Tale of two weekends

Monday Again!!!
I drove to my hometown (a small village near Puttur, Dakshina Kannada) twice in last two weeks. Here is a summary of my experiences during both trips.

Week 1:
All of us wanted to go home to attend a function. Getting tickets booked in the bus or the only train was out of question because of opening of schools. So decided to drive from Bangalore.
It was 4.25 AM on 27th May when I brought the Innova to life. After 2 minutes of idling, slowly rolled out of our house at Whitefield. It was 5.30 AM when we reached Nelamangala cross. Crossed Kunigal, Chennarayapatna and we were at Kamath, Udayapura by 7.15 AM. Roads were fairly good, but the 4-laning work is in progress. Be careful about the monstrous Volvos coming from opposite direction with high beams. They will not bother to stop even if they see you frantically flashing lights. Best thing to do is pull over and stop if you see an oncoming bus in the wrong side from opposite direction.
Had chow-chow bhath and dosas for breakfast and left Kamath at 7.45 AM. Took the bypass to Hassan and drove via Sakaleshpur. Once we crossed Sakaleshpur, we were surprised to see the Shiradi ghat having fresh layer of tarmac. Las time when we travelled a year ago, it was like a good offloading experience. At 9.30, we were at Dharmashtala cross. Took a right and drove towards Dharmashtala (20 kms from NH 48) and reached at 10 AM. Took rest in my aunt’s house for nearly two hours and drove towards Puttur, a distance of 50 kms and two hours. At the end of the trip, trip meter A was showing 380+ kms.
Return Journey was by the same route. Left Puttur at 10 AM and reached Whitefield at 6 PM. With a lunch break at Kamath again.

Log:
Kms Travelled: ~800 kms
Vehicle: Innova G4 Diesel - which is 2 years and 25000 kms old.
Mileage in this trip was 11.5 kms. Dual AC on all the time.
Do I need to explain the good ride quality, reliability, car like handling and capable of moving more people with comfort. Overtaking extra large Gas tankers was a breeze. Tried cornering once or twice and found that it is not safe to do in a car like Innova.

Week 2:
Had to go home in the very next weekend.
Again we started at 4.25 AM on Saturday. Almost the same schedule till Sakaleshpur. This time we drove directly to Puttur. Reached Puttur at 10.30 AM.
Only difference this time was the vehicle we drove and heavy rain. After crossing the Shiradi Ghat, we encountered heavy rain for 30 – 40 minutes. Could not see anything other than tail lights of the truck which we were following. Felt good to see such rain after 2-3 years.
While coming back I took the wheel from Puttur. When I was squeezing myself in to the driver’s seat, I felt that there is some water in the foot well. Bent down to check, wow, it was almost half bucket of water. Failed to diagnose the source of water. Went to a nearby shop and bought a sponge to put the water out. Stopped at Uppinangady, wiped out water from foot wells and moved towards Shiradi Ghat. Again it started raining heavily, could feel cold water in the foot well again. I was not wrong; it was same amount of water. Again, stopped and wiped the water and moved. Fortunately, the rain stopped and there was no more water accumulation below driver’s seat.
On return drive, we left Puttur at 12 PM and reached Whitefield at 7.30 PM.

Log:
Kms Travelled: ~ 800 kms
Vehicle: Indica Turbo DLX – 3 years and 50000 kms old.
Mileage: 16.5 KMPL with 100% AC
Again, do I need to explain the pathetic in cabin noise, bad pickup, poor braking, vibration and finally, good economy. But I found out a way to overtake quickly, keep the car always in 2000 RPM, it will fly. But if you plan to overtake when you are doing below 2K RPM, it’s an attempt to suicide. So, whenever you want to overtake, shift to whatever gear required, keep the car in 2K+ RPM range.
When you bring the car to life in cold mornings, it sounds like a tractor and emits thick black smoke like a tile factory chimney. Only good word about this car is the economy and low cost of ownership (really??????).

Foot Notes:
Be very careful while overtaking in the ghat section. Do not overtake in curves.
Leave Bangalore early in the morning to beat the traffic till Nelamangala.
Careful about the oncoming bus traffic.
Do not try cornering if it rains.