Unplanned RoadTrip in 2020
The year 2020 took away too much from all of us, be it moments of togetherness, a warm hug, and loved ones too. I lost my Father in October, he lived a comfortable and fulfilling life, he left us and we miss him dearly. Hope he has moved on to the new and better world.
Life for us mortals goes on and we try to make the best of it. As the year draws to an end, I hope that the next one brings more joy, happiness and prosperity for all of us. With fingers crossed lets step into 2021 and allow me to share my experience form the last trip of 2020. Hope you enjoy and feel it.
Preparation:
Along side the customary Vehicle preparation which includes vehicle servicing, tyre and break check, relevant documents, we carried all possible accessories to make life easier on road. This included puncture repair kit, air compressor, jump wires, toe cable, Air Purifier and more tiny accessories.
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| Some homemade chocos for the trip and gifting.. |
Leg 1 of the journey involved reaching Nagpur and our village nearby to finish important tasks there and then move on further up. We started early on Friday for Aurangabad with an idea to reach our Hotel early, take some rest, cook and visit Daultabad fort.
Having left early we crossed the dense areas of Pune and suburbs by 8 Am and were greeted by open fields and good quality 4 lane roads. Luckily I found lesser vehicles during our travel possibly due to the Pandemic. But some say Covid has increased vehicles on the road, maybe that too in coming days. En route we stopped at a beautiful spot for brunch, some meetings and photo session.
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| Brunch and Photosession midway |
Post Brunch we reached the outskirts of Aurangabad, we were greeted by really bad patches of road and chaotic traffic. Somehow managed to reach hotel by 2 PM . It was a great hotel where we cooked more food, took a shower, relaxed, and left for Daulatabad fort. By 4 we entered the fort and we had around 2 hours for the huge fort complex before it would shut down.
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| @ Daulatabad fort : Durga Cannon, View from top,and Entrance |
The main structure could be reached through a very steep cave complex only. These caves are actually complicated and multiple paths exist. Only those which take you up are lit up and others are cold and dark. If you leave the lit up regular path, you can encounter bats and Cockroaches ..too many of them. The fort structure is surrounded by a ditch, in earlier times the ditch was filled with hungry crocodiles.
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| @ Daulatabad ChandMinar, Cannon, BharatMata Mandir |
Next day we headed out straight for Nagpur early morning, en route we entered Lonar lake area for brunch and chilling. Lonar lake is actually a crater created by a meteor that fell from the sky millions of years ago. The place is a bustling biodiversity hotspot, with birds and some wild animals too. A part of the lake is within a forest reserve.
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| Lonar Lake |
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| Midway cooking and lunch |
After much fun and frolic the ladies helped us crossing some difficult areas and then we headed out straight to Nagpur. The road was really bad till Amrawati then we climbed on NH 53 to Nagpur.
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| Us @ Nagpur |
Few days in Nagpur we met relatives, covered some tasks and left for our Village- Niharwani a short drive of 60 Km. By the time we had left it was dark and while entering the village we were pleasantly surprised by the new concrete road which was well lit up and surrounded by decorative trees on both sides. The village had definitely upgraded over the last couple of years.
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| @ Niharwani, |
Relaxing few days in the Village we prepared for the next leg of our Journey. To Reach Delhi.
Leg 2: Niharwani to Delhi
The morning from Niharwani to Bhopal took us through rice fields of Vidarbha and Marathwada. The green fields topped with white clouds of fog lined on both sides of the road. It was cold and windy and it felt like a crime to leave this place without halting for more time. But the journey was long so we pushed on.
Initially the plan was to take 2 breaks in order to cover the distance of around 1100 km. However on the first day we reached Bhopal really early by around 1:30 PM. We met my brother who was in town and my mother stayed back with bro for few days. So after lunch we headed out to cover some more distance. There is a visible difference in the road quality between Maharashtra and MP. MP roads are much better nowadays, which used to be exact opposite a decade ago when Maharashtra roads were visibly better. Wonder what had been the driver for this change.
