the express way. There was another one some 30-40 kms ahead,which looked a little promising. Anyhow, we are happy to be on the dream express way and the Corsa is consistently doing 120km/hr+, but the swifts and the skodas keep on overtaking us at breathtaking speeds. I am tempted to floor the gas pedal, but the thought of my 1 month old daughter keeps holding me. I had decided to drive in my limits and keep it safe.
4:30 pm and we are on to the Sion-Panvel expressway. Mumbai always looked scary to tackle. I am a lil nerved about the directions, but this guy Arpan Diwanjee, in Venkat's words, is a very good boy and the directions he has given just second Venkat. The directions he gave on the mail are spotless. We regularly pass all the landmarks he pointed out and run into crampy roads.
I am worried but stick to Arpan's directions. We keep following the Sion-Panvel Expressway and then leave it to hit the road to Thane and continue to Airoli. At 5:15pm, 2 toll plazas later, we enter Thane. We take a right at the third flyover and come on the Gorbunder road. Its straight to the NH8 from here. Think of it, having crossed Mumbai, without having to stop for directions anywhere. I am mighty please with myself and am filled with gratitude towards Arpan. Thanks, sir!!!
At 6:08 pm, we hit the NH8. The road is in a bad shape. A heavy dust haze settles on the road ahead, the water jet stops working again, traffic is heavy, dusk is fading into the night and the air is humid. At times, I am almost blinded. I try following one of the speeding Swifts, but the all those guys are high on adrenaline and I decide to be sane. I cannot do 100 km/hr with a haze in front. I struggle till a Kamath on the way.
We take a long break at Kamath. Its almost 5 hours since the last break, this is pleasing. I buy a quick fix at the Kamath shop and fix the water jet once and for all. It did not bother us again. A couple of idlis and a strong coffee later, we are back on the highway. It is 7:35pm. Khatri wants to stop at 10pm, I want to push till wherever. After the break, I am fresh and Surat is some 220 kms away. I also call up Arpan and thank him. I also call up biwi and tell her that I am about to board the train. It starts at 7:30 pm from Bangalore and reaches Delhi at 10:30 am on the third day. We also meet one of the daredevil Swift drivers at Kamath. The guy is well over 45 and he has a family with him. Why on earth would you want to drive crazy with your children in the front seat. I cant and will not do that in a lifetime. One side of the Swift is testimonial to what I say. Guys drive safe and in your limits, especially when with a family onboard and then you never know, the guy coming from the front might have a family by his side. Lives are too precious to waste on blood rushes.
From here on Khatri starts making his notes in Hindi and his writting even in the moving vehicle is exceptional.
Khatri is hungry and wants to call it a day at Surat. At 10:30pm, I quietly bye-pass Surat. Khatri realises this ten minutes later and feels cheated. Now there are no hotels or dhabas on the road and traffic is thinning. Finally at 10:50pm we see a secluded almost closing restaurant by the road. We pull in. We had the best food of the trip here. We had a Gujarati veg curry and daal tarka with Bajra roti's. Amazing food. The bill is just Rs. 105, I give a Rs. 50 in tip. Both the waiter and me are happy. The place is Shree Krishna Park. Khatri gets into a talk with the dhaba owner and both of them suck each others brains out. I quietly come back to the car. I clean the windscreen and am ready to go. Khatri appears ten minutes later and is mighty pleased with himself and says, "choos liya usko". Kisne zyada choosa, this will always remain a mystery to me. I didn't hear the Dhaba owner's side of the story. Khatri has written some 2 pages on this encounter. Interested souls can leave their contacts for more details.
At 11:30pm,some 10kms further, we call it a day. The place is called Pacific Inn. At Rs. 675 a room, the place is expensive but Khatri is adamant. I give in and we settle down. Khatri says Jaipur is just 700kms away and I calculate on the Eicher atlas and come up with 770 kms. It looks very manageable and but I decide to start early. I set the alram to 5:00 am and shut my brain, Khatri is still talking.
860 kms with almost 16 hours on the road!!!!!
1k kms a day appears so distant. But, tomorrow is a new day
I slept well.
Mumbai Bye-pass :
(With inputs from Arpan )
As the expressway ends continue on the highway, this is the Sion-Panvel Expressway.Keep going straight. After approx 5-6km you will come to a flyover which will show Thane as straight and left for Mumbai/dadar/Vashi. Landmark - right side u will see Glenmark pharma glass building, Bajaj dealership,Hyundai dealership. DONOT go on that flyover (the flyover starts from the left side of theroad) and continue going straight. There will be another couple of flyovers turning left for Vashi. Keep ignoring them and keep going straight. You will leave behind the highway and come on to some what crampy roads and suburbs. Keep on going straight towards Airoli. You will see Reliance city on the right side. Keep going straight till you come to this signal where the left turn is to go underneath the railway tracks(this is after a petrol pump and the board will say "AIROLI") take that left and follow the road (one circle will come) then you will cross airoli sea bridge, and then a toll naka (Rs 30) after the toll naka, you will come to another intersection under a flyover, turn right to come on to the Eastern Express highway to wards Thane. You will come to one more toll naka (Rs 30), cross the toll naka and you are in Thane. Keep going straight and take a left turn underneath the third flyover (Ask anyone for Gorbunder road if in doubt) once u take a left you are on gorbunder road. Follow the road for 15km and cross 1 toll naka (Rs 15) and immediately after you cross the toll naka you will have a main signal where you need to take a right. This puts you onto NH-8 from where you head to delhi !
Tips:
- Keep the toll ready and keep the change ready or be ready for toffees.
- NH4 after Hubli is great and you need to stay awake and be alert.
- Do not wait for Petrol to get into reserve, there are not many pumps near towns as you keep taking bye-passes and the ones on highways won't have the premium petrol and would be shabby. Pune bye-pass is a classic example of this. There is just one rundown Indian-Oil bunk at the start and the next one is some 15kms away just 3kms before the start of the express way.
- There are plenty of options to stay on the highway once you cross Mumbai and some good ones too. This stream of hotels continues till Surat. The amazing bit is that every third hotel is named Hotel Decent (Jab We Met aftermaths???)
- Check the state of wipers, even with no rains, you need them to be in perfect order to drive at night.
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