[pepega]

The idea of a Thar as a first car

While this is a story about a Thar, it begins with an i20. Ever since before I bought my first car (a Hyundai i20 N line), I have been talking about buying a Thar.

In 2022, the quotes in Goa for the Petrol 4x4 variant were starting upwards of 18 lakhs, and I was told that there was a 11 month waiting period. So my plan to buy a Thar was kept on the backburner. My mum told me, "Right now, buy a car that you can get right away since you need it, you can always buy a Thar later." I had just shifted to Goa at that time and I was primarily driving around my Delhi registered Duke 390. I had no experience of riding a motorcycle in the rain and for long distances and on ghats.

This was still in the hangover phase of car shortage of COVID times. So when my SO and I walked into a Hyundai showroom, and there was a display i20 N Line N8 DCT available for immediate delivery, I jumped. My parents transferred over the ~14 lakhs on road, and within a week we collected a brand new i20 N Line. The i20 was a very comfortable ride, and we did 25k kilometers on that before I sold it (within the family). But that itch to own a Thar never went away.


I will write about the N line in a separate thread. This was my first car and I did my first proper road trip on it. It took me and my SO from Goa to Kochi during Christmas 2022. This was my first proper road trip and I learned a lot about highway driving, planning road trips and executing them. But I never stopped itching for the Thar and kept clicking pictures of red Thars that I saw on the road.


Even after buying the i20, I kept test driving cars. The i20 was always a stepping stone for me. I test drove whatever I could get my hands on (everything except the Thar): Seltos DCT, Tata Altroz, Maruti S-Cross, Skoda Slavia, etc... Booked and cancelled XUV 700.

Fast forward to July 2023

I had just returned from a road trip from Bangalore with the i20. My SO had just moved to Bangalore and I was still in Goa... and the itch of car buying went from being an itch and became a proper impulse. Now I was home alone and no one could stop me.

I had gone to Delhi in September 2023 to watch MotoGP. On the second day, it rained terribly and my dad's SX4 got badly stuck in the mud in the parking lot. This car was nearing 13 years of age and the tyres were bald. Pic for reference. This isn't our SX4 but a similar one and this happened to many people that weekend at BIC. My friend and I got nearly stuck while exiting late from the event. Luckily there were the event volunteers nearby and they helped extricate us from the mud, with a lot of difficulty.



After this, I started convincing my mum to buy a Thar again and this time she agreed to do a test drive. I returned to Goa after MotoGP. After some time, the test drive was done and my mum liked the Thar! She said the tall driving stance made it easy to maneuver Delhi traffic because you could see so much farther out. She started chasing down dealers and there was a Petrol RWD AT variant available for immediate delivery. Within a few weeks, the money was transferred and the Thar came home to Delhi. Finally a picture of not just a Thar, but OUR Thar.



I did not prefer the Thar for driving in Goa, as most Goan streets are quite skinny (especially near the beach). So I bought a Jimny (called Mango, ownership thread will come later) with my own money in October 2023. As I was in Goa at the time, I actually did not get to drive "Viper, the Thar" until January 2024, when I went to Delhi after my grandmother's passing. This was a tough time for everyone, and I did not get to enjoy the Thar much. But it was useful for us to have an extra vehicle at this time. After driving it for some time, my itch to take it on a road trip grew and grew. I started planning a trip for April 2024.

[pepega]

Coming of Age in Kathmandu

My SO's sister was getting married and the ceremony date was set for 18th April 2024. The wedding shopping had been going on since July last year and there was almost two full suitcases of sarees and lehengas that needed to be transferred from Bangalore to Delhi to Kathmandu. First we booked Indigo with extra luggage to leave from Delhi on 10th April. Then I started thinking... what if we took "Viper, the Thar" to Kathmandu. My alma mater is in Kathmandu and I still have a lot of friends there, plus, it would help a lot in preparing for the wedding. I moved some flights and I reached Delhi from Goa on 6th April, and my SO arrived from Bangalore on the same day. We met at the airport, and we had a break day on the 7th to pack everything and rest before heading off on the 8th. On 8th morning, we hit the road and were on the Agra expressway heading to Lucknow.



