We took the road route to go to Bangalore from Mumbai. Mainly because of Loki, driving down seemed like the best option both financially and practically.
We started early... packed idlis and chutneypudi (minus the chutney powder for Loki), and buttermilk for the way. Mapped the route on GPS, it was fairly straight forward, the only painful part being the endless toll booths one after the other in every section of the highway.
We must have left around 7:30am, and we made good time. Hit Belgaum by 2pm, including a couple of stops in between for lunch and chai. Loki surprisingly quite enjoyed the whole drive. Used to stick out his head from the window for a while, and when he got bored, curled up like a little ball and slept like a baby with his head on my lap. He did not bark or whine even once. He enjoyed the pitstops and the idlis and the rotis from a highway dhaba.
We had booked a couple of rooms at a home stay in Belgaum. One of the few places that did allow pets. It's called 'Nature n I'. A little away from the main city, the farmhouse was nestled inside a huge coconut grove, chikoo and fruit orchards. Loki loved the place at first sight, even after the long journey he was so excited to jump out of the car and explore the place.
I think for the first time we had let him free off his leash in the outdoors. Coming to think of it, it's really sad. In a city like Bombay, we are so used to living in tiny apartments. Taking your dog outside for a walk is no fun either. There are very few green areas and parks, the streets are crowded, and most people seem super scared of dogs in general, you always need to keep them leashed when you step out.
After he did a few rounds of exploring in the wilderness, he settled down this time for a proper snooze. The farmhouse was a modest bungalow with about 3-4 bedrooms. It was quite reasonable at about rs 1000/ 1500 per night and 100rs extra for food. The bathrooms were huge and clean, bedrooms were comfortable with fan and ac. The caretaker and his family were very sweet and helpful.
At the end we were happy about splitting the journey instead for the long 14 hr drive from Mumbai to Bangalore. I would definitely recommend staying over at 'Nature n I' if you are planning to do a long road trip through Belgaum.
Nature n I, Belgaum
lovely pictures and I am so happy when pets get to travel. We stopped in belgaum too on our trip from hyd to goa, travelling with our dog. Stayed at a place 70 kms off belgaum city called Alurkar resorts...
ReplyDeleteDid you not have the AC on in the car? Our dog gets car sick and we don't feed him heavy meals till we reach a stop for the night, only give him vanilla ice cream and sometimes a teaspoon of Glucon d, thats what the vet advised.
He also seemed to have a whale of a time in bangalore. I love the last pic of Loki
Hey Arundati,
DeleteIt was such a fun trip. Loki loved the car journey I think. Didn't bark, complain or whine even once. We did have the Ac on most of the time, and at other times he was happily sticking his head out of the window.
We fed him some idlis and a roti on the way.
He is enjoying himself in Bangalore right now, and nicely bullying our other lab Bumbli :)
I am happy to find this post Very useful for me, as it contains lot of information. thanks
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