Wednesday, December 24.
It was our first of a long 5 day stretch of holidays. It was Christmas eve. It had rained for the past few days and the weather in Cyprus could not have been better, not to forget the chill which the rains brought. Deva, Vinay and Sarvo in 1 car and me and Punit in another headed off towards Troodos mountains. With jackets on and mood full of enthusiasm we steered ahead.
After an hour of driving we reached the Troodos town. And were thrilled and over-joyed to find snow. Tonnes and tonnes of pure white snow. We headed to Mt Olympus and and put our foot in the snow covered mountains. Vinay had floaters on instead of shoes. He was not able to bear the cold. Actually none of us were. He went back in the car. We 4 went some 10 metres above on foot. But that was it. It was awesome but was getting increasingly unbearable. We clicked a few pics here and there and went back to the comfort of the car.
Later we went back down to the town centre to fill our stomachs but could not find any restaurant serving veg food. So we headed back home to Limassol. This time, punit sarvo and myself went along a different route. And as we learnt from experience, this time the drive was smooth and without any brake fails.
All in all, it was one of the most enjoyable and memorable days in Cyprus.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
my tryst with cyprus cars and police.
December 17.
It's been more than 3 months since i arrived in Cyprus on September 6. My time here has been full of experiences some good, some not. Many more incidents have occurred which have not yet reached the blog, some of which may never even reach here. There are many moments that came till date which I would treasure my lifetime. Some of these were owning a car, moving into our home, driving at 160 kmph, sight seeing with friends, bowling nights, the fridays at amdocs and so on. Probably as you know or might have guessed, that i have quite a fascination for cars and driving. Two of my posts on the driving experiences and this one's title may perhaps bear testimony to this fact.
Speaking of cars and driving, my drives here in cyprus have been eventful to say the least. Many incidents (or accidents) have occurred and many more may follow suite. I was in the rental car which Punit, my friend gave some finishing touch. I guess he probably did not like the front and so decided for a makeover by ramming it against another car. We got away on that by paying the damages but needless to say, job well done Punit.
When sarvoday, chintan and myself headed to polis, a place beyond paphos, nobody would have imagined that it would be the last drive of that car. The car engine just could not handle the heat and bid adieu to us. It cost sarvo and chintan their first car and they I believe would have entered the guiness records for buying 2 cars in 1 month.
Moving on, when sarvo and i headed towards the trukish cyprus, we were again caught by police at various points on both side but were not troubled much.
But luck never stays on your side all the time. One fine morning while driving towards office, i got caught for driving at 80 where the limit was 50. Had to shell out 40 euros and got rewarded with 2 points. Paying fine at the police station was quite an experience in itself for which by the way, i even got a letter (i suppose receipt but useless as it is in greek).
This was certainly not the last i had seen of the police. Returning late night after a very tiring and frustrating day (my friends here would know why) was stopped by police in the bylanes. But this was just a routine inspection. He did not understand our Indian license but seeing the amdocs id around my neck, he probably did not get suspicious and let me off without bother.
More was to come. One night when sarvo and i went about one of our night drives (or better put - to buy milk ), we were again stopped in some small bylanes of the city. Since i had been stopped earlier, i was calm and knew that this wouldnt last more than 2 mins. But the officer had other plans. Being a friday midnight, he suspected we were drunk and he asked me to give an alcohol test. This was certainly the last thing on my mind. Needless to say i passed with flying colors, and we went about (buying milk).
Time for some bad ones as well. While reversing one night at McDonalds, I went more than the space behind
permitted and the car rear hit a pole though it did not inflict any damage.
2 days ago, while going home after an early morning shift, my mind drifted away, broke a parked car's mirror. I did get down to look and find the owner and cover up the matter, but since there was no one around, i went on to home.
All in all, my drives in cyprus have been eventful, and hope only pleeasant more drives to follow.
It's been more than 3 months since i arrived in Cyprus on September 6. My time here has been full of experiences some good, some not. Many more incidents have occurred which have not yet reached the blog, some of which may never even reach here. There are many moments that came till date which I would treasure my lifetime. Some of these were owning a car, moving into our home, driving at 160 kmph, sight seeing with friends, bowling nights, the fridays at amdocs and so on. Probably as you know or might have guessed, that i have quite a fascination for cars and driving. Two of my posts on the driving experiences and this one's title may perhaps bear testimony to this fact.
Speaking of cars and driving, my drives here in cyprus have been eventful to say the least. Many incidents (or accidents) have occurred and many more may follow suite. I was in the rental car which Punit, my friend gave some finishing touch. I guess he probably did not like the front and so decided for a makeover by ramming it against another car. We got away on that by paying the damages but needless to say, job well done Punit.
When sarvoday, chintan and myself headed to polis, a place beyond paphos, nobody would have imagined that it would be the last drive of that car. The car engine just could not handle the heat and bid adieu to us. It cost sarvo and chintan their first car and they I believe would have entered the guiness records for buying 2 cars in 1 month.
