[Mgdoodler]

Car – Blue Altroz i-Turbo

Preparation : Reading up on all the safety related parked threads in Teambhp, particularly driving at night and in Fog.

This was my first multiday long distance solo drive. I was focused on driving and enjoying the road hence there are very few photographs.

The original plan was to drive to Leh with cousins in June 2022, which got postponed and then cancelled, the year end brought forward an opportunity to drive to Hisar and beyond, based on invitation from friends to celebrate New Year’s eve with them. The plan was open ended with the only commitment being to reach Hisar before 31st Dec, visiting Amritsar after that and reaching Mumbai back by 6th January 2023. Everything else was negotiable.

Original Plan was to leave on 28th Dec with the longest drive of the trip being covered up to Udaipur on this day and then reaching Hisar on 30th Afternoon via Jaipur. Due to unavoidable work I had to postpone my departure by a day and that gave me no scope for delays as I would reach Hisar on 31st Dec afternoon, just in time for the party. 28th Dec was a very hectic day and I had not yet packed by the time it was 8:30 PM. I had managed to check all the fluids for Blue Rocket and fill enough fuel to take us across MH-GJ border. I was very tired and slept by 11 PM with no packing done yet and alarm set for 5 am.

29th Dec Thursday – Woke up by 5:30 am, finished packing and got ready to leave. Goodbyes took some time, shared location on google maps with loved ones and left my apartment just before 7 am. Western express highway was not yet crowded and Ghodbunder was crossed without much delay. While the truck traffic remained, passenger traffic was less than expected considering it was holiday season but then I guess since it was still Thursday, there were fewer cars the anticipated.

Crossed MH-GJ border and stopped at Reliance pump at Bhilad by 9 am to Fuel up and bio break, post this some diversions and some traffic jams later stopped at Sugar and Spice after Valsad for late breakfast and attended to some calls. Traffic jams due to diversions continued to plague the route and I crossed from NH to SH at Golden Chokdi, Vadodara taking right on to Vadodara Halol Godhra Samlaji road. I refuelled here in anticipation that incase it gets dark and I don’t get an opportunity to refill before RJ border I should be fine. The road is 4 lane divided and really good upto Halol, thereafter it’s a ok for most parts.

By the time I joined the NH at Samlaji, it was past 8 PM and while the state roads had been pitch dark, the NH was lit up for most parts and well marked and indicated. Most of the traffic was well behaved trucks and few passenger vehicles. Drove at a steady 80 Kmph and with window partly rolled down to enjoy the cooler weather. Last few Km into Udaipur had diversions and single lane making the drive tedious. Reached Hotel and parked by 10:15 PM.
Quick check in ordered room service. Called home, ate and crashed.

Kms Driven : 743 Kms Time Taken : 15 Hrs.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...1&d=1677594737

[Mgdoodler]

Drive on a dream highway

30th Dec Friday – Woke up by 7 am , got ready had breakfast at the hotel and left just after 9 am. The route today was Udaipur Nathdwara Bhilwara, Kishengarh Jaipur.
Udaipur Nathdwara is superb roads through the mountains with scenery that will always be etched in my mind. At the end of Nathdwara there are series of speed breakers, which while I understand the reason for them to be there are just irritating. The road the follows from here onwards upto Bhilwara is the NH 758. Excellent road surface, wide 4 laned divided road bypassing towns and villages. Very little traffic and mostly trucks, I stopped on this road for a short water break and heard so many birds. Post Bhilwara it was NH 48 all the way. Road surface was mostly good. Traffic was manageable until Kishangarh where the traffic coming from Ahmedabad, Mount Abu joined the road. Had stopped post Nasirabad for some fuel and bio break.
As you get nearer to Jaipur the traffic became denser and combined with repair work diversions it was a nightmare getting into the city. My hotel for this day was close to Raj Mandir Area. Reached by 3:30 PM. Parking was within the hotel compound.
Early evening was spent finishing work. Post 6 pm spent some time shopping at Gulabchand. Had dinner at Niros and got a lassi parcelled for dessert. I was exhausted and crashed by 10 PM.
Kms Driven : 400 Kms Time Taken : 6 Hrs.

