[gabrielthomas]

Awesome Travelogue. The Top view of the Salt desert was awesome!

[PapaBravo]

Great Travelogue !! You have a great way of writing. . I cannot even imagine what it would feel like to drive 8k kms solo.

Thanks for the tips you gave for Sasan Gir & Longewala. They are very useful & precise.

[SKavuri]

Awesome travelogue mate! It has been something I've been wanting to do since ages. Now I am inspired! First Preetam with his Solo bike trip and then your solo car trip.

But I still have many tiny issues to understand - like how to get your clothes washed when you are so much on the move? or did you take 21 pairs of clothes(!)?

I WILL do a (in fact a series of solos) solo after this summer, and I will message you with many many small questions before I do. Hope you don't mind!

[a_bharadwaj]

8000 KM ! SoLo?? i10? Petrol? - well, all these are not commonly spoken of/ attempted together.
So hat's off to you & i10.
Amazing journey.
Very good write up. I Understand your logic, but still miss the pictures to accompany the write up.

[Seventhgear]

Great T-log and well worded too Mr.Secretariat.

I always felt the solo rides are best way to travel and really enjoy a trip.Kudos to you for undertaking such a long trip and that too in a car of I-10 proportions.

I am sure that your suggestions would be helpful to many a traveler on those routes.

I would like to add that with good roads we do need good restplaces too so as to unwind after a long drive.A tidy place with good food ,comfy bed and clean loos sure makes one refreshed for the coming day and the long drive ahead.

I do miss the Reliance pumps for their food and restrooms and was a help in many of my bike trips.

Hope we travelers get such basic amenities in the near future with new age petrol pumps with a motel kind of thing and the works.

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by CoolBlueBiker

Epic Travelogue and superb narration as well. Can't imagine a single guy driving and clicking so much photos I have a new found respect for I10 from hereon

Thanks CoolBlue. Yes, the i10 is not too bad. Small is at least not ugly, even if not beautiful, ain't it ?

Originally Posted by gabrielthomas

Awesome Travelogue. The Top view of the Salt desert was awesome!

Thanks Gabriel. The salt desert is a unique spectacle and well worth a visit. By the way some tourists to the Rann Utsav come expecting to see sand and get totally disappointed !

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Great Travelogue !! You have a great way of writing. I cannot even imagine what it would feel like to drive 8k kms solo.

Thanks for the tips you gave for Sasan Gir & Longewala. They are very useful & precise.

Thanks Papa. There is a special aura around solo drives. I find it incredibly soothing

Originally Posted by SKavuri

But I still have many tiny issues to understand - like how to get your clothes washed when you are so much on the move? or did you take 21 pairs of clothes(!)?

Thanks mate. Oh no; I don't even have 21 pairs of clothes ! Jeans and T shirts go a long way and one of the perks of solo travel is that there isn't anybody to berate you for either your looks or your smell !! I am no expert at all, but of course, happy to help with anything when you launch your solo drives.

Originally Posted by a_bharadwaj

Very good write up. I Understand your logic, but still miss the pictures to accompany the write up.

Ahhh. Me and my companion are pretty bashful; so no selfies. Thanks for your kind words.

Originally Posted by Seventhgear

Hope we travelers get such basic amenities in the near future with new age petrol pumps with a motel kind of thing and the works.

Thanks Seventhgear for your kind words. Completely agree. The absence of decent rest stops is a disgrace. As an aside somebody remarked to me that I could do this only because I was a man and no lady could do such a thing in India. I heartily disagreed, saying that any lady could do exactly what I did, especially in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan which are quite safe. The only impediment to feminine highway adventures was, I suggested, the absence of decent rest stops.

[//M]

Great travelogue. Truly a one of a kind. Those sand dunes look lovely !!

What a way to join Team-Bhp Mr.Secretariat.

Rated the thread 5-stars

[Judemayne]

Dear Secretariat,

An excellent T-log amplified with some great pictures. It was nostalgia for us as we did a similar trip in 2011 and were flooded with memories-thank you.

Rated it a five star as it deserves nothing less! What a way to open.

