-Brian Mendonça
My car had done one lakh kilometres. It was recently
souped up with an elaborate servicing
and was raring to go. But could we drive it to Bombay?
The previous night I filled my fuel tank to the brim. At the going rate it was Rs. 2000 for
28 litres. I was keeping an average of 15 km. per litre. (The travel tip was to
always refill when your tank is half-full.)
We set out at 8.15 a.m. after all of us had finished
our morning routines. It would not do to want to visit the loo when we were on
the road. We planned to travel only during daylight
hours.
I decided not to put any pressure on ourselves. I
made a careful study of the route we were to take. I also read travel blogs. Rather than opt for the obvious NH 66 via
Ratnagari, we decided to exit Goa via Chorla Ghat. We were warned the usual
route hugging the coast, which the Bombay- Goa Volvos take, is ridden with
potholes and does not have adequate roadside assistance.
The ghat road welcomed us like an old friend. The
lush foliage made the journey cool and pleasant. After 123 kms. we were in
Belgaum by midday. From there we opted for the Kolhapur route via NH4 to
Kharghar (456 kms.) Sankeshwar and Nipani swept by GPS
guiding us all the way.
Since we were travelling as a family, the car became
our home on wheels. I had packed in about 10 music CDs which we played on our
car audio system. We prayed, said rosaries, and sang hymns. The several toll stops did not dampen our
enthusiasm. We did not inform many about our plans, as we ourselves were not
sure whether we would reach.
The most important thing for the journey was home food. Queenie made a tower
of sandwiches which we voraciously munched on when we were feeling nibbly. We were also reassured that somewhere in the car was Queenie’s sausage pulao
which would serve as lunch. We also took a crate of mineral water.
We reached
Kolhapur around 2.30 p.m. MacDonald’s looked inviting so we had our pulao in
the car park and stepped in for dessert and to freshen up. By that time our
phones were almost depleted and we rued the fact we did not have a power bank or a car charger.
The stretch from
Kolhapur to Satara was choc-a-bloc with traffic jams with road work and of cars
returning after Diwali. At 10 p.m. we stopped for dinner at Hotel Neelkamal at
Varve. My legs were numb. We drove on till midnight and made a night halt at Wakad. The next
day we slipped onto the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and in a couple of hours, we were
home in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai in no time. We had driven approximately 580 kms.
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Thanks Jose Henriques for inspiring me to do the road trip. (The
words in bold are the things to factor in for the long haul.) Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, St. Inez, Goa on 25 November 2018.
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