So on Sun, Aug 1st 2021, I just threw some clothes into a suitcase, and additionally, for no real reason, I tossed my sleeping bag and tent as well into my four year old Creta’s trunk, and early morning on the 2nd of August, set out on what would be my longest road trip ever.
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Background
First, let met set some background. Like most of the folks here, I love to travel. Pre-covid I was averaging about 10 -12 trips a year. Since I’m lucky enough to be able to carry work with me wherever I go, I was able to do a LOT of work-cations. But over the past 18 months, while I’ve been able to drive around a bit, and do a few small trips here and there, nothing really hit the spot. Did a few days in Goa, a week in Himachal, weekend drives to Chikmagalur and Pondicherry, and even a 4 day trip to the Maldives in January. I know it sounds like a lot, but the urge to travel just kept growing. It kept gnawing away at me inside, till I was genuinely quite frustrated. Or maybe it was just the lack of ‘control’ in life, as we roll over from lockdown to lockdown with no sign of normalcy anywhere in sight. And to add to everything, there was also a lot of stress from work – and it all just kept building, and building, until I finally acknowledged that I just needed to get away, before all the repressed sentiments just blew up.
Now, I love to drive. I really do. Many may find this odd, but for me, driving is an incredibly meditative experience, despite the fact that I live in Bangalore, notorious for its traffic snarls. But no amount of traffic or rowdy drivers has ever bothered me. When I’m behind the wheel, my mind just goes into auto-pilot, and I’m at peace (ok, almost always).
And while I’ve never done anything more than an 8 hr drive (barring an ill-fated 12 hr all-nighter drive from NYC to Chicago during my college days) all those trips have always been point to point. I’ve never done a multi-day long trip but have always fantasized about driving across the country. No real destination in mind, just drive from city to city, each day figuring out where to go next, no hotels booked and nothing but a rough itinerary in my head, as I criss-cross the entire country.
Sometime in June 2021, my parents (in Kolkata) told me that they needed me to fly down to take care of some property registration work, and that got me thinking, maybe a road trip from Bangalore to Kolkata would help check off some of these boxes. It would be a multi-day road-trip, taking me from nearly one end of the country to another, and would help me really test my driving stamina. But, I’d be doing this solo, so no one to share the wheel with if I got tired, no one to keep me company. But honestly, this wasn’t much of a concern. To be fair, I’ve never shared the wheel with anyone, even when I had company. 😛 – I’m a very selfish driver. Furthermore, the road conditions seemed to be decent (as I browsed other team-bhp forums on this route, and read everything I could about everyone’s experiences about this route). Also, this wasn’t going to be a vacation. I needed to stay connected and be able to work and take calls pretty much all the time, through the day, every day – so being able to keep working (i.e. attend calls) while on my way, was a pre-requisite. But I had faith in Airtel and I hoped that I could take calls with good signal strength through the duration, while driving and maybe pulling over to the side, to take video-calls. All sounded great in theory.
But I was still a bit apprehensive. It was a big decision and I was flip-flopping on this several times a day, until I finally realized that there was no additional data that would help me take this decision. I just needed to gut-feel my way through and do what felt right. And what felt right was the excitement of getting on the road as soon as I could. So I just sucked it up and decided to do it. And that was it. It was decided – I would drive by myself from Bangalore to Kolkata and just take my calls and video-calls on the road (or side of the road). Whatever would happen, would happen. If I reached Kolkata and was miserable with the drive, I’d just get some movers to truck my car back to Bangalore and I’d fly back. If I got through my first day and didn’t like it, I could always turn back. What’s the worst that could happen?
But, on the odd chance that I did enjoy the drive, then on reaching Kolkata, maybe I wouldn’t turn back. Maybe I’d just keep going. And if I figured out how to work seamlessly from the road, then there really was no reason to have an end-destination in mind. If people can work from home, maybe I can work from my car? The only thing stopping me would be my budget and general fatigue. But I wouldn’t know when that would set in, until it actually did. So might as well not think of it for now.
So on Sun, Aug 1st 2021, I just threw some clothes into a suitcase, and additionally, for no real reason, I tossed my sleeping bag and tent as well into my four year old Creta’s trunk, and early morning on the 2nd of August, set out on what would be my longest road trip ever.
2nd August 2021: Day#1 On The Road
Bangalore – Kolar – Tirupati – Nellore – Ongole – Guntur – Vijaywada
After reading everything I could about the Bangalore – Kolkata drive, and considering the various routes, I decided to go via Tirupati, up to Nellore, onto Vijaywada, after which its a straight drive on NH 16, through Vishakapatam, Bhubhaneshwar, past Kharagpur to Kolkata.
I left my apartment society in Whitefield, at around 7:15 AM, a little later than I had hoped. My first day was going to be from Bangalore till Vijaywada and the plan was to stop for the night at the Novotel in Vijaywada. I had decided that since I was unsure of how I would find the drive, how tired I would be, I would at least make sure I had a decent enough hotel to spend both of the nights during the trip.