Moving on, when sarvo and i headed towards the trukish cyprus, we were again caught by police at various points on both side but were not troubled much.
But luck never stays on your side all the time. One fine morning while driving towards office, i got caught for driving at 80 where the limit was 50. Had to shell out 40 euros and got rewarded with 2 points. Paying fine at the police station was quite an experience in itself for which by the way, i even got a letter (i suppose receipt but useless as it is in greek).
This was certainly not the last i had seen of the police. Returning late night after a very tiring and frustrating day (my friends here would know why) was stopped by police in the bylanes. But this was just a routine inspection. He did not understand our Indian license but seeing the amdocs id around my neck, he probably did not get suspicious and let me off without bother.
More was to come. One night when sarvo and i went about one of our night drives (or better put - to buy milk ), we were again stopped in some small bylanes of the city. Since i had been stopped earlier, i was calm and knew that this wouldnt last more than 2 mins. But the officer had other plans. Being a friday midnight, he suspected we were drunk and he asked me to give an alcohol test. This was certainly the last thing on my mind. Needless to say i passed with flying colors, and we went about (buying milk).
Time for some bad ones as well. While reversing one night at McDonalds, I went more than the space behind
permitted and the car rear hit a pole though it did not inflict any damage.
2 days ago, while going home after an early morning shift, my mind drifted away, broke a parked car's mirror. I did get down to look and find the owner and cover up the matter, but since there was no one around, i went on to home.
All in all, my drives in cyprus have been eventful, and hope only pleeasant more drives to follow.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
a stone on the road
The title of this post may seem strange at first. For the characters involved, i believe it will bring a smile on their face. A scary smile.
November 15, saturday midnight.
punit,chintan,sarvoday,devashish and myself perhaps were destined to experience the incidents of that night. At 1 am we picked up deva and a pile of logs and sulphur cakes (to light a bonfire) from his home and head towards Troodos mountains. It was a cold chilly night. We were 5 in the car and going uphill at a good speed of 60-70 kmph for quite a while. When the steep climb started, i switched the car to power mode to get more revs and get us up. There was a chill in the air and dense fog which reduced the visibility to barely a few metres. I switched on the hazard lights and was giving dipper signals at a good fast rate just to be more cautious. The mood inside the car was full of fun and enthusiasm, good music and excitement to reach the top and have a great time. Driving in the fog was a first for me but everything was going good. Or in hindsight now, everything except the car engine. Little did we realise what made the fog so dense and reduced our visibility was not fog alone. It was also the smoke bellowing out of the engine. We smelled something burning and then our eyes went to the heating indicator and our jaws dropped. It had almost reached its top. I stopped the car there, openend the bonnet and thick dense smoke gushed outside. Had we not stopped there!!!.
We had coolant and water with us and we poured that into the radiator. I parked the car aside. We were still about 4-5 km away from the Troodos top. We got down and played football in the middle of the road. Probably would have been hired by a good EPL club had they seen us. Moving on, Sarvoday took out his camera phone (N-82 to be specific since he brags about it alot) and started with the proceedings. We clicked a few pics here and there and after about 35-40 mins we resumed our journey ahead. We managed to reach the top without any further trouble. Now was the time for the bonfire and bonhomie. We got the bonhomie not the bonfire though. The chilly wind would just not allow the logs to catch fire. 5 brains could not light a wooden log and we call ourselves engineers. So we just tried and tried till we got tired and fed up of those logs. So we just went back into the car for obviously it was more comfortable than staying out. Since our bonfiire experiment failed and it was 4 am and the degree dropping further, we decided to head home to Limassol much against the wishes of some daredevil (dont remember who were they) guys who suggested to wait till sunrise.
There were 2 roads that led back home. We took the other road, longer and a little more treacherous path. This time it was downhill and by physics the car gathered good speed even when my foot was off the gas. We did not know how to drive downhill. I drove in low gear for a few minutes and then switched back to normal driving gear. Little did we realize, that this small mistake of shifting gears would prove so disastrous and costly. The driving gear and downhill combined to give a very high speed to the car. The car would touch 70-80 kmph with no foot on the gas. It was dark, cold and to be honest, i was scared about driving downhill as well at such high speed. To counter this speed, i put my foot on the brakes. This again proved to be a big big mistake.
The brakes did manage to get the speed down to 45-50. But the brakes were burning out because i had pressed them on throughout the drive. They were wearing out but we did not realize it. All seemed good but the fog had reduced the visibility so much that i could not see a big stone in the middle of the road and drove the front left tire over it with a thud sound. This shook us all. A few metres ahead, i stopped the car on the side and we got down to check. The tire rim was damaged. But more shocking were the brakes. The brakes had become red hot. I took reverse after stopping for a while and that was the most horrific moment of that night. With the gear in reverse, a downhill road the car started gathering speed even though the brakes were pressed hard. The car was not stopping. I put on the handbrakes and brought the car to a halt.
The brakes had failed. On seeing more closely, the front left tire was also flat with rubber pieces coming out.
