Delhi Mumbai Road Trip in less than one and half days

Gurgaon - Dharuheda - Breakfast
Jaipur - Udaipur - Kishangarh - Bhilwada
Lunch
Chittodgarh - Udaipur - Shyamalji - Ahmedabad - Early Dinner - Baroda - total 1002 km

Baroda - Bharuch - Surat
Breakfast
Vapi - Bhajanlal dairy - Dahisar - Andheri - total 410km
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These are interesting times. The world is getting smaller and smaller, yet more polarized. It seems to me we are always at election polls or at war in some part of the world or the other. Inspiration and decadence are neighbors, and no one has time to lift their heads up from their 'smart' phones to know which is which. The world view is getting constantly changed, challenged and defined at the same time, so much that we are now blissfully unaware of things that pass through the ubiquitous membrane of art and culture and language in an orgiastic osmosis of sorts.

(I did manage to use all these big new words before this year came to a close).

Of the high things we will speak elsewhere. But let's talk about some of the common minimums of this wonderful fallout. Hasn't karma and yoga and 'tandoor' and a 'crore' rupees become part of the world view in the West, as much as management 'paradigms' and 'beer cafes' become part of this side of the world? One such concept that seems to have caught fancy these days is the 'bucket list'. You know ... things that you wish to do before you die. I suppose people do have a social need to share such morose details of one's psyche.

Now, if I ever had one -- not a morose psyche, because that is given, but a 'bucket list' of sorts -- then I would have added a road trip from Delhi to Mumbai somewhere in the top half of that. And the desire to do this road trip has only grown stronger over years as the roads have reportedly become better. Finally, on 2nd October this year, I managed to put a tick on that item on my non-existent yet never-ending bucket list, thanks to the instigation of an old friend and to certain domestic circumstances that made it possible.

What happened is this -- I had to transfer an old Santro car from our Gurgaon home to Mumbai home. When I was asking around about ways to do this, Nimish from Mumbai showed interest in coming over to Delhi and driving all the way back with me. Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, I invited him over and so we set ourselves up for this crazy and madcap plan.

I was impressed with a narrative written in table form (I think it was a site called VisitIndia.org) while doing our minimalist research on the trip. So I am going to follow a similar format, and write this one down in the form of time stamps based on the toll gates and fuel receipts and hotel bills we got during the one and a half day drive.

The by-and-large rouge map of the route of the journey

P.S. The right-most column is for your analytical pleasure. Have data, will enter in Excel and calculate auto-sums!

