Well still on vacation in Goa, but thought of providing information to people driving to Goa.
Trip Dates : Dec 24, 2011 - Dec 31, 2011
Route taken to Goa
Bangalore - Hubli - Dharwad(450kms) : This is NH4 and four lane till Hubli. Two lane from Hubli to Dharwad but hardly 20-25kms, and road is in very good condition. Drive time 6 hrs.
Dharwad - Halliyal - Dhandeli(60kms) : We were stopping in Dhandeli for two nights, so an obvious option. However this is the best route described by locals as well. Road is just ok, not bad but not good either. Drive time 1.5-2 hrs.
Dandeli - Ramnagar - Mollem - Ponda - Panajim(125 kms) : Very good road till Ramnagar. Beyond that bad for 20-25kms. However potholes were manageable. Once ghat route starts, road condition is pretty good. Drive time 3 hrs.
Dhandeli
We tried white water rafting and it is damn good. Worth every penny. Not risky at all. So don't miss it.
Accomodation
1. Bison river lodge : This is where all the activities are, so if you can get it good for you.
2. Hornbill : This is also on the bank of river kali and looked pretty good.
3. Stanley farm house : This is where we stayed. Value for money, however far from water activities. They arrange transport so no issues at all.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Bad experience @ Davanam Jewellers
I was planning to write it down for quite some time and finally managed time to do it. Just before Akshaya Tritiya in 2011, my wife wanted to purchase a necklace and after searching in many places we finally ended up at Davanam Jewellers on commerical street, Bangalore. In my view our budget for necklace was good enough, but it was never in the eye of the jewellers. You do get their view point based on interest with which the salesperson displays their collection. My wife liked one of their necklace, however we wanted to explore more stores at commercial street. We left the store just to return back in less than 30 minutes as my wife had already made up her mind.
Their making charges and wastage are pretty low(16%), and I was really impressed by that. In general, it will be 17-18% at other jewellers and then they will come down to 16% after much bargain. Till this point it was all good, and then our experience started to turn sour.
I wanted to sell my 24 carat gold coins and get that amount adjusted in the necklace. Now they have a different gold buying and selling rate(Selling rate - Buying rate = Rs 50 ). Probably other jewellers do the same, but I am not aware of that. Most of the jewellers will not tell you their buying rate in terms of selling rate. They just say 22 carat rate + 8% as buying rate. GRT was even better at that time, as their buying rate was 22 carat rate + 9%. So when I calculated Davanam's buying rate, it came out to be <7% of their 22 carat gold rate. So I asked them reduce the cost by giving some discount citing the example of other jewellers. However salesperson we were interacting with was not at all cooperative. I thought it was best to talk to their manager. However interaction with their manager was main cause of my anger and frustration till now. He did not reduce any amount at all. When I tried to further reason out with their manager quoting that other jewellers are offering 8%+ over 22 carat gold rate, he told us that we must have gone to some local jewellers as no one gives more than what they are offering. This really made both of us very angry and we left the store immediately. However they sent one of their other salesperson behind us. He requested us to come back and promised that they will work out a better deal for us. So we went back and they reduced our total amount further by 0.8%. The manager tried to ignore us and never apologized for his rude behavior. I didn't want to discuss this further with them and started the billing process. Now the salesperson who was originally handling us had told us about silver coins offer with every purchase they had for Akshaya Tritiya period. However that offer was silently withdrawn from us as they have gone out of the way to give us further discount. It was only told to us when we asked back about that offer. Anyways we billed and got the stuff home. But our pain didn't end there. My wife had worn the necklace couple of times, and one of its joint has already come loose. So we will have to go back to Davanam jewellers to get it repaired. So the great experience @ Davanam jewellers continues ...
Their making charges and wastage are pretty low(16%), and I was really impressed by that. In general, it will be 17-18% at other jewellers and then they will come down to 16% after much bargain. Till this point it was all good, and then our experience started to turn sour.