The first day we did 821 kilometers and reached Gorakhpur at 9 pm. My SO doesn't drive, so I was driving all day and was basically super fried by this point. We stopped the Sarovar Portico in Gorakhpur. Next morning, we left late after eating breakfast and headed towards the Raxaul border in Bihar. Basically, there are two main borders to enter into Nepal. The one at Sonauli is closer to Gorakhpur, but it is far away from our destination, Kathmandu. So I had decided to head to the Raxaul border in Bihar, from which Kathmandu was said to be just 5 hours away. All my knowledge about this came from Teambhp and by this point, I was trusting forum posts nearly blindly. Thanks a lot to Bhpian hrishi_dypim, whose detailed blog about taking the Scorpio N to Nepal, taught me everything I needed to know. https://www.team-bhp.com/news/did-th...l-my-scorpio-n


The next morning at Sarovar Portico, Gorakhpur.


Cosplaying India - Nepal friendship at the border. This is funny because my SO is from Nepal.

Once we were in Kathmandu and our Bhansar (permit for driving Car in Nepal) was made, I finally relaxed. I was stressed about the border crossing, and once this was done, I got my cool back.

Once inside the border, the first city you cross is Birgunj (I stayed here on the way back). After this, the next proper city is Hetauda. By the time we reached Hetauda, it was already 6 pm. In hindsight, we should have stopped here, but I was eager to get into Kathmandu, but my partner not so much. We kept going onwards and here, there's a crossing. The main highway road to go to Kathmandu is 200+ kilometers. The shortcut route, which is only 80 kilometers is for Jeeps only. Ofcourse, we took the shortcut and all was fine untill... the road disappeared.

It was pitch dark and while crossing a bridge, we realized it was broken. We turned back and got back on the road and realized that we had to cross a dried river bed to get back up to where the bridge was. This was just after the Bhimphedi Rural Municipality Checkpost. Basically, the toll in the Nepal is a physical checkpost, where you have to get off and show your car papers and they will write your car details in their log book. At this checkpost, my SO had asked the cops about the road ahead and they said it was "off-roading" and she did not like the idea of off-roading in the dark while more than 1500 kilometers from home. I don't blame her. I wanted to keep going to get my Delhi - Kathmandu in 2 days completion title. I think she wanted to continue being alive, so we stopped at a resort on the way.

At Markhu Kulekhani

This is a funny stop because I had been to Markhu Kulekhani before, but before I was coming from Kathmandu with a group of Xpulse riders. On this trip, I dropped my Xpulse 3 times and basically gave up the idea of off-roading on a motorcycle entirely. The xpulse was fine, I was broken. Back then I still used to live in Kathmandu. After I moved to Goa, the Xpulse was sold and I donated the money from the bike's sale for a school girl's education in a rural village in Nepal. So while that Xpulse wasn't for me, atleast it ended up benefiting someone's life.




Pictures from 6 March 2021.


More than 3 years later, with "Viper, the Thar".



View from our Hotel in Markhu Kulekhani. This hotel is a popular tourist spot for a weekend getaway from Kathmandu.

I love the way these vehicles have defined my coming of age journey. I have great memories, even the vehicles that I realized weren't for me. They helped me grow in ways I can't quantify. By taking me on a road journey, they played a huge role in my journey through life. Ever grateful for all of my wheels.

[pepega]

Remembering the Burning Past

The road from Markhu to Kathmandu goes via a town called Parphing. This is a very special place for me. In 2021, I had visited Parphing with a group of friends and we had planted saplings at compounds of several temples and monastaries. That year, there were a lot of forest fires in Nepal due to excessive heat, so we were attempting a reforestation effort as the forest literally smoked and burned behind us in the background.

I have never felt as bleakly about climate change and the environment as I did in those days. Below are the pictures from 2021:


A monk at Benchen Arya Tara Ling finding humour in planting saplings.


Our humble group that planted over 200 saplings in and around Kathmandu over the course of a couple of months.


View from the back of the Vajrayogini temple, where we planted the saplings.

Present day



Downhill from Vajrayogini temple hill, in 2024.

We had breakfast here, just opposite where we had lunch more than 3 years ago, while planting trees. One of my friends who's a nun joined my SO and I for breakfast. She was so shocked to hear that, firstly, I was in Parphing and secondly, that I had driven there not from Kathmandu (which is about an hour away), but from India.

It was great for me to visit Parphing again. I had visiting this place first in 2017. At that time, I visited this same restaurant while visiting a friend who was staying here for retreat near the Asura cave. During that trip, I visited the Asura cave, which is said to be the cave where Padmasambhava meditated. Padmasambhava is a prominent figure in Tibetan buddhist history who is credited with the propagation of Buddhist into Tibet from India. Asura cave in Parphing is an important site in Tibetan buddhist history. You can read more about it here: https://www.nekhor.org/padmasambhava...sura-yanglesho.

I am a very different person today than that guy in 2017. I have been a Buddhist for seven years now, and I think, the fire inside me has been tamed to some extent as well. I am a lot calmer and sober now than I used to be before! I had some opportunity for reflection here, before heading into my spiritual kurukshetra, Kathmandu.