DAY	Date	Time	Place	Approx Distance	State	Comments	Amount INR
DAY 1	02-Oct	4:35	Gurgaon	0	Haryana	Start of the journey We get the car started and move out of the neighborhood. The car has a couple of recent accessories added to it - a phone charger, a new music deck and dark nets of the windows to protect from the sun. Oh, how I thank myself for all these last minute purchases all through the next 1,400 km! Each and every one of these was worth the last penny spent.
DAY 1	02-Oct	5:10	Delhi - Gurgaon Expressway	23	Haryana	The first of the many tolls. This is the official exit now from Gurgaon. Surprisingly we have reached here rather early, as the holiday has kept most passenger vehicles off the road.	60
		5:45	Manesar	25	Haryana	And, … we are out of the city. Dawn breaks, and amidst the smog rises the new city of Manesar like Aladdin's dream.
DAY 1	02-Oct	6:16	Shahjahanpur	30	Haryana	Toll Plaza - Things have started to get really outdoorsy and we are still doing good time. The road looks like it's wiped clean with a wet cloth.	114
DAY 1	02-Oct	7:00	Dharuheda	40	Haryana	Neelkanth Dhaba for breakfast. A popular location (as I discovered to my horror all other times I have tried henceforth), this is phenomenal at the time of this particular trip, as it is early in the morning, with practically no other visitors. We have to wake up the cook though. A couple of gobhi and paneer parathas with a whiff of white butter, accompanied with the aroma of desi chai at daybreak - this is exactly what   heaven tastes and smells like.	184
DAY 1	02-Oct	7:30	Kotputli	120	Haryana	No longer the nightmare that this was once. The new flyover really works and we are on the other side in no time.
DAY 1	02-Oct	8:09	Manoharpura	180	Haryana	Toll Plaza - Here we are at probably the ugliest toll plaza on the road.	55
DAY 1	02-Oct	8:31	Daulatpura	210	Haryana	Toll Plaza - Yet another non-descript toll gate. We are surprisingly close to Jaipur and have made very good time - less than 4 hours.	46
DAY 1	02-Oct	8:40	Chandwaji / Jaipur	220	Rajasthan	Taking the right turn for Ajmer on the expressway, we leave the road going straight towards Amer and  Jaipur, and climb the circular overpass.
DAY 1	02-Oct	9:00	Jaipur Ajmer Expressway	250	Rajasthan	Toll Plaza - On the Expressway to Ajmer. The road is nice and clean. No traffic. You can see the new suburbs of Jaipur rising on both sides, waiting for gullible buyers to buy / rent / sell real estate in a place far far away.	95
DAY 1	02-Oct	10:00	Jaipur Ajmer Expressway	280	Rajasthan	This road is a breeze in the morning. Practically no traffic, no hindrances, almost soporific. Only the morning chai and some loud music and some random yap-yap between the two of us keeps me awake.
DAY 1	02-Oct	11:00	Kishangarh	300	Rajasthan	We reach the crossing before Kishangarh. You have two choices here - you can either continue on NH2, go straight to Ajmer, and then move further to Udaipur. Or you can take a left and go to Udaipur via NH79. Since the road through Ajmer is in poor condition and usually filled with quarry trucks carrying the marble stones of Kishangarh, no one actually uses the first route unless they have plans to visit the Dargah Sharif. We take the second option, change wheels, and move on the less wide (4 lane instead of 6 lane) highway. The going is a bit busy due to trucks and buses.
DAY 1	02-Oct	12:30	Bhilwara	450	Rajasthan	Lunch at Saras Bhiwara Midway This is almost exactly midway between Kishangarh and Udaipur. The area is heavily industrialized and there are no other places to eat other that this one managed by Saras Dairy group. It is anyway time for a late breakfast or early lunch. The restaurant is adequate, and serves us some good local fare - govind gatta sabji, ker sangri, missi roti and butter milk.	603
DAY 1	02-Oct	13:10	Bhilwara	450	Rajasthan	Onward towards to Chittod, with a sizable lunch in our belly. The going is steady and the road has cleared up.
DAY 1	02-Oct	13:23	Jojra-ka-Kheda	475	Rajasthan	Toll Plaza, onward to Chittod	90
DAY 1	02-Oct	13:45	Rithola	500	Rajasthan	Toll Plaza, you can see the ruins of the Chittod fort to the far left. For some other time and other drive maybe.	40
DAY 1	02-Oct	14:20	Narayanpura	550	Rajasthan	Toll Plaza - close to Udaipur now	100
DAY 1	02-Oct	14:30	Udaipur entry - Dabok	580	Rajasthan	The entry to Udaipur is always magnificent, with the green hills and winding roads. The landscape changes completely here on. Welcome to Aravalis, the oldest mountain range on the face of this Earth.
DAY 1	02-Oct	14:45	Udaipur	600	Rajasthan	Udaipur - Chetak Circle, in memory of the most famous horse in Indian history, the circle is a bustling entry to Udaipur. Had we not stopped at Bhilwada, we would have had lunch in this market for sure. The market is quiet at this time, and we cross it without any incident. This is kind of midway to the journey. If you are reading this for "research", and if you might be interested in Udaipur, visit this link with a write-up on Udaipur. There is another road that tries to bypass Udaipur, but it is narrower and busier with trucks. So we take the city road. Anyway an afternoon on a national holiday is a lazy affair.
