Tuesday, June 17, 2008

1465 Kms. in 4 days!!!
Yes, thats true. I drove my Swift all the way to Ahmedabad and back covering about 1465 kms. in 4 days. The trip started on 12th June '08 at 7:00 AM from Pune and the first stop was Vapi (Gujarat) at 1:00 PM. We had lunch at a cousin's place there and decide to stop over for the night. We visited Daman (U.T.), in the evening, which is about 10 kms. from Vapi and back by night.

Then on 13th morning, we said goodbye to our cousins and left for Dandi, the famous place where Gandhiji broke the Salt act! We stayed there for an hour for a pilgirmage place and left around 8:30 from there for Surat (Gujarat). Reached Surat by 12:00 PM. What a congested city it is. Spent an hour visiting another pilgrimage there and then mom's usual shopping started which got over only by 4 PM. We left Surat at 4-4:30 PM for Baroda(Gujarat), but had to stop on the highway just outside Surat for lunch. Had lunch and started the drive towards Baroda(Gujarat). The highway between Surat and Baroda is under construction for a 6 lane, so it was all dug up and only one lane was active which was obviously congested by the trucks going towards North India. Somehow overtaking and moving slow and steady we reached Baroda by 9 PM. I was so exhausted by this drive that I just fell asleep that evening with very little food.

The next day, 14th June '08, we got up and visited another pilgrimage in Baroda and bid farewell to our cousins there and left for Ahmedabad city. The road between Baroda and Ahmedabad is an expressway which has very less traffic which made the drive smooooooth. Reached Ahmedabad by 11 AM. Were welcomed by Police waiting for their regular income. Had to give away 100 bucks for not having the co-driver's seat belt and the yellow strip on the right headlamp... Visited the much awaited pilgrimage the trip was planned for and by 12 we were all set to leave from Ahmedabad. We planned to cover up as much by evening and reach Vapi for a halt. The start was good but we got stuck up after a place called Bharuch on the highway. Its was just packed and we spent 2 hours just sitting there on the highway doing nothing but only listening to music. That was bad. And not to mention heavy rainfall that was rendering the windshield unusable. Had to turn on the A/C. to get the fog away from the glass. Then started overtaking from the left side and ended up getting off the road into the mud and what not. But it was an experience of a lifetime. Patience is really necessary on the road. Finally we crossed the bottleneck and started moving swiftly but it was already dark by that time. The problem with driving in dark is that I start getting headaches. Later realised that I could not see anything on the road since there were no light on the road and my headlamps were not effective. Then we stopped at a restaurant on the way and found that the headlamps were fully covered by mud and hence they were not effective. Cleaned the headlamps and there we go, the lights were so powerful that I did not have any problems further. Moved from there and covered the odd 400 kms by 11 PM in the night. Reached Vapi safe and sound, had dinner, one combiflam tablet and slept.

On 15th morning we started by around 10:30 AM from Vapi towards Pune and just missed an accident (touchwood) with a biker. Then just kept moving forward and reached Vasai and took a left toward the expressway. After that it was just a smooth drive back home. Reached home by 4:30 PM and had lunch and slept. Got up the next morning!

All in all a great experience on the road that taught me a lot of things. The trip covered Pune->Vapi->Daman->Vapi->Dandi->Surat->Baroda->Ahmedabad->Vapi->Pune.

DONOT FORGET TO HAVE THE YELLOW STRIP ON THE RIGHT HEADLAMP WHILE TRAVELLING TO GUJARAT... IT'S A MUST!

Monday, April 28, 2008

My new addiction!















Yes, I am addicted to something these days and hang on its not a bad addiction. Well, am addicted to my new Honda DIO which I bought on 18th April '08(booked on 15th April). The bike was bought as a gift for my dad on his birthday. He is the one who uses it all the time but I am the one waiting to use it ;) I try to get my hands on this Blue-Black beauty whenever dad is not using it. The best thing I like about this piece is that you don't need to do anything except for accelerating if you have to start and braking if you have to stop. A sweet and simple bike with sporty looks. This is one babe that really turns heads...



Well for the tech specs, the bike has the same engine as the Activa (and now Aviator), a 102 cc 4-stroke air cooled engine. The bike has automatic gears and a small fuel tank of 6 litres(which could be a disappointment for people looking for a long ride). The bike has ample space under the seat and claims to have a mileage of 50-55 kms per litre, more than the Activa and Aviator. The reason is simple as quoted by Honda officials, the bike is 11 kgs lighter than the Activa. This is due to the fact that the body of DIO is all fibre and Activa is all metal. The only thing I miss on this bike from my bikes is the suspension. This beauty is not something that performs well on bad roads, could be due to the fact that it has smaller tyres...
Well after driving this bike, my Pulsar feels too heavy to drive ;) Will keep you posted about the bike later. Vrooooom...

Sunday, January 20, 2008

My First Car!!!
Yes, I finally got one... A Pearl White Maruti Suzuki Swift(II) Vxi. I was too excited about the car and had to wait for a long 25 days to get hold of the car! I booked the car on 26th December 2007 and the dealer told me that the car would be delivered only in 2nd week of Jan 2008, which meant I wasn't getting the old price benefit :( But for the extra 7 grands I paid, I am happy to see the 2nd generation Swift... There are quite a few small changes that have been made over the older swift. They told me that the front bumper was changed (I didn't notice any changes though) and hence getting MGA mudguards fitted would be done later, since the older mudguards did not fit due to bumper changes...

Other changes (that I could notice easily) are a Digital Clock on the dashboard, the new rear tail lamps, the wheel caps and supposedly the lights on the console (I am not sure about these as I haven't been able to compare with an older model). Here are a few pics of what it looks like:




Monday, January 07, 2008

Pathetic Customer Support, courtesy TATA INDICOM BROADBAND by VSNL!

I completely agree and have been through the pains of the so called great service by VSNL, mentioned here. Do read and beware of VSNL. VSNL - Not recommended at all...