Prelude - Anniversary in Wayanad

[Figoian]

Guys - I am planning for trip to Wayanad by this month end to celebrate our anniversary. Two more friends / family from Bangalore and one family from Chennai is joining us too.

Need suggestions on the following points.

Travel:

• We & another family in our Figo. The 3rd Family may take their i-10 or opt to go till Coimbatore by Train and take their relative's car from there to Wayanad.
• Family from Chennai is coming by Train. Guess, the nearest station is Calicut. Any other options? How to reach Wayanad from Calicut?
• Route from Bangalore: Bangalore - Mysore - Wayanad. Any other options? How is the road conditions etc.

Stay:

Decided with Homestay for few reasons. Homely Feeling, Home Made Type Food of the Local Cuisine - Can't think of anything else when in Kerala... Most importantly, all families can stay in one place which is more fun and serves the purpose of having such a getaway. I dislike single room type of hotel / resorts for that reason. Cottage can be a good option too. However, it's more expensive and accommodating 4 families may not be possible, generally.

We are looking for some good homestay options and working on it. Any suggestions are welcome.

Places of Interest:

List all that you know. Some are saying, driving by own in Wayanad is not advisable. Any reason that you know? Because, it's hilly etc.? I don't think it would be a challenge. Yet, need suggestions from folks had been there.

What else?

 

[AR Ram]

Guys - I am planning for trip to Wayanad by this month end to celebrate our anniversary. Two more friends / family from Bangalore and one family from Chennai is joining us too.

Need suggestions on the following points.

Travel:

• We & another family in our Figo. The 3rd Family may take their i-10 or opt to go till Coimbatore by Train and take their relative's car from there to Wayanad.
• Family from Chennai is coming by Train. Guess, the nearest station is Calicut. Any other options? How to reach Wayanad from Calicut?
• Route from Bangalore: Bangalore - Mysore - Wayanad. Any other options? How is the road conditions etc.

Stay:

Decided with Homestay for few reasons. Homely Feeling, Home Made Type Food of the Local Cuisine - Can't think of anything else when in Kerala... Most importantly, all families can stay in one place which is more fun and serves the purpose of having such a getaway. I dislike single room type of hotel / resorts for that reason. Cottage can be a good option too. However, it's more expensive and accommodating 4 families may not be possible, generally.

We are looking for some good homestay options and working on it. Any suggestions are welcome.

Places of Interest:

List all that you know. Some are saying, driving by own in Wayanad is not advisable. Any reason that you know? Because, it's hilly etc.? I don't think it would be a challenge. Yet, need suggestions from folks had been there.

What else?

wayanad is a good place. Until two weeks back it was raining heavily there, so get the weather up date. From Bangalore the route is via Mysore>Gundlupet>Sultanbathery>Kalpetta. After Gundlupet till Sulthanbathery road will be closed during nights in the forest range.

Driving in Wayanad is not a problem, its just like any other place in Kerala

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/voyage-junction/10815-my-trip-valparai-wayanad.html

 

[Fyzy09]

Route from Bangalore: Bangalore - Mysore - Wayanad. Any other options? How is the road conditions etc.
[/LIST]

Places of Interest:

Hi Figoian,

The route mentioned by Ram Sir is the best route to reach Wayanad.
Last week I had a couple of friends doing the Bangalore-Wayanad drive and was told that a certain stretch in Gundelpet was bad, yet drivable. The rest of the road till Wayanad is good, if not great, with a pot hole here and there.

It is safe to drive to Wayanad. I have done this drive a couple of times (in a Maruti Zen and Hyundai i10) and faced no issues with respect to safety or any other issues.

Places of Interest to me are,
Edakkal Caves, Banasurasagara Dam (Do not miss), Kanthanpara falls and Soojippara falls.

We had also been to Kuruva Island across Kabini River, Pookod Lake and Karappuzha dam (You can skip this, nothing good about the places).

