The trip of a lifetime. I never dreamed of having such an amazing, mindblowing adventure in my entire life. If anything it was something so beyond anything that I could cook up in my dreams also. It did not occur to me that this trip could be dangerous, exhaust me, or maybe it was just insane. Anyway thats how I roll I guess.
First step was packing everything in for the cold weather. Couple of jeans, tshirts, jackets, scarves, mufflers and ofcourse some paraphernalia. No Food. No itinerary. No plan. What a laugh. Just relying on GPS we set off. Called a couple of friends on our way out of Mumbai just to say goodbye and hear some abuses thrown at us for the sheer madness of commencing such a trip. One good pal also mentioned some stretch from Jammu to Leh which had no petrol pump for 450 kilometres. That was our first reality check. But we thought, "Ah we can get