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| Rajasthan: A solo drive in my Red Figo!
So, the New Year begins, and so does my leave balance! I was itching to go for a long drive for some time now, so was busy looking at options for a 5-7 days road trip around Mumbai since mid-December 2014.
The Options Considered:
1. Kutch: With the wonderful Gujarat roads + the Kutch festival going on right now, this was certainly the ideal time to visit Kutch!
2. Rajasthan: Excepting Nathdwara, I've never been to any place in Rajasthan so this was also an exciting option!
Didn’t look at any other options, why? Have already been down South & to Goa. No other destination seemed appealing to me.
So I applied leaves for the first week of 2015! Yay! Didn’t tell the wife as wanted to keep it a surprise trip!
The Bummer:
As soon as my leaves got approved, enlightened the wife about my plan and came the shocker: She CANNOT come at this time as she’s had a couple of long weekends off at her office due to Christmas and New Year! Oh no!
Now what?
I really, really wanted to do this road trip, but with the wife out of the equation, she left it on me – to do or not to do! So, decided to check with a few friends if they want to accompany me, unfortunately none of them could!
But hey, I’m kinda crazy, and was adamant on doing this, with or without company! So, it all came to this – I was doing this entire road trip SOLO!
Luckily for me, the wife was OK with me doing this road trip alone and suggested that I go see Rajasthan as she’s already been there in the past and hasn't been to Kutch – so wanted to see Kutch together in a future road trip. Nice! Let’s do this then. Rajasthan it is!
The Planning:
My Red Candy (2012 Figo Titanium Petrol) had gone through servicing a couple of thousand kms ago but it was still too early for another service, plus the experts at TBhp suggested I get the servicing done post completing this drive!
So here’s what I had decided:
Day 1: Jan 3 2015:
Finish office at 17:30 and begin the drive. Target: Either Surat or Bharuch depending on what time I reach there. Luckily for me, NH-8 was smooth throughout, including the dreaded Narmada Bridge at Bharuch! Absolutely no traffic jams, just stupid truckers driving in the middle and fast lanes! For a moment I thought I’m in Dubai as I was overtaking all the trucks from the left!
Had tanked-up in Mumbai and filled-up again at Surat since had reached about half mark. Reached Bharuch at 22:30, was quite tired so was looking for a hotel on the NH8, found none, drove for a few km and stopped at a restaurant, and asked the restaurant guy for a hotel, he said I’ll have to go inside the city! Had dinner there (sorry can’t remember the name) – decent food. Done with dinner at 23:00, was contemplating whether to go find a hotel inside Bharuch city or proceed to Vadodara which was just an hour away – decided not Vadodara.
Drove for around 10-20kms and came across a decent-looking hotel on the highway – stopped there, asked for a room – Rs.800 for non-ac and Rs.1000 for ac. Did some nego, got an ac room for 800 bucks! Not cheap, but I was too tired to haggle anymore as it was already 00:30.
The room was OK, pretty basic with a nice a/c. No hot water inside the room. You have to carry your own bucket and fill hot water from the gas geyser outside! Weird!
Day 2: Jan 4 2015:
Unfortunately, the bed in the room was rock-hard and could barely manage 2.5hrs of sleep! Woke-up at 03:15, tried to sleep but in vain – so decided to begin the drive to Jaisalmer! So took a really hot water bath, got ready, had tea, cleaned the windshield and off I go!! Time: 04:00.
Fortunately, the decision to leave worked in my favor as I got close to zero traffic at the notorious sections at Vadodara and at the Sardar-Patel ring road in Ahmedabad! This along with excellent roads ensured I crossed Mehsana around 7:00!
Tip: Take the Mehsana by-pass! It’s a longer route but the road is simply amazing and it takes you through a picturesque rural surrounding!
Just to mention: Tanked-up at the Reliance bunk on the Expressway and also took a short chai break.
Was making good progress thanks to the super-smooth roads! Crossed Siddhpur with ease, but den started feeling sleepy and exhausted – obviously because of the lack of sleep! Stopped twice for chai between Siddhpur and Palanpur and again twice between Palanpur and Deesa, had a couple of Red-Bulls as well!! The road from Palanpur to Deesa is full of crazy bikers and local taxi drivers out there on a suicide mission! Had reached about half-tank at Palanpur to tanked-up again!
Tip: Drive at a sedate pace between Palanpur to Deesa and let the maniac local drivers on their own!
After crossing Deesa, I was feeling extremely sleepy and exhausted, so much that I actually stopped below a tree-shade off a service road and tried to sleep in the car!! Tried to sleep for 15-20mins, couldn’t get any, but keeping my eyes closed for that time actually made me feel better. Washed my face and eyes and off I was again!
