Road trip: The Good, the bad and the ugly.

Reached Goa yesterday after a long drive from Mumbai with a day spent at Pune, so a quick recap of the trip

Pune

1. Good : Great road as always, good food at the Vivanta and Hilton Garden Inn at Hinjawadi. Vivanta the better hotel to stay in
2. Bad: Since it was raining, collected a friend and took 2o mins to drive which would have been a 5 minute walk. Blame metro construction and potholes
3. Ugly: The real absence of footpaths to walk on. Concrete slabs over gutters...irregular work with hurdling and long jump skills required

The Drive

1. Good : Great Roads for the better part
2. Bad: Construction at different parts with the diversions creating more jams
3. Ugly: Long queues to clear the toll booth outside Pune

Amboli Ghat

1. Good : Great waterfalls and the lush greenery
2. Bad: Poor approach roads with concrete roads inaccessible a few kms before Amboli and older roads just mush with absolutely no warning.
3. Ugly : Cars parked badly on the Amboli ghat causing traffic with folks also stopping in mid-traffic to see one of the most beautiful seasonal waterfalls.

Goa

1. Good: Roads have improved significantly with concrete highways
2. Bad : Speed limits drop to 70 km/hr on the highway when 80 is the standard. Also limits keep dropping haphazardly and in one case 7o to 60 in 100 metres
3. Ugly: How can anything be ugly in Goa?

Since I went thru 3 states, here are some additional thoughts

1. All states have roads with potholes which also look increasingly familiar. Shoddy work with tar roads being the culprit
2. The Western Ghats are lush green right now and laced with waterfalls so get out of home and enjoy the views
3. Got stopped by a traffic cop who asked my license , checked on the car and said pollution certificate renewal due in a week and waved me on within 30 seconds.

Have a great week ahead and enjoy the rains for those living in the Tristate area of Western India