DAY 1	02-Oct	15:28	Paduna	650	Rajasthan	Udaipur to Kherwada stretch.	70
DAY 1	02-Oct	16:14	Khandi Obari	690	Gujarat	Toll Plaza, onward to Ahmedabad	35
		16:30	Shyamalji	720	Gujarat	After the toll, there is Shyamal ji, the official entry to Gujarat. The place is   famous for pilgrimage. We see the typical jeeps waiting to carry 20+ passengers from the road to the temple on the hill. There are several dhabas and chai joints, but we give them a pass as now we are in the mood to reach A'bad by nightfall. So rather than slowing down we double up. The going is steady, and the road winds down the hills.
DAY 1	02-Oct	17:03	Vantada	750	Gujarat	Toll, Ratanpur - Himmatnagar The road is now more urban and the city lights of Himmatnagar are visible   from far.	40
DAY 1	02-Oct	17:45	Kathpur	810	Gujarat	Toll Plaza	50
DAY 1	02-Oct	18:31	Ranasan	860	Gujarat	Ahmedabad Ring Road	26
DAY 1	02-Oct	18:45	Ahmedabad	880	Gujarat	Dinner at Honest Not so honest about the food, this is a famous chain of fast food joints in Gujarat. The paav bhaji is marginal and the sandwich is cringe-worthy. And they do not serve chai - can you believe it? We look around for chai - and find a small coffee shop tucked inside the complex. The guy running the place has only us as customers, but is ready to make fresh tea for us. Ah! The milky chai we have at this place is one of the better memories of the day. Considering the present state of minds, we decide to push our luck further and drive all the way to Vadodara, as the shop owners tell us that the road onward is a good expressway.	196
DAY 1	02-Oct	19:44	Vadodara Ring Road	900	Gujarat	Toll Plaza The entire A-bad - Vadodara route is so good that we cover the 100 km stretch in less than an hour. The entire road is six lane, with great surface and very little traffic or diversions. Most flyovers and junctions are lit up like Christmas trees, reminding the casual passerby that here is state is now   boastfully surplus in energy.	90
DAY 1	02-Oct	20:15	Vadodara outskirts	970	Gujarat	Relish center at Vadodara Expressway We buy the famous bondas, supplies and water.
DAY 1	02-Oct	20:45	Vadodara	1002	Gujarat	End of DAY 1 It is the first time that I have crossed 1,000 km in one day, that too in an old car. So we decide to stop testing our luck and check into the first hotel / motel we see on the side of the road.
DAY 1	02-Oct	20:50	Vadodara	1002	Gujarat	We try to find a good nightcap at the hotel, but the overall setting is rather uninviting. So we call it a day, and retire to our beds and blankets.
DAY 2	03-Oct	5:20	Vadodara	1002	Gujarat	Start from hotel - DAY 2 Morning comes swiftly and we are up and about by 5am. It is rather chilly,   but pleasant. So we load the bags and hit the road before the dawn breaks.
DAY 2	03-Oct	5:46	Bharuch	1045	Gujarat	Vadodara - Bharuch Tollway The road is a breeze. The clusters of city lights sweep past across the windowpane like distant galaxies, while dawn breaks slowly at a distance.	85
DAY 2	03-Oct	6:44	Choryasi	1090	Gujarat	Bharuch - Surat Daylight	65
		7:15	Navsari	1110	Gujarat	Short stop for a quick breakfast of bread butter and tea. Nothing to write home about. But the packet of Bharuch peanuts I buy here is really something. The peanuts literally taste like fresh coconut water. It's mind-blowing.
DAY 2	03-Oct	7:54	Boriach	1150	Gujarat	Surat to Dahisar	57
DAY 2	03-Oct	8:36	Bhagwada	1220	Gujarat	Surat to Dahisar	65
DAY 2	03-Oct	9:23	Charoti	1280	Mah'stra	Surat to Dahisar	59
DAY 2	03-Oct	9:52	Khaniwade	1330	Mah'stra	Surat to Dahisar. It is rather boring in this part of the route.	65
DAY 2	03-Oct	10:15	Vapi	1350	Mah'stra	Bhajanson Dairy for some excellent spicy paneer pakodas. Lazing around, clicking snaps with the buffaloes at the dairy ... Now we are just showing off.
DAY 2	03-Oct	10:35	Dahisar	1370	Mah'stra	Dahisar check post	35
DAY 2	03-Oct	11:00	Malad	1390	Mah'stra	Malad
DAY 2	03-Oct	11:30	Andheri	1410	Mah'stra	Andheri - Home 1,400 km in less than 1.5 days. Now that's what a good drive sounds like.

Total cost:

Tolls: INR 1,342
Food: approx INR 1,200 for two
Stay: INR 3,500 for two
Fuel: approx INR 6,000

Total about INR 12,000

Almost the same as a one-way air ticket for two, no? And infinitely more pleasureable! So where are you driving down next?

And for the doubting thomases among you, I say unto you ... oh, what the heck, wish you a very Happy New Year anyway, and here are the receipts from all the toll booths we crossed on 2nd and 3rd October:

Happy New Year in advance!


Shalom,
Shreekant
Written on 14-Nov-2015