In around an hour I felt hungry, although I had plenty of stuff to eat with me, the thought of having some hot tasty dhaba food fascinated me! So looked for a dhaba with maximum trucks parked and finally found one with around 5-6 trucks parked outside!! Yay! What I didn’t notice is that none of the truckers were actually inside the dhaba!!
Ordered dal-tadka and roti. While the food was being prepared, I noticed that none of the truckers were actually seated at the dhaba! They were actually having a bath at the water tank attached to that dhaba! Since it was post 14:00 I thought maybe they’ve already finished their lunch! (just reassuring myself!) and ordered a dal tadka and roti.
Yuck! That was the worst possible dal tadka I’ve had in my life! Absolutely tasteless and overflowing with oil! I swear, that dal tadka had more oil den that in my Figo engine!!
Since I was really hungry I still managed to have two rotis with that disgusting dal (thanks to the onions, they were really tasty!)
Because I was really sleepy and tired, for a moment I thought I’ll get some sleep on the charpies at that dhaba, but that disgusting dal woke me up!
Started with my drive again, Jaisalmer was still a distant 350km away!!
Alert: Roads between Deesa and Dhanera are average with a few bad patches!
Thankfully, the roads from Dhanera to Sanchore were nice! I thought of taking a chai-break just after Sanchore, but lo-behold! As soon I crossed Sanchore the roads and traffic completely changed!! I was now on a butter-smooth road, mostly arrow-straight for several kilometers and sparse traffic! I was so delighted that I completely forgot about the break I had planned and kept driving (note: ripping). 120-140kph was easily achievable on this stretch, except that you have to be super-alert and keep an eye for cattle – on the road and crossing it!
Tip & Warning: While Sanchore to Jaisalmer is a wonderful road, you need to be extremely alert because of the cattle! They’re highly unpredictable and dangerous!
My suggestion: Slow down as soon as you see cattle on or on the side of the road! Better be safe den hit a goat or still worst, a cow!
Took a chai-break at The Fauji Dhaba, 100km before Jaisalmer. The excellent roads continued and I reached Jaisalmer around 16:00. Since I did not have any prior bookings, checked a few hotels, called another couple of ‘em and finally checked-in at Hotel Sky Plaza which is on the main road. It’s kinda pricey @ Rs.2750 per night but I recommend this one as the rooms are nice and big, clean room, bathroom and bed! Post check-in I was extremely exhausted so decided not to venture outside. So relaxed and had dinner at the hotel itself. Food at this place is avoidable. Many options available nearby so check TripAdvisor and go there instead. Called it a day and slept at 22:00 with the alarm set for 07:00 next morning!
Day 3: Jan 5 2015:
Woke-up at 07:00, got ready, didn’t have breakfast at the hotel as the options weren’t appealing! Instead had a coffee and some snacks I was carrying. Tanked-up at Jaisalmer and left for Longewala. Encountered super-thick fog immediately outside the city. Visibility was just around 5-10 meters initially and kept getting better as the Sun rose. This was my first time driving in such thick fog and I have to admit it was fun! Though, but fun! A new experience!
Reached Longewala around 09:30, met a few BSF Jawans there and took a few pictures of the water tank poisoned by the Pakistani Army, the capture and destroyed Pakistani Tank and Truck. The BSF Jawans were really nice people and I had a nice long conversation with them. They were shocked + fascinated that I had driven 1250km solo till Jaisalmer and then to Longewala!!
Bid Adieu to the BSF Jawans and headed towards Tanot which is around 30-35km from Longewala. Superb road till Tanot! Narrow, but smooth and straight!
Reached Tanot in 30mins flat, checked out the mandir and had a couple of nice samosas at the restaurant operated by BSF. Tanot to Jaisalmer was the same (old) story – super-smooth, flat straight roads with sparse traffic! Could easily manage around 110-120kph on most sections.
Tip: Look out for cattle here on the roads from Jaisalmer to Longewala and Tanot! Also, tank-up at Jaisalmer before you leave as there are no bunks in these areas! Leave early, as you den get to interact with the BSF Jawans else they get busy with the crowd!
Back at Jaisalmer, got fresh at the hotel and proceeded to the Taj Getaway for some nice cold beers and a relaxing lunch! The place is pricey (for Jaisalmer, but normal as per Mumbai standards) but the ambience and view from the restaurant is excellent.
Post lunch visited the Gadisar lake – spent exactly 10mins there! It’s filthy, overcrowded and a complete waste of time! Plus they charge Rs.50 for parking! Absolute loot!
Checked out the local market in the city and then headed over to Hotel Tokyo Palace for dinner. It’s an amazing restaurant with an awesome view of the fort! Food was good too! This hotel is very popular with foreign tourists and hence the service is excellent and the place is kept clean! They have sufficient parking as well.
