1000 miles : Mumbai to Delhi

Well its not exactly 1000 miles, it's more like 1500 kilometers between the two cities, but then it sounds more fun this way!!

Driving across the country has always been a dream for me, though more of the backpacking variety where you have a month off and

travel from one place to another with no real aim in mind, just generally experiencing the country all around. Well I did get to achieve one part of that dream, of driving from Mumbai to Delhi over three days in my Maruti Ritz:). Took me a year to learn driving enough to go driving cross-country, but then did it finally:). And what an experience it was!

Anyways, it was a three day driving trip from one corner of the country to another, driving about 25-30 hours over the three days and hitting peak speeds of 155 kmph (yes, on Indian roads, with a small car and a not so experienced driver)! Maximum average speed was 120 kmph, covering 93 kms in 45 mins, but details to come later:). The drive materialised when I was shifting my luggage from Mumbai to Delhi, where I packed all my luggage somehow into my car and off we went on the long dreamt of long drive.

Needless to say, it was an awesome time, across roads on and on, with the landscape outside changing constantly. The people, the attitudes, the colours, the roads and (even) the road sense keeps changing all the way...

The first day of the drive was from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, about 550 kms. The start from Mumbai was quite bad actually, halfway upto Baroda. The roads were being constructed at many places, work going on flyovers to avoid bottlenecks and there were many trucks blocking the road due to accidents.

There were jams every 5 mins, because of accidents on the way and the only way of getting out of those jams was to cross onto the other side of the road and drive opposite the traffic till you cross the jam and then get back to the right side of the road. People who regularly drive on this route would do this shift automatically, and you just need to follow them. For the first time though, its a bit scary initially but you learn as you drive!! And it does save you a lot of time! In fact, the first three hours of the drive, we barely covered 100 kms!

But then onwards, the traffic eased out and reaching Ahmedabad wasn't tough. The best part of the drive was Baroda to Ahmedabad on the expressway; straight road till wherever you can see with no diversions and very limited traffic! Its a drivers paradise, a dream come true. I finished the 93 kms on this stretch in 45 mins flat. And I did not even drive too fast! This part of the drive actually improves the average speed, and we had covered the 550 kms in about 7-8 hours types.

Landscape was non-descript in Maharashtra, gradually changing

while you drive into Gujarat; you get a sense of prosperity as you drive in Gujarat. People on the whole seemed richer, and the infrastructure also much better. The landscape though becomes a bit more dry while in Gujarat.

One thing you always look forward to while on such cross country drives are the meals at some dhaba on the way, tasty food for unbeleivable prices. The same was true on this drive too, lunch for a person at 100 Rupees per person!! And a full tasty meal, with dal and sabzi and lassi and what-not. It feels so unreal that such rates still do exist in India, feels more weird after staying in towns and cities of the country.

The next day we drove from Ahmedabad to Nasirabad (in Rajasthan). The distance was again some 550 kms or so, but felt a lot less this day. This was in fact the best day of the drive, awesome 4-6 laned roads most of the way, disciplined traffic, you get to drive fast and straight, with not many cars on the roads. Just perfect! Bliss! A dream come true for any driver, especially someone who more often got to drive only in Mumbai. This part of the drive, average speeds of 70 kmph were so easy to achieve on this stretch...

We also stopped at Chittorgarh on the way, we had so much time during the day! And also visited the Mayur factory in the middle of nowhere selling products at factory rates! This day of the drive was a dream, I actually don't remember much of it.. Just press the accelerator and off you fly off.. Such roads are present in India is something our parents would not have been able to imagine in their times! I finally did understand on this day what the Golden Quadrilateral project was all about..

Vegetation changes on the way too. While is was green in Maharashtra, turns slightly dry in Gujarat and completely yellow in Rajasthan with stone hills on both sides of the road.

Another thing you will notice is that, there are a lot more temples visible while in Gujarat, a lot of them being Jain temples. In Rajasthan, the colours increase with the women wearing very very bright clothes and being visible from far. Also you will see gradually, the prosperity of Gujarat vanish as you enter Rajasthan, people seem a lot poorer and undeveloped in Rajasthan than the states just crossed.

The last day of the drive was to be the shortest, about 400 or so kms from Nasirabad to Delhi. Part of the drive from Nasirabad to Jaipur we covered fast. About the same average speeds of 70 kmph, the same bare and dry desert landscape with empty roads, some mountains breaking the monotony of the landscape and the colourful dresses of the Rajasthani women. Was a pleasure again to drive through this part, and to prepare for what we were to experience thereafter!

Thereafter, Jaipur to Delhi was a nightmare! We took 7.5 hours to complete the 250 kms between the two cities. There were two major jams on the way, taking an hour each, where you barely cover 2-3 kms in one hour!! The only way out was to get onto the service roads where you try to beat the traffic. And if you are a first time driver on this road, you would not know what you need to do! Was a completely chaotic and terrible day to drive!

Also by this time as you are approaching Delhi, there are more and more truck drivers from Haryana on the road, so the discipline of the drivers also goes kaput. There are just no more rules being followed:))).

