Well this was a totally and unexpected trip which me and a couple of my friends made. The best part of the trip was that it was spontaneous. Well this is how it happened. We were 6 of us in my little M800 on our way to catcha movie at the MGF Metropolitan Mall in Gurgaon on saturday at 12:30 pm. While on the way one of us had a weird idea of driving down to Jaipur and me being the 'Krazy Driver', I immediately seconded that. The rest were kinda debating as all of them had plans for sunday. Somehow, we were able to convince them and we decided to head off. We made quick stops to each of our place to pick up bare essentials and then we headed off onto the NH8. We hit the Highway at 1500 hrs with half tank fuel. I decided to balance the car evenly, so we sat 3 in a row. In fact this was the 1st time I was going to be testing my car on the highway with it being overloaded. Before hitting the highway I made sure that I got some extra air put into the tyres - 30 PSI.
We made good time on the highway. (I know am gonna be screamed at for writing what I am going to write next) So the car was performing quite well with six people. We were constantly flying at 110 - 120 KPH with AC On. (I was REAAAALLLYYY impressed with my baby)
I got good mileage as well. When we started out I had imagined that we wouldn't be able to keep good enough speed because I'll have trouble shifting gears, but thankfully the person who was sitting next to me, I made sure that he he had his both legs on either side of the gear shift, so that it was easier for me to shift. Surprisingly I din't have to shift gears much once I was past Manesar. Only at the major crossings, I had to shift down.
Soon we had travelled for 50 minutes and we had covered quitw a distance, we had almost reached the outskirts of Manesar, when we all heard our tummies Growling. The growls were louder than Santana Music playing through the speakers. We decided it was high time we made a 'pit stop' for our tummies. So we stopped over at Ravi's Hotel. Unfortunately it was a complete 'Veg' Restaurant (Yuccckkkks, hated the thought of it, but us hungry souls had no other choice) So we ordered Kadhai Paneer, Paneer Bhurji, Dal Fry and Aloo Dum along with rotis. It was an amazing meal, and we were over stuffed. Guess how much the bill was?? ONLY Rs.270/-
Then I made sure that they paid a visit to the 'Shauchalays' coz I informed that I was not going to stop for another 100 Kms unless an emergency. And we set off with blasting music. Somehow the volume of the music kept increasing with every kilometer passing until it was at its peak with all the 'To be Indian Idols' crooning at the top of their voice. We were lucky enough to find all the Toll gates comparatively empty to the previous times when I travelled alone. I bought multiple Journey tickets since I was going to be making the trip back within 24 hours.
My baby was enjoying herself too, she kept at a steady RPM and wasn't overheating and wasn't flattened out at the wheels. Surprisingly the car wasn't even shaking under all that weight and the speed at which it was travelling (110KMPH)The weather was really hot but the Tanderm AC kept us all chilled out. (Thanks to whoever created the AC) On the way saw some major accidents involving overloaded trucks which was freaking me out a little bit. I think with all the slowing down and stopping, we were averaging at about 90 KMPH.
Around 17:30 we crossed the 3rd toll gate (can't remember the area) and by this time I saw the milestone reading saying that we were just 60 Kms away from Jaipur, so I decided that since we made such good time, we should stop tea. So we stopped at the 'Punjab Haryana Rajasthan Dhaba', a a true dhaba with 'charpai ' and stuff. parked the car near the Charpai and we sat down on a couple of the charpais and ordered 'Chai'. The Chai was amazing. It had this elaichi kind of flavour in it, and I was loving it. We spent about 30 mins there chatting around and fooling around. we set off from there around 1800 hrs. One of the guys was from Jaipur so we all decided to stay at his place. He advised me to take the Jaipur Bye-pass (which I din't know about). Man O Man, its a beautiful Road. Its a 4 lane road running through the country side amongst hills with practically no Traffic. It was an amazing drive. The best part was by now the outside weather had cooled down and we had rolled down the windows. It was such a great feeling to have the wind rush through your hair. That was probably the best portion of the drive. I managed to click a few pictures with my cell phone (will post them in a while). By now we were just about 45 Kms away from the city, and I realised that my baby is thirsty. So we start scouting around for a Fuel Station. With every passing KM I was getting freaked out. Finally we found a IOC pump. I told the attendant that I needed to fill up using my card, so he wanted to 'Test' my card. So I told him to make a transaction for Rs.100/- which came out quite well. So then I ask him to fill her full with normal. To my horror he says that there is no Normal petrol and he only has Xtra Premium. So anyway I give in and ask him to fill up @ rs.58.51/litre (THIS IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY IN BROAD DAYLIGHT) Anyways then we resume our journey.
