Lang's trip to India

Amazing adventure Lang...seems like a lot of Asia /India is the same- make it work, find a way, go round the problem, load er up till she's full. I guess a bit like we were fifty years ago?
Safe trip!
Rich

12 December

We decided on an early getaway from Bengaluru and set off in the pouring rain just after first light. There were some difficulties getting out of town with several main routes closed and various back alley rat-runs eventually saw us on the highway west along with every truck in southern India.

We managed to keep momentum up despite being stuck behind trucks 3 wide across the road with one doing 40kmh and the other two doing 41kmh passing him on either side. Having missed our early morning chai we stopped at a roadside stall for a break. It is interesting how boiled milk and sugar can taste so different as every barista has his own chai mix. We have never been disappointed yet.

Wheeling into Davangere, our planned stop, and what to our surprise to find our fourth hotel cancelled, this time for a “fat” wedding. It was still early so we pressed on to Haveri. Google Maps directed us back onto the freeway via a 4 kilometre road route but I spotted a goat track for motorcycles going up the bank onto the highway so the mighty Suzuki was up to the task and sprang up the track onto the main road.

A few adventures along the way with trucks, bikes and some exceptionally crazy drivers saw us roll into Haveri to discover the delightful Shiva Residency Hotel. It was right next door to the Piaggio dealers so I went to have a look at the little Ape (bee in Italian) three wheeler trucks. 650cc of raw power and only $AU6,000. Salesmen are the same all over and when I asked what they can carry with their tuktuk rear axle he said “One ton”. After I had stopped laughing he assured me that the local sugar cane mill carry one and a half tons on theirs. I think he added an extra zero to the factory brochure specifications.

We went for a drive including the small Siddhesuara Temple carved out of solid sandstone 1,000 years ago.
Next morning another early start. It really makes a difference as nothing gets really going until about 0800. Another chai stop and then we launched off the main highway leading to Pune and Mumbai onto a secondary road leading to Goa. By far the nicest drive so far.

Goa is on about the same lattitude north as Cooktown in Australia is south and the mountains of the Western Ghats are clad in jungle. It was a very winding single lane road with far less traffic. We started to pass through very small villages. Lots of monkeys of several varieties sat on the side of the road and in this more backward area the ox drawn carts and bicycles and scooters with huge loads became more common.

There were a couple of toll points just stuck in the jungle along the way but our magic windscreen sticker fired the boom gate every time. I have no idea what the result of all these automatic tolls will be when we return the hire car.

Descending in to Goa we were stopped at a police check point and told that as our hire car had no permit for Goa we had to go to the window and pay. I trotted over and had to wake the clerk for what I presume was his first customer of the day.

He fired up his computer and started pounding the keys and eventually he printed my invoice. I took a glance at it and saw 5 different charges for various taxes, fees and debts and was about to have my usual “discussion” about this when I looked at the bottom line which came to 240 rupees($4). I decided to take it on the chin and try to recover our losses on my next tax return. 3 stamps, one red and two blue and we were away.

I imagine the descent down from the mountains into Goa would have had quite majestic views but unfortunately the smokey haze that has followed us our entire time in India prevented visibility more than a few kilometres. We proceeded to our Hawaii Comforts Hotel which is nestled in a little community right on the beautiful beach at Donapaula.

While in Goa we had a chance to meet our good friend Ravi Kumar’s sister, Sita and her son Vir who invited us to dinner at the Gymkhana Club. Following family tradition both are heavily involved in motor sport. Sita is the Indian chairperson and representative for Women in Motor Sport at the FIA (the international motor sport authority) and Vir is a director of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India. He is also the chairman for Grass-root motor sport and newly emerging E-sport. Vir brought his newly completed 1939 Vauxhall hot rod from his collection of cars for us to see, what beautiful workmanship!

Hello Lang and Bev,
You are much braver than us. I am unable to talk my Wife into a trip to New Zealand where drivers and road rules are similar to here, they drive on the same side of the road and English is the official language.

Is there any point in booking hotels in India? most of your bookings appear to be cancelled.

