The
journey of 1600kms
The journey of a thousand
miles begins with a single step and so taking a step towards the next phase of
our life, we left Gr. Noida on a cold wintry morning. January in the north
means the winter season is at its peak. That implies biting cold and fog/smog.
As anticipated, we woke up to a foggy morning that day and since we had
accounted for this in our plan, after a hearty breakfast at our loving
bhaiya-bhabhi’s place, and armed with the classic aloo-poori, generously packed
for us by our dear friends, we left our home at 11am.
Charting out the most
convenient route was top priority and in this too, we were helped by a friend
who made us speak with her brother, who was a regular road traveler on this
route. Quite elaborately he guided us about the route, specifying where we should
halt for the two nights, which area to cover during the daytime and what to
expect during the journey. Armed with that information, we were quite
comfortable as we started the journey.
The journey was to be
completed in three legs-
1. Gr. Noida – Eastern Peripheral- Delhi
Mumbai Expressway- Dausa – Ajmer byepass- Bhilwara- Chittorgarh
2. Chittorgarh- Udaipur - Himmatnagar –
Ahmedabad – Anand – Delhi Mumbai Expressway- Bharuch- Surat
3.
Surat- Navsari- Vapi- Vasai-Virar – Thane-
Navi Mumbai – Karjat
One thing we absolutely
love about Gr. Noida is the wide roads which make it possible to drive at a
stellar speed of 80-90 kms/hr even on the internal roads! We knew that
Rajasthan too has a splendid network of roads as we had done a road trip
covering the entire Rajasthan in 2021 and knew by firsthand experience how
smooth the roads were. In fact, just about two months ago, I drove to Jaipur
with my friends and were glad to see that marvelous stretch of the Delhi Mumbai
Expressway. Even though the speed limit is 120km/hr yet we prefer to drive at
around 90km/hr so as to have the car under control and sometimes if we need to
pull it up a notch then just about 100 but never more than that. That said, we
had a lovely drive that day making hardly any stops as our tummies were packed
to capacity after that brunch and then the packed lunch helped us save time on
stopping at a restaurant, thinking about the order, then placing it, waiting
for it to arrive and then eating it. Instead, we just parked and relished the
ever-constant travel companions of North Indians- Aloo poori!
As we drove, we realized
that we were not feeling as tired as we had thought we would. We even started
contemplating driving up to Udaipur instead of Chittorgarh. It was a conscious
decision on our part to not make any advance hotel bookings as we did not want
to feel pressurized into driving up to the city of the hotel booking in case,
we did not feel like it. This proved beneficial as we kept changing our plans
enroute. However, as we approached Chittorgarh, we felt it was wiser to spend
the night there rather than overexerting ourselves. All through the drive, we
were getting inputs from one friend or the other which were proving helpful and
just as we were approaching Chittorgarh, we got a call from a friend who
suggested to us a newly opened property bang on the highway. It was a blessing
as we again saved time on hotel hunting. As we drove in, we were in for a
pleasant surprise as the hotel had a lovely exterior. The room was also quite
cozy and the dinner of Manchow soup, piping hot Sev Tameta served with Butter
Naan, Garlic Naan, Raita, Salad and topped with nice hot Gulab Jamuns just made
our day. The major downside was their hot water system had somehow collapsed,
and we were obviously in need of a shower after having driven all day. They did
provide us with buckets of hot water to compensate but this led to the loss of
precious time both at night and in the morning.
Next morning we woke up
at 5am with the desire to hit roads early. Thankfully there was no fog so could
have started early but the hot water fiasco delayed us by over an hour, and we
were finally able to get on to the road at 8am. Breakfast wasn’t possible as
the hotel didn’t serve eggs, and we didn’t want to have aloo poori again. We
both always find it impossible to leave home without eating so all along the
way, we kept a lookout for eggs. Eventually, we found a dilapidated shack/dhaba
with eggs kept on display. We waited on the charpai basking in the bright
winter sun, while the dhaba workers fought among themselves on how the other
knew or knew nothing about making an omelet. As a result, I was served a semi
burnt omelet, but I was so hungry that I gobbled it up instantly. We kept
driving, bypassing Udaipur, reaching Himmatnagar and then Ahmedabad. We decided
to have lunch after crossing Ahmedabad but to our annoyance we didn’t like the
only place we found serving lunch after that. Thinking we would find something
further, we moved on, only to be disappointed to figure that nothing else was
available for a very long time.