Finally we reached our friends house at 19:30 (Got delayed because of city traffic) I was amazed to see the house, he had always mentioned to us it being a small humble house but in reality it was a FREAKING MANSION, A PALACE. I was awestruck by the place. Anyways the girls were given a different room and so were we. we met his parents and we had a quick shower and we left within half an hour. He offered to drive us around town in his car and take us to 'Chowkidani' (a heritage village turned into 5 star resort, 1 hour drive from Jaipur). We left immediately sitting comfortably in a Tata Indigo. I promptly took the passenger seat in the rear row, trying to catch a bit of shut eye, which definitely din't happen with all the future singers singing. we were all amazed by the beauty of the city and its art being featured even on the flyovers and the street lamps.
We finally reached the heritage village. We paid an entry fee of around Rs300/- which includes a full dinner (will come to that later) As soon as we entered, I was AGAIN dumbfounded by the beauty of the place inside. It was as if I was entering Fairy Land. I would probably have to begin a new thread to describe Chowkidani. Honestly, there was soo much and we did soo much of stuff was incredible. I would really recommend all of you to visit Chowkidani, if you get a chance. Well after enjoying ourselves there, we set out for the dining area at chowkidani, where we had to wait at the line for 45 minutes. We finally got a place at 21:30. The food started coming in (MIND IT: ITS ONLY VEG FOOD, so don't expect to be served Non-veg there) The people who serve you are so stubborn, they just dump food on your plate forcibly even if you don't want it. Its a 10 course spread. I Couldn't even finish half of what they had served, but truly the food was lip smackingly delicious. We were all OVERSTUFFEd and we couldn't moved. I had given into the fact that i would require a bulldozer to move me. We somehow managed to trudge along and moved around. I got myself a proper body massgae for Rs.20/-(Man, my bones are still aching after all that massage, they should promote its as a bone breaking session instead of Massage)
Anyways we left there at around 23:30, and then our friend decided to show us his city. So we drove along aimlessly with him acting as the perfect Guide. The city looks sooo beautiful in the Night. Anyways we decided to call it a night since we planned to leave at 0530 hrs for Nahargarh Fort and make it back by 1200 hrs to Gurgaon since some us had some work (The glares I got from them was not funny). Finally we called it a night at 0130 hrs. Actually by the time we went to sleep after all the 'gupshup' was 0200 hrs. I set my alarm for 0500 hrs and fell asleep. The alarm must have gone off at 0500 hrs but I must have slept on. Anyways I Finally woke up at 0530 hrs and I thought I would be slaughtered by everybdy for getting up late, but I was infact the 1st one to wake up. So after waking up all the princes and princeses we FINALLY left at 0700 hrs after deciding that we would have to crap the idea of visiting Nahargarh.
So we set out through the historical 'phataks' of the 'pink city.' We decided to take the scenic route instead of the Delhi bye pass. The scenic route was through the hills which was more used by the Elephants for Elephant safaris. We were quite often behind an elephant watching its tail swing from one side to the other like a pendulum. The scenic route took us by the sides of Amer Fort, which was amazingly beautiful. Our Friend and our guide gave us a rundown on the history of the forts. After 30 mins of slow driving through the scenic route, We finally hit the NH8. The weather was perfect, not at all sunny and a pleasant breeze blowing constantly. I decided to drive slow not exceeding more than 100KMPH so that we all could enjoy the beautiful weather. we made some good distance in the morning. We covered almost 75 kms before Our tummies again forced us to make a Pit Stop. we made our Breakfast pit stop at Shivam Hotel by the roadside. we had amazing parathas, chais and amazing sandwiches again we paid a nominal amount. This small time dhaba had good lawns and a swing. Again we spent an hour here gulping down our breakfast and then we headed out. At one point of time we did 135KMPH for about 5 minutes and then I slowed it down considering the worst thing that could happen.
So we finally cruised into Gurgaon at 1130Hrs. It was a nearly perfect weekend getaway, would have been perfect if we couldhave spent more time at Jaipu, but no regrets. The ride was comfy and wasn't cramped at all except for the person who had to sit in the middle of the seats in front. Other than that an amazing trip. Made it up and down on just one tank full. Looking to make a similar getaway during the 15th August weekend.