Bloody Ditch!

I am not sure if it is a good idea to be totally disconnected from the world while on vacation, and by disconnected I mean no phone / no Internet. Well, I did have my phone with me but conveniently pretended that it didn't exist. (I have already sent my apologies for not replying to messages and calls)

So, though there were lots of things to write about I couldn't. Let me begin with telling you about the start of our vacation. A vacation we were all eagerly looking forward to.

We set off to Mangalore on 20th morning (December), or rather noon though the plan was to leave before dawn. Dawn came and so did the scorching noon heat and by then we had only barely touched the outskirts of Bangalore.
All of us were looking forward to the break in hot and humid Mangalore. Ooh yes we love the heat and sweat that takes upon us when we are there.
The journey was excruciating, mainly for Santhosh who drove all the way, now that he is an expert ditch dodger. If you're ever going to drive to Mangalore avoid the Sakleshpur route, the ghats are ghastly. My brother-in-law actually switched from taking scenic photos of the ghats to the wonder that is called the 'Indian Road'. Believe me, these roads give you a whole new perspective to the term 'roads'.

I'll post some photographs later and you will know what I am talking about.

All of us got a free roller coaster ride which was one of its kind, of course at the risk of our poor car visiting the service station soon.

There were some spots on the road where Santhosh had to stop to negotiate and decide which was the least risk angle to manoeuvre the car and move ahead. At one point he did a u-turn (because reversing was risky) and at a safe distance strategized his next move. Sounds like an action flick eh? The joys of driving on Indian roads, let me tell you.

After about nine hours of driving we thankfully reached Mangalore with bones in the right places, people, car and all.

- Kavisha Pinto