Tip: ATMs in Jaisalmer are a problem, very few work and most of them are always out of cash! I had to check 3 different ATMs before I was able to withdraw cash! It’s better to keep sufficient cash in hand before you visit Jaisalmer. Only 1 petrol bunk accepts cards, which too, may or may not work. It did once for me, second time I wasn’t so lucky.
Left from the restaurant around 22:30 and went to sleep. Next day: Bikaner!
Day 4: Jan 6 2015:
Woke up at 07:00, got ready, tanked-up and left for Bikaner. The roads from Jaisalmer to Pokhran and from Pokhran to Bikaner are an absolute dream! Arrow-straight roads in most sections! Sparse traffic. Only the last 30kms leading to Bikaner has a few broken patches and unruly traffic!
Driving within Bikaner city is an absolute nightmare!! Bad roads, everyone from bikers to car drivers have zero consideration for other vehicles and traffic rules are a joke! Luckily my hotel is outside the city – around 15km away and is a nice and quiet property. Balaji Resort is the name, is owned by a retired Army man and is rated quite highly on TripAdvisor. The room is simple but clean. Staff is helpful as well.
Day 5: Jan 7 2015:
Woke up early and left from Bikaner at 06:00. It was still dark and the roads were completely empty. Encountered extremely thick fog right on the bypass road. Visibility was in certain sections was less than 5 meters! Drove at a mere 20-30kph for around 30-40 min and lost a lot of time there.
I took the Bikaner – Nagaur – Merta – Beaver – NH8 route. This road is horrible! Avoid at all costs! Almost the entire route has bad roads, with absolutely no roads in certain sections. 4-laning work between Nagaur and Beaver and throughout the NH8 meant plenty of diversions, unmarked speed breakers and unfinished sections. The last 100km of the NH8 was really bad, it’s full of diversions due to the 4-laning and each diversion had traffic running at a snail’s pace!
Finally I reached Udaipur at 16:00, managed to find my hotel easily, thanks to Google! Overall it was a horrible drive owing to the bad roads and I was completely drained by the time I reached Udaipur!
I’m staying at Gold Leaf Hotel – thankfully is a decent place with good, clean and well equipped rooms. They’ve got their own basement parking as well! Although it can only accommodate hatchbacks! Had some snacks and dinner at the restaurant in this hotel – food was good.
Day 6: Jan 8 2015:
Woke up late - around 10:30 and decided to chill a bit post having breakfast at the hotel. Left for the City Palace at around 13:30. City Palace at Udaipur was just 1.5km from my hotel, so decided to walk as the weather was nice and pleasant. Had lunch at the restaurant inside the City Palace - really nice place, but service is slow. Good food.
Entry charges for the City Palace are quite weird:
Entry fee: Rs.135 per person
Camera fee: Rs.235 per camera
Skipped taking a guide along as they were quoting a ridiculous Rs.350-400!!
Checked out the entire City Palace which took over 1.5hrs and got really tired! So went back to the restaurant and chilled!
On my way back to the hotel Google Maps messed-up and took me through a longer route which was deep inside the old Udaipur City and almost 1km longer! Didn't mind that much as got to see the old Udaipur - narrow lanes and old houses and shops! The two-wheeler riders are really unruly though so be mindful of them!
Spent the evening relaxing at the hotel as I had a long drive next morning. Had dinner at the hotel itself and called it a day!
Day 7: Jan 9 2015:
Woke-up at 06:00, checked-out and left from the hotel around 06:40. It was still dark outside and it felt nice to drive on empty Udaipur roads! Tanked-up at the nearest bunk and off i was!
Destination: Mumbai (Vasai)
Distance to be covered: 740km
The drive from Udaipur to Mumbai was super smooth! Took a left off NH8 for Modasa - Bhalej and joined the NE1 at Anand. Roads in this sections were excellent in most sections. Once back on the NE1 and then on NH8 the drive was nice and smooth with very light traffic throughout. Luckily i did not encounter any traffic at Bharuch as well, although the other side of the NH8 was jam-packed with the traffic jam almost 10-15km long, all the way to Ankleshwar, where the traffic police had already started diverting all vehicles via the internal Ankleshwar - Rajpipla - Dabhoi route. Took just 3 fuel stops + 3 chai breaks and managed to reach Vasai at 16:15!! That's around 700kms in approx 9:00hrs!! Not bad, eh!
All in all it was an exciting trip, with excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad and no roads covered!!
Trip meter reading at the end of the trip: 2947km!!
Average fuel consumption: 14kmpl
Approx fuel cost: Rs.14,500.00
I'm yet to calculate the total toll I've paid - will put that up shortly!
