#bbc2leh Long drive - Delhi to Patnitop

I had never heard of this place until this trip. Patnitop is a popular hill station near Udhampur, in Jammu and Kashmir. The drive to Patnitop was to be the longest in our three-day trip to Leh. As usual, we didn't sleep well the previous night (this is turning out to be a regular thing with us), and we were very tired the next day. We woke up at 3:00 AM and were out of the house by 4:30. Looks like destiny, or rather the Arabs, had other plans for us. While Shibu was in India already, Shonan was to reach that morning. He did, but very late. So we extended our tea break at Chanda's parents place and finally left at 5:30 AM.


Sun rise in Delhi on NH24



We decided to meet Shonan and Shibu at Mukarba Chowk, an important point from where buses to Haryana and Punjab ply. We took the ring road and continued on to ITO and Raj Ghat and then to Mukarba Chowk. Today's journey would also take us on the historic Grand Trunk road and we were already on it.


Watching the world pass by at Mukarba Chowk

Crowded bus stop

So after a quick round of hugs and greetings, we set off on NH1 towards Patnitop. The drive would take us through Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. We stopped for breakfast at Haveli, a swank restaurant with a dhabha-like ambiance, in Murthal. We feasted on aloo paranthas, aloo kachori, suji halwa and washed it all down with tea and lassi.


Kachoori aloo (Chanda's fav)



If you ever travel down this road, be sure to stop at one of the Havelis. The facilities are excellent (especially the loos) and the prices are very reasonable. A sumptuous breakfast for five cost us ~500 rupees.


Entrance to Haveli



Thomas and Shonan



Chanda



Shibu



Punjab is a rich and fertile state and the people here are beautiful. However, the climate here is quite extreme. Summers are very hot and winters are very cold. It was quite hot on the day we left and most of the towns wore a deserted look. The roads, however, were excellent and we maintained a good speed. There were a few diversions on the way as the highway was being expanded from 4 to 6 lanes.


Excellent roads



Deserted roads and colorful people



We made it to Khanna, Rajesh Khanna's hometown, by lunch time. So we stopped at a "vaishnoo dhabha" for lunch. Vaishnoo dhabhas serve pure vegetarian food. They cater to pilgrims going to Vaishnoo Devi and Amarnath. I had never heard of such places before. The food was very good.


Lunch place - "vaishnoo dabha"

We continued north on NH1 and crossed some India's most industrialized towns Ludhiana and Jalandhar. From Jalandhar, we switched to NH1A towards Pathankot and Patnitop. We didn't encounter many toll gates. While Shonan and I managed to catch some sleep, Shibu was going strong. We finally stopped at a dhabha in Dasuya (15-20kms before Pathankot) for tea.


Now, for all the tea aficionados reading this post, let me warn you that tea on the highways is the most abused beverage. Strong tea can be interpreted to mean anything ranging from a syrupy muddy concoction to flavored tea. Never the real robust red stuff. I had to suffer, albeit silently, throughout the journey. The tea at Dasuya was no different. The patti kum paani zyda doodh kum (extra leaves, more water, less milk) formula never worked!


Strong tea in Dasuya (l-r Matt, Chanda, Shonan, and Thomas)



From Dasuya, I moved into the Gypsy with Shibu and we had a long conversation on Jeeps and his restoration work. He has more than a dozen jeeps and has restored most of them. That conversation led me to decide to buy an MM540.


The evening wore on and we reached Pathankot at 6:00 PM. The town had changed very less in seven years. Chanda and I had been to Dalhouisie for our honeymoon. We had taken a train to Pathankot and then a cab to Dalhousie, a beautiful hill station 80 kilometers from Pathankot.


Pathankot Air Force Station



We reached Lakhanpur, a small town at Jammu and Kashmir border, around 7:00 PM. Before entering Jammu and Kashmir, we were stopped by at the Punjab checkpost, a filthy and dusty area, by the Punjab police who then noted down out vehicle details.


We were asked to produce the vehicles registration papers and licenses. As Shonan was driving, his license served the purpose. The police stopped me from taking photos of this place. The Jammu and Kashmir side was much better but was heavily fortified. I did not risk taking pictures.


