Google showed us the distance from Pune to Hampi as nearly 600 kilometers. With just the two of us traveling, we weren’t planning on any major stops, just chai, breakfast, and quick breaks. We left Pune at 5 AM, enjoying the light traffic, breezing through tolls, and with my wife labeling me a “rash and fast” driver, we hoped to reach Hampi by 3-4 PM at the latest.
Finally, after overcoming all the jinxes, the trip to Hampi was on! I might have even joked, “Ab koi tension nahi, senorita,” as we hit the road. But little did we know, the jinx wasn’t over yet. About four hours into the drive, just as we crossed the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, we hit our first hurdle.
We were asked for the latest RTPCR report. Completely unaware of this requirement, we only had our vaccination certificates. Thankfully, the officer said an antigen test would suffice. So, we turned back and headed to Kagal in search of a test lab. We found one, but it wasn’t open yet. After waiting for 45 minutes, we finally gave our samples, and it took another two hours to get the results. With all the theories we’d heard about antigen tests showing false positives right after vaccination (we had just received our second dose a week earlier), the wait was nerve-wracking. Luckily, our reports came back negative, and we crossed the border, though it cost us a solid three hours.
With few options for lunch along the highway, we decided to stop in Dharwad, where we quickly found a good restaurant. I got the bright idea to buy some Dharwad pedhas, thinking it would be a quick detour. Big mistake. Inside the city, all the signboards were in Kannada, and hardly anyone understood Hindi or English. To make things worse, our phone lost connectivity, and when it finally restarted, even Google Maps had switched to Kannada! After circling the city and asking for directions for over an hour, we eventually found our way out, but not without another frustrating delay.
Once past Hubli, the road transformed. It was like driving on an airstrip—no tolls, no potholes, and smooth stretches as far as the eye could see. On either side, we were greeted by rows of windmills and endless fields of sunflowers. The weather was perfect too, with the sun hiding behind clouds and a light drizzle adding to the magic. The Swift cruised effortlessly at 140-150 km/h, and we couldn’t resist stopping multiple times for photos along the beautiful route.
We saw signboards for Badami, but with only four days for the trip and two already set aside for travel, we had to save Badami for another time. After hitting a bit of traffic in Hospet, we finally—FINALLY—reached Hampi around 7 PM. It was pitch dark, thanks to a power outage caused by a heavy shower, but after all the hurdles, we were just relieved to have arrived.
PHOTOS
Finally, after overcoming all the jinxes, the trip to Hampi was on! I might have even joked, “Ab koi tension nahi, senorita,” as we hit the road. But little did we know, the jinx wasn’t over yet. About four hours into the drive, just as we crossed the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, we hit our first hurdle.
We were asked for the latest RTPCR report. Completely unaware of this requirement, we only had our vaccination certificates. Thankfully, the officer said an antigen test would suffice. So, we turned back and headed to Kagal in search of a test lab. We found one, but it wasn’t open yet. After waiting for 45 minutes, we finally gave our samples, and it took another two hours to get the results. With all the theories we’d heard about antigen tests showing false positives right after vaccination (we had just received our second dose a week earlier), the wait was nerve-wracking. Luckily, our reports came back negative, and we crossed the border, though it cost us a solid three hours.
With few options for lunch along the highway, we decided to stop in Dharwad, where we quickly found a good restaurant. I got the bright idea to buy some Dharwad pedhas, thinking it would be a quick detour. Big mistake. Inside the city, all the signboards were in Kannada, and hardly anyone understood Hindi or English. To make things worse, our phone lost connectivity, and when it finally restarted, even Google Maps had switched to Kannada! After circling the city and asking for directions for over an hour, we eventually found our way out, but not without another frustrating delay.
Once past Hubli, the road transformed. It was like driving on an airstrip—no tolls, no potholes, and smooth stretches as far as the eye could see. On either side, we were greeted by rows of windmills and endless fields of sunflowers. The weather was perfect too, with the sun hiding behind clouds and a light drizzle adding to the magic. The Swift cruised effortlessly at 140-150 km/h, and we couldn’t resist stopping multiple times for photos along the beautiful route.
We saw signboards for Badami, but with only four days for the trip and two already set aside for travel, we had to save Badami for another time. After hitting a bit of traffic in Hospet, we finally—FINALLY—reached Hampi around 7 PM. It was pitch dark, thanks to a power outage caused by a heavy shower, but after all the hurdles, we were just relieved to have arrived.
PHOTOS
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