31st Dec – Saturday. This was a drive I was looking forward to for two reasons – one meeting my friend after almost a year and 2nd I would be driving on the Trans- Haryana Expressway.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel was one of the best in terms of quality. Left around 9 am after breakfast. The road leading out of Jaipur was not so good. Joined Nh 48 and continued on towards Kotputli. I had filled just enough the day earlier to get across the border to Haryana. But the traffic in Jaipur had reduced the margin that I had and for peace of mind I filled just 5 lt before Kotputli.
The road just changes beneath your tires as you turn left after Kotputli on to 148B which is the precursor to 152D Trans Haryana Expressway. The entire stretch starting from here is wide 6 lane divided road with excellent surface. Entry and Exits are marked and well designed. The service road is at a lower level and is barricaded. Most villages have an underpass. The entire road is elevated from the surrounding fields/roads. Any road that the expressway crosses there is an overbridge. If you want to take a U turn at any point its just not possible. You will have to exit at the expressway and join back in the opposite direction. Speed limit is 100 KMPH for cars and 80 for Trucks. This is a road that will bring a smile to your face.
The best part is as soon as you turn on to this road you have fields of mustard in full bloom on both sides, it’s a Shahrukh Khan fan dream come true.
Filled full tank at the first pump on Haryana side. Facilities are limited starting from Jaipur Side. Once on the expressway, I stopped at the second rest stop for a bio break, this is about 70 Kms from toll gate. The first rest stop was not operational. Exit at Kharkhra is very well planned and you do not feel like you are in India. This is the new beachmark in my head for a well planned expressway. Another hour or so on the NH9, which is 4 lane divided got me to my destination.
Kms Driven : 360 Kms Time Taken : 6 Hrs

[Mgdoodler]

Golden Temple and then a drive in the dark

1st Jan 2023 – Happy New Year. I was already made aware from before the trip started that it would be best to leave for the next destination as soon as possible so as to avoid the dreaded FOG. It was a sunny day and after a quick visit to the markets for Juttis and gajak, I left around 1 PM for Amritsar. Tanked up after Sirsa. Traffic between Mandi Dabwali and Bhatinda was tiresome, combined with partying last night I took a snack break after Bhatinda, stopped on a shoulder for about 20 mins. Refreshed I drove on around 4 pm I stopped at one of the many Kinnow stalls lining the highway and had a refreshing tart glass of fresh juice. The road was superb and drive enjoyable until entry on GT road at Amritsar. While it was just a bit foggy as the sun had set, it was not much of an issue once you entered the city. With road work at GT road entry into Amritsar was time consuming and troublesome due to traffic.

I had booked a hotel just before entering Amritsar which was located on GT road itself. Reached hotel by 7 PM, checked in and then took a Ola to visit Harmandir Sahib. By this time it was very cold and fog had increased.
Golden Temple – Harmardir Sahib was beautifully lit and there were many devotees visiting. There was a very long queue and I had very little hopes of being able to have darshan but the divine had other plans and I was able to have a quick darshan as the Guru Granth was being moved to Akal Takht for the night. Post that I spent some time giving thanks for the blessings received in the past year and seeking strength for the year ahead. Was blessed to eat Langar prasad. By this time it was past 11 PM and the levels of cold and Fog had gone way up. Got a cab back to my hotel and slept fitfully.
Kms Driven : 350 Kms Time Taken : 6.5 Hrs

2nd Jan 2023 – Woke up little late and opened curtains to find Fog of another level. I could not see anything at 8 am
This shook me as I was planning to move towards Chandigarh today as part of my return journey. Anyways I got ready and had breakfast at the hotel. After some time took a cab to a market for some very specific shopping of handloom bed sheets. This trip gave me confidence as by this time the fog had reduced and visibility was much better.

Also google was showing shorter distance to Ambala as compared to Chandigarh and so I decided to spend the evening in Ambala.The roads were good and traffic light until Jalandhar. Ludhiana was another pain point with multiple road closures and lots of traffic. I stopped at a rest area for a fuel, bio and snack break at Patarsi about 45 mins from my destination. It was 6 pm, the sun was setting and I was confident of reaching my destination in an hour or so. The last picture below was taken at 2 PM on the way to Ambala

As I joined back on the road, visibility was good although by this time it was dark. But soon after came a big jam caused due to overloaded sugarcane trolley overturning on the NH. This ate into time and soon it was 8 pm, dark and fog had increased. But as we were driving on NH with many vehicles it was ok. At Rajpura we were directed towards Zirakpur and were not being allowed to go straight. A few cars did a U turn and got on the NH towards Ambala and I followed them only to be stopped ahead by a police barricade. I requested them to guide me on what route to take and they suggested that we go back towards Rajpura and take the route towards Patiala and turn towards Ghanaur and onto the Ghanaur Ambala Road. There were many others like me and I followed them. It was very foggy by this time and visibility was low. At one point we were travelling in a convoy with a tanker in front to show the way followed by 3-4 cars all headed towards Ambala. This increased my travel distance by almost 2 hours and we got on to Ambala bypass where again we were directed by police towards the city. I reached my hotel post 10 pm. I stayed the night at Clarks Inn, Jaggi city center Ambala. It had fast food joints around and after checking in, I went and got some subway for dinner and called home. Crashed soon after.

