A Fiat Love Story Day-0

A FIAT LOVE STORY

For long I planned to take a vacation & take a long personal drive in my FIAT Palio 1.6 GTX taking my wife & 2 kids along (son 5&½ yrs & daughter 1&½ yrs).

We took our little pocket rocket the Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX and only 4 of us with our beloved FIAT Palio 1.6 GTX wanted to spend good quality time with each other.

We visited various cities & towns & villages in 4 different states (Kerala, Karnataka, Goa & Maharastra) in our FIAT Palio car covering 3334 kilometers start to end.

Finally I have one word to say – It was worth the money & time spent when I saw the happiness & joy in the faces of my wife Jamuna, son Uthamkumar 5 & ½ years and daughter Shri Meenakshi 1& ½ years old.

We saw various places for the first time together and we enjoyed every moment of it.

On our return back my son & wife said we should do this more often reminded me of the slogan “Ye Dil Mange More!!!”
Finally I have finalized the dates coinciding with my son's school vacation during from 20th December 2008.

Date of Start: 20th December 2008 Date of Return: 4th January 2009

I am driving in the following routes.

The brief trip details of distances planned are as follows

Sector 1 – 186 kms

Sector 2 – 297 kms

Sector 3 – 310 kms

Sector 4 – 210 kms

Sector 5 – 193 kms

Sector 6 – 107 kms

Sector 7 – 195 kms

Sector 8 – 496 kms

Misc – 400 kms -

Total kms planned to cover approx 2400 kms in 15 days

Actual distance covered in 15 days was 3334kms

The complete planned details are as follows:

Sector 1: Coimbatore to Calicut Kerala (Kozhikode): NH 213. Distance – 186 kms

Date of Departure: 20th December 2008 (Saturday) Departure: Coimbatore – 4 AM Early morning Arrival: Calicut 9 AM (Avg Time – 4 - 5 hours)

Stay at Hotel in Calicut: 2 Days (20th Saturday & 21st Sunday)

Route: Coimbatore  Palakkad - Mannarkad - Peruthalmanna - Malappuram - Ramanattukara – Kozhikode

Places to Visit: Kappakkadavu Beach, Pazhassiraja Museum, Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, Thali Shiva Temple, Dolphin's Point, Ettamanoor Shiva Temple, Back Waters

Sector 2: Calicut to Mangalore: NH – 17 Distance – 297 kms

Date of Departure: 22nd December 2008 (Monday) Departure: Calicut – 6 AM Arrival: Malpe Beach 2 PM (Avg Time – 4 - 5 hours)

Stay at Hotel in Malpe Beach: 3 Days (22nd Monday to 24th Wednesday)

Route: Kozhikode - Thalassery - Cannanore - Pappiniseri - Kanhangad - Kasargode - Manjeshwar - Ullal - Mangalore - Udupi - Malpe Beach

Places to Visit: Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, Dhamastala Manjunatha Shiva Temple, Kukke Subramanya Lord Karthikeya Muruga Temple, Kollur Mookambika Temple,

Sector 3: Mangalore to Goa: NH – 17 Distance – 310 kms

Date of departure: 25th December 2008 (Thursday) Departure: Malpe: 6 AM Arrival: Goa 8 PM

Stay at Goa Mapsa – 1 Night (25th Thursday) at Family Friend's house in Mapsa

Route: Udupi - Kumta - Karwar - Panaji Goa

Places to Visit: Enroute to Goa - Gokarna Atmalinga Shiva Temple, Murudeshwara Temple, OM Beach,

Places to visit at Goa: I skipped visiting any beaches or site seeing places in Goa due to Security / Safety reasons.

Sector 4: Goa to Gokak Falls: State Highways NH – 17 to Sawanthwadi & Local Roads to Gokak Distance – 210 kms

Date of Departure: 27th December 2008 (Saturday) Departure: Mapsa Goa: 6 AM Arrival Gokak Falls: 7 PM

Stay at Gokak Falls: 1 day (27th Saturday night & 28th Sunday)

Route: Goa - Sawanthwadi - Amboli Ghat - Ajra – Ghadhinglaj - Sankeshwar - Gokak Falls

Places to Visit: Enroute Amboli Ghat & Swanthwadi

Places to Visit at Gokak Falls: Water Falls, Hanging Bridge, Shiva Temple near Water Falls, my Primary & High School at Gokak Mills, & Kemple Park

Sector 5: Gokak Falls to Dandeli Wild Life Sanctuary Distance – 193 kms

Date of Departure: 29th December 2008 (Monday) Departure Gokak Falls: 6 AM, Dandeli: 4 PM Arrival Sirsi: 8 PM

Route: Gokak Falls – Belgaum – Dharwad - Dandeli

Departure: Gokak Falls 6 AM Arrival Dandeli: 1 PM

Places to Visit: River Kali, Sykes Point, Synthetic Rocks

Sector 6: Dandeli to Sirsi Distance – 107 kms

Route: Dandeli - Haliyal - Yellapur – Sirsi

Stay at Sirsi: 3 Days (30th Tuesday, 31st Wednesday & 1st Thursday)

Places to Visit: Sathodi Falls Yellapur, Sirsi Sri Marikamba Temple, Manjuguni Lord Venkataramana Temple, Jog Falls, Sahasra Linaga, Yana, Madhukeshwara Temple, Banavasi, Lushington / Unchalli Falls

Sector 7: Sirsi to Mangalore Distance – 195 kms + Mangalore to Calicut – 297 kms = 492 kms + 74 kms to Kalpeta

Date of Departure: 2nd January 2009 (Friday) Departure: Sirsi 6 AM Arrival Calicut 6 PM, Kalpeta 9 PM

Stay at Calicut / Kalpeta Wayanad: 2nd January night, 3rd & leave on 4th afternoon back to Coimbatore

Route: Sirsi - Kumta – Bhatkal – Udupi / Malpe - Mangalore

Places to Visit: Pootkoot Lake, Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, Banasura Sagar Dam, Edakkal Caves, Soochipara Waterfalls, Kanthanpara Waterfalls

Sector 8: Calicut to Coimbatore 186 kms

Route: Calicut to Coimbatore – 186 kms

I will be writing a detailed travelogue and will be posting lots of pictures. I will share them with you all shortly.

I have made all the necessary preparations for the car – I have got my GTX serviced (84000 kms service) last week, changed wiper blades front & rear, & and have already driven 1000 kms last week official visit Coimbtore - Salem - Namakkal - Ariyalur Trichy - Coimbatore the ODO now reads 85095 kms. On 19th December I will just get the car once again checked up for fluid levels.

I will be carrying Original papers (RC, Insurance, License, Pollution Certificate, Photo-ID, MAPS, print out of my detailed travel plan, Foot Pump, Tyre Pressure Guage, Spare Tyre, tow rope, tools, Music CDs, a note book to keep track of places, distance & anything of interest to be noted down.

I have made a detailed check list. I am carrying my LAPTOP with most of the links of places to be visited saved in different folders in favorites. I will be carrying a camcorder & digital camera and will store the pictures & video on a memory stick / DVDs.

Finally just before start of the journey on 20th December 2008 early morning a sincere heartful prayer to Lord Ganesha to ward of any evils & give a trouble free & safe jouney.

I am completely avoiding any night time driving although I love night time driving very much. I will be in touch with you all.

Please click on this link to read the blog of Day-1 Coimbatore to Calicut.

http://mn-fiatlovestory.blogspot.com/2011/10/fiat-love-story-day-1.html