The problem in this stretch is partially the construction taking place everywhere. The other problem are the trucks parked on the road leading to multiple traffic jams. Can't they be controlled a bit? Also, the trucks dont really follow rules of driving on the left side lanes and not the fastest one. That also slows down the traffic a lot.

On the whole, the road quality is mostly good in this stretch, though hajaar constructions going on on the way.

Also, there are countless tolls on the way, you encounter some 8-10 a day! Also while driving on the highway I realised, you can learn driving but it is the experience which gives you the edge. At places with no traffic on the road, I drove fast and overtook lots of vehicles. It was more at the crowded places that I wasn't able to do that. At that point having driven for many years makes the difference, of being able to overtake maximum vehicles. Anyways I had started my learning:)

One thing I regret though is not taking photos along the way, of what I saw, maybe thats for the next time:)

Kutchhhh Kutchhhh

Kutch is the name of the region located in the northern part of Gujarat, a region unexplored and unknown to many especially to tourists. Bhuj, the major city of this region was completely destroyed by the earthquake in 2001, and rebuilt from scratch, rebuilt as a well planned city (a trend relatively unknown in India, where say other than Chandigarh and Gandhinagar, very few cities are planned at all). Many say the earthquake was a boon in disguise for Bhuj, it helped the city re-emerge in a better form .

Bhuj and the surrounding region is famous for its handicrafts. A village called Bhujedi is especially famous for this, a sort of model village where outsiders can visit and see the artisans at work. A crafts village is located there where artisans can come and display their arts, creating an avenue for them to sell it directly to customers. The handicrafts include embroidery, metal work, paintings, leatherwork etc, beautiful and available at throwaway prices. This is located about 5-10 kms from Bhuj itself.

Bhuj is located very close to the 'Rann', a wate salty marshland which covers most of the Kutchi region. You can get a bird's eye view of the Rann, from a point called Kala Doongar about 80kms from Bhuj. The drive is scenic, both sides of the road are bare, with limited inhabitation. You may spot some people in between though, women carrying water, wearing bright colours which form a contrast with the yellow of the dry vegetation everywhere. Quite a scene!!!

Kala doongar, the point where you can get a view of the Rann is on top of a hill, with a viewpoint constructed there and a temple. At the top, you get a view of the Rann spread all around, complete white, and a view of the India Bridge, the last point till which civilians are allowed in the Rann. Apparently in the 1971 war, Pakistan had entered India till the India Bridge.

The Rann is amazing, completely white till wherever the eye can see. Its dangerous too, its swampy and we did land up at a couple of places when we had to come back because the land was giving way. The sunset on the Rann looks amazing too! Here are some photographs of the rann and the sunset, I fail to be able to describe it in words.

On the Rann itself is located a village resort, Shaam-e-Sarhad. There is not enough publicity for the place, and you will need to take a detour of about 12 kms away from the main road to go there. Its in the middle of nowhere, with a couple of tents and cottages to stay, and enjoy the rural lifestyle, being away from everything negative that a city stands for, sounds, hurry, crowds, tensions etc etc. Its an excellent getaway for the weekend, a place to just relax, eat good kutcchi food, listen to the local artists, and yes, to check out all the constellations in the sky! The night sky looks so beautiful, which you just learn to forget in the cities!! By the way, the Kutchchi accent is literally sweet, spoken in a sing song way (maybe something the people get from the sweet Gujarati food!)

There are lot of places to visit in Kutch, most of them located near Bhuj, and accessible from Bhuj itself. All these places require some travel, across completely sparsely populated areas, but still connected by brilliant roads! The whole of Kutch is sparsed by industries all along the road, well, a sign of the development thats been on in Gujarat over the years.

Another place to visit nearby is Mandvi, with a palace located just next to the sea. Its a small palace, beautiful and well preserved, with its high point being that a famous hindi movie, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was shot there. The palace is open to the public now, other than one floor where the ranas still reside. The roof has two levels, and the top most gives a good view of the jungles nearby and the hawa mahal located on top of a hill nearby. Its always windy there, and a good place to spend sometime.

Just next to the palace, is the beach resort: it has a private beach with tents to stay nearby, and a restaurant and place for bonfire. Not as cheap as the Rann resort, but guess so much premium would have to be paid for the proximity to the beach.
Is a good stop and the water is clean, and not deep either at all. You can easily walk-in to at least 200 mtrs and water is still waist high (I din try going farther than that!!)

The last stop was the gurudwara at Lathpat, its more than 500 years old, and apparently Guru Nanak while going to Mecca, left his sandals there. The sandals are still there, and the drive to the Gurudwara is long, but worth it. Some people stay within the Gurudwara complex, and run a langar all time of the day. They are very hospitable, and its a good stop for a hearty meal. There is a masjid also nearby, though din get to see it. The road to Lakhpat is lined by industries on both sides, and nothing much otherwise. On the way, you may also spot some wildlife, wild boar, neelgai, black bucks (if you are lucky) and the smaller ones like rabbits etc.

P.S. Its my first post, so please pardon my writing style, or i should say, lack of 'style':)))