I wanted to sell my 24 carat gold coins and get that amount adjusted in the necklace. Now they have a different gold buying and selling rate(Selling rate - Buying rate = Rs 50 ). Probably other jewellers do the same, but I am not aware of that. Most of the jewellers will not tell you their buying rate in terms of selling rate. They just say 22 carat rate + 8% as buying rate. GRT was even better at that time, as their buying rate was 22 carat rate + 9%. So when I calculated Davanam's buying rate, it came out to be <7% of their 22 carat gold rate. So I asked them reduce the cost by giving some discount citing the example of other jewellers. However salesperson we were interacting with was not at all cooperative. I thought it was best to talk to their manager. However interaction with their manager was main cause of my anger and frustration till now. He did not reduce any amount at all. When I tried to further reason out with their manager quoting that other jewellers are offering 8%+ over 22 carat gold rate, he told us that we must have gone to some local jewellers as no one gives more than what they are offering. This really made both of us very angry and we left the store immediately. However they sent one of their other salesperson behind us. He requested us to come back and promised that they will work out a better deal for us. So we went back and they reduced our total amount further by 0.8%. The manager tried to ignore us and never apologized for his rude behavior. I didn't want to discuss this further with them and started the billing process. Now the salesperson who was originally handling us had told us about silver coins offer with every purchase they had for Akshaya Tritiya period. However that offer was silently withdrawn from us as they have gone out of the way to give us further discount. It was only told to us when we asked back about that offer. Anyways we billed and got the stuff home. But our pain didn't end there. My wife had worn the necklace couple of times, and one of its joint has already come loose. So we will have to go back to Davanam jewellers to get it repaired. So the great experience @ Davanam jewellers continues ...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Kerala trip
Thought of writing about our recent kerala trip during last week of December, 2010 (December 24, 2010 - January 2, 2011).
Places covered : Munnar, Thekkady, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Cochin and Guruvayur.
Let me start with route taken :
To Munnar (Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Salem - Tiruppur - Udumalapettai - Marayur - Munnar) - Almost till Tiruppur it is all 4 lane toll road(Beyond tiruppur they are still widening road to coimbatore, so better to avoid it). There are lot of toll booth, but road is worth what you pay. Beyond tiruppur, road is mostly double lane in drivable condition. In my view, it is best to split it over two days. There are decent hotel in Tiruppur if you plan to stay here.
Munnar - Thekkady : There is a pretty straight route. Road is two lane but well maintained. Being ghat route, it will take time even though distance is just 110 kms. But it is pretty scenic route.
Thekkady - Alleppey : You will be surprised that this route curves all the way to Changanassery. So it will take time as there is good amount of traffic on this route + two lane road + curves all the way. Beyond Changanassery, you can drive fast as road is really very good. Road throughout was in decent condition except few patches.
Alleppey - Kumarakom : They are pretty close by but road is in poor condition. In any case, it won't take much time.
Kumarakom - Fort Kochi : Road till cherthala is in poor condition, but beyond that it is four lane.
Fort Kochi - Guruvayur : Road is two lane, but in a very good condition. But traffic is bit too much on this route, and being two lane it is difficult to overtake.
Guruvayur - Bangalore : Guruvayur to Thrissur is dangerous drive. Too much traffic + bus driver tring to overtake every now and then. Thrissur to Palakad road condition was pretty bad. May be due to recent rains. Palakad to Coimbatore is very good road, though two lane. Coimbatore - Tiruppur takes time as road widening is going on. But beyond that it is a awesome drive.
Even route via valparai is an option from Fort Kochi to Bangalore if you want to cover Athirapally waterfalls on the way.
More later ....
Places covered : Munnar, Thekkady, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Cochin and Guruvayur.
Let me start with route taken :
To Munnar (Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Salem - Tiruppur - Udumalapettai - Marayur - Munnar) - Almost till Tiruppur it is all 4 lane toll road(Beyond tiruppur they are still widening road to coimbatore, so better to avoid it). There are lot of toll booth, but road is worth what you pay. Beyond tiruppur, road is mostly double lane in drivable condition. In my view, it is best to split it over two days. There are decent hotel in Tiruppur if you plan to stay here.
Munnar - Thekkady : There is a pretty straight route. Road is two lane but well maintained. Being ghat route, it will take time even though distance is just 110 kms. But it is pretty scenic route.
Thekkady - Alleppey : You will be surprised that this route curves all the way to Changanassery. So it will take time as there is good amount of traffic on this route + two lane road + curves all the way. Beyond Changanassery, you can drive fast as road is really very good. Road throughout was in decent condition except few patches.
Alleppey - Kumarakom : They are pretty close by but road is in poor condition. In any case, it won't take much time.
Kumarakom - Fort Kochi : Road till cherthala is in poor condition, but beyond that it is four lane.
Fort Kochi - Guruvayur : Road is two lane, but in a very good condition. But traffic is bit too much on this route, and being two lane it is difficult to overtake.
Guruvayur - Bangalore : Guruvayur to Thrissur is dangerous drive. Too much traffic + bus driver tring to overtake every now and then. Thrissur to Palakad road condition was pretty bad. May be due to recent rains. Palakad to Coimbatore is very good road, though two lane. Coimbatore - Tiruppur takes time as road widening is going on. But beyond that it is a awesome drive.
Even route via valparai is an option from Fort Kochi to Bangalore if you want to cover Athirapally waterfalls on the way.
More later ....
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