Karnal - Jind - Hissar - Rajgarh - Churu - Sikar - Khatu travel report

Akadian · 5th September 2009, 15:04

Dear seniors and friends,

Family members had a desire to go on a short pilgrimage and we decided to go with the Indigo CS this time instead of the usual Getz. Everybody was excited and happy that this time we'll be saving quite a bit on fuel. Mom, like always, was insistent that for the first day of the journey we'll carry food and tea from home. So, the ladies woke up early morning and prepared food and snacks for the way. I started loading the dickey and then dad announced that it is no use starting the preparations so early because he has a meeting in Hissar and we should pick him up from there around 2 pm.

Dad left at 5 am by his official jeep and I went off to sleep again, dreaming of the drive that awaited me. Mom, as is her usual self, kept making preparations by packing the food after having prepared it. I woke up again and prepared myself by exercising a little, freshened up and had some breakfast. We finally started around 11 am, hoping to make short work of the 160 odd kms to Hissar. The initial part of the journey was smooth and I drove from Karnal to Jundla - Assandh - Jind - Hansi and then a short nightmare started. Instead of taking a left and following the bypass for Hissar, I went straight into the Hansi town. Being a little unsure of what I had done, I asked a few men sitting on the side of the badly broken road entering into Hansi. One of the men said no problem, just go on ahead and take an exit from inside the town.

I went at an extremely slow speed forward as the road condition was horrible plus I was not sure where to turn for Hissar. My problems got compounded when I missed the best possible turn and went ahead into the Sabzi Mandi. The Sabzi Mandi had a horrible jam awaiting me and worse still followed as I encountered some of the most ill-mannered people till date who started hitting the red CS with their bicycles from front and behind. I got out of the car and slapped one boy who was hitting the car from behind and it was then that I got some respite. One helpful Trax driver came along from the opposite side and created some space for me with his deft maneuvering. I thanked him profusely and finally got out of Hansi onto the NH-10. Just then my 2 months old son relieved himself and got rid of his 3 days' old constipation.

The entire car started smelling and a lot of the rear right seat and the foot rest space for the rear right passenger got dirtied. Now, we had to stop somewhere to wash all this and get the car smelling nice once again. I drove really fast onto the Hissar cantonment area and stopped at an IBP filling station, where three or four public toilets were visible and water was also available from several taps. We halted there for half an hour with my wife washing the kid's clothes and me washing the foot mats and the seat. Finally, we picked dad at around 2:30 pm from the Rajgarh road, where he had been waiting for us. Before this, I managed to smash my driver side rear view mirror into a huge heap of school bags that were hanging from an autorickshaw. Anyway, I had to manage with the mirror inside the car now. From Hissar to Rajgarh was a smooth ride with some patches in between being a little rough in Siwani and a couple of other places.

We stopped at one mechanic's place after Siwani and got the rear view mirror tied up with an insulation tape because it was hitting the window many times whenever a high speed vehicle was passing us. After Rajgarh, the road was fantastic and we reached Churu in good time. From Churu, we went on to Fatehpur and then Laxmangarh. The plan had been to continue on the NH-65 from Fatehpur till Salasar but I never realized when we entered the NH-11 and reached Laxmangarh. But the NH-11 was also fantastic and we reached the Salasar turn, from where it was another 30 odd kms to the temple town. At 6 pm we were looking for a good dharamshala in Salasar and there was so much choice that we felt spoilt for it. Finally selected one with a car parking inside. The rest to come in a second post. Thanks for now

Regards

Akadian · 5th September 2009, 17:46

Now for the part II of the journey, let me recount rest of the story. Stayed the night at Salasar, had darshan and a good night's sleep. The next day, we started from there at 1:40 pm after lunch and traced the 31 kms back to NH-11. From there we moved towards Sikar and Jaipur, took the bypass at Sikar and reached Palsana. At Palsana, bought some fruits and water bottles and asked about the turn for Khatu. The Ringgas turn is very well-known but dad knew that there was a shorter turn much before Ringgas. From Ringgas, Khatu is 16 kms whereas from this turn, it is just 10 or 11 kms. People guided us and we found the turn a short while after Palsana.