My first car was a 1948 Vauxhall ten and I can assure you that Vauxhall did not adopt the horizontal grille strips until the late 1940's. The 1930's cars had vertical bars. I think that as with most old cars, their owner convinces themself that they are several years older than they actually are. From the picture of Vir's car I would say that it was made in 1948 or 1949.

MorrisThanks for that.It could well be a later model but I am happy for him to believe what he wants. It was far above most Indian old car workmanship I have seen in the past.
Lang

Just checked and he is correct it would seem. There are several models pre 39 with horizontal grilles.

Lang wrote:

MorrisThanks for that.It could well be a later model but I am happy for him to believe what he wants. It was far above most Indian old car workmanship I have seen in the past.
Lang

Just checked and he is correct it would seem. There are several models pre 39 with horizontal grilles.

There may have been but none of them came to where I was.

Today's up date. Only tourist photos so if you want to look just go to the web site blog.

After a great night with Sita and Vir we arose early so Bev could get the famous Goa sunrise over the water. Great expectations of a clear day after the tropical downpour during the night. It was not to be and the Indan haze hid the horizon.

Bev was delighted to find a terrific mangrove walkway with lots of bird and tree information boards. It was very similar to the walkway near our place in Brisbane where she volunteers with talks to schoolkids.

Oh well, let us go for a drive to Old Goa. What an interesting place! Owned by Portugal for 450 years from Vasco da Gama’s day up until 1961 the old European influence is still very strong. The original settlement with its magnificent churches and buildings is nicely preserved as a museum on the banks of the inlet which once must have been a bustling port.

In the afternoon we managed to meet up with Maneck Contractor and were very impressed to see his progress on the development of the electric boat for our Ganges trip. This trip planned for last year had to be put on hold but Maneck has fired it up again and it should be ready for a proving run early next year, maybe a sea voyage from Mumbai to Goa. The twin electric motor lightweight catamaran is more capable than just a river boat.

We got away early heading south along the coast on fairly busy roads but the expected sea views did not eventuate and the towns turned out to be disappointing with almost no water views, certainly not tourist destinations. We pressed on past our planned stop for a very long day and finished in Mangaluru (Mangalore) a busy industrial city.

Today has been a great improvement. Seeing how uninteresting is the coastal road so far we decided to head inland to the great historic city of Mysore. Sanjeev Varma, our ELGi host in Bengaluru, had done such a good selling job on his home town that we thought it worth a look.

What a nice drive through the heavily jungle-clad hills with far less traffic. We had a couple of chai and coffee breaks before arriving in Mysore. Mysore lives up to its reputation not only is the traffic free flowing compared to other Indian cities but the wide streets are lined with huge rain-trees giving it a park-like feel. As soon as established at the hotel (they kept our booking here!) we jumped in a tuktuk and headed to one of the wonders of India the very spectacular palace.

It is magnificently maintained with huge grounds dotted with rose gardens, lawns and numerous spectacular minor buildings. We went to have a look inside but I lost interest in handing my shoes in at the door to walk barefoot through the building with 2 million other people. Bev of course refused to be denied and quickly left her shoes and joined the mob. She was constantly stopped for selfies by young and old alike. I suggested she buy a burka but she thinks it a lot of fun as everyone is always laughing and chattering. I am still waiting for anybody to ask for my photo.

About an hour in the huge markets saw the usual negotiations as I headed towards the metal workers and car repair section and she went for the vegetable, flower and spice section

A nice day ending in a lovely city.

15 December

A rather relaxed start today as we are having 3 days in Coimbatore with the ELGi team so it did not matter how late we got in.

We decided to visit the renowned hill station of Ooty that had been recommended by so many people. I suspect many of them had never been there as it did not live up to its reputation and fell well short of the Himalayan hill stations like Darjeeling. Despite some nice features like Botanical Gardens and small lake it was a pretty grubby, crowded place with atrocious roads. The winding drive both up the mountain from the north and back down to Coimbatore was quite spectacular and you could get a feel of the country stuck behind a bus at 40kmh around endless hairpin bends.