[pepega]

Aawara Hoon Main

The next week in Kathmandu are a blur of meeting family (future in-laws) and friends, my alma mater being in Kathmandu. "Viper, the Thar" takes a centreplace in the entire story. When I was staying in Kathmandu before, I could never afford to visit most places as the cab fares are very expensive and I used to live on a student's budget. Now, with my own car, I could visit sites everyday without worrying about cabs and cab fares. This opened up a whole world within Kathmandu for me. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking here:


Late night at Durbar Marg getting KFC and icecream, and discussing wedding plans.


Getting fuel at the Army bunk.


Opposite Swayambhunath Stupa.


With my friend Suyog at Panipokhari.


At Durbar Square being a menace.


Getting a wash before the wedding day.


At the chaos of a big fat Nepali wedding.

After the wedding was done, we drove back to Kathmandu and had a spare day, before we needed to head out to the wedding reception. This was in a place called Sindhuli and it takes about half a day to get there via car from Kathmandu. Naturally, I said I would drive there!

On 20th April, we headed to Sindhuli. We were tasked with picking up the photographer and his assistant and some photography equipment in the back of our car. This was a very confusing morning trying to coordinate with 3-4 different people, and I reversed into a small wall.


First blood on Viper.


My "I love Nepal" pose, kissing a monument while having breakfast at Bhaktapur in the morning.

We gunned it and reached Sindhuli at around 1:30 PM. The reception was the same day, so we had lunch and got dressed. The wedding reception was good, I mostly just ate and slept. The road to Sindhuli is also called the Japanese highway, as it was built by them. It is hardly 1 lane wide in some places, surely they could afford to make another lane! It makes for slow going, even though the distance is not that much.


At Prayash Hotel Sindhuli.


Google Maps route to Sindhuli.

The next day, heading back into Kathmandu. We left late around noon and reached Kathmandu at 7 pm. This time, my SO's sister also joined us. I wanted to visit my friend's school which is near to this place, but there is no way I was taking my SO and her sister on a multi day long detour. Their dad would kill me! The school visit will be postponed to another day.


Somewhere outside Kathmandu.

[pepega]

Temple visits with the Thar

Wheels are a transformative thing. By bringing us to places, they give us experiences that will be remembered even when we are old and can't go anywhere. These experiences will be the balm that we will apply to the pain of getting old. That is why I even prioritize traveling and experiences to saving money. No SIPs here, only small monthly trips!

Phulchowki Mai

The next week, "Viper, the Thar" took us to Phulchowki Mai, a temple at 2700 meters, which is usually a site for ritual animal sacrifice, but since we visited on a Tuesday which was a full moon day, we witnessed a group performing a ritual against animal sacrifice. Two sides. This is also an army camp, as it is one of the tallest spots of the Kathmandu valley, at its southern end. A trip to the northern end, Shivapuri peak couldn't be completed this time.


Ritual tradition at Phulchowki Mai.


At 2700 metres.


Thar at Phulchowki mai.


View to the valley South of Kathmandu.

Boudhanath Stupa

My alma mater is in a neighbourhood called Boudhanath in Kathmandu. Usually, cars are not allowed here but I just had to bring Viper for this photo.


Goofing around at the Boudha Stupa.

Budhanilkantha Vishnu temple.

SO's family had organized a lakh batti puja here.


Tired from being on work-cation for so long.

Golden temple in Lalitpur

Backside view.


Swayambhu Stupa inside the temple.


Statues at the monastery upstairs.

The monastery here conducts ritual readings of the Tibetan Buddhist cannon called the Kangyur. Kangyur (བཀའ་འགྱུར)(buddha-vacana), literally translates to "Translation of the Words", refers to the Tibetan Buddhist canon which contains the entirety of the Buddha's source teachings. It is called the 'Translation', because the texts in this were translated into the Tibetan language from Sanskrit and Chinese collections. A lot of the Sanskrit texts from which the translations took place are now lost, after the decline of Buddhism in India, post 10th Century CE. So the Kangyur contains the only version of some of these ancient texts. The counterpart to the Kangyur is the Tengyur, which is a 'Translation of the Treatises,' i.e. the commentaries on the oral source teachings of the Buddha.


One copy of these precious teachings, locked up safely at the Golden temple in Lalitpur.

Vajrayogini Temple at Sankhu

This was the last temple I visited before heading back to India. I came here with two of my college friends. This is about an hour's drive from Boudhanath in Kathmandu.