Regards

Col Jude Mayne

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Secretariat

I am now utterly convinced that HVK is actually 5327 separate individuals who are constantly in every road in India and are providing live updates !

How do you know, he has exactly that many clones not one more not one less!

8000km Solo is awesome. And beautifully written and just the right amount of snaps. Rajasthan is a great place to roam around. Every time I read about it, I smile to myself and re-live my past.

[W.A.G.7]

Super solo drive! Apart from experience during the drive, it's creditable that you did all this alone in your car. That too in a petrol i10! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful travelogue and really "doing something different" in the mundane existence of life. 5 * rating for the thread (though the pictures could have been slightly better (err, with an SLR instead of a p&s camera?), it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you have shared.

Did the police/law enforcement, give you any trouble in all these states?

[debmum]

An absolutely brilliant piece, and really hard to believe that you did it solo! i10 is of course a great companion and might had been your lady love through the trip to provide you with solace and love It was a great learning for me as well, might plan a trip very soon (in fact have been planning for some time now to Rajasthan). Did you drive at night or entirely daylight trip?

[fine69]

I've had a close call when I went over sand on road on my last trip to Rajasthan. The car swerved left and right on its own but I was doing around 70-80 kmph so was able to control the car and made it stop. Got it out after a 10 min ordeal though.

Oh, and did I mention that my ORVM mirror was broken by a cow. I was going to Tanot and there was a herd of cows crossing the road. Excited as I was, I tried to get past from within the herd and a cow's horn struck my ORVM, the mirror fell down but thankfully nothing else was broken.

As most of you would know, Jaisalmer is hardly a town so getting a Swift ORVM was out of question. I used the double-sided tape to stick the mirror back to the ORVM console and managed till I was back in Delhi.

And the second menace I faced was sheeps/goats all over the road every 5-10 kms. Once I got the ORVM mirror broken, I ensured that I never crossed 100 kmph for the rest of my trip and would slow down to 30-40 kmph the moment I saw a dog/cow/goat/sheep anywhere.

These animals make the entire driving pleasure go for a toss.

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by //M

What a way to join Team-Bhp Mr.Secretariat.
Rated the thread 5-stars

Thanks //M. Humbled to see such nice words from a Senior BHPian

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Rated it a five star as it deserves nothing less! What a way to open.

Delighted Col that it brought back some happy memories for you. After all memories are far better than pictures ! Many thanks for the kind words and the rating.

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

5 * rating for the thread (though the pictures could have been slightly better (err, with an SLR instead of a p&s camera?), it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you have shared.

Did the police/law enforcement, give you any trouble in all these states?

Humbled by the rating. Unfortunately I have zero photographic talents. Don't even own a camera ! All the photos were from my smartphone. Photos are very average therefore, I agree.

I had actually had sworn not to pay a single rupee to any cop who stopped me. I had all sorts of documents to prove that I lived in Bangalore , that my car was mine and that it had all the necessary permits and licenses. I had also meticulously kept all of the 60 or 70 toll receipts I collected. Maybe my "determination" showed - no cop stopped me !

Originally Posted by debmum

Did you drive at night or entirely daylight trip?

Thanks for the nice words Deb. I drove mostly in the day - don't like night driving unless unavoidable. Happy planning your trip. The planning sometimes is as joyful as the trip itself.

Originally Posted by fine69

These animals make the entire driving pleasure go for a toss.

Yes, the animals absolutely spoil the drive. The density of sheep and goats near Jaisalmer is 10 times that of people !

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by ampere

8000km Solo is awesome. And beautifully written and just the right amount of snaps. Rajasthan is a great place to roam around. Every time I read about it, I smile to myself and re-live my past.

Honoured by your reading, commenting and saying such nice words. Over the last few years, when I wasn't a member, I have got innumerable tips and information from your posts, but had no way to thank you. Now I am delighted that I am able to do so. That's why in the acknowledgements at the start of the travelogue, I said so. Being able to directly do so to you is wonderful. Thanks very much.

[ashphil]

Lovely write up Secretariat. An 8000 km solo drive should have been awesome! Thank you for sharing it with us.Thank you for the photographs too!