Day 13 - Khandala to Davengere via Panchgani – 31 December 2020 – 650 km

It was not easy to find hotel accommodation in Panchgani or anywhere else in the neighborhood for New Year's Eve and the day after. I kept trying and trying and Booking.com repeatedly threw up Mount Castle as reasonably priced under the circumstances with favorable reviews and good photos of the rooms. Despite the tariff I booked the accommodation last night as I was quite keen to explore Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar as I had not been there previously.

After a couple of cups of excellent tea prepared by Sanjeev I took his leave with a couple of boiled eggs stored in the food bag to be had later when hunger pangs surfaced. As it happens to me often, the very thought of fresh food in the car makes me instantly hungry. A short while after I got on to the highway the eggs decided to leap into my mouth. Lonavala is known for Maganlal's chikkis, dry fruit rolls, jellies, savories and fudges. Last evening Sanjeev had told me the interesting story of how Maganlal developed the chikki as a snack for laborers during the construction of the Ghat railway. As I drove past Lonavala I was mighty confused. Look wherever, every shop was named Maganlal's!

I was really looking forward to spending two nights in the hill station and I decided to enjoy the drive all through. When the Pasarni Ghats came up I knew I was close to my destination for the day. As I drove into the compound of Mount Castle hotel anxieties surfaced. At the reception I asked to see the room. I was appalled to find the surroundings ill kept and garbage piled in corners. The room did not resemble even remotely what was depicted on the booking.com site. The receptionist apologized for the mistake and agreed to cancel the reservation without any penal charges.

I was at a loss as to where I could spend the two days I wanted to in the hill station. The receptionist directed me to Revine Hotel, a short distance away. Not only did the hotel quote atrocious rates, the receptionist told me that I would need a doctor's fitness certificate to stay there. She checked with another hotel and the same charade repeated. Then and there I decided to curtail my tour and heave ho back to Chennai. Undoubtedly frustrating and disappointing.

Back on the Pasarni Ghat I stopped at a scenic location and assessed my options. I could make a dash through to Chennai, a distance of over 1100 km or halt some place in between. For the latter, the options were Hubli or Davengere. I decided to take it as it came. The road conditions were good and driving was smooth. Moreover, faster transit through toll gates assisted by the Fastag also saved me a lot of time. I decided to push through beyond Dharwad and Hubli, where I knew I could get decent accommodation for the night.

I found many billboards on the highway between Hubli and Davengere of Hotel Ashok Inn. It was advertised as a new facility and the internet gave me information that the tariff was very reasonable too, especially as compared to the extortionist tariffs in Panchgani. I drove into the premises of Hotel Ashok Inn in Davengere by 6.30 pm. Frankly, I was not prepared to see what I saw there then. Preparations were on in full swing to ring in the New Year. While working in Mysore Division in 1983-85 and Hubli in 2003-05 I had been to Davengere many times. Certainly, between the two spells the city had improved considerably and the highway had become top class. However, in December 2020 the preparation for festivities took my breath away.

At the reception I was treated very politely and given a large, well-appointed room. However, I was a bit apprehensive about my car being parked outside the hotel premise. The pandals and other arrangements in the hotel compound meant that car parking had to be done outside. New year revelries can go wrong very quickly and vehicles parked outside may bear the brunt of wanton destructive celebrations. Nevertheless, the hotel took ‘full responsibility’, whatever that meant, for the security and safety of the car. I made sure that all valuable stuff like camera equipment, etc was safely lodged in my room.

I am not one for either loud music or shaking a leg. After I had freshened up, I decided to go down to the bar and put a couple of my favourite Old Monk and coke down my parched throat. The helpful waitress suggested that I try their mutton pepper fry. While the Old Monk cooled me down the mutton dish brought on saliva in large measure. Once I had finished the Facebook post and other documentation I sought refuge in my room to spend the last few hours of 2020 in solitude.