Drive from Kolkata to Hyderabad

TRIP 2: March-2025 

Kolkata – Puri – Vizag – Hyderabad 

After 2 long months, now comes the time for the last leg of the trip. Starting from Hyderabad in the last week of January, we were stationed in Kolkata since last 20 days. Finally we decided to drive back to Hyderabad on the 17th of March. The plan was quite simple, like we did it last time when we were driving back to Hyderabad from Kalimpong. But there was a small change in the plan this time. Instead of taking a night halt in Bhubaneshwar, we decided to take the night halt in Puri. The Taj Puri resort and spa opened just a couple of months back, I remember getting a promotional email from them. Moreover, 2 of my aunts were supposed to be joining us on this trip alongwith me and my Mom. My aunts would only join us until Puri and then me and my Mom will continue the journey towards Hyderabad and they would go back to Kolkata by train. 

The plan was finalized as below, 

Day 1: Drive from Kolkata to Puri 

Day 2: Spend the day in Puri 

Day 3: Drive from Puri to Vizag 

Day 4: Drive from Vizag to Hyderabad 

Complete Trip Summary from Kolkata to Hyderabad

DAY 1: 

Started from Kolkata: 6 AM

Reached Puri: 1-45 PM 

Total distance travelled: 511 km 

Total Time taken: 7 hours 45 min 

Total Toll: Rs. 890 

Exiting Kolkata wasn’t a big issue considering we managed to leave quite early in the morning. Even then, for the first 50 km it was still a challenge to navigate between those trucks. After 50 km, the highway opens-up and once you enter Orissa, truck traffic reduces significantly. Although the roads in Orissa are still having a lot of diversions. Overall, I would say, for 500 odd kilometers, 7 and a half hours of driving was quite okay. 

The best part was reaching the Taj property. They have made the property quite thoughtfully. It’s a new property, so they didn’t get the liquor license yet, not that I needed it anyway. They said that they even applied for the private beach license but haven’t received the approval from the govt yet. The Taj property is almost at the end of Puri beach. There is nothing after Taj except one hotel property, so I guess getting a private beach license won’t be that difficult for them. I liked the layout of the property in general, there were rooms with private plunge pool too, but I didn’t see them on the website to book. I guess maybe they are not ready yet for the guests. Those are private plunge pools, but not so discreet like Evolve back Coorg. So, if you are booking those rooms, consider that aspect before you do. The landscaping is still in the early stages and the greenery is still developing, maybe in a year or so, it will come to its full glory. The trees and bushes are still quite young. The rooms were beautiful indeed. We booked 2 rooms with twin beds and incidentally all rooms have a sea-facing view in one angle or the other. The room that we booked had its own balcony and that added to the experience. After sunset you can just sit on the balcony and feel the sea breeze for hours. No need to sit inside the hotel’s AC room after sundown. Sitting on that balcony, looking at the dark ocean in front, and the star-studded sky, feeling that breeze running down on my face, and that complete silence from every other sound in the world except the ocean waves crashing on the shore, the tranquility that it provides, is beyond comprehension. I do like mountains for their own charm, but there is something about the ocean which is so different. Mountains are cool because I have a vested interest in them and that is the birds. Ocean on the other hand, in its grandeur and magnificence, makes us feel how small we are in this entire world. It makes you forget for a moment that our existence is a mere coincidence in this vast living world. The thoughts that were running through my mind during the time I was sitting on that balcony were so pure and pristine, I felt like just sitting there and enjoying it for hours altogether. It felt as if I didn’t need anything else, a complete sense of accomplishment, a sense of contentment with life, a real sense of living in this world without an iota of worry. I could trade anything to get those few moments of blissful existence in this life again. Such was the joy of experiencing that moment, I wished I could live it every other day. 

DAY 2: 

The next morning, I stood on the balcony and tried to click the Barn swallows that were flying all across. It was quite hot during the day, starkly different from what it was during the previous night. Last time I got a very good shot of a Barn Swallow sitting on the sandy Modera beach of GRK. In Panna I did get a good flying shot of Wire-tailed Swallow. For some reason, I feel I’m not satisfied with my flying shots that much. I feel there is a lot of scope for improvement. But sometimes I really don’t get what mistake I am making. I get the pictures right, but they are not that sharp. Maybe I’m too ambitious. Swallows are really small, and you need to have them in a proper light with enough reach to get a sharp shot. I guess reach is the issue here. I have enough light, and I have a fast lens and camera, if I’m still missing out on the sharpness, then it must be the reach. Anyway, after almost clicking more than 1000 pics I finally managed to get one decent shot. I was sweating standing in that balcony, and was always getting tempted to enter the AC room, but thought I would give it one more try before giving up. So, I did get a shot finally but as I mentioned earlier, it is not that sharp, which it should have been. Nevertheless, I got a decent enough flying shot of a Barn Swallow, and it is not an easy thing to get considering how far they were from me. Atleast I got an eye level shot as I was standing on the 6th floor. Here’s the pic below, along with another pic I clicked of my mom and aunts from that balcony using my telephoto prime. 