It was a cloudy morning, with some mild drizzle – my perfect weather. Old Madras Road was still not crowded, and in no time I was driving past Kolar on NH-75. The road conditions were great. It was either a 4 lane or a 6 lane highway throughout, and in fact the Bengaluru-Tirupati highway even seemed like a 10 lane highway, with the side-roads running bang parallel. Most of the roads were smooth as butter, and driving was an absolute pleasure.
Now, Mondays are usually super busy for me and I’m on calls from 10 AM almost through till 5 PM with half a dozen meetings scattered across the day. I was pleasantly surprised with Airtel’s network quality. It was literally flawless as not a single phone call or zoom call dropped and I was able to listen in, or talk, over bluetooth, while cruising along. I know there’s a mixed opinion in the community on driving while talking on bluetooth, but most of my calls are really just me listening, and the highways are really smooth driving, so the analogy I drew in my own head, was with listening to music or podcasts. Also it still is legal, so …
Regardless, before I knew it, I had driven past Nellore and Ongole and was making my way into Vijaywada, by crossing over the voluminous Krishna River. By 4:30 PM I was driving into Novotel. I was really surprised at just how easy of a drive it was, and I wasn’t tired at all. 650KM through highways that were 90% 4 lane or 6 lane. The rest 10% were detours, as flyovers were being built or the highway was being extended, and even those detours were pretty well-managed. I really loved the drive, and couldn’t believe I had done it literally non-stop.
It was still early enough in the day for me to log in, and get a few emails out and a few final calls done before I wrapped up, and even after all this, I had still had time left over before dinner. So far no regrets on embarking on this trip.
Driving Distance for the Day: 650 KM
Total Distanced Driven: 650Km
Hotel 5K
Fuel: 5k
Toll: ~600 Rs. (haven’t exactly checked)
Photos:
Lovely views from the roof of Novotel Vijaywada, overlooking the city
3rd August: Day#2 On The Road
Vijaywada – Eluru – Rajahmundry – Visakhapatnam – Gopalpur
Had an early start to the day and left Vijaywada at 6:45 AM. Stopped at the outskirts of the city to fill up my petrol tank and then drove non-stop all the way to Vishakapatnam. The original plan was to stop at Gopalpur, by the beach at the Swosti Palm Resort, but as I shall share shortly, that was not to be. I ended up driving 800 Km today and spent the night at Bhubaneshwar.
The drive out of Vijaywada was smooth enough, and since it was early-ish in the morning, there wasn’t much traffic about. It was a great start to the day. I anyway like early mornings. The sky looks pretty and there’s usually a nippy breeze about. NH-16 was really smooth, as it bypassed Eluru, uptil about 10KM before Rajahmundry. When all of a sudden the road relapsed back to an old bumpy road, with a few potholes, especially around the Godavari crossing. But the Godavari looked amazing. I really wished I could have stopped to take a few photos to capture just how massive the Godavari appeared.
But after Rajahmundry, the road condition improved and it was mostly 4 and 6 lane highway through the rest of the day. However, it seemed like after every 10KM, there was a highway being constructed to go over some small village and the traffic was diverted around the construction site. I think in another 6 – 12 months, all of these flyovers will be completed and the entire drive will be incredible.
Around lunch-time I was pulling into Vishakapatnam, and I spotted another Novotel on the way. Decided to grab a quick sandwich and stretch my legs for 30 mins before I continued.
Views from Novotel Vizag
Left Novotel Vizag around 1:30 PM, and decided to do the rest of the drive non-stop till I reached Gopalpur.
A nice beach view as I was driving out of Vizag
By early evening, I was nearing the Orissa border and the view just got really stunning. I could see the South Odhisa Eastern Ghats on my left in the horizon, and a vast unbroken expanse of green all the way through, interrupted by a few large lakes every now and then. The hills were lit up brilliantly by the setting sun, and it all looked like an oil painting. I made a mental note to do more research in North Orissa and find some good roads to drive around and a nice resort to spend a few days at. If anyone has any suggestions, please do share.
And soon after, I was entering Orissa.
Now, the original plan was to halt at Gopalpur by the beach, but some quick roadside research seemed to suggest that there were only two resorts there that I could consider – The Mayfair Palm Beach Resort, which seemed like a really fancy property but since I hadn’t pre-booked my rooms, it was showing for 10k (inclusive of taxes) and the only other property that seemed decent was the Gopalpur Palm Resort or Swosti Palm Resort for 3.5k, which would have been perfect, but it had mixed reviews on tripadvisor. Not able to decide, and the deciding factor really being the amount of daylight that was left, I decided to press on, and stay at the slightly fancier Swosti Chilika Resort, an hour down the road.
But as I was arriving at Chilika, I realized that it was just around 7 PM and I was surprised that I still wasn’t that tired. I had a bit more energy in my tank, and decided to push on further, all the way to Bhubaneshwar, where I figured there would be ample supply of hotels to crash for the night. All of these extensions, added an extra three hours to my drive and it was soon dark.
