Introduction

They say that there is a very fine line between freedom and absolute choice. Freedom gives you the ability to make decisions without external influence, but then again, the lack of self-discipline can have multiple connotations, good, bad and ugly. Similar is the case with absolute choice. So when one has the freedom and the choice of going for a drive with Honda, never say no! Even if it means five days away from routine, which could also mean backlog at work, more pending assignments, and to some extent even hassles with family for not spending enough time at home! That freedom, that choice is still a choice well selected because you know you are going to come back so much more fresher. Fresh enough to come back, complete all of the work, and may be even convince, comfort and please loved ones!

This was the 5th edition of Honda's Drive to Discover. ‎We, a group of auto journalists across India, we're going to travel from Coimbatore to Bengaluru, through Masinagudi and Coorg. And the machine partner in crime for this indulgence: the latest MPV from Honda, the Mobilio.

Unwinding on the winding Nilgiris

I have been to Southern India before, but have always had tough times travelling here due to the language barrier. My 'Mumbaikar' gesture language ends up being too loud at times for them! ‎Thankfully, we were going to travel in a pack. I had the company of journalists from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. And thanks to thier 'experience' with this before, knowing local language was not a problem. The only other thing required apart from an awesome team, was an awesome vehicle. In this case, there were 5, sparkling new Mobilio's right outside our abode for day 1, and the starting point for our journey: The Taj Hotel, Coimbatore.

Ours was the lead car, which meant we took the responsibility to guide the entire convoy through the right way or create total chaos. The latter was thankfully avoided courtesy Mobilio's new sat-nav system. We marked Bandipur as the destination and set off.

The idea was to get out of Coimbatore city, take the National Highway (NH67) and then on, it was a straight forward drive. Unless ofcourse we lost our cool in the maddening heat in the city, but that too was taken care by the potent air-conditioning in the Mobilio. Despite the scorching heat outside, it surprisingly kept us cool even in the second row with the blower overhead set at mid level.

The 'cool' state of mind and body helps, especially when you have to read Mettupalayam, Kottagiri, Kunnuur all such difficult-to-pronounce-even-in-your-head names of places. The petrol Mobilio, which I was driving surprised us with its refinement, what more to wish for than driving a silent car in the traffic-infested city roads.

While heading towards Ooty, we were all very excited as we knew what lay in store for us - the curvy roads in the Nilgiri Hills! They are a flight! Needless to say it was fun driving the Mobilio over these winding roads. It proved as a superb place to unwind as the beautiful roads gave us many opportunities to pose with the Mobilio in some breathtaking backdrops.

Post lunch, it wasn't a good idea to sit in the back rows as the 36 hairpin bends tossed the food in our tummies right-centre-left and so on. The Mobilio is a huge vehicle, pretty stable on straight roads, but the body roll gets significant on such roads. So while we slowly got down the hill and entered Madumalai Tiger Reserve, we realised some cars had disappeared into the distance.

The traces of wild life starting with spotted deer and peacocks began to make appearances, but there was no sight of the stylish RS variant of the Mobilio that had zoomed way ahead of us. After several minutes of catching up, we found the car banking to the left side. The nasty roads had taken a toll on the sharp-looking alloys of the sportier Mobilio.

Ouch! Not one, two at a time! Thankfully, all the Mobilios had assembled at this point and two spare wheels were borrowed from other cars and replaced in the middle of the jungle. I can remember how scared everyone was, thinking about the fact that any wild animal could attack us at any moment.

From this point onwards, all the Mobilios stuck together for the remaining journey and the convoy looked beautiful amidst the forest trees and the setting sun in the background. Our stay was at the Serai resort nestled in the forest. It was also part of the wildlife territory we were going to explore the next day.

Getting wild with the wild

The quest to spot the tiger in its natural habitat woke us up before the crack of dawn and we set off for Tiger Safari in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The uncomfortable seats of the government forest vehicle reminded me of how comfortable the Mobilio's seats were and only got me irritated by the end of the ride. Deer - check, wild boar- check, wild hen - check, peacocks -check, mongoose - check, elephants - check, but not a single footprint of the Tiger!

Dejected, we came back to our resort and got ready to drive towards Coorg. So now, from Serai, Bandipur, the idea was to head to Gundlupet, then Begur, right into the Nagarole Kabini biosphere reserve. In between where I got faint traces of network on my cell phone, "Hey where are you?" Me: "Narrrgunda vellapo, Kaniyaka malibu" A surprised voice from the other end, " What?" I smirked and replied explaining how difficult it was for me to remember the names of places.

