It all started with Hyderabad weather turning crazy hot and the water crisis becoming a daily issue. I just wanted to get away to a colder place. The choices were either Himalayas or Western Ghats down south. Himalayas were ruled out because of a huge head-start requirement and poor internet connectivity. So, the only choice was western ghats.
Right around the same time, my wife booked a flight for home (Ahmedabad) and she was going out for two weeks. I definitely didn’t want to suffer the heat all by myself. I decided to drive to Kodaikanal and neighboring hill stations.
Background
I am a software engineer while my wife is a Research Scholar pursuing her PhD. We work remotely (from home) and can work from anywhere with a basic 3G connectivity. I work in CST/CDT timezone meaning I work all night long and I am mostly free in the daytime (well, at least when I am not sleeping). Like everyone else, I don’t work on weekends and hence they are used to cover either long distances or staying nearer to the wildlife or remote places without worrying about connectivity.
The Ride
2009 Honda City iVtec with 1,00,000 KMs on the odo.
Stats
Length : 4,525 KMs
Duration : 5 Weeks
Total Fuel : 370 L (Petrol)
Fuel Cost : Rs. 23,956
Fuel Economy : 9.15-15.71 (12.16 Average)
Route
Hyderabad – Chennai – Kodaikanal – Marayoor – Munnar – Kochi – Vagamon – Thekkady – Munnar – Palakkad – Kalpetta (Wayanad) – Masinagudi – Ooty – Ananthpur (AP) – Hyderabad.
Since this was a long trip, I’ll try to be as brief as possible posting only relevant and useful information.
We try to record as many videos as technically and humanly possible while we are on the road. Below is the playlist for this trip. Video quality hasn’t been good so far. I promise to keep my windshield cleaner in future 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis…FNyCSUwVwI-Yal
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Teaser
Index
- Hyderabad – Kodaikanal / Apr 23 – Apr 24
- Kodaikanal / Apr 24 – Apr 29
- Kodaikanal – Amaravathi – Marayoor / Apr 30 – May 1
- Munnar – Kochi – Vagamon – Thekkady / May 2 – May 8
- Munnar / May 9 – May 13
- Munnar – Palakkad – Wayanad / May 14 – May 15
- Kalpetta, Wayanad / May 16 – May 20
- Masinagudi / May 21 – May 22
- Ooty / May 23 – May 27
- Ananthpur – Hyderabad / May 28 – May 29
Since this is a long Travelogue spread over 5 weeks, we will break up the journey into several blog posts which will be published in parts/phases.
For the next part click here