I think this was a good piece of information as it saved us at least 10+ kms on NH-11 and another 6 kms from the turn till Khatu. We were resting in a dharamshala by 3 pm and decided to rest a bit before proceeding for darshan. My wife and sister were hungry and we decided to first have some lunch before taking an afternoon siesta. The lunch was great in the Shekhawati cuisine style and we took a nap after that and did not realize when it became 6 pm. Went to the temple, had darshan and partook of the prasadam.

Summarizing the trip till this point, on the first day the running had been 390 to 400 kms and on the second day, just about 120 kms. So, total distance travelled after leaving Karnal was about 510-520 kms. The machine had been behaving very well in the Rajasthan heat and we were using the a/c almost all the time. The fuel efficiency stood at about 17 kmpl but compared to the Getz, it was great. The Getz always used to give us 14 kmpl on petrol on the same route. So, the CS was not only returning a better figure but it was also diesel instead of petrol.

The next day, we started from Khatu at about 11 am and our route changed. We did Khatu - Sikar - Jhunjhunu - Malsisar - Rajgarh - Hissar - Jind - Karnal. Basically, till Sikar and after Rajgarh it was the same route but in between we had some serious fun. The confusion started at Sikar, where instead of taking the bypass and continuing on NH-11, we went very close to the city. On asking people the way to Rajgarh, they guided us on to Jhunjhunu. This is where the deviation occurred as we should have proceeded on towards Churu on NH-11. Till Jhunjhunu, it was still fine but after that we again asked for guidance and people put us on the Alsisar - Malsisar single track route.

My goodness, each time something approached from the opposite side, there was no way you could stay on the road, it was that narrow. This narrow strip continued for at least 35 of the 54 odd kms from the outskirts of Jhunjhunu to Rajgarh. Finally, the nightmare ended and the last 20 odd kms were made up of an excellent, nearly 3-lane stretch that had almost no traffic on it. Had lunch as soon as we crossed Rajasthan into Haryana at a decent dhaba and after a short break proceeded onto Hissar and Karnal.

This time I did not commit the mistake of venturing into Hansi and took the bypass. The return journey was about 450 kms and we saved about 10 kms courtesy that horrible Alsisar, Malsisar track. We had reached home by 5:30 pm. That was the whole journey in a nutshell. Thanks to all who have read through the account

Regards

sudev · 5th September 2009, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akadian

....After Rajgarh, the road was fantastic and we reached Churu in good time. From Churu, we went on to Fatehpur and then Laxmangarh. The plan had been to continue on the NH-65 from Fatehpur till Salasar but I never realized when we entered the NH-11 and reached Laxmangarh.....

This is better route and unknowingly you ended up doing the correct thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akadian

.....Khatu - Sikar - Jhunjhunu - Malsisar - Rajgarh - Hissar - Jind - Karnal. Basically, till Sikar and after Rajgarh it was the same route but in between we had some serious fun. The confusion started at Sikar, where instead of taking the bypass and continuing on NH-11, we went very close to the city......

This would have delayed you by almost three hours on the whole - going via Jhunjhunu etc....

Been a long time since I travelled on Hansi-Jind-Asandh-Karnal road. How is it now? Used to be horrible broken tarmac earlier.

Akadian · 5th September 2009, 21:49

Dear Sudev,

The Hansi - Jind - Assandh - Karnal road is not bad except for some patches in between. In the Jind city, there could be a lot of improvement still but otherwise you can fly on this road. There is enough space for two vehicles to pass even though it is not 4-lane or something but not too bad. Compared to the time you are talking about, it is much better now.

Regards

gd1418 · 6th September 2009, 14:31

Posting some pictures would have been quite nice.

Akadian · 6th September 2009, 16:22

Dear gd,

It is the biggest regret I have. How badly I miss posting some pics of that horrible Alsisar - Malsisar route, only my agonizing self knows. On a more serious note, I have decided next trip onward I'll appoint one of my fellow journey-mates to take some good, sensible pics and I shall religiously post them here for the benefit of all Team-BHPians

Regards

5th September 2009, 15:04	#1
Akadian BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Karnal Posts: 264 Thanked: 5 Times	Karnal - Jind - Hissar - Rajgarh - Churu - Sikar - Khatu travel report Dear seniors and friends, Family members had a desire to go on a short pilgrimage and we decided to go with the Indigo CS this time instead of the usual Getz. Everybody was excited and happy that this time we'll be saving quite a bit on fuel. Mom, like always, was insistent that for the first day of the journey we'll carry food and tea from home. So, the ladies woke up early morning and prepared food and snacks for the way. I started loading the dickey and then dad announced that it is no use starting the preparations so early because he has a meeting in Hissar and we should pick him up from there around 2 pm. Dad left at 5 am by his official jeep and I went off to sleep again, dreaming of the drive that awaited me. Mom, as is her usual self, kept making preparations by packing the food after having prepared it. I woke up again and prepared myself by exercising a little, freshened up and had some breakfast. We finally started around 11 am, hoping to make short work of the 160 odd kms to Hissar. The initial part of the journey was smooth and I drove from Karnal to Jundla - Assandh - Jind - Hansi and then a short nightmare started. Instead of taking a left and following the bypass for Hissar, I went straight into the Hansi town. Being a little unsure of what I had done, I asked a few men sitting on the side of the badly broken road entering into Hansi. One of the men said no problem, just go on ahead and take an exit from inside the town. I went at an extremely slow speed forward as the road condition was horrible plus I was not sure where to turn for Hissar. My problems got compounded when I missed the best possible turn and went ahead into the Sabzi Mandi. The Sabzi Mandi had a horrible jam awaiting me and worse still followed as I encountered some of the most ill-mannered people till date who started hitting the red CS with their bicycles from front and behind. I got out of the car and slapped one boy who was hitting the car from behind and it was then that I got some respite. One helpful Trax driver came along from the opposite side and created some space for me with his deft maneuvering. I thanked him profusely and finally got out of Hansi onto the NH-10. Just then my 2 months old son relieved himself and got rid of his 3 days' old constipation. The entire car started smelling and a lot of the rear right seat and the foot rest space for the rear right passenger got dirtied. Now, we had to stop somewhere to wash all this and get the car smelling nice once again. I drove really fast onto the Hissar cantonment area and stopped at an IBP filling station, where three or four public toilets were visible and water was also available from several taps. We halted there for half an hour with my wife washing the kid's clothes and me washing the foot mats and the seat. Finally, we picked dad at around 2:30 pm from the Rajgarh road, where he had been waiting for us. Before this, I managed to smash my driver side rear view mirror into a huge heap of school bags that were hanging from an autorickshaw. Anyway, I had to manage with the mirror inside the car now. From Hissar to Rajgarh was a smooth ride with some patches in between being a little rough in Siwani and a couple of other places. We stopped at one mechanic's place after Siwani and got the rear view mirror tied up with an insulation tape because it was hitting the window many times whenever a high speed vehicle was passing us. After Rajgarh, the road was fantastic and we reached Churu in good time. From Churu, we went on to Fatehpur and then Laxmangarh. The plan had been to continue on the NH-65 from Fatehpur till Salasar but I never realized when we entered the NH-11 and reached Laxmangarh. But the NH-11 was also fantastic and we reached the Salasar turn, from where it was another 30 odd kms to the temple town. At 6 pm we were looking for a good dharamshala in Salasar and there was so much choice that we felt spoilt for it. Finally selected one with a car parking inside. The rest to come in a second post. Thanks for now Regards
	() Thanks

5th September 2009, 17:46	#2
Akadian BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Karnal Posts: 264 Thanked: 5 Times	Now for the part II of the journey, let me recount rest of the story. Stayed the night at Salasar, had darshan and a good night's sleep. The next day, we started from there at 1:40 pm after lunch and traced the 31 kms back to NH-11. From there we moved towards Sikar and Jaipur, took the bypass at Sikar and reached Palsana. At Palsana, bought some fruits and water bottles and asked about the turn for Khatu. The Ringgas turn is very well-known but dad knew that there was a shorter turn much before Ringgas. From Ringgas, Khatu is 16 kms whereas from this turn, it is just 10 or 11 kms. People guided us and we found the turn a short while after Palsana. I think this was a good piece of information as it saved us at least 10+ kms on NH-11 and another 6 kms from the turn till Khatu. We were resting in a dharamshala by 3 pm and decided to rest a bit before proceeding for darshan. My wife and sister were hungry and we decided to first have some lunch before taking an afternoon siesta. The lunch was great in the Shekhawati cuisine style and we took a nap after that and did not realize when it became 6 pm. Went to the temple, had darshan and partook of the prasadam. Summarizing the trip till this point, on the first day the running had been 390 to 400 kms and on the second day, just about 120 kms. So, total distance travelled after leaving Karnal was about 510-520 kms. The machine had been behaving very well in the Rajasthan heat and we were using the a/c almost all the time. The fuel efficiency stood at about 17 kmpl but compared to the Getz, it was great. The Getz always used to give us 14 kmpl on petrol on the same route. So, the CS was not only returning a better figure but it was also diesel instead of petrol. The next day, we started from Khatu at about 11 am and our route changed. We did Khatu - Sikar - Jhunjhunu - Malsisar - Rajgarh - Hissar - Jind - Karnal. Basically, till Sikar and after Rajgarh it was the same route but in between we had some serious fun. The confusion started at Sikar, where instead of taking the bypass and continuing on NH-11, we went very close to the city. On asking people the way to Rajgarh, they guided us on to Jhunjhunu. This is where the deviation occurred as we should have proceeded on towards Churu on NH-11. Till Jhunjhunu, it was still fine but after that we again asked for guidance and people put us on the Alsisar - Malsisar single track route. My goodness, each time something approached from the opposite side, there was no way you could stay on the road, it was that narrow. This narrow strip continued for at least 35 of the 54 odd kms from the outskirts of Jhunjhunu to Rajgarh. Finally, the nightmare ended and the last 20 odd kms were made up of an excellent, nearly 3-lane stretch that had almost no traffic on it. Had lunch as soon as we crossed Rajasthan into Haryana at a decent dhaba and after a short break proceeded onto Hissar and Karnal. This time I did not commit the mistake of venturing into Hansi and took the bypass. The return journey was about 450 kms and we saved about 10 kms courtesy that horrible Alsisar, Malsisar track. We had reached home by 5:30 pm. That was the whole journey in a nutshell. Thanks to all who have read through the account Regards
	() Thanks

5th September 2009, 21:49	#4
Akadian BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Karnal Posts: 264 Thanked: 5 Times	Dear Sudev, The Hansi - Jind - Assandh - Karnal road is not bad except for some patches in between. In the Jind city, there could be a lot of improvement still but otherwise you can fly on this road. There is enough space for two vehicles to pass even though it is not 4-lane or something but not too bad. Compared to the time you are talking about, it is much better now. Regards
	() Thanks

6th September 2009, 14:31	#5
gd1418 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,578 Thanked: 728 Times View My Garage	Posting some pictures would have been quite nice.
	() Thanks

6th September 2009, 16:22	#6
Akadian BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Karnal Posts: 264 Thanked: 5 Times	Dear gd, It is the biggest regret I have. How badly I miss posting some pics of that horrible Alsisar - Malsisar route, only my agonizing self knows. On a more serious note, I have decided next trip onward I'll appoint one of my fellow journey-mates to take some good, sensible pics and I shall religiously post them here for the benefit of all Team-BHPians Regards
	() Thanks