Whatever be the reason we enjoyed the ride till Guna where we managed to place another great hotel for stay. We were carrying a huge bag full of bed-sheets and blankets for the journey. Yes, for additional comfort and safety we used our own bed-sheets, blankets and even own pillow throughout the journey. Carrying the pillow really helped as I had a sound sleep every night and woke up fresh for the next day. Mind you small things make a lot of difference, try for yourself.
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| @ Guna Hotel |
Guna was really freezing on that night, after a reassuring sleep we woke up early and left for Delhi while it was still dark at 6:30 AM. The beautiful roads took us through green and yellow fields, villlages and the rising Sun brought the much needed warmth. We stopped midway again for some cooking and relaxing. By now our mini kitchen has proved its efficacy and we found easier way to make things work, its true that "experience makes a person perfect" without being gender insensitive.
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| To Delhi, cooking and Chai |
By the time we stopped again for another round of cooking we were crossing the yellow mustard fields on outskirts of Mathura, our destination was just 140 km and we expected to reach our destination by around 4 pm. However, after many more hours of driving we stood corrected. Many glitches happened starting from Google map taking us through a longer shortcut, to Farmers barricading the highways to the nasty traffic jams and road closures in Delhi. We managed to reach home by 7 30 PM.. so it took us more than 5 hours to cover the last 150 km.
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| Early gains on the way |
After all the struggle and chaos we finally managed to reach home and were greeted with smiling faces and welcoming arms. It was a moment of triumph that we had finally made it to Delhi against all the caring advise and discouraging episodes along the way. Delhi being my Sasural, I was up for some royal treatment and more care. While we were relaxing in Delhi, planning for the next phase was on.
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| Us @ Delhi |
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| Things we got |
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| Gifts we brought |
Leg 3: To Bhangadh and Ranthambore
Honestly I never planned for Ranthambore, it just happened. While returning from Delhi to Indore I was looking for a midway point for overnight stay and happened to zero in on Sawai Madhopur. Made hotel booking and the next day I received call from the hotel owner for Tiger Safari. That's when I realized that we were en-route Ranthambore and we did pounce on the opportunity like a Tiger on a calf.
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| Spotless roads of Rajasthan |
After much planning and stocking up we left from Delhi early morning to beat the nasty Delhi traffic. The chilly Delhi mornings took us through another highway towards Rajasthan. En-route we stopped for breakfast and photo session. And on the way we took a short detour for the haunted Bhangadh fort.
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| @ Bhangadh Fort |
The desolate roads took us through some unbelievable patches and it was surprising for us to see lush green and yellow fields in Rajasthan. Mentally I had a different image with water scarcity in the background.
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| Bhangadh Architecture |
Bhangadh had an intresting story to tell, It involded lust, pride, black magic and a curse, classic plot for a Bollywood blockbuster. It goes something like this. There used to be a guard of the fort, who was enamored by the queen of the fort. In order to get her he learned black magic, his lust or love for the queen made him concoct a powerful love potion ( a hair oil) for her. She realized the trick and threw the oil on a big rock, and by the magical powers of the love potion the rock flew and fell on the Guard/Tantrik, while Dying he cursed the kingdom and the whole village. And since then the fort and surrounding area looks abandoned and haunted.
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| Ruins of the city of Bhangadh |
The Temples were without idols and the whole fort was in really bad condition. There were some really beautiful structures around the the fort walls which need urgent attention. Its a place worth a visit, plan one if you happen to be in that region.
After Bhangarh we went through some more beautiful patches and landed in Sawai Madhopur, its kind of a base camp for Ranthambore. Our hotel was a tiny and cozy place slightly hidden from plain sight. We cooked again and called it a day for the hopeful Tiger sighting next day.
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| Ready for Tiger Safari @ Ranthambore |
Waking up early morning was not a problem, and our canter was right on time. Just the thought of travelling to a jungle in an open vehicle filled me with enthusiasm and fun. The route to Ranthambore was cold and chilly, even before we entered the restricted area we saw langoors, Peacock and Deer. This place is filled with Peacocks and Antlers.
