# India we saw > Family of 4 on an adventure roadtrip traveling through India to discover it for themselves. Author: Vickramaditya Dhawal Updated: 2026-05-31T07:13:43.888Z Language: en ## Chapters - [What, Why and How](https://howiseeindia.com/bharat-bhraman/chapters/what-why-how.html): After completing 15 years at Adobe in 2025, the narrator becomes eligible for a 6-week sabbatical that aligns with his children’s summer vacation in Bangalore and his wife Shreya’s career break. They cancel a long-planned Western Europe trip (France, Germany, Netherlands) on 27 Mar 2026 and instead decide on 30 Mar to drive from Bangalore to Araku Valley near Vizag with minimal planning and same-day hotel bookings, departing 2 Apr and returning 8 May after a 7,684 km road trip across India motivated by a desire to experience long-deferred places firsthand before turning 40 on 21 May 2026. published 2026-05-11 · tags: india-road-trip, araku-valley, family-travel, travel-reset · topics: sabbatical planning and timing, cancelling an international vacation, India road trip decision-making, minimal-preplanning travel rules, family travel logistics, Araku Valley motivation and pop-culture trigger, milestone birthday and midlife reassessment - [The first intended stop](https://howiseeindia.com/bharat-bhraman/chapters/the-first-leg.html): Vickramaditya Dhawal’s family of four began their roadtrip by driving ~670 km from Bangalore toward Vijaywada via Chittoor (NH75), Tirupati and Ongole to connect to NH16 (Chennai–Kolkata highway), stopping at Murugan Idli in Kolar and later staying at Lemon Tree Premiere Hotel; on 2 April 2026 they swam under a blood moon while he explained a lunar eclipse to the kids. They skipped Kanak Durga temple after encountering “Protocol darshan” style preferential access, then continued to Vishakhapatnam (Vizag) with a same-day booking at WelcomHotel Devee Grand Bay via HDFC concierge, visiting the published 2026-05-11 · updated 2026-05-30 · tags: bangalore to araku, chennai - kolkata highway · topics: Bangalore to Vijaywada drive, highway food tradeoffs, kids sleep setup in car, Protocol darshan tiers, same-day hotel booking via concierge, Vizag tourist circuit planning, hygiene standards at beaches, tribal-region unofficial tolls - [Jagdalpur](https://howiseeindia.com/bharat-bhraman/chapters/bastar.html): Driving from Araku Valley to Jagdalpur via Jeypore, Vickram, Shreya and their kids hit heavy rain about 70 km before town, then used Unexplored Bastar to plan a more adventurous three-day Bastar itinerary. They stayed at Shagun Farms (noting exceptional hospitality and waived laundry charges, in contrast to a Vizag hotel that charged while spoiling clothes) and did a heritage walk covering Danteswari Temple, the Kakatiya dynasty’s 600-year influence, Dalpat Sagar rainwater-harvesting lake, and the 1966 assassination of king Bhanj Deo and its link to Naxalism. Day 6 included Mandarkonta cave updated 2026-05-30 · topics: Araku to Jagdalpur drive, same-day guided planning, Atithi Devo Bhava hospitality, Bastar heritage walk history, Mandarkonta cave spelunking, Tirathgarh waterfall bathing, tribal lunch on leaf plates, Naxalism local perspectives - [Enroute to Kolkata](https://howiseeindia.com/bharat-bhraman/chapters/enroute-to-kolkata.html): Driving from Jagdalpur toward Kolkata via the Chennai–Kolkata highway, Vickramaditya Dhawal and Shreya stayed at Swosti Chilika Lake Resort (Rs 13,000/night), did a morning speed-boat ride on Chilika Lake (including an island temple stop and feeding seagulls), and took their children to Wonderla Bhubaneswar. They visited Jagannath Puri Dham, observed VIP/commoner buggy separation and hired an agent for darshan amid heavy crowding, then stayed at Sterling Puri and visited the Sun Temple at Konark, reflecting on restoration history, the Ganga dynasty and links to the Kakatiya dynasty. They published 2026-05-25 · updated 2026-05-30 · topics: Chilika Lake speed-boat, premium resort cost tradeoff, Wonderla Bhubaneswar stopover, VIP buggy and darshan access, temple agents and crowd safety, pandit extortion outside temples, Konark Sun Temple engineering, tyre replacement in Kolkata - [Jharkhand - first visit ever](https://howiseeindia.com/bharat-bhraman/chapters/kolkata-netarhat-betla.html): On 21 Apr, Vickram and Shreya drove ~550 km from Kolkata toward Netarhat (“Queen of Chotanagpur”), reaching Ranchi around 2 PM and then taking ~3 hours for 140 km via village roads; they ate Maggi at Magnolia Sunset Point. They stayed at JTDC Hotel Prabhat Vihar (family suite ~Rs 4200), did activities at Summit Nature Camp, then continued to Betla National Park for a forest department cottage stay with unreliable AC/power and an evening safari (deer, peacocks, gaur). published 2026-05-31 · updated 2026-06-07 · topics: Kolkata to Netarhat drive, JTDC vs forest stays, Betla safari sightings, name-dropping in offices - [Moving through Madhya Pradesh](https://howiseeindia.com/bharat-bhraman/chapters/madhya-pradesh.html): Traveling through hot Madhya Pradesh in April 2026. Covering Rewa, Khajuraho, Orchha and Kuno National Park. published 2026-05-31 · updated 2026-06-13 - [Temples of India](https://howiseeindia.com/bharat-bhraman/chapters/temples-of-india.html): Coverage of some temples across east and central India ## Full text A plain-text concatenation of every chapter is available at /llms-full.txt.