The stretch of road we
had there was perhaps the best I would say. We crossed Anand which is the place
from where AMUL began. For every Indian, Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited) is a
brand which even the children know. Thereafter, we found a stretch of the Delhi
Mumbai Expressway after we had left it in Dausa (near Jaipur). Sad to say, the
road wasn’t smooth. We bypassed Vadodra and exited near Bharuch. After driving
on smooth roads this far, we were in for a rude shock as we entered Bharuch.
The entry into Bharuch was through a tiny lane which seemed impassable for two
cars alongside. The town wore a dismal look at the entry point but became
progressively bustling as we moved to the interiors. It was almost 5pm by now
and we were dying of hunger. As we were scouting for a possible stopover for
food, we were overjoyed to see a shopping mall. Immediately we drove inside the
mall complex and looked for food. There we had the most amazing Shrikhand
(American nut flavour), Dabeli, Chhaas and Bhelpuri. Satiated, we started our
further drive for Surat. The condition of the roads and traffic went downhill
from Bharuch and so I conveniently handed over the car to my husband (that is
what I always selfishly do when the roads are no longer smooth)!
As we drove out, we saw
beautiful displays of kites and yarns of manjha as the famous Kite Flying
Festival of Uttarayan was approaching and Gujarat celebrates it with full
grandeur. We saw the Dandi March Road and slowly drove along as maintaining
good speed was no longer an option. The roads were riddled with heavy traffic
of trucks and so one had to drive cautiously. As we were about to approach
Surat, we discussed that we did have the energy to drive more and if we stopped
at Surat, we would have to enter the city which would kill our time both that
day and the following morning. Thinking on the go, we decided to bypass Surat
and head to Navsari. On the way, we found a nice food court where we had subway
sandwiches and coffee. We were to reach Navsari at 8pm and so I made an online
booking via Agoda in a hotel I found decent, however my booking was immediately
canceled due to non-availability of rooms. Not at all disheartened, we planned
to now stop at Vapi for the night. On reaching Vapi however, we couldn’t find
one decent hotel. All of them looked shady and were ridiculously expensive for
the rooms and services they were offering. It was better to continue driving
and look for a highway hotel rather than stay at a shabby dismal place.
After about half an hour
of drive as we were almost about to cross Gujarat and enter Maharashtra, we
happened to find a livable highway hotel. It wasn’t the best but just
manageable. Having driven for over 14 hours, we had become so tired by then
that nothing mattered, and we just crashed after having a shower.
Next morning, we had a
heavy breakfast of Idli, dosa, poha and sandwiches as we had no idea when we
would get our next meal. We had heard that the last leg of our journey would be
the most difficult as the entire stretch was under construction. Since we had
covered quite a distance the previous day, the last day’s drive was shortened
considerably. The map showed that we would reach our destination by 2pm but
that was not to be! After driving carefully on the under-construction road, as
soon as we entered Mumbai and turned towards Thane Road from Vasai-Virar, we
were caught in a heavy traffic jam. Apart from the annoyance a traffic jam
usually causes, it becomes even more irritating if one is hungry. My hunger
pangs had struck hard and even though I was trying to curb my hunger with
Banana chips, peanuts etc, I was still hungry. Around 2 pm, we cleared the
traffic, and I found a place serving Misal Pav. In my hunger, I forgot eating
missal in a moving car was not possible, so thankfully to end my misery and to
my immediate relief, my husband crossed the road and got me Vada pav. With a
broad smile and a filled tummy, we set towards Karjat crossing Thane, Belapur,
Khargar & Panvel bypass. We even stopped about half an hour before Karjat
to eat the packed missal.
Finally at 4pm, we
entered Karjat- our destination and were greeted by a huge statue of Bhagwaan
Shri Vitthal! The apartment we had rented out was a short distance from there
and we planned to have a look at it, before heading to my husband’s new workplace
where arrangements for our stay had been made. As soon as we opened the door of
the apartment, we both took a step back in shock and exchanged glances which
silently conveyed the sentence – Itna Chhota!!!!!!!!!! Idhar shuroo hua aur
khatam bhi ho gaya! We felt jitters running through us thinking that despite
all our hard work with measurements and calculations, none of the stuff we had
shipped would fit in here. Nothing more could be done and so we proceeded
towards the college which was a hugely bumpy drive but the view of the hills, a
tiny river flowing alongside and the setting sun, presented a visual treat
which was enhanced by the beauty of the college which bore the look of a castle
as we entered. With that, we ended our 1600km long road journey on a beautiful
note surrounded by the serenity of the rustling leaves, the chirruping sound of
the birds and the sight of a beautiful lake filled with pink and white lotuses.
It was indeed picture perfect!
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