Here are the route details:
Day 1: Jan 3 2015
- Mindspace, Malad West, Mumbai (Time: 17:30)
- Link Road
- Western Express Highway at Dahisar Toll Naka
- NH8 at Ghodbunder exit
- NH8 till GSPC CNG Pump, Palej (Time: 23:30)
Distance covered: 347km
Time taken (with breaks): 5hrs
Average Speed: 69.5kmph
Day 2: Jan 4 2015
- GSPC CNG Pump (04:00)
- NH8 till Vadodara
- NE1
- Exit for Sardar Patel Ring Road at Ahmedabad
- Exit the Ring Road for Gandhinagar and take left for Mehsana
- Take the bypass just before Mehsana
- Continue on same road
- Cross Siddhpur
- Take left from Palanpur for Deesa
- Take right from Akhol for Dhanera
- On reaching Dhanera take right for Sanchore
- Take the NH15 for Barmer
- Continue on the NH15 right upto Jaisalmer
- Jaisalmer (Time: 16:30)
Distance covered: 696km
Time taken (with breaks): 12.5hrs
Average speed: 55.68kmph
Day 3: Jan 5 2015
- Jaisalmer (Time: 08:00)
- Take the Ramgarh Road
- Just before Ramgarh take a left for Longewala
- Longewala (Time: 10:30)
Distance covered: 111km
Time taken (with breaks): 2.5hrs
Average speed: 44.4kmph
- Longewala (Time: 11:30)
- take right towards Tanot
- Tanot (Time: 11:55)
Distance covered: 38km
Time taken: 25mins
Average speed: 91kmph (woah!)
- Tanot (Time: 12:30)
- head towards Ramgarh
- Jaisalmer (Time: 14:30)
Distance covered: 121km
Time taken: 2hrs
Average speed: 60.5kmph
Day 4: Jan 6 2015
- Jaisalmer (Time: 07:00)
- NH15
- Pokhran
- Continue on NH15
- Bikaner (Time: 11:30)
Distance covered: 345km
Time taken: 4.5hrs
Average speed: 76kmph
Day 5: Jan 7 2015
- Bikaner (Time: 06:30)
- NH89
- Nagaur
- Continue on NH89 till Merta
- From Merta take NH158/SH39 till Beaver
- From Beaver take NH8 till Udaipur
- Udaipur (Time: 16:30)
Distance covered: 489km
Time taken: 10hrs
Average speed: 48kmph
Day 6: Jan 8 2015
No driving done. Stayed at Udaipur.
Day 7: Jan 9 2015
- Udaipur (Time: 06:30)
- NH8
- Left off SH57 for Modasa
- From Modasa take SH59 till Ladvei
- From Ladvei take SH188 till Bhalej
- From Bhalej take SH60 and join NE1 at the Anand exit
- NE1 till Vadodara
- NH8 from Vadodara till Vasai
- Turn right for Vasai off NH8
- Vasai East (Time: 16:15)
Total distance covered: 684km
Total time taken: 9.15hrs
Average speed: 70kmph
Some route-related tips:
1. The Narmada Bridge section before Bharuch is still in a complete mess and 2-3hr long traffic jams are a daily routine! While I was extremely lucky to have crossed this section smoothly both ways, it's best to check with people who've recently crossed this section for updates. Else take the longer, but better route via Ankleshwar - Rajpipla - Dabhoi.
2. If travelling from Bikaner to Udaipur or Ajmer, avoid the route I took at all costs! It is horrible! Road widening almost throughout and extremely bad roads within the towns / villages you cross! Take any alternative route, even if it is longer!
3. There are plenty of petrol bunks throughout Rajasthan, but very few accept cards. Also, it's best to stick to the tank-up at half-way mark method to be on the safer side.
4. Plenty of dhabas available throughout the route, but food quality + taste is a 50-50 situation. Better to carry snacks and eat at better looking restaurants situations inside / near major towns/cities.
5. In Rajasthan, I've noticed people have a tendency to walk right on the road, plus you have plenty of cattle crossing the roads as well - hence I suggest you drive with either the fog lamps on, or with low beam on if you don't have fog lamps / DRLs.
6. There are MASSIVE speed breakers (marked and unmarked) all across Rajasthan! So keep your eyes open and take 'em at an angle else you'll end up damaging your underbelly! I speak with personal experience (got scratched a couple of times!)
Well, that pretty much sums up my solo drive! Hope you enjoyed the read!!
Pictures follow!!
Last edited by Aditya : 20th January 2015 at 16:23.
Reason: Adding spacing for better readability
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7th January 2015, 23:14
(15)
Thanks
. I read on a couple of occasions you didn't have proper rest and sleep, thats one area you need to be extra careful in your future trips.
, and I don't think any BHPIAN could've resisted the temptation of driving on the super-smooth tarmac in Rajasthan! Especially between Barmer - Jaisalmer & Jaisalmer - Bikaner.
. Kudos for going solo. Its very difficult to drive alone. Mind can drift, eyes can shut. But it would definitely have been a great experience for you. This travelogue will be very helpfull for people driving down to RJ from MH.