Shonan, Chanda and Thomas wait at the dusty and filthy Pubjab police checkpost in Lakhanpur



Jammu and Kashmir toll gate in Lakhanpur


The route from Pathankot to the Jammu and Kashmir border was dusty and the road was 2-lane most of the way. It just got worse after we crossed the border. The highway was being repaired so there were several diversions. Truck traffic was heavy and we often had to share the lane with trucks from the opposite lane.


Sunset in Jammu and Kashmir



I took to the wheel and pulled Shibu in so he could sleep. Thomas and Shonan (Tom and Jerry) drove the Gypsy. It was getting dark and Patnitop was still far away. Chanda was having a tough time with the hotel folks who were rude and uncooperative. Our cell phone connections were weak and this was making it harder for us to get through to the hotel in Patnitop. This was tourist season and they didn't sound keen on holding the room for us.


Except Chanda's phone, nobody's phone connection was working. That was strange because all of us have Airtel connection. Shibu (the Arab) had his phone connection from Dubai with international roaming. His phone was showing Paktel connection (Pakistan's cellular company). It was very interesting for us because we were close to India-Pakistan border! After Paktel connection, his all SIM cards stopped working! I guess he had some 3-4 phone connections! These Arabs, I tell you! :P


Shibu's phone showing Paktel connection



Tom and Jerry in the Gypsy



Shalini has warned us against being rude to the policemen in Punjab. Point taken. Punjab police successfully eliminated terrorism from Punjab in the 80s and that seems to have scarred them for life. They are tough as nails and sport automatic weapons. I, unfortunately, extended this rule to the Jammu and Kashmir police. After all, they are fighting militants too.


So, when we were stopped at a police checkpost in Samba (a militant hot-spot), we courteously responded to the stern policeman. After what seemed an eternity, the SoB suddenly softened and asked for chai-paani (bribe.) I was shocked!! How could cops, in such sensitive areas, be like this? I changed my tone, handed him a hundred rupees, and drove away. I didn't want to sermonize on that mountain - it was desolate.


It was pitch dark now with not a soul in sight. We were supposed to bypass Jammu city and take a diversion towards Udhampur. After reaching Kishenpur, we almost lost our way due to confusing signboards. Both sides of the signboard indicated Patnitop! To make things worse, the directions and distances were different. We checked with the locals who pointed us in the right direction.


Confusing signboard - side 1



Confusing signboard - side 2



The climb was getting steeper and I was feeling sleepy. We crossed Udhampur at 10:00 PM and Patnitop was still quite far away. Chanda kept in regular touch with the hotel folks who by now had softened a bit.


They agreed to serve us dinner no matter how late we reached. I finally handed the Bolero over to Shonan and joined Thomas in the Gypsy. We reached Patnitop by 11:30 PM, but we spent another anxious 30 minutes finding the hotel, Green Top. We finally checked in at around 12:30 AM.
We were dead tired and it was very cold. When we left Delhi, we were dressed up for summer - shorts, tees and Capri! The moment we walked out of our jeeps, we were instantly frozen! It was extremely cold!


We guys got together for a round of Cognac that Shonan had brought with him. Chanda instantly went to sleep because she didn't sleep the night before! Dinner was excellent and drinks were relaxing! With these, our journey from Delhi to Patnitop ended. I liked Chanda's planning of covering the maximum distance on day one. From the next day, I knew we are going to do smaller distances and relaxed drive. :)

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#bbc2leh

This incident happened on the third day of our Bangalore-Leh trip.

After two days and nearly 1500 kilometers of driving through rain and bad roads, our jeep was liberally coated with mud. Chanda and I love it that way! After driving for over an hour in Rajasthan, and seeing all the colorful vehicles and people, we too were bitten by the color bug. So, like last time, we stopped to buy (what I will call) pompoms and scarves for the jeep. We bought a pair of pompoms and scarves from one of the many stalls on the highway, but we soon felt that we needed more. So we stopped again at a shop creatively named Radium in Bhilwara on NH79. This was run by a two brothers (lets call them Radium 1 and Radium 2) who had one shop each.

Pompoms and scarves

Radium 1 sold the scarves to Chanda. While we were fixing the scarves, we noticed that the truck behind us was being decorated with stickers. We were all in a wacky mood and decided then and there on a "trip sticker." We decided to go with our Twitter hash tag, #bbc2leh. Radium 1 was standing there when this was happening and we asked him for a quote. He quoted 150 rupees and we agreed. As Radium 1's PC was down, we went to Radium 2's shop.