As mentioned yesterday, Mysore traffic flows fairly easily on the wide streets and we were soon out of town. We missed the turnoff to Ooty because the bridge at the corner had been closed for what looked like years and no way to get onto the 3 metre wide road we could see beyond the small river. A few helpful advisers sent us back 400 metres to go along a dirt road through a small settlement which actually was the bypass leading to the Ooty road.

Traffic became very scarce as we wound up into light jungle and Savannah covered hills. We soon entered a national park called Mudamalia Tiger Reserve. The one car wide smooth bitumen road wound its way into the park and we saw almost no other traffic. The first sightings were placid herds of lovely spotted Chittal Deer grazing by the roadside. Of course the monkeys were everywhere and there was a danger if you stopped they would be all over the car.

Passing a creek we looked down and there was a large elephant with another further back in the trees. There are numerous signs with pictures of elephants turning cars over and a notice that the Park will not be responsible for any elephant damage or injury. Please do not take selfies with elephants, says the sign. No Tigers but a rare wild boar was on the sighting list.

Up and up we wound into Ooty on a nice very narrow switchback road until we got into town where every road was either dug up with roadworks commenced and not finished two years ago or just naturally potholed. The Botanic Gardens were well worth a visit and beautifully presented and maintained, over 170 years old. The houses on the tea plantations across the valleys from the town are all brightly coloured and look pretty against the green tea bushes.

The descent from Ooty into Coimbatore was a bity of a marathon with seriously busy roads only 1 1/2 lanes wide. The switchbacks were so tight all the trucks and buses had to swing right across the road to get around, resulting in stalemates as the up trucks met the down trucks on the wrong side of the road. Of course all the idiots in cars and motor scooters started packing every space behind, beside and around the two trucks facing each other so neither could back up to allow enough passing space.

The result of all of this was it took us over 4 hours to reach the hotel 148 kilometres away down the mountain. Once on the flat there were several highway diversions. Indian roads are paved with broken promises and there are not hundreds but thousands of major and minor projects and repairs started and never completed. Rough diversions around these works are not maintained and for years the traffic has been bouncing over ever worsening detours. It all just adds to the colour and movement of an Indian road trip.

We have not seen a single foreign driver in two weeks and I think the ELGi motto of Dare to be Unique might have some truth in it for our adventure.

I did not mention our little Maruti Suzuki Wagon R. It is a great size for driving in India. Plenty of room and handles quite well. I think it makes fuel as a tank seems to last forever which is good at 100 rupees ($AU2) per litre. Unfortunately it is the worst gearbox/engine combination I have ever driven. The throttle is obviously fly-by-wire and when you put your foot to the floor to pass, nothing happens – I mean absolutely nothing – until you have sung 3 verses of “Happy Birthday to You”. It eventually gets the message you are asking for some action so instantly the little engine rockets to 5,000 rpm. As it passes 4,000 rpm the gearbox gets the message it should join the party and locks itself in the lowest gear it can find. It valve bounces much too late to propel you in front of the bus you were trying to beat and you are only saved by the driver’s skillful evasive manouevres.

It will get us to the finish but I will certainly tick another vehicle box when renting a car in the future.

I bet that those Indian Military "Self Emptying" Saddles are just as uncomfortable as bar stools as they are on a Horse..LOL

https://www.hcvc.com.au/forum/attachment/36322

Yes just for the photo before sitting on a comfortable chair.

Today we had to sing for our supper. Although the post is all about ELGi both Bev and I had a really great couple of days with the friendliest people you could meet. Even Bev was quoting production figures and milling machine tolerances by the end of the day.

17 December

Merlin who had come down especially from Mumbai picked us up early to travel to the ELGi school to meet and talk to the kids. We were met by Mr Ganesh the Principal and Mr Mani the Correspondent (Adminstration Manager) and told we were expected by the students.

