[Sidzmail]

Hi BHPians,

Summer is a great time to camp outdoors, especially after Covid, when we all were confined within the 4 walls of our house.

But staying in hotels/resorts are sometimes boring as they remind us again about those 4 walls.

Hence I am sharing this interesting video of camping and tenting with family. It's not at all difficult as it sounds.

https://youtu.be/bryG_3qJxk4

[mygodbole]

Recently discovered that many tent camping sites allow you to pitch your own tent on weekdays/non-peak days.

Many of these around Pawana Lake near Lonavla told me I could pitch my own tent but their charges would remain the same. They would ensure my security since most of the camp sites are also the owner's home.

I don't mind that charge since my four person tent can fit my camp cots and I really like my creature comforts.

Have just explored Pawana and would appreciate it if other camping sites can be suggested, not just around Pune (home) but all over India since I plan on living a few months on the road without staying too often at hotels.

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by mygodbole

Many of these around Pawana Lake near Lonavla told me I could pitch my own tent but their charges would remain the same. They would ensure my security since most of the camp sites are also the owner's home.

Which camping site at Pawna are you talking about and how much are the charges. The standard charges including food + tent over there is 1K per person. Went to one last month back.

[mygodbole]

Most of the ones I checked charge either 999/- per person or 1,200/- per person, twin/triple sharing. Then there were the glamping ones that were too rich for my blood.

It is not the camping site that was an issue for me. It is the security when I am with family. Have had some scary experiences where people partied without bothering about social niceties. As someone told me once, camping is fun when there is security. Something that I have experienced many times. But not in India.

Two of the owners told me to come Monday-Thursday overnighters and they would take care of me and my family. They would charge me their regular rates, inclusive of BBQ, dinner and breakfast. I would be able to use my own tent instead of their cramped 'two-person' tent and use their facilities.

I think 2.4k is reasonable for a couple, with meals thrown in and security assured, for the experience.

[Chhanda Das]

This is an account of my son's first-time car-camping ever since he started driving

We were going to lower Assam from Kolkata via Durgapur in our Creta car in November, 2018. We had started late from Durgapur and it was nearly midnight. The route is very heavily forested and somewhat creepy. Another interesting fact about the route is that after Dumka there are lots of speed breakers even on the 3 lane roads which makes driving somewhat irritating even though the roads were in excellent condition. My son who was driving was feeling very sleepy and we decided to park at the next fuel station. By the time we found the next fuel station at around half past midnight, we were approximately 60 kms away from Bhagalpur in Bihar. Anyway, after stopping the car just inside the IOCL fuel station premises, my son went to inform the fuel station staff about his intentions of parking for the night. However, he couldn't inform them as he thought everyone was fast asleep and he didn't want to disturb them by waking them up. In hindsight, this was a mistake. So he came back to our car and parked it in full view of the surveillance cameras at the fuel station. Then we went to sleep in our car. At around 0100 hours, we were fast asleep when we woke up to persistent knocking on the driver's door and bright spotlights on our faces. There were 3 men armed with automatic weapons asking us questions as to why we were there at this ungodly hour. We answered them truthfully to the best of our abilities. Once we started answering their questions, they turned off the spotlights. The enormity of the situation dawned on us when our eyes got used to the darkness of that moonlit night. There were 2 Suzuki Gypsy cars, one in front and one in the back of our car. Both the cars had their backs towards us and we could just make out the outline of atleast 4 men in each car with their weapons pointing straight at us. Anyway, after asking us more questions and even repeating them twice and thrice (to check if we would give a different answer), they checked our car thoroughly and even verified our explanations over their radio. It turns out that they were a flying squad of Jharkhand Police Commandos. Please note that they were extremely polite during this entire period of time. After they had verified everything including the car documents, they even offered us tea which we politely refused. My son then had the gall to ask their permission to continue sleeping there in our car. After consulting amongst themselves and with someone over their radio sets, they gave us permission to sleep there and stated that they would be guarding us. Needless to say that we went to sleep right then. We absolutely felt like VIPs. Anyway, after waking up and exchanging pleasantries with them at around 0700 hours, we continued onwards and they went our opposite way. All is well that ends well.

What was your first time sleeping in the car like ? Please share your experiences

[ashis89]

On three of my overnight non-stop drives, I took 1 power nap each time. This was between 1am and 4am on all occasions. I simply looked for a big and busy fuel station, refueled from there and then parked my car among the parked trucks. I rolled down the windows slightly and slept off. Wake up after 1-2 hours, freshen up and resume.

On other trips, it's a power nap during day time and I simply looked for a 'safe' spot with shade beside the highway and repeated the above steps. I usually prefer carrying my own lunch and so a quick 15 min nap post lunch also works wonders. Then my flask of coffee comes handy to freshen up and resume.


PS: No special setup in my car, for sleeping. I push the front seat all the way back, recline it to my preference, align the neck pillow and sleep peacefully. The magnetic shades in my old WagonR helped keep mosquitoes out while still allowing ventilation at night.

[mygodbole]

I am trying to think out of the box here in the 4x4 zone. (After-thought: possible on 4x2 as well)

(Registration as white plate (private owner) is still not not clear, research means finding our what can be done)

If I think pickup, I get Mahindra Bolero 4x4 and Tata Yodha 4x4. (Both vehicles are officially non a/c)

They both have a 'loading' area (for car users, dicky) that is around 6ft wide.

The front-to-back is between 6ft and 8.5ft depending on single cab/crew cab.

I think of a 6ft wide x 7/8/9 feet long area as 'loading' area. Good enough?!

It is the height that interests me: Let us say 4/5/6 ft.

So we 'imagine/create' a space of 6ft wide x 8ft long and 4/5/6ft tall.

We stick NOTHING inside for now. (We come back to this point later on)

We get a cab-height-level box.

We now have a 4x4 pickup with the loading area filled with an imaginary 'box' as stated above.

We next create a horizontal frame that sits over the 'imaginary' box above and 'can' extend outwards to make the width upto 11/12 feet.

let me imagine a 10/12ft long and 12ft wide 'area' (frame on the box?)

Letting my imagination run riot into ruins, I assume, presume and imagine a total space of 10/12 feet long and 12 feet wide.

My tent is 9ft by 7ft, good enough to fit on the 'frame on the box' mentioned above.

I get space enough on that frame-on-box-with-tent-on-top to create sleeping space for two extra-large girth human beings.

What we fill in the box beneath is a topic for another day.

I ask all: Is this a bridge too far or is this doable?

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Mods, please excuse the ALL CAPS but this needs to be reiterated:
(4X4 VEHICLE, different dynamics)