The Radium Lab was equipped with a PC and a large-format sticker cutter. The operator was a quick teenager who used keyboard shortcuts for everything. He was so quick, that the sticker was ready in less than 10 minutes.

Radium lab

Sticker being designed

Sticker being pasted

The "look"

We loved the entire experience and so did the Radium crew.

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BBC2Leh - Day 3, Udaipur to Delhi

We started day three all relaxed and refreshed. We slept well and woke up late. We had an east-facing room and the sun was streaming in when I awoke. We were ready in no time and Chanda ordered breakfast while Thomas and I loaded the jeep. Breakfast, like dinner, was sumptuous. We had a leisurely breakfast and started off at 9:00 AM.

The resort is conveniently located on NH 76 that goes to Chittaurghar. We stopped at the first gas station that we spotted and filled diesel. We didn’t want a repeat of the fuel crisis scenario. The roads were very good and we were soon cruising at at a steady 100 kmph. Except for a few bumpy spots, the road was very smooth.

Excellent roads in Rajasthan

Chanda spotted several road-side vendors selling traditional truck decorations like scarves and pompoms. We bought a few and decorated Chowdhury (our Bolero). We also bought some a lathi as gift for my dad. Chanda's theory was that since our parents were renovating their home, this would be good for security as we now had several strangers walking in and out of the house!

Chanda with the Lathi

No sooner had we resumed the journey that Chanda ordered me to stop. She was not happy with her previous purchase and she had just spotted a shop selling better scarves. This place was in Bhilwara. While Chanda was buying the scarves, we noticed that the guys from the same shop were decorating a truck with stickers. You can read more about our trip sticker in the post #bbc2leh.

#bbc2leh

By now, we were pretty sure that we are running behind our schedule again! :) Though, none of us were regretting that after getting the sticker. We decided to continue driving until we got hungry!

After driving non-stop for 3hrs, we stopped at a place called Tolamal for lunch. The restaurant, Hotel Amar, had a bar - a dark little room adjoining the main restaurant - where one could sneak in for a drink. They refused to serve us chilled beer in the restaurant - they didn't want to scare away their non-drinking clientele. So we decided to skip the beer and order food instead. The food was excellent and the best part of the lunch was hot-hot chapatis and chaach.

The best thing about this restaurant (in addition to the great food), was that there was a Cafe Coffee Day right next to it. Chanda got herself a Frappe and I a cappuccino.

After lunch, we decided to drive non-stop to Haryana. The roads continued to be excellent and we reached Jaipur by 4pm. Seeing that we were tourists (several telltale signs, starting with our number plates), several "hotel agents" on motorcycles tried stopping us to sell hotel accommodation. Some of them got very close and that got Thomas very worried especially because he was driving. This is a common thing in several tourist towns in India. So if this ever happens to you, don't pull down your windows. Simply wave them away with a smile!

The rest of the drive was uneventful and smooth until we entered Haryana. The traffic got progressively worse. We finally stopped at a dhabha for tea. This was a typical north Indian dhabha. It consisted of a small building that housed an open kitchen, living quarters for the staff , and a small store room. In the large courtyard were a row of cots. These places are frequented by truckers who, after a bone jarring drive in their WW2-quality trucks, stretch out on the cots for a quick nap. We ordered some strong tea - something that's not common in these parts of the country. After all, we were in Haryana where people drank milky tea (ugghh!) As a parting gift, the dhabha owner offered us Hanuman ji ka prasad (boondi) as it was a Tuesday. That really touched me. We were after all a bunch of strangers. Offering prasad is like sharing blessings. Do people in other countries share blessings with strangers? The greatness of our country lies in the fact that there still is unity in diversity. I really don't care what the cynics may think!

Having tea at the dabha

We decided that I would drive now. Delhi traffic can be scary - high speed and lack of lane discipline often makes it hard for new comers. However, I learnt to drive in Delhi and I drive like a Delhiite. :)

We soon entered Gurgaon. The wide roads, hi-tech offices, and speeding traffic gave it a very international feel. Traffic was a bit unruly, but I was completely at home. The toll gate was crazy though, with hundreds of vehicles lined up. The efficiency of the toll agents impressed me.