We tried to contact the speed fire towing service but he was reluctant to believe us and come to pick us up. Through him, we managed a taxi to come and get us. Punit, chintan and deva left in the taxi towards home to try and get help for me and sarvo who stayed back with the car. It was about 6 am. Sarvo and i tried to put on the spare tire but we were unable and how we thank god that we decided to stay there instead of going in a car damaged and without brakes. We managed to get the towing truck come and collect us and the car. At 9 am the truck came and loaded the car behind. Now we were heading back home safely. When we saw the road through which we returmed, we realized how bad it could have been had we not stopped there.
We reached home safely on sunday morning after spending a chilly 3-4 hours in the car. The bonfire did not happen, the bonhomie was ruined but we were spared living to tell this tale, safe and sound.
That stone on the road.
November 15, saturday midnight.
punit,chintan,sarvoday,devashish and myself perhaps were destined to experience the incidents of that night. At 1 am we picked up deva and a pile of logs and sulphur cakes (to light a bonfire) from his home and head towards Troodos mountains. It was a cold chilly night. We were 5 in the car and going uphill at a good speed of 60-70 kmph for quite a while. When the steep climb started, i switched the car to power mode to get more revs and get us up. There was a chill in the air and dense fog which reduced the visibility to barely a few metres. I switched on the hazard lights and was giving dipper signals at a good fast rate just to be more cautious. The mood inside the car was full of fun and enthusiasm, good music and excitement to reach the top and have a great time. Driving in the fog was a first for me but everything was going good. Or in hindsight now, everything except the car engine. Little did we realise what made the fog so dense and reduced our visibility was not fog alone. It was also the smoke bellowing out of the engine. We smelled something burning and then our eyes went to the heating indicator and our jaws dropped. It had almost reached its top. I stopped the car there, openend the bonnet and thick dense smoke gushed outside. Had we not stopped there!!!.
We had coolant and water with us and we poured that into the radiator. I parked the car aside. We were still about 4-5 km away from the Troodos top. We got down and played football in the middle of the road. Probably would have been hired by a good EPL club had they seen us. Moving on, Sarvoday took out his camera phone (N-82 to be specific since he brags about it alot) and started with the proceedings. We clicked a few pics here and there and after about 35-40 mins we resumed our journey ahead. We managed to reach the top without any further trouble. Now was the time for the bonfire and bonhomie. We got the bonhomie not the bonfire though. The chilly wind would just not allow the logs to catch fire. 5 brains could not light a wooden log and we call ourselves engineers. So we just tried and tried till we got tired and fed up of those logs. So we just went back into the car for obviously it was more comfortable than staying out. Since our bonfiire experiment failed and it was 4 am and the degree dropping further, we decided to head home to Limassol much against the wishes of some daredevil (dont remember who were they) guys who suggested to wait till sunrise.
There were 2 roads that led back home. We took the other road, longer and a little more treacherous path. This time it was downhill and by physics the car gathered good speed even when my foot was off the gas. We did not know how to drive downhill. I drove in low gear for a few minutes and then switched back to normal driving gear. Little did we realize, that this small mistake of shifting gears would prove so disastrous and costly. The driving gear and downhill combined to give a very high speed to the car. The car would touch 70-80 kmph with no foot on the gas. It was dark, cold and to be honest, i was scared about driving downhill as well at such high speed. To counter this speed, i put my foot on the brakes. This again proved to be a big big mistake.
The brakes did manage to get the speed down to 45-50. But the brakes were burning out because i had pressed them on throughout the drive. They were wearing out but we did not realize it. All seemed good but the fog had reduced the visibility so much that i could not see a big stone in the middle of the road and drove the front left tire over it with a thud sound. This shook us all. A few metres ahead, i stopped the car on the side and we got down to check. The tire rim was damaged. But more shocking were the brakes. The brakes had become red hot. I took reverse after stopping for a while and that was the most horrific moment of that night. With the gear in reverse, a downhill road the car started gathering speed even though the brakes were pressed hard. The car was not stopping. I put on the handbrakes and brought the car to a halt.
The brakes had failed. On seeing more closely, the front left tire was also flat with rubber pieces coming out.
We tried to contact the speed fire towing service but he was reluctant to believe us and come to pick us up. Through him, we managed a taxi to come and get us. Punit, chintan and deva left in the taxi towards home to try and get help for me and sarvo who stayed back with the car. It was about 6 am. Sarvo and i tried to put on the spare tire but we were unable and how we thank god that we decided to stay there instead of going in a car damaged and without brakes. We managed to get the towing truck come and collect us and the car. At 9 am the truck came and loaded the car behind. Now we were heading back home safely. When we saw the road through which we returmed, we realized how bad it could have been had we not stopped there.
We reached home safely on sunday morning after spending a chilly 3-4 hours in the car. The bonfire did not happen, the bonhomie was ruined but we were spared living to tell this tale, safe and sound.
That stone on the road.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)