Vajrayogini Temple, Sankhu.

The caves are also said to be important meditation sites for yogis such as Milarepa, who traveled from Tibetan to India in search of the Buddha dharma.


My friends goofing around at the caves.

On the way back, I tried to take them to Changu Narayan temple, which is on a hill between Kathmandu and Sankhu. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the road and it was getting dark so we headed back to Boudha.


Night at the Boudha stupa.

The next morning, my SO left with her family to go on a Bungee jumping trip near the China border. She would head back to Bangalore by a direct flight. I would be making the journey back to Delhi via road by myself. I started to slowly prepare myself to leave my kurukshetra, my spiritual home, Kathmandu.


Lunch with college mates. Mostly still studying or working in Kathmandu. I wish I could be there too!


Lighting 108 candles at Boudhanath Stupa. On my last night of my trip.


Matching shirts with my friends daughter. On the morning of the last day of my trip.

[pepega]

Exit Stage Left - Kathmandu

My Bhansar had been extended till 5th May 2024. However, with 3rd Phase of Indian general election being on 7th May, I knew that the India-Nepal border would seal 3 days in advance. Hence, I headed to the border on 3rd May itself. Leaving from Kathmandu at 2 pm, I reached Birgunj by evening.


Took the shortcut route out of Kathmandu again. Lots of traffic.


Near Hetauda. It was almost sunset by the time I reached Hetauda. I will never forget the sun shining over the Nepali countryside, as Viper and I solo-travel through it. Memories for a lifetime.


Stopped at Hetauda for a coffee, momos and to finish some work.

It was night by the time I reached Birgunj. Stayed a small hotel, very basic, but safe and had car parking.

Uneventful return journey.

Next morning, at 5 am, headed to the India-Nepal border. Reached before the border opened. I took some photos here, but I was asked to delete them, so I won't post them here. I was again relieved to cross the border. The border was sealed on 5th May, the next morning, so I got out at a good time.

I got stopped on both sides, India and Nepal, and they checked my Bhansar multiple times. Everyone kept expecting my Bhansar to be expired, but it wasn't and they seemed to be disappointed by that. Missed opportunity to extract high bribe, maybe?

The return journey is when I simply don't want any adventure. I am tired and want to get home as quickly as possible.


Traffic again at Raxaul. Reached Lucknow at around 4 pm and checked into Sarovar Portico.


Next morning, refueled and hit the road. The expressway is great for fast traveling, but it is very boring for a solo traveler. I was stopping at every rest stop to prevent from being tired or sleepy.


Reached back at home in Delhi by 5 pm.

Viper's first major trip - concluded

This was Viper, the Thar's first major road trip. It started with around 1300 kilometres on the ODO and ended with 5000+. We left on 8th April and I returned on 7th May, so nearly a month long as well. The Thar performed exceptionally well, tackling everything we threw at it. Open road highway, mountain road, no road, traffic, Thar RWD Petrol AT just chugs along without complaining. It is truly an adventurer's best companion.
Big thanks to Team-Bhp! Without the knowledge of the folks on this forum, I neither would have bought a Thar, nor I would have had the confidence to drive it to Kathmandu and back. I'd have flown to Kathmandu and back, as I have done dozens of times before.

Since then, I have done two more road trips with the "Viper, the Thar". I will update this thread with the details of those adventures soon. Stay tuned!


My first and my second car meet. As the i20 N Line is still in the family, I had the opportunity to park these two together. It is as if the N Line is handing over the mantle of adventuring with me to Viper. What a lovely meeting!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage tomorrow

[ralto]

Originally Posted by pepega

After driving it for some time, my itch to take it on a road trip grew and grew. I started planning a trip for April 2024.

That is one amazing journey. A road trip to Nepal remains on top of mu bucket list and recently had a failed planning session for one, just a few days back. It's nice to a see a well documented travelogue. Have bookmarked it so that I can visit it when we plan next.

Thanks for sharing!

[Kkumar]

Wonderful travelogue with beautiful photos. What are the documents required for taking one's car to Nepal? In fact one of the items in my bucket list is a road trip to Lhasa via Nepal. Thank you for sharing and keep on munching miles.

[Auto_guy_101]

What a read! This reminds me of the plans I'd made as a student, while in Uttarakhand, to visit Nepal and all plans "driving" were beyond my budget. Now, the day I get my hands on a 4x4, Nepal is one of the first in my bucket list.

The Thar is one of the most suited vehicle for the terrains your photos showcase.

I think you're family garage also deserves a special mention, and with the i20 N line, sx4, Thar and Jimny you have the car for any occasion.