Things eased up a bit after we entered the India Gate area. After meeting Rajiv, and having dinner with Chanda's parents, we reached my parents' place (Matt's parents) in Indirapuram at 12:30 AM.

Route Details

Take NH 76 to Chittaurgarh.

At Chittaurgar, switch to NH79 that goes to Ajmer.

DO NOT enter Ajmer, but continue towards Kishangarh.

At Kishangarh, switch to NH8. This will take you to Delhi via. Jaipur and Gurgaon.

In Rajastan, NH8 is a crowded 2-lane highway. NH79 is a fast 4-lane highway with a toll gate. Truckers generally avoid this.

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Button Up Your Shirt, Jackass!

This incident happened on the second day of our Bangalore-Leh trip.

We exited the expressway and hit NH 8. The highway was crowded due to traffic snarls created by the road widening work. Within minutes of hitting the highway, we were stopped by traffic cops. They were stopping all out-of-state vehicles and checking their papers. They asked us for Thomas' drivers license and the vehicle's emmission certificate. We produced both and they let us go. The same was repeated at least three times and each time we were allowed to go without a hitch.

Just when I thought that we had exited the city, an officer with a posse of constables stopped us. This chap looked more like a goon. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone and he was unshaven. One of the constables flagged us down and this chap (let's call him Jackass) swaggered up to us. He, like the others before him, demanded Thomas' drivers license. When convinced of its authenticity, he demanded the emission certificate. He looked quite disappointed when even that turned out to be authentic. Then, he told Thomas that we needed to pay a fine of 200 rupees and then moved to the front of the vehicle with the emission certificate in his hand.

I realized that this chap needed some special treatment. I got out of the vehicle and very firmly, demanded that he hand back the certificate. He did so immediately, but no sooner had he done that that he began commenting about the fact that we were violating local laws by not having a yellow strip on the side of both headlamps. I told him that we had been intercepted by three other teams and that none of them had pointed it out. He and I both realized that he was just bluffing and looking for a way to make some easy money.

I then drew up to him, looked him straight in the eye, and very firmly ordered him to button up his shirt. That completely took him by surprise. Before he could recover, I gave him a stern lecture about harassing the public and that he had no business stopping us. I then changed my posture. Half sitting on the bonnet with one foot on the bumper, I gave him a dressing down. By the time I finished, he had already given up on us and left looking like a jackal that has just lost its meal. He left saying, "I'm letting you go because you are traveling with your family". What the..!!!

During the entire incident, both Thomas and Chanda tried to appear very serious, but were very amused.

Moral of the story - Understand your rights and learn the rules. Never let cops bully you.

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BBC2Leh - Day 2, Thane to Udaipur

We all woke up at 6:00 AM, tired and groggy. Last night's adventure had blunted our enthusiasm a bit. We got ready quickly and checked out by 7:30 AM. Luckily for us, we found a very neat and small eatery selling samosas, kachoris, jalebis, and tea. Chanda the Punjaban's happiness was unmatchable! :)

Right next to the samaosa shop was a bakery. Simple mallus - Thomas and I bought snacks from the bakery. Before we left, we had samosas and jelabis for breakfast with hot tea. This lifted our spirits immensely and we left Thane in a very good mood.

While buying the breakfast, we confirmed our exit route from Thane to the highway. We didn't want to get into the same situation as the previous day.

UP-style breakfast in Thane

It began to drizzle as we left Thane. We passed yet another (and the last in Maharashtra) toll gate before the traffic thinned out. We maintained a healthy steady speed of 100 kmph throughout the stretch. Soon however, we noticed that the vehicle was making odd noises when the accelerator was stepped on. Chanda immediately got into action. She called up the Mahindra helpline and worked on identifying a service station. Thomas spoke to Nanda (the Jeep expert in our group). Nanda diagnosed this as a minor issue with the propeller shaft and suggested that we get the vehicle examined by a local truck mechanic. Chanda managed to get through to a service station in Vapi and spent several minutes explaining the problem to them as Thomas started looking out for truck workshops.