This experience of driving in the fog and collaborating with strangers to reach my destination was the highpoint of my trip. At no point did I feel any fear or vulnerable as a solo woman driver.

Kms Driven : 280 Kms Time Taken : 9 Hrs

[Mgdoodler]

Drive back on the dream Highway and an evening in Udaipur

3rd Jan 2023 - As expected woke up to fog, but it seemed better than day before. Quickly finished morning chores and left the hotel at 9 am. No breakfast today as I hoped to try some Dhaba. Made my way through Ambala city and a diversion to join NH152 towards Jaipur and then 152D. The weather was chilly and foggy and I enjoyed the drive.
Stopped at the second rest stop at about 100 km from Ambala for breakfast. Food service area was clean and managed by Vaango so had a Upma which was hot and delicious. A few calls later I was on my way enjoying the lovely road with green and yellow fields on both sides. I stopped on a shoulder after some time to take a call and captured some images. Filled fuel before getting out of Haryana.
NH48 was the same crowded and patchy roads. Stopped at Mannat resort for a break. I had taken the NH 248 after Chandwaji, which is on the east side of Jaipur, with many educational institutions. The road was 4 laned, divided but not very good. I had booked Highway King at Jaipur for the night. I also had some work to attend to at Jaipur so decided to park the car at one of malls near Jaipur airport and take a cab for work inside Jaipur city. I was done with my work in Jaipur by 7 pm and returned to the mall. Hung around for some time so that the traffic reduces. I then drove to my hotel and checked in. The parking lot for this hotel in a lane behind the hotel. Decided to have dinner at the hotel and ended with a Malai Kulfi. The plan for next day was to drive to Udaipur and spend the evening there.
Kms Driven : 440 Kms Time Taken : 7 Hrs

4th Jan 2023 - Left the hotel around 9 am the roads were as expected and reached my hotel Udai Median near Lok Kala Mandal by 3 pm. Had stopped on the way for a quick breakfast and some calls. The road was the same as I travelled earlier in the reverse direction on 30 Dec 2022.I had chosen this hotel because I wanted to be able to leave Udaipur the next morning towards Modhera.
After check in , I took an auto to Bagore ki Haveli. I was determined to get tickets to the Dharohar show. I had a udaipuri wada pav while waiting for the auto. Reached Bagore ki Haveli by 4 Pm and was told tickets will be available only at 5 PM. Visited the Haveli Museum and enjoyed the lake view from the terrace for some time. Came back to the entrance and waited in a queue that was getting longer by the second to get my ticket. The ticket sales started promptly at 5 pm and I was able to purchase my ticket.
After that spent some more time by the lake side on the ghat beside the Haveli and took a walk around to city palace. Did some shopping for family and home. Reached the Haveli back just before that start of the show. Found a seat and enjoyed the performance.
Ended the day with thali at Natraj which was very underwhelming.
Kms Driven : 390 Kms Time Taken : 6 Hrs

[Mgdoodler]

A diversion, Sun Temple at Modhera and return to Base

5th Jan 2023 - Plan today was to visit Modhera sun temple and get to Ahmedabad by night.

Started the day at 8 am from hotel and drove following google to exit Udaipur towards Abu Road. Google directed us through some really small roads to join the bypass. The 4 lane road was excellent and then the drive through the ghats was beautiful. At some points there were diversions and 4 lane became 2 lane but overall the drive was very good.Crossed on to NH62 and stopped at a small dhaba for breakfast. Alu Paratha accompanied by calls. The toilet was clean, indian style.