 

[Figoian]

Hi Figoian,

The route mentioned by Ram Sir is the best route to reach Wayanad.
Last week I had a couple of friends doing the Bangalore-Wayanad drive and was told that a certain stretch in Gundelpet was bad, yet drivable. The rest of the road till Wayanad is good, if not great, with a pot hole here and there.

It is safe to drive to Wayanad. I have done this drive a couple of times (in a Maruti Zen and Hyundai i10) and faced no issues with respect to safety or any other issues.

Places of Interest to me are,
Edakkal Caves, Banasurasagara Dam (Do not miss), Kanthanpara falls and Soojippara falls.

We had also been to Kuruva Island across Kabini River, Pookod Lake and Karappuzha dam (You can skip this, nothing good about the places).

Thanks Buddy. Is this all doable in 2 days? Our plan is to reach there by Friday evening and start back from there by Sunday afternoon.

I heard, one of the stretch is thru reserved forest and no vehicles are allowed after 7 PM. Can anyone throw some light on this?

 

[Fyzy09]

Thanks Buddy. Is this all doable in 2 days? Our plan is to reach there by Friday evening and start back from there by Sunday afternoon.

I heard, one of the stretch is thru reserved forest and no vehicles are allowed after 7 PM. Can anyone throw some light on this?

Yes, 2 days are good enough to look around Wayanad.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that earlier, yes, you will not be allowed to cross the check points (to and fro) after 6pm and will have to wait for it to open up at 6 am.

 

[Figoian]

From Bangalore the route is via Mysore>Gundlupet>Sultanbathery>Kalpetta. After Gundlupet till Sulthanbathery road will be closed during nights in the forest range.

The route mentioned by Ram Sir is the best route to reach Wayanad.
Last week I had a couple of friends doing the Bangalore-Wayanad drive and was told that a certain stretch in Gundelpet was bad, yet drivable. The rest of the road till Wayanad is good, if not great, with a pot hole here and there.

How about this route?



Suggested by another friend, hence wanted to check on this route as well. I would prefer good roads even if it's little longer than shorter ones with bad roads.

 

[Fyzy09]

How about this route?
Suggested by another friend, hence wanted to check on this route as well. I would prefer good roads even if it's little longer than shorter ones with bad roads.

Figoian,

Not sure about this buddy. Never tried that route.

 

[Figoian]

Almost set for the trip. Unfortunately, the friends joining from Chennai weren't able to get tickets for the desired train. Hence, taking another one which is reaching Calicut by 4 AM and they are going to take bus from there to Wayand. Though we weren't happy with this option, we got to take as it's the only choice.

Now the questions are,

1. How far is the Bus Stand from the Railway Station?
2. Would they get some auto from the Railway Station to Bus Stand that early hours?
3. Any idea when is the 1st bus to Wayanad (Muttil) from Calicut or how frequent would they get bus?

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Moreover, we got to book their return tickets thru Tatkal on Saturday. Hope will have some better network connectivity there...

 

[Gurrala74]

Hey Subbu,

Finally you are on a beautiful trip buddy and my advance congratulations on the Anniversary !!

Glued to the thread to see all the updates about wayanad trip from Bangalore as it may be useful for me in future I wish you all the best and safe journey back home

 

[Figoian]

Done with the Wayanad Trip with some mixed to bitter experiences. Here is the one to show off...

Gifted by an Eicher Tempo at ORR, Mysore while heading to Wayanad last weekend. Tail Gate, Bumper & Right Quarter Panel area took the hit. Gave it for Body Shop Work today and got an estimate of about 52K...

Accident - While I just entered the ORR in Mysore, there was a cross junction in which an Omni came speeding from the side road to the highway and almost hit my friend in i-10 ahead of me. He braked and I did so but not the one behind me...

Damage on Tail Gate & Bumper. FASS as usual recommended on changing it, while I believe the insurance company will negotiate on it. Bumper will be changed anyway.





The impact is on the side panel below quarter glass. This is just not a dent but the whole panel is moved a bit to front. Seems they would fix it if possible, else to be replaced. That's going to be a bomb...

 

[Fyzy09]

OMG!! This is pathetic Sorry to hear this happened. I hope nobody got hurt.
Did the TT driver accept to bear the cost??