This school goes back 30 years as a community effort by ELGi and supports the local community, particularly underprivileged children. They have now just moved in to the the most modern facilities, equal or better than anything in Australia, with 1,300 students from Kindergarten through to Year 12. The student appearance is outstanding with immaculate uniforms.



After a tour of the school going in to several classes we went to the library and were met by a select group of older students (all with pre-prepared questions) and gave them a Power Point presentation on some of our adventures and a motivational talk on the ELGi theme of “Dare to be Unique. The questions kept us on our toes and we managed a lively discussion.

After the lecure we gathered in the courtyard for a photo shoot and a lot more face to face talk with the older kids. They are an interested, respectful and well spoken crew who knew more about the world than many Australian kids of the same age. Some of the littlies were presented to us which was quite amusing as they had no idea why they had been taken away from their colouring-in lesson to meet these strange people.

Bev handed out little Koalas and we departed with a great feeling to head to the ELGi foundry and component factory.

What a spectacular operation this is. Sitting on more than 100 rural acres it is an immaculate, modern complex. I had visions of a steel foundry I worked in for a few weeks as kid with its noise, smoke, heat and filth. We were met at the door by Bijumon the Senior Foundry Manager and taken into a very low noise building. You could have eaten your dinner off the floor.

Here they do all the castings for their compressors, electric motors and the dozens of othe items required to complete the product. It is fully automated capable of 750 tons a month and the castings are the result of an assembly line carrying the molds through the ovens to dressing and final painting. The quality control is unbelievable and there is a laboratory doing spectrographic testing on the sand in every mold and the metal in the pour. The casting boxes are only alowed to proceed down the line after the metalurgists give the green light.

Nothing is wasted as the sand is recycled until no more useable and then made into building bricks. We went into the immaculate staff canteen for a very nice lunch – the same as is available to every employee.

We were then taken in hand by Mustakheem Sharieff the DGM and Head of the Air Centre. We walked to the assembly plant – once again a modern, absolutely spotless operation. The various casting and other components come in one door and proceed via a continuous process to the delivery store. All the fine machining of components, particularly the ELGi specialty of air screw rotors, is done here down to micron tolerance. ELGi have now started building their own CNC and computer driven fine machinery which not only is cheaper than the previous European equipment but faster and more accurate. The quality control and production tracking at every point is amazing.

The highlight of the day was visiting the Vocational Training Centre. Here young people, mainly from orphanages and under privileged surrounding communities 18 years old, both male and female, are enrolled for an intensive 3 year course. The first year is very academic bringing them up to scratch on everything from maths, technical drawing, machine operation, quality control and safety. They then proceed to every machine in use in the factory. Lathe work to trade standard, assembly procedures, fitting, design and operation of every tool. They have numerous simulators to train and test the students.

The final year is mostly on the shop floor in actual production conditions but with continued theory classes. The result is a group of qualified tradespersons with very good theoretical knowledge and unequalled practical training. Although they are valuable employment targets for any company in India, the attrition rate is almost zero and over 90% of the blue-collar workforce stay with ELGi for 20 years.

Today Bala met us at the hotel and we went to ELGi headquarters to meet Dr Jairam Varadaraj. He turned out to be the open astute gentleman we had been told about. We sat for an hour chatting about the company and his aspirations to make it not only the best business he can but being a part of and contributing to the community. A very pleasant morning with a most impressive fellow.


Bev and Lang with Dr Jaraim and the mighty? Maruti.

Anya and Bala with the photographic team then brought in reporters from several Indian National Newspapers who seemed quite interested in our travels and the assistance we are getting from ELGi. It will be interesting to see what they say in the paper tomorrow!


A quick trip to the GD car museum – a real beauty with many cars was followed by afternoon tea with Vidyaprakash (Vidy) who had been instrumental in telling Jairam about our trip leading to ELGi support. It was at the 170 year old Coimbatore Club and we were served little sandwiches with the crust cut off exactly the same as the British Club members ate in 1894.

Vidy is very well known in the community and as he is a pilot and owns several aircraft we hit it off very well. Back to the hotel ready for the long drive to Kochi on the west coast tomorrow.