While on call with my mother as I was updating her on my location, she causally suggested that since you are around Mount Abu, why don’t you also visit Ambaji. Initially I hesitated and then looked up google maps to check if its possible. The distance from where I was sitting to Ambaji was less than an hour and I could make it to Modhera and Ahmedabad in good time. So began the diversion trip to Ambaji. The roads are excellent all the way to the top. The ghat roads were no issue. I was stopped at the Gujrat border by 3-4 police men, who after a small chat let me go without checking my car. Reached Ambaji Parking lot next to the temple by 11 am. I was promptly informed that the temple will close in 30 mins and I should hurry. Quickly deposited my shoes and phone at the entrance and made my way to the temple. Was let inside after security check. There are many shops outside and inside the temple selling puja items. Walked at a quick pace to the sanctorum and had a blissful darshan of Mataji. Spent some time within the temple and got prasad for home. While walking back to the parking lot, purchased some fresh tuvar pods and green tomatoes.

Leaving Ambaji, filled fuel at the first petrol pump I found and topped up the tank. The road on Gujrat side was wide four lane with dividers and good road surface. I joined Palanpur Ahmedabad Highway until Mehsana and then took a right turn towards Modhera. The road to Modhera is also good although 2 lane with dividers and well marked entry and exits for towns and villages. Reached the sun temple parking lot before 3 PM. Got my entry ticket and took a bio break. The toilets, clean Indian style, are located behind the museum.

There were a few school excursions visiting along with families. I got a guide who explained the tank and surrounding temples first before guiding me towards the main temple. The carvings reminded me of my visit to Aihole, Patadakkal and Badami. Spent an hour at site.

Was hungry and visited the onsite café for a quick bite and used the time to book my hotel at Ahmedabad on the SG highway. Left from Modhera and travelled back towards Mehsana and joined the Ahmedabad Highway and back into traffic. I entered the city along with the evening traffic and reached my hotel by 6:30 pm. Swaminarayan Centenary year celebrations were going on at this time at Ahemdabad and most hotels were sold out.
After check in and freshening up it was time to go have some gujrati thali. Zomato recommended Annakut and I booked a cab to take me there.
The food was yumm, flavourful but not spicy. I enjoyed every bit of my meal and the paan.
Kms Driven : 405 Kms Time Taken : 8 Hrs

6th Jan 2023 - Return back to home base.

Left after breakfast post 9 am and had traffic upto NE1. Joined NE1 towards Vadodara. This is arrow straight and boring as can be a road. Joined NH48 at Vadodara and continued on. As I crossed Vadodara, There were many roadside stalls selling Ponkh ( tender kernels of jowar- winter delicacy). I too stopped at a stall – checked the quality and purchased some unroasted for home. Crossed Surat Navsari in good time. Decided to stop at Haldirams before Valsad for a last treat. Fuel Tank was filled before proceeding further. Crossed Fountain by 6 pm due to less traffic as it was a Friday. Reached home at 8 pm after a few traffic jams closer to home.

Hi Team-BHP,

I have enjoyed my trip which I planned after being inspired by the many travelouges on this forum and hope that this effort of documenting my travel will help someone else.

Many thanks to the parked threads on Road Safety and in particular to member VT-RNS whose answers to my route queries helped me.

Thanks for Reading
Mgdoodler

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[VT-RNS]

Reads like an epic trip! great that you summarised it so well. Will definitely be handy for other members/travellers.
I am glad I could be of help

What I really like is your flexibility to add/adapt. Sometimes, we can get rigid with our plans. So cool that you visited Ambaji as an almost impromptu plan.

Wish you many more safe & enjoyable miles on the road

[shancz]

While I am not familiar with the areas and roads you were into but your travelogue is very useful and drives home the point of keeping buffers and adapting to the situation to make use of it instead of fretting and fuming.
Our roads teach us a lot of valueable life lessons and you've navigated it well

Coming to the car, one of my desired all rounders especially highways in the XT iTurbo guise :
- How was it ? Anything which caught your attention or was an irritant ?
- What was the FE ? Approximate figures are good enough?
- What did you love most about the car on highways ?
- Anything that seems a bit off in the city but really proved its mettle on the highways ?
- Generally speaking is the 5600rpm redline even a consideration in your driving ?

Sorry to bombard you with such questions but a silver Altroz iTurbo had been on my list when I joined TBHP but things didn't work out then. Nevertheless it still remains on the list and in case things change back it might be back in consideration as a do it all car.

[ObsessedByFIAT]

What a wonderful way to start the New Year! Many congratulations to you on completing this drive all alone! Takes a lot of courage and commitment!

Just like Shancz, I too would love to read about your impressions about the car after this drive.

Wish you many more miles of safe and enjoyable driving!