The scenic route took us to the Kabini reservoir, where looking at the heat outside, someone's idea of fishing was rubbished within seconds! We were better off chilling in the seats of the Mobilio with the cool breeze from the vents. Hunger pangs made us wait at a bakery in a small village en-route, only for us to later know that there were eight such 'ayengar' bakeries within a distance of 100 metres. Munching on the snacks, we drove into the Nagarhole Sanctuary.

We were overjoyed that the going was smooth, sadly though after a while, the roads got worse. Things got worse. Our car suffered a puncture while we headed to find the Mobilio that had taken a wrong route in the jungle. Fortunately, the lost Mobilio found its way back, we fixed our puncture and all Mobilios were back on track in the wild forests, where we were got a feeling that some wild animal would attack us for sure.

And yes, further ahead, a wild elephant had stationed itself beside the road in a position to lunge forward and attack at any moment. While he seemed calm at that moment, he was also prepared to charge and convert our seven-seater vehicle back into the Brio with his massive body and fully-grown tusks. Here's the thing about wild animals. Some of them are deliberately ferocious, some not so much. But either way, they can get cranky and when they do, they have enough destructive ability in them to get your ribs cracking. Not taking any chances as we loved the Mobilio which had ferried us across and had more distance to cover, we moved ahead after clicking some pictures quickly.

With all this travelling and excitement hunger came easily to us and what better place than the dhaabas on the highway. The thing about highway dhaabas in India are that they always serve something delicious. If not anything quickly available, at least extremely awesome chai will be served. En-route, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee made us hit the brakes. So before we lost our way again to our stay in Madekari, Coorg, we sipped onto to the 'kaaapi' and bit into some local banana fry. We stocked some more of this and egg puffs on the way as the Mobilio had oodles of space to store whatever we could find on the way.

Time for some TLC

We reached the majestic, humungous property of Taj in Madekari, Coorg, where we had a day off to relax, feel rejuvenated and pamper ourselves. We also stuffed ourselves silly, right from pork to Thai dishes to beef, a dish that has been recently banned in Maharashtra; we ate, drank and rejoiced, celebrating the journey we had covered so far.

Nevertheless, the scenic locations in Coorg cajoled us to hop into the Mobilio and drive to some more beautiful locations. We were out before the crack of dawn to witness the magic of nature, which was indeed at its best, unexplored, and undiscovered. We were often rendered speechless, as we would have never been able to testify the impressive views in the morning and the misty paths that seemed to lead to nowhere.

On a tight leash

The thought that we were going to be on the last leg of this splendid journey which was soon going to end in a span of few hours really bogged me the next morning. Nevertheless, we picked up the diesel Mobilio this time and set off in good spirits. The increase in torque in comparison to the petrol version put a wide smile on my face and a little loud music on the infotainment system in the car helped me overlook the clutter in the diesel car.

Kollywood is from Tamil Nadu, Tollywood is from Andhra Pradesh, Sandalwood is from Karnataka and Mollywood from Kerala is what I understood from the different radio stations that we were listening to. Rather this is what my companions convinced me on the way. 'Mast majjaaaa maaaaaaaaaadi' is all I can remember from those songs. If the songs weren’t entertaining enough, the KSRTC buses were scary enough while overtaking. They flashed their lights as if the throw of their light was going to make the roads wider!

Sure the roads didn't get any better and the diversions on the highway towards Bangalore continued, but our detour to a place named Bylakuppe surely changed the layout of the entire surroundings. This place is known for the Tibetan settlements and a monastery that are unlike the typical settlements in South India. I still can remember the taste of the delicious chicken momos and lemon ginger tea lingering in my mouth on the entire route to the Bangalore airport.

The drive started with a poetic description of the word 'choice', by telling us to follow what others would do or take whatever route we wanted and that is precisely what the Drive to Discover was all about.

I had only heard about these drives that Honda organises but a first-hand experience of it this time, was by far one of the best experiences I have till date. Coming to the manufacturer's concept of showcasing the durability, quality and reliability aspect of Honda cars, the Honda Mobilio stuck to the company's claim. As promised, the car was a good companion for us to witness the natural beauty and appetizing cuisine amidst lush valleys, grand mountains and forests of South India. Incredible India!