Coated with dirt

We finally spotted a truck workshop on the highway, a muddy yard filled with trucks, adjoining a restaurant. There was a mechanic greasing a truck. He was a short wiry guy probably from eastern UP. He carried a pail of grease and was covered in grease and dirt. When I explained the problem to him, he understood it, and promptly slid under the Bolero. He examined the differential and propeller shaft and pronounced his verdict - slight play in the propeller shaft, but not life-threatening.

I paid him 100 rupees for his diagnosis. He looked stunned for a moment. He had probably expected 10 rupees or nothing at all. He promptly pocketed the money and as if to make this stop really worthwhile, he again slid under the Bolero, greased the suspension, and reassured us that all was fine. I really felt sad for him. This guy saved me a few thousand rupees and probably didn't even realize that. Even if he did, he didn't possess the guile to trick me into parting with more money. Thomas explained that the service station would have replaced the entire shaft assembly, charged me a bomb, and wasted the entire day in the process. So, we decided not to go to the service station and carry on with the drive.

The honest truck mechanic

It continued to rain as we drove through Maharashtra and we reached the Gujarat border by 10:30 AM. The rain had ceased a bit, but it was cloudy and made the aircon very effective. The road was familiar but vastly improved. In Dec 2008, when traveling from Delhi to Bangalore, we encountered several diversions as the highway was being upgraded. This time around, we found that the highway had been widened. We made very good progress through Gujarat, paid lesser toll fees than we did in Maharashtra, and by lunch time, we had covered nearly 400 kms.

In our last drive to Gujrat, we had excellent authentic Kathiawadi food. Chanda was adamant on stopping only at a restaurant that offers Kathiawadi food. Lunch After searching for an authentic katiawadi restaurant, we finally settled on a restaurant that looked authentic, but turned out to be fake. But the food was good. So after a sumptuous lunch, we set out again. Thomas took to the wheel, and I retired to the rear seat to sleep. Chanda continued to navigate and didn't sleep at all.

When I woke up, we were already on the Ahmedabad-Baroda expressway and it was raining very heavily. It stopped raining by the time we finished. During this time, Chanda also drove a bit. Here, we refueled at a Reliance gas station.

Heavy rains in Gujarat

Chanda driving

We exited the expressway at about 4:30 PM and entered the Ahmadabad city. It slowed us down a bit. The highway was being widened and there were several diversions. The traffic police were stopping all out-of-state vehicles and checking for emission certificates and drivers licenses. Luckily we had both and it was smooth sailing except for one incident - Button Up Your Shirt, Jackass!

Roads being widened in the outskirts of Ahmadabad

We entered Rajastan at about 7:00 PM. The drive was incredibly good and the bliss on Thomas' face was unmistakable. The drive was so scenic, that I finally got Thomas to stop to take a few pics. We made such good progress that we reached the outskirts of Udaipur by 8:30 PM - 12 hours. However, the last 20 kilometers to the resort took us nearly one hour due to a heavy traffic jam all the way up to the Prathap Nagar circle.

Ghats near Udaipur

NH8 leading to Udaipur

We finally reached the resort at 9:30 PM. The resort, Rupi's Resort, was a huge and peaceful place. Situated right next to the Udaipur airport (they share a wall), this place has a huge lawn in the middle with rooms on all three sides. As this was an off-season month, the place was almost unoccupied. The weather was wonderful due to the cyclonic disturbances in Gujarat.

Rupi's resort

Rupi's resort - shares a boundary wall with the Udaipur airport and is on NH 76

Rupi's resort - view from the balcony

The drive had been very good and we were hungry and a bit sleepy. I promptly ordered dinner which was served after nearly an hour. We soon realized why. The portions were huge and the food was fantastic. We hit the sack shortly after midnight.

Route Details

In Thane, get on to NH8. This map should help.

Then remain on NH8. You will pass through major cities of Gujarat and Rajastan.

At the outskirts of Udaipur City, take a turn towards the Airport (you will find signboards.) When interacting with locals, ask for Prathap Nagar circle. After the circle, you switch from NH8 to NH76. This map should help.

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BBC on Government Duty

This incident happened on the first day of our journey in Nipani, a small town on NH4.

We had lunch in Belgaum and discovered that our fuel tank was almost empty. So we decided to stop at the first fuel station.

We reached a fuel station within minutes and I drove in confidently. I was mildly surprised when the attendant informed me that they had run out of fuel. I didn’t waste time and drove on. However, when the same story was repeated at the next fuel station, belonging to another company, I got suspicious.