 

[Gurrala74]

Oh !! what a news Subbu, very sad to see your car in such condition. Wish you get 100% from insurance company and car back to its original shape.

 

[appus]

Sad to hear Figoian. Go for insurance and replace what ever required. If you want to change this after an year or two, the cost would be much higher than doing now. I would suggest you to change the bumper also. I think you will get 100% paint job included in insurance. Rattling noise etc can be avoided if you change the parts than repair/temporary fix.

I do not even have the courage to ask 'did you enjoy your trip'.! Hope you had a great time excluding one bad experience.

Take care & Drive safe

ORR near Nayandahalli ? Normally vehicle go very slow there as the construction is going on.

 

[AR Ram]

Figoian, Its really shocking. But at times it happens, even if it is not the mistake of yours. Though it is disturbing, especially when you are passionate on your car, let us think that nothing major happened. I am sure this can be corrected perfectly, and nobody can make out later. Since the vehicle is almost new, the insurance company will pay without much depreciation. Before you take delivery after the work is done, make sure that there is no colour variation on the paint.

 

[Figoian]

OMG!! This is pathetic Sorry to hear this happened. I hope nobody got hurt.
Did the TT driver accept to bear the cost??

Yup, none were hurt. That's the good thing.

Do you think those guys will agree for anything? After the bang, I told him to stop and went behind to check out the damage. By that time, he flew from the spot. I chased him in about 140+ and caught him after 3 - 4 KMs just before he is going to take the turn to Mysore City. But nothing worked much, especially the lack of fluency in local language (Kannada). I took his Vehicle Number and DL copy, which won't help much.

I should have stayed there and called the police for some settlement at least. But, we had 3 families with 3 kids on the road there, which I thought to be more important than money. Though it's a bright day time, such inconvenience would spoil everyone's mood and especially on a holiday.

Oh !! what a news Subbu, very sad to see your car in such condition. Wish you get 100% from insurance company and car back to its original shape.

Thanks RK. Not 100%, some parts were 50% covered and some were 85%. Some labor costs are 100% covered though. Let's see what's the final bill and my share after the survey by the Insurance Rep.

Sad to hear Figoian. Go for insurance and replace what ever required. If you want to change this after an year or two, the cost would be much higher than doing now. I would suggest you to change the bumper also. I think you will get 100% paint job included in insurance. Rattling noise etc can be avoided if you change the parts than repair/temporary fix.

I do not even have the courage to ask 'did you enjoy your trip'.! Hope you had a great time excluding one bad experience.

Take care & Drive safe

ORR near Nayandahalli ? Normally vehicle go very slow there as the construction is going on.

Yes. I have left it to FASS & Insurance to decide what to be replaced or repaired. I won't leave anything for later.

Yes, despite of all these, we enjoyed our trip. Though it wasn't so easy to take, I made up my mind to ignore it as it will spoil the mood of everyone and the whole purpose of the holiday will be spoiled too. Moreover, I already had such an experience last yet (http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...e/8464-ford-figo-got-banged-twice-3-days.html), so I managed to deal with it better this time. Yet, I couldn't take it off my mind completely and keep recurring often...

I don't remember the exact location. I took left @ the Colombia Asia Hospital junction and few KMs ahead. Few KMs before the right turn to Mysore / Ooty Road. No constructions found there and I guess it's a new road.

Figoian, Its really shocking. But at times it happens, even if it is not the mistake of yours. Though it is disturbing, especially when you are passionate on your car, let us think that nothing major happened. I am sure this can be corrected perfectly, and nobody can make out later. Since the vehicle is almost new, the insurance company will pay without much depreciation. Before you take delivery after the work is done, make sure that there is no colour variation on the paint.

Yes Ram Sir. It's disturbing, but will have to deal with it. I am sure will get it back in shape soon.

The car is in the 3rd year so 15% deprecation on metal parts. Plastic parts are anyways only 50% and few others we also 15 & 50% covered. Waiting for the call from Surveyor to know the final details.