The Great Driving Challenge | User Application

Santhosh & Jasmine

Total Vote(s) : 136 | Total Testimonial(s) : 7

Hello Friends, We are Jasmine & Santhosh from the garden city, Bangalore/Bengalooru ( Karnataka, India ). I work as a software engineer here and my better-half, Jasmine is a home-maker at present. We both have our roots in Kerala. But we are brought up in diverse cultures, for my better-half was brought up in Rajasthan and myself in Kerala and a little bit of here and there. We both enjoy travelling , adventure and also being with each other. We are not alike and thats a blessing since we complement and trust each other very well. We also share a passion for various cuisines and we are pretty adventurous about trying new foods. Along with travelling we also love exploring, so much so that, in weekends instead of going to malls/cinema we rather put on walking shoes and walk into nearby roads. This also helped us in getting a sense of directions without a GPS and in finding short-cuts to beat the bangalore traffic!.

We are the best candidates because...

Whenever we used to see the program "Amazing Race", we were like kids sighting the best ice-cream in the town. Such was both our desire for adventure and travel, so much so that we bought our car which incidentally is Cedia for undertaking such long travels. I have undertaken some extensive driving abroad doing all nighters. Here in India we both have taken our car through the lesser known roads just for sake of adventure taking up rewards in the form of beautiful scenaries. I also do photography as a hobby and well I hope that through this 10-days of adventure I can show the journey through photographs to thousands of eyes. My better half has travelled in Uttaranchal and had a wonderful and adventurous journey to Auli. Eventhough we had not had much travel in the past year, the spirit of adventure still glows high. Another advantage my better half brought into my life is planning for the various places before the start of the journey. We plan by looking through the internet, the maps and a friendly message forum which I am a member of. We even take a puncture repair kit wherever we go. We also are prepared to undertake a long journey like this by keeping ourselves physically fit since both of us go more to gym and less to the hospitals :-).

Our Travel Plan

The original travel plan was to go uptil Leh, Ladakh. But since there is a cap of 325 kms a day I will have to cut it short and add a few more interesting places. All thanks to google-earth/yahoo-india-maps helping me finding out the distances. The start-point would be Bangalore and end-point is Manali. I am putting up the current travel-plans so that experienced blokes can comment and help me improve. Thanks! ================================================================= ===================================================== ===================================================== DAY.) START->END (KMS) ===================================================== ===================================================== 1.) bangalore->chitradurga->hospet ( 325 kms )..................................... 2.) hospet->hampi->bijapur->solapur,maharashtra ( 10+215+100 = 325)............................................................................................................. 3.) solapur->aurangabad (309)..................................................................... 4.) aurangabad + surrounding ->ellora caves->ajanta caves->dhule (20+30+90+135=275 )....................................................................................... 5.) dhule -> vadodara,gujarat ( 325 )........................................................................................................... 6.) vadodara->udaipur, rajasthan (310)........................................................................................... 7.) udaipur->chittaurgarh->ajmer (115+185=300)............................................................................... 8.) ajmer->jaipur->sariska->alwar (130+110+40=280)............................................................................. 9.) alwar->chandigarh,punjab (370)........................................................................................... 10.) chandigarh->shimla, himachal-pradesh->manali,himachal-pradesh (90 + 200).