I walked up to the manager and demanded an explanation. He feigned ignorance and told me that they hadn’t received any supply that day. I knew that he was bluffing, and when I offered to pay his price, he refused. I drove on to the next fuel station. Here we had some luck. The attendant agreed to fill 10 liters of diesel. We now realized that something was wrong and that these chaps were hoarding fuel. We were very low on fuel now. The attendant however was a helpful chap. After all, he was not hoarding the fuel - his boss was. He pointed us to an Indian Oil fuel station down the road.

We switched off the aircon and began cruising down the road. We were losing time, but we didn’t have a choice. We almost drove past a fuel station as it was a small, decrepit little place about 500 meters from the highway. We discussed whether we should go and check it out. Finally, we decided to try our luck there. I took the service lane to get to it.

The fuel station in Nipani

When we asked for fuel, the attendant told us that it would take time as diesel had just arrived and the bunker was being filled. Sure enough, there was a fuel truck in the compound, but it wasn’t filling anything! I wasn’t too convinced and I confronted the manager.

He had a different story. According to him, the pump was under repair and he wasn't sure whether it would work that day. When I told him about the shortage of fuel on the highway he looked surprised. Then, he suddenly seemed to notice the letters BBC on our t-shirts.

All three of us were wearing BBC t-shirts and I had my SLR out. So he cautiously asked us who we were. Suddenly a bulb flashed in my head! I told him that we were a team of travelers who had been hired by the Ministry of Commerce to travel from Bangalore to Leh and compile report on the economic situation of the country.

I also told him that I had just spoken to my friends in ED (Enforcement Directorate) and that they were looking into the problem of fuel shortage on NH4. By now, Chanda had contacted her father in Delhi, and we knew that the fuel stations were hoarding fuel due to the imminent price hike. This brought about a sudden change in the man. The ED is often in the news due to its raids pertaining to economic offences.

The attendant, who was within earshot, wasted no time in "repairing" the pump. By now we had two more vehicles in the station. We let one of them fill up first. The gracious owner let us have as much fuel as we wanted. He even gave us details about himself and the fuel station. This station, he explained, was a rural one and was frequented by the villagers, mill owners, and bitumen trucks. In addition to this, he owned a small bitumen business and his family owned a large fuel station in the Nipani town.

Fuel pump being "repaired"

We finally get diesel

I listened to him patiently, paid for the fuel, and left. Once we were back on the highway, we had a good laugh. ED comes under the ministry of Finance and doesn't deal with these issues.

Moral of the story - Never wait for the tank to go empty to tank up.

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BBC2Leh - Day 1, Bangalore to Thane

Boy! What a day it was.

St. (Punctual) Thomas arrived at our place at 3:00 AM, parked his Jeep, and disconnected the battery. Despite having slept for just over three hours, we felt fresh - adrenaline I guess. For Chanda, the 'journey' started a day earlier because she didn't sleep on the Saturday night. She was working on the route plans, bookings, packing till 2.30AM - the last minute preparations!

The day started with loading the jeep and adjusting the luggage. We didn't have to put any luggage on the rack on the top of the jeep. By the way, this rack we bought for Shalini and we were taking it to Delhi. We named the rack as Punnuchamy. The introduction to Punnuchamy is important at this point because this character has its own story in our journey. :)

Coming back to the story of our journey, we started from Bangalore at 4:15 AM. The first thirty kilometers were slow. The road to Nelamangala was in a bad shape due to the construction of the elevated expressway. Once we crossed the toll gate at Nelamangala, it was smooth sailing. I managed to maintain a good speed and we reached Chitradurga shortly after 7:00 AM. We had breakfast at a nondescript eatery and the food was not great. The coffee was watery but strong and that did us a world of good.

We were wearing our BBC t-shirts and decided it's the best time to take a picture and upload it on Facebook. It was important because we were the first ones to get the tshirt. I took a picture of Chanda and Thomas' back.

By this time, I was feeling sleepy and we agreed to let Thomas drive.

I managed to sleep for two hours while Thomas drove. I checked with Chanda, who was keeping the track of time and distance, we finished 350kms by 10AM. We still had 650kms to go, so we decided to push on until lunch time. After another hour or so, Thomas and I swapped places again.