The road from Chilika to Bhubaneshwar is under construction and there were a LOT of detours, at times with both sides merged together with no divider. As it got dark, it was difficult to drive with the incessant headlights in my eyes, and it got a bit tiring. The road wasn’t that great either, with patches that were bumpy and under-construction. By 8:30 PM, I was just running on empty, really just waiting to get to my hotel. Eventually, I made my way to the Fortune Sishmo Bhubaneshwar, pulling in at around 9:30 PM.
I would have loved to have seen Chilika, but crossed it entirely in the dark and unfortunately couldn’t see anything. All put together I had about 14 hours of drive time today, making this my personal record, but honestly not one I would like to repeat or try and break anytime in the near future. I’ve realized that I feel really comfortable at 10-11 hours of max drive time in a day, and it does start getting quite tiring post that. It’s also a great reminder that I should start working out. Being totally out of shape is clearly affecting my general stamina. Finally, it’s good knowing that if push comes to shove, I can get 14-15 hrs drive done as well.
Driving Distance for the Day: 800 KM
Total Distanced Driven: 1450Km
Hotel 5K
Fuel: 5k
Toll: ~750 Rs.
4th August: Day#3 On The Road
Bhubaneshwar – Outskirts of Kharagpur – Kolaghat – Kolkata – New Town
Since I pushed it quite a bit the previous day, I slept in a little late. Woke up around 7:30 AM and packed up and headed down for breakfast. Nibbled on some cereal, but pretty much kept an empty stomach as I headed out for the last leg of my trip. I left the city around 8:30 AM, but despite the good 7 hrs of sleep and the slightly late start, I still felt super stiff. I guess the toll of the past two day drive was catching up with me. My neck and upper back was really stiff and I couldn’t rotate my head without some shooting pain. Ah well, all par for the course, I suppose. Note to myself to start working out.
Bhubaneshwar (or at least the part of it that I drove through) seemed nice and planned, with wide roads and lots of trees. Took me about 10 minutes to get out of the city and continue up NH16 towards Cuttack and then onwards to Kolkata. Crossing the Mahanadi river was incredible as you head north from Cuttack. I never saw a river that massive – apart from maybe the Godavari, the previous day. The bridge seemed to be about 2KM long. It just kept going, and perhaps because of the monsoons, the Mahanadi just seemed massive and incredibly full. It was a beauty to look at as I drove across.
The weather also was nice. It wasn’t poring heavily, but the clouds did look ominous and it started drizzling. It seemed like the clouds were keeping me company as the drizzle didn’t stop for the rest of my drive. All through the drive, as I kept glancing at Google Maps, I could see beaches along the coast just 10 – 30 mins from NH16 on the east, and thick forests and hills through north east Orissa on the west. Need to do more research in the future and explore these parts.
I was quite excited as I neared the Orissa – WB border, since I generally like border crossings, but my enthusiasm was soon dampened with the super lackluster and anti-climatic welcome offered by the state of West Bengal. There was just an unmemorable sign on entry to the state, and if that wasn’t enough, the road quality also seemed to deteriorate compared to the really smooth highways I had for the most part, in the earlier days. Fortunately, this was temporary and a few kilometers in, the road got better again.
I was even carrying my RT-PCR negative report with me, because apparently in Orissa and WB, you’re supposed to be checked at the borders. But as luck would have it, not only was no one bothered to check, but there was no checkpost to even begin with. Maybe it was the rains, or maybe these states aren’t doing the diligence they should be. Who knows?
I was tempted briefly, to take a de-tour to Digha and generally chill on the beach for an hour or so, but since I had a destination in mind and I really wanted to conclude my trip, I decided to just drive straight with no breaks till I reached Kolkata. The roads were quite wet by now and my Creta’s brake was giving weird feedback as I was cruising down the wet highway roads – made a mental note to get my car serviced and check everything, before I continued on from Kolkata.
At my parents suggestion I stopped at a very popular restaurant a few hours away from Kolkata, just before Kolaghat, called Sher-e-Punjab. But on arriving, I realized that it wasn’t just me, but every other car on the road also knew of this restaurant, since it was completely packed and not a single table was available. There was literally a 30 min wait, and for what – a restaurant on the side of the highway. I was anyway uncomfortable with such a crowded spot so decided not to wait, and was happy to move on. Though I would like to say that there seem to be a lot of restaurants around here, apart from Sher-e-Punjab as well, for any future travelers.
I finally reached Kolkata, and drove across the Hooghly River on the Vivekananda/Nivedita Bridge. And instantly I ran into crazy traffic as I entered Kolkata, due to terrible pot-holed roads on Dunlop flyover where three lanes were merged into one. Further down the road, as I approached the airport, I realized that the sides of roads being completely waterlogged and submerged in water, once again was leading to merging of lanes and chaotic traffic. Cars were wheel and bumper deep in the water, and the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in waterlogged waters after a three day drive. So I took a couple of detour and chose a longer route that would avoid the water and ended up wasting over an hour just getting into and through Kolkata and finally reached my destination, Rajarhat, at around 5:30 PM.
Continue reading BHPian solo_llama’s report on his 12,000km cross country drive for more insights and information.
Keyword: A 12,000km & 2 month solo cross country trip in a Hyundai Creta