My Honda City hasn’t had much running since I got the Jimny to Bangalore (500kms in 3 months). Haven’t been visiting home often. So I decided its time to swap the Jimny for the City for a few months
BHPian blueberry recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Life goes on, so does the Jimny.
I’ve had it in Bangalore for the last 3 months.
No masala to report here again. Boring, reliable, inefficient (as expected).
- Though my GPS malfunctions every time I drive near the old airport. My location is suddenly off by 300m or so.
- Assumed it was interference, but none of the other cars I ride in have this issue.
- If I use the same phone, while sat in a different vehicle, GPS works fine. (looks like your phone uses the vehicles GPS antenna when connected to CarPlay)
- If my wife’s phone is connected to Android Auto, then GPS works fine
Looked it up online
- My hunch is that the GPS antenna in the Jimny is faulty.
- Interestingly, the same malfunction doesn’t appear anywhere else in Bangalore ( & all the way to Coimbatore).
Don’t know what to make of it. - Don’t think it’s an Apple software problem. If it were, the inaccuracy would to be persist, irrespective of where I drive
My Honda City hasn’t had much running since I got the Jimny to Bangalore (500kms in 3 months). Haven’t been visiting home often.
So I decided its time to swap the Jimny for the City for a few months.
I was driving down alone this time. Decided to be a little adventurous and take the Dhimbham route to Coimbatore.
Jimny certainly would benefit it’s legs getting stretched.
Looked up the Bangalore to Coimbatore Queries thread here on T-Bhp and decided to take the Dhimbham route.
Started the drive coming to reach ‘Bhama Hotel’ for lunch (just before you descend from Dhimhbham Ghat road).
– The small hotel has good parking, but the restrooms are poorly maintained
– I saw 7-8 cars + a TNSTC bus & a few lorries parked for lunch there
– The food was nothing to write home about though. Quite average (but hygienic)
Bangalore-Mysore access controlled express way was a breeze to drive on.
I turned off the Expressway a little ahead of Mandya to head to Chamarajanagar.
- I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of roads from Mandya to Chamarajanagar.
- Great views, Smooth topping & non-operational toll plazas
- These roads are a big NO for me, if I have to do night drives.
Post Chamarajanagar, you get to Thalavadi forest – the nicest part of the drive
– There is a 20Rs entry fee per vehicle & the forest officials were courteous.
– The Thalavadi forest road is open for motorists only from 6am-9pm daily.
– The speed limit is 30kmph
Roads inside thalavadi forest. No stopping allowed.
Caught a glimpse of a spotted deer by the side of the road.
I could snap a picture because the vehicles ahead of me had come to a halt to admire it.
You enter Sathyamangalam reserve forest once you enter TN side. (Best I understand, Thalavadi forest and Sathyamangalam reserve forest are the same – What man made lines do animals recognise anyway)
Couldn’t snap any pictures inside, as no stopping is encouraged (elephant crossing zone)
Once you cross the reserve forest, there are a few roadside shacks for a bite of food.
Though hungry, I soldiered on to Bhama hotel (which ultimately disappointed me)
Few snaps from the buffer area near Sathyamangalam Tiger reserve.
More than shops on the road / Electricity board employees working on the side, I trust presence Cattle / goats as a measure of how safe the area is
Jimny pointed to the next milestone (you can see Dhimbham Ghat ahead in the distance)
There are a few resorts which have opened up in the Buffer zone of Sathyamangalam reserve forest.
– I’m not aware of the legalities around this. But to me it feels like buffer zones need to be kept as buffer zones, & not make them tourism friendly.
Keeping my scepticism aside, I still went out to check the roads to these resorts hoping to stumble across a good photography spot for the Jimny.
Found a relatively open field with a good background. But didn’t spend too much time there.
It was eerily silent (It could just be that its mid-day on a hot summer day; but I didn’t want to overrule my gut).
By peak mid-day and post a mediocre lunch, I was in no more mood for stopping or photography.
Crossed Dhimbham ghat and paid my respects at the Bannari Amman temple. (Noticed that every bus & Lorry driver who passes through the Dhimbham route ahead stops here for the lord’s blessing).
- Interestingly on the Dhimbham Ghat, I chanced across a line of drool worthy cars going up.
– a Red Lamborghini Sterrato, a White 530d, a Blue B7 RS4, a District Green S5. (Instagram tells me this is a group from North Kerala)
No more pictures, pushed onto Coimbatore. Uneventful last leg of the journey.
In retrospect
- The route from bangalore via chamarajanagar, dhimbham, annur to coimbatore is faster than taking Nh544
- The roads are also smoother and there is hardly any lorry traffic. (Saw a max of 15 lorries in the Dhimbham stretch, 10 years ago – you’d see a few hundred)
- Paid a toll of ~200Rs instead of ~700
- Average speed is higher on the Dhimbham route & the Jimny was more efficient.
- Restroom facilities for ladies are significantly better on NH544
- Hospitals / access to healthcare is also better on NH544
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