Bangalore to Kolkata road trip with dog in Ford Ecosport by Deep Mukherjee in early January 2021

Finally the dream of my long awaited road trip from  Bangalore to Kolkata (Bangalore_Kolkata) was fullfilled in January 2021. 

Car: Ford Ecosport. 

Total Distance covered: 1950+ kms. 

States Covered: 4

Number of Days of travel: 3 (no night travel). 

Travellers: 2 Adult (myself and father-in-law) and my dog Coco 🐶

Driver: 1

Start Date and Time from Bangalore: 5th January 2021 @4:30AM

End Date and Time in Kolkata: 7th January 2021 @5:30 PM

Early prep: Loaded the Car 18hrs prior to the drive. Bought all kinds of dry food and fruits for our lunch and dinner as we avoided hotels and dhabas. Took my dog to the vet 7 days prior for a checkup for the drive.

Day 1 - 

Plan was to start at 3 AM but being a Bong :P got delayed and started around 4:30 AM. The plan was to reach River Bay Resort @Rajahmundry approx. 850+ KM. The road till Tirupati was good. Luckily there was no Fog and very less traffic. Post crossing Tirupati the road became narrow and speed got reduced and along with that with my surprise received first heavy rainfall of 2021 which reduced the speed to another low level. The visibility was very less with narrow roads made the drive little risky but managed to cross the stretch without any issues. Somehow touched NH16 and then it was a great relief as the roads were awesome and were able to make up the time lost in the bad stretch. Later in the afternoon found a nice spot under a tea for breakfast and later lunch. Got traffic in  Vijaywada as we entered the City but not so much.  The roads from Vijayawada to Rajahmundry was not so great as there were multiple patches. Reached Resort by 7:30 PM.

Note: if you are planning to stay in River Bay resort. The Wonderful GMAP Aunty will show you a shortcut which is near about 30-40 KMS deviation from NH16. NEVER EVER AVAIL THAT as we took it and the drive was NIGHTMARE. It felt like I was driving in the MOON as there were no roads and full of craters and potholes. Thanks to Ford Ecosport Ground clearance we were able to get out of that area harmless.

Day 2 - 

Left River Bay Resort at morning 8 am and today’s destination was Bhubaneswar approx. 700 KM drive. The roads were manageable till you enter Vizag. GMap will ask you to take a diverted route and will show you a road which you can take to Skip the Vizag city and will merge you back to NH16. That was the correct decision as Vizag had super traffic Jam. Post that route the scenic beauty and the road condition till Orrisa Border was amazing. But once you enter Orissa the diversions starts as the entire stretch of NH16 is under maintenance. Reached BBSR hotel around 8 PM.

Day 3 - 

Was super excited as this was the day when I will reach home in Kolkata. Started the journey around 8 AM. After leaving BBSR and till Balasore there were more than 50+ diversion at frequent intervals. It will make you angry and impatient coz you won’t be able to drive straight for a long time. After Balasore the roads are again super amazing till Santragachi. Reached home around 5:30 PM.

My father-in-aw accompanied me for this drive as my child was too small for this long one. My wife and 2 months old daughter had already reached Kolkata by flight and were waiting for the 3 of us to reach safely. 

The overall driving experience was amazing. Post completing every day’s stretch and post reaching home we never experienced the drive hangover because of the car’s comfort and excitement. Enjoyed every second of the drive and the scenic beauties were amazing. My Dog enjoyed the entire drive and was sleeping most of the time and was only waking up while crossing toll booth to check fast tags are working or not.

Note: Once you touch NH16 at Naidupeta, never ever deviate from this and continue till you reach Kolkata outskirts.

Source: Travelogue posted by Deep Mukherjee in Indian Roadie group on Facebook.