The idea to hit the road was conceived just 3 days before the actual departure. The gang (Sir Robbie, Sir Alfredo and me) decided that the long weekend (Ugadi: New Year Day for the Telugu or people from Andhra Pradesh) was just too good to be wasted. Thus, we set on a 15-hour (!) car journey to Panaji (a.k.a. Panjim, state capital of Goa). The route was simple; hit 400kms of National Highway 4 to Hubli, turn left to cover 130kms to reach the costal town of Ankola. From there, go up north along National Highway 17 for another 150kms before we get to our destination.

As of all journeys starting from Bangalore (especially on a Fri evening), 1 hour was spent maneuvering around the congested roads in the Karnataka state capital. After turning into National Highway 4 from Outer Ring Road, we certainly expected better traffic. However, there were road works along this stretch and it was only after 2230hrs before we got into decent traffic; this was almost 2 hours after we started out at 2040hrs.

In order to prevent the driver from falling asleep on such a long journey, one of us will constantly be awake to talk to the driver, offering him sweets and asking (persistently) him if he wants a break. Although we had chai or pee breaks along the way, the driver only felt sleeping at 4am and we decided to take a 90-minute nap at Ranibennur. After reaching Hubli at 7am, we turn into the Hubli-Ankola road where this proves to be the most "exciting" of all so far. Apart from a car and a couple of tractors, the whole route was filled with large trucks. To make it worse, we had to get through a couple of hills on winding roads with sharp turns. The truck drivers were "probably" rushing somewhere; if not, I cannot understand the rationale of them overtaking along blind corners. In fact, we were just 10mins behind an accident where a truck overturned (thank goodness that the driver was ok). We were simply relieved when we got into Ankola (in one piece)!

After getting into Goa (was surprised to see a state border between the 2 states), the driver paid Rs750 for a 7-day car permit for our Karnataka-registered car. And just across the state border, there was a nice hut painted with a gigantic Kingfisher logo. We walked in and had a Kingfisher (Rs50 for a large bottle) for breakfast; I can almost feel my swollen tonsils getting better. Afterall, Goa is god's land and beer is tax-free. And the best thing is; this was just the start of our trip!