[Guru_Shikhar]

What a great adventure dude!! Lovely travelogue. It needs quite some planning, patience and strength to drive solo for so many days that too on many busy highways of this always busy country.

Visited Modhera just a month ago and fell in love with the site. We had a plan to hit Nathdwara and return but that did not happen due to lack of time.

Driving in Punjab is one of my bucket lists just to experience the mustard fields as you mentioned. It’s such a beautiful view one needs to see there only.

Looks like Altroz performed very well throughout this journey. Pl highlight the car experience if possible.

Thank you for sharing. Keep posting.

Cheers

[Mgdoodler]

Hi
Thank you all for your kind words. I will try to reply to all of your queries together.

Originally Posted by shancz

Coming to the car, one of my desired all rounders especially highways in the XT iTurbo guise :
- How was it ? Anything which caught your attention or was an irritant ?
- What was the FE ? Approximate figures are good enough?
- What did you love most about the car on highways ?
- Anything that seems a bit off in the city but really proved its mettle on the highways ?
- Generally speaking is the 5600rpm redline even a consideration in your driving ?

Sorry to bombard you with such questions but a silver Altroz iTurbo had been on my list when I joined TBHP but things didn't work out then. Nevertheless it still remains on the list and in case things change back it might be back in consideration as a do it all car.

Originally Posted by ObsessedByFIAT

What a wonderful way to start the New Year! Many congratulations to you on completing this drive all alone! Takes a lot of courage and commitment!

Just like Shancz, I too would love to read about your impressions about the car after this drive.

Wish you many more miles of safe and enjoyable driving!

Originally Posted by Guru_Shikhar

What a great adventure dude!! Lovely travelogue. It needs quite some planning, patience and strength to drive solo for so many days that too on many busy highways of this always busy country.

Visited Modhera just a month ago and fell in love with the site. We had a plan to hit Nathdwara and return but that did not happen due to lack of time.

Driving in Punjab is one of my bucket lists just to experience the mustard fields as you mentioned. It’s such a beautiful view one needs to see there only.

Looks like Altroz performed very well throughout this journey. Pl highlight the car experience if possible.

Thank you for sharing. Keep posting.

Cheers

-Irritant – Engine while overtaking. This is a pain point particularly on Mumbai – Ahmedabad section.
-FE – 17.9KMPL. It has never crossed that throughout this journey. I feel it could have been more if I had driven more sedately. On clear highways speed was between 80-100, trans-haryana it was difficult to stick to 100 as the roads were clear on 31st while going and visibility was great and it was very easy to move upto 120. On my way back on 3rd Jan at one point I realised that I was for a very short duration driving at 140 quickly dailed down towards 100.
-Love – Its very planted during highway drives. I have driven multiple times with Blue rocket on Mumbai Pune expressway and my longest solo journey before this was to Bijapur, Badami, Kolhapur – 1400 Kms over 4 days Last March. FE then was 17 KMPL.
-It’s a very capable car in all the settings, city or state highways or expressways. My city driving is limited to about 5kms per week. I really purchased this car for long distance travelling.
-No 5600rpm redline is not a consideration in my driving. I like to drive fast but safely. Generally keep the engine at 1800-2500 rpm range with an occasional 3000-4000 rpm while overtaking if required. But very rare.

Blue Rocket has been my companion since May 2021, although she was billed on 31st March 2021 but lockdown and then some other reasons delayed her homecoming. She is the best gift I could have given myself and I must thank Team-BHP for helping me take this decision. My first solo drive was with her to Kaas and Mahabaleshwar in Oct 21, followed by a New year drive to Kolhapur on 1st Jan 22, followed by trip to Bijapur in March 22. This is apart from multiple trips to Pune with Family. At no point have I regretted my choice. She has been serviced as per schedule at TASS, where the SA are good. They know her as the blue Altroz.

I hope to complete Mumbai-Kanyakumari and Mumbai – Khardung Laa this year with her. She gives me that confidence. As you can see I am in love with my car.

@Guru_Shikhar best time to go to Punjab is Jan-early March. The weather is super and the fields are yellow with mustard, roadside stalls have kinnow and its Gajak season.

Keep travelling
Mgdoodler

[shancz]

Originally Posted by Mgdoodler

She gives me that confidence. As you can see I am in love with my car.

This line says it all

Your response has given me all the info I needed and Thank You for that.

Wishing you and the Blue Rocket even better drives and company