Our Travelogue

We will add a short travelogue of couple of adventurous trips which we had done together. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maldives (This was heaven indeed) /* Will be updated shortly. Please go my flickr link to view and comment on my pics. Thanks! */ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nelliampathy trip: ( Nelliampathy, a relatively unknown hill station near Palakkad/Kerala ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .... It all began as very well planned trip after our marriage-day. There was a series of misses and more misses of a variety of transport options and finally we reached Cochin(Kerala). From Cochin airport it was an 2 hour journey to Thrissur/Trichur. It was around 7:30PM we reached Trichur and we called up Deepak who had already reached there. As per his directions we knew that we had to catch the bus to 'Nenmaara' which was another 2 hours. Sensing that our tummies are giving some distress signals but with the bus parking, I went and fetched some awesome kerala-porotta and chicken curry from a nearby hotel. Our hunger perhaps increased the taste of the dishes, we had a sumptous dinner. Around 8:30 the bus to Nenmaara started off and it was via a place called Vadakkanjeri. We both were very tired and wanted to take a nap. But what followed after Vadakkanjeri was bad and more bad roads!. It was literally a roller-coaster ride. Somehow we reached Nenmaara and we figured that we would need to stay put since there is no more transport options further. We also were longing for some rest for the day was pretty hectic. .... The next day, we caught up the first jeep of the day and went up to Nelliampathy. After some 10-15 kms of scenic drive through the roads surrounded by beautiful paddy fields, the climb started and it was a truly intoxicating experience as each curve made the temparature dip and provided ample forest scenaries. We went to the KSTDC resort where Deepak was staying with his better-half. We had a sumptous breakfast at the KSTDC resort there of lovely appams and stew and after that we went for a short walk trip around the place. There was no lovely gardens or fancy stuff there. But pure and virgin forest both sides of the road. Breathing fresh and cold air and having the place just for us truly is an experience. .... After the walk, we went and hired a 4X4 jeep to show us around the various viewpoints. We haggled and the price was decided around 800. That was our first 4X4 experience and we were just awed and the climbing and descending prowess of the machine. The machine tamed some real rough roads and steep inclines and took us to some beautiful valleys and other spots ( unfortunately I forgot the names ). The views were scintillating with scenaries and green all around and the experience was heavenly with heavy winds and chilly temparatures. Each spot had its own flavour and we had an amazing day overall. Another add-on was that it wasnt a touristy place like Munnar. We had the visiting spots entirely for us. Please check the photos. The photos themselves do not justify the real beauty of the place, but just a representation for your visual senses. After the himalayas this was one of the places that just cant be just told in photographs, it has to be experienced. ..... We have planned to take our cedia there soon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24th June 2009

Bhavana

24th June 2009

amit

24th June 2009

Nishe Nair

24th June 2009

Testimonials

Chirag

Santhosh's the most level headed driver, I've come across. Have never seen him "take up a fight" on the road. He's fond of finding new routes, and visiting new places. Coupled with his mindboggling photography skills, he'll be a very tough contender for the rest of the chosen ones.

Gracy

Santhosh had a passion for cars from his childhood. He drives the car from ahemdabad to udaipur even after a long journey. When he takes up the driver's seat, he won't allow anybody else to take from him. He has a very good knowledge of car parts. He is our consultant for two cars. He will check all the parts of the cars, wash it and make it as a new cars. He has bought his own sets of car shampoo, wax, tyre cleaning lotions and etc. every weekend he will clean his cedia car, that even car washing people will doubt their work. His car even after one year looks like it has been bought yesterday. he has a very good control over the cars, that you will never feel that the roads are bad. He is a very tough competitor. Even though jasmine doesn't gets a chance to drive, she has learnt to navigate the roads. She has a very good eye sight and from a very long distance she can detect the humps and pits in the road .If they gets the chance to take part in the challenge,I know definitely they will win. all the Best...

Dhiraj

I remember Santosh's tensile attitude when we decided to drive from Boston, Massachusetts to Niagara Falls. Non-Stop! Except for coffee breaks that is! Thats some 450 odd miles we are talking about! We started at around 10 in evening, and made it around 7 in the morning. While I was in the passenger seat, I couldnt help occasional nap whereas he was steadfast with eyes glued to the road! And every time I used to wake up from my nap - He would be actively talking as if weariness toll doesnt exist!!! And if that doesnt speak of this guy's attitude, he was raring to start after we reached the hotel for another drive whereas I was getting ready for sleep. This guy gotta everything you would want to see in Amazing race. And he is gonna win.

Pooja Lawande

Sandy as we call him is a great fun loving guy. Jasmine n Sandy make a cute couple..shud i call "Travel Couple" they love to travel. they can drive till d road ends. All d best to them..drive safe guys..happy journey..CHEERZ!

Sanjay Nair

Good, Nice and an ENERGY packed couple with a lot of enthusiasm and passion.....that's what is important to translate your dreams to reality...All the very best!!

b prakash - CHENNAI

all the best to santosh and jasmine......the ever winning pair....

Prasanth AG

Well.. What can I say about this guy? I studied with him in REC Calicut for 4 years and then we were roomies for 3 years in Bangalore, before I left India. In one word - He is the BEST !!!. And that one word is not enought to describe this wonderful friend. He is known for his passion for "speed", and that is why I know he is the best guy for this challenge. Once in REC, "by mistake", I asked a lift to canteen (or was it [i cannot write it here]?) in his 'in-famous' cycle. The speed with which he rode, and that was the first and last time I asked lift to him!. And later I came to know that there were no brakes for that cycle. In bangalore, we both had bikes - mine was an Yamaha RX135 and his Suzuki Fiero. We were so passionate about going of long rides during nights. It was all fun!. I am sure every curves in Koramangala 4th block would have experieced his speedy rides, proving the banking theory for roads at its boundary conditions. All the best dude :)