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| @ Tiger Safari, no Tigers for us though |
The beautiful morning inside the jungle was too mesmerizing to capture in pictures, it must be felt and experienced. There were multiple water bodies where Tiger was expected to be relaxing. We kept moving and waiting at probable spots to see the Tiger, It was said that a day before Riddhi- a tigress had made a kill and must be relaxing in this area. At times we were surrounded by 5-6 vehicles and at times we were just alone in the wilderness. Some lucky ones saw Tiger up close, some at a distance of 6 feet. Our vehicle or our Driver were just unlucky we never saw anything other than Pug marks. I am sure that sounds familiar.
While in the jungle we did enjoy company of some birds.
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| Super friendly Bird of forest |
Didn't see the Tiger, so what we will try again tomorrow, we said that to ourself and booked for the next day as well, now the remaining day was for Ranthambore fort, and local sightseeing and shopping.
Ranthambore fort is a charming ruin with its own tragic stories and past. The way to fort is mostly through forest so get another chance to see Peacocks, Antlers and some other Animals. Once up the Fort we hired the services of a Guide who took us through all points of historic importance. We saw the place where Raja Hamir killed his adviser a traitor, rocks from where he took his horse straight up the fort, some really old historic Temples and a couple of beautiful buildings.
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| @ Fort, 32 chattri |
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| Temples and architecture within Ranthambore fort |
The day 2 safari was not very different, we saw all animals other than the Tiger. Some said Tiger was resting under the tree, we tried to see through binoculars, precariously climbing on poles of the vehicle only to realize that Tigers and Jungle are made for each other. For us regular humans, it is impossible to see a relaxing tiger in the tall grass from more than a kilomere away. So we gave up the attempt and focused on the friendly birds instead.
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| Rangmahal and Padam lake from Ranthambore fort |
Leg 4 : Christmas at Indore and return
After the safari we packed up again and left for another stop at Jhalawad. It was just 250 Km and I thought better to go slow absorbing the sights and sounds of Rajasthan. We stood corrected as soon as we entered Jhalawad, to me the whole city looked like an overflowing trash can. The hotel we booked was pathetic and we just somehow survived the night.
Next day early morning we started again towards Indore. Roads of MP greeted us again and we kept driving through windmills, forests and hills. Road to Indore was well marked and maintained. And the City of Indore, the cleanest city felt like a breath of fresh air after Jhalawar. In Indore I went straight to meet my mother and plan the next leg of the journey.
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| Us |
Next day was kept for the Kids and Christmas celebration. For a change I woke up late on this day, got my car washed and went for a walk. Post yummy breakfast we left for Grand Machal for some adventure and activities. My mother sponsored this trip for all us kids.
After hours of walking, some obstacle course, adventure activity, archery, and play we were thoroughly tired. The place was amazing with countless activities and rides and the obstacle course was really a tough one, at least for me.
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| More of us |
After Grand Machal we happened to dine at a famous Ranjit's Kitchen Restaurant and enjoyed the dinner too. Next day again went in relaxing and chilling in Indore and met my friend for Dinner. Now it was time for the last phase of travel, getting back home.
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| Chees! they said |
We started early and covered half distance very quickly. Before we stopped for lunch we had crossed Malegaon which was almost 3/4th of the distance. After Malegaon comes the great approach roads to Pune, narrow and crowded and with annoying traffic. Since we had started early and we covered the distance quickly we were able to pass the industrial towns and suburbs with little trouble.
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| Parting gift by Maharashtra RTO |
By 5 PM we had crossed Chakan and were headed home on familiar territory crossing the birthplace of my vehicles the Mahindra and Bajaj Factories. While entering through these roads I could hear my father asking to stop over for vegetables and milk and I smiled to myself. I waited a moment to turn around then just got-down and bought stuff without any protests.
The whole trip turned eventful without any issue and our Car carried all the luggage and bags and our portable kitchen and excess water without any trouble. It took all the abuse that came its way without any complain and kept us safe and cozy. Postmortem of the trip finances and data revealed close to planned figures without much deviation.
Did I mention that the initial plan was to cover Agra, Gwalior and Khajuraho enroute! Yes none of this happened as the planned route and actual route we took evolved as we moved and completed tasks necessary. But the unplanned trip and the journey was thoroughly enjoyed and will pave way for more. To the reader I wish more miles, more cities, more destinations and more activities.
Very well articulated & joyful journey
ReplyDeleteNice written up bhai ... I can feel that I am also the part of your journey.
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