Barn Swallow

Puri beach

DAY 3: 

After breakfast, we started our drive to Vizag. 

Started from Puri: 9 AM

Reached Vizag: 3-30 PM 

Total distance travelled: 435 km 

Total Time taken: 6 hours 30 min 

Total Toll: Rs. 570 

The roads from Puri till Vizag were decent enough, not much traffic too. The driving experience was quite good, except one very close shave, wherein a long distance state bus tried to cut in and change lanes without any indication whatsoever. The brakes in my car and my reaction time was just enough to save me, but it was very very close. In a matter of a second we could have been crushed by that bus. I am glad we could finish this entire round trip from Hyderabad without getting a single scratch to the car. Driving in India makes it so difficult to get that no claim bonus of your car Insurance. Every year I end up making one claim and for no fault of mine. 

The Park Hotel, Vizag is not what it used to be 15 years ago, when we went there for the first time. The  rooms particularly have started showing their age, the furniture and fixtures have gone bad and there is not much of maintenance being done by the hotel inside the room. The moment we stepped into that hotel, there was a marked difference coming from a 5 star property to a 4 start property. And that difference was really visible inside the rooms. One thing I would like to mention though, the cook is definitely good in The Park. I ordered a lot of Continental and Italian, and I was thoroughly impressed with how they prepared the dish. I have not seen many 5 start properties coming close to the level of dishes that Park provided. It was really good and comparable to any 5 star properties that we stayed. 

DAY 4: 

After breakfast, drive from Vizag to Hyderabad

Started from Vizag: 8-45 AM

Reached Hyderabad: 6-30 PM 

Total distance travelled: 683 km 

Total Time taken: 9 hours 45 min 

Total Toll: Rs. 1204 

I have done this trip from Vizag to Hyderabad many times before, last one as recently as a couple of years ago. Exiting Vizag in peak morning office hours is always tough, but once you reach the proper highway, things become much more easier. The roads are perfect, the traffic is also not that bad and entering Hyderabad through the Outer Ring Road is always a charm. In every other city, entering the city in peak traffic is always dreadful, but that is not the case in Hyderabad, especially since my house is very near to the ORR. The travel time of 9 hour and 45 minutes was quite expected, considering 683 km in all. 

I am just glad and thankful to my destiny that I could reach Home without a single scratch on my car. Driving more than 5000 km on this trip, was a wonderful experience, never did I feel that the driving was becoming too much. I took enough halts in between, did jungle safaris, went for a beach vacation and did a lot of biding in the Himalayas. The prefect driving and birding vacation I must say. I can now sit and relax for a few days thinking how good this trip was and how many beautiful shots I captured with my camera. The itch of driving and birding, might not appear and start bothering me any time soon. I cannot say that for sure, who know I might just pack my bags for the next trip if the itch hits me again. For now, I need to plan for my upcoming Canada trip, lets see if I can get it done perfectly this time. 

TRIP 1: November-2009 

Kolkata to Hyderabad 
Total: 1550 KM

My career takes me to Hyderabad from Kolkata. A new job in Hyderabad, brings in a lot of planning and vacation time for me and my colleague. We decided to drive down to Hyderabad from Kolkata. Enroute we planned our stay in Vizag and a breakfast break in Bhubaneswar at a friend’s place.

I picked up my friend from his residence after his day completed on Friday. His shift used to end at 2 am so we planned to leave latest by 3 so that we can reach Bhub by morning, plan was to drive and reach Vizag before lunch. Just 100 kms before Bhubaneswar, an unfortunate accident happened with us. We ran over a diversion having a huge bump of soil and sand. That time my car was okay enough to run till Bhubaneswar, there were a few minor glitches here and there, so decided to get it checked in workshop in Bhubaneswar.

Came to know from Ford people that it was too risky for us to drive to Hyderabad in that condition. So my friend flew back to Kolkata and I went to Hyderabad by flight. Came back to Bhub after 10 days and resumed the journey from Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad. Left Bhubaneswar around 4 AM in the morning and reached Hyd 9 PM. Went straight to my cousin’s place in Secunderabad. There was some disturbance happening in HYD due to telengana activity that day. Luckily I found the roads all clear when I reached hyd because of that reason.

Although the journey from Kol to Hyd didn’t complete at one go and was not that exciting but I learnt another lesson of my life. Never ever drive when it’s dark and always be extra cautious while driving at night. Never lose sight of the road, not even for a fraction of a second.