After Hubli, the road narrowed down and we found ourselves on a scenic two-lane highway. This two-lane was only till we reach Dharwad (30kms).

The going was very smooth and by 12:30 we reached Belgaum where we stopped for lunch at a Kamath. This Kamath was originally a Reliance A1 that the Kamath chaps had taken over. Food was good and so was the service. We called our families, Shalini and Rajiv to update about our status!

Kamat Upchar on NH 4 in Belgaum

After lunch, we decided to refuel and then proceed. It was just 1:30 and we were making good progress. However, the gas station owners had other plans. Read more about this in the post titled BBC on Government Duty. So finally, we managed to tank up at Nipani. By now, the fuel drama had cost us two precious hours.

We finally get some diesel at a rural gas station in Nipani

I continued driving while Thomas caught a short nap. We finally swapped places and I curled up on the back seat. Chanda continued on navigators seat, taking notes, handing out cash to pay at the toll gates, taking calls, assessing and reassessing our status - lots of stuff.

I woke up at Taswade, a village in Satara, Maharashtra. This village is in the ghats and the sun was setting. The sight was breath-taking. The odd shape of the hills was accentuated by the setting sun that bathed the entire landscape a brilliant gold. We stopped to take a few pictures.

Beautiful landscape in Taswade

Sunset in Taswade

I took over from Thomas after we stopped for tea at a small road-side restaurant. The onion bajjis at the restaurant were excellent. The road, however, was very crowded and got increasingly so. Progress was very slow and frustrating. We had been warned about traffic in this area, but we weren't prepared for this. The highway was as crowded as a city road. The unruly drivers made things worse.

After sometime, we realized the reason of all the jam on the road. The highway had a lot of wedding halls. And apparently, it was an auspicious day and lot of weddings were happening there. More weddings = more guests = more vehicles on the road!

In fact, on one occasion, we had to literally do some off-roading to get to the main road.

Unruly traffic - pile-up

Unruly traffic - offroading

Unbelievable as it is, we finally hit the Mumbai-Pune expressway by 8:40 PM only. We were tired and it was raining. I'm no fan of this road. It's an over-hyped piece of tarmac that's bumpy and uncomfortable and had too many twists and turns. I wonder how bad the highway (NH4) then is, that this expressway bypasses.

We stopped at a "food plaza" on the expressway for a quick dinner. The place, like the highway, was very crowded. The humidity did not help either. Thomas and I had some snacks and Chanda picked up a burger from the McDonalds drive-thru. That was crowded too, with an SUV filled with people ordering food!!!

We had to go to Thane and that meant driving for at least an hour more - that's what we thought! Alas, that was not to be. We exited the expressway at the right point but the roads were all wrong :( We had to go to Thane, but there were no clear road signs. It was late night, shops were closed in the market and it was difficult to ask anybody for directions. At this point, we were also getting calls and help from Rajiv and Animish for the directions.

We were tired and losing our patience with getting lost. We were getting warned again and again by Rajiv about not to enter Navi Mumbai. However, whoever we were asking on the road for directions was telling us the route through Navi Mumbai.

Finally, we stopped and asked at a petrol pump for the directions. Chanda called up the hotel guys and asked for landmarks. Finally, asking for those specific landmarks helped us!

We finally made it to the hotel 1.5 hours after leaving the expressway!

The hotel, Hotel Dhiraj, was a reasonably comfortable place. The bar was closed by the time we entered, so I had to make do with some brandy that Thomas was carrying. We were very tired and understandably disheartened. We started evaluating alternate routes, but soon gave up after we realized how far away we were from NH 7.

The first day was a very tiring one. The fuel crisis drama and the traffic jam in Maharashtra, and most importantly the numerous toll gates in Maharashtra cost us nearly four hours. The toll gates, in particular, made no sense. We encountered gates almost every 80 kilometers in Maharashtra, charging us anything from 30 - 45 rupees. They were not great and the traffic was unruly to say the least.

to be continued... (day 2)

Route Details

Take NH4 from Bangalore to the outskirts of Pune.

After that, take the Mumbai-Pune bypass road that leads to the expressway.

Take the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

At the end of the expressway, get on to NH4.

Take NH4 to Thane. This can be a confusing stretch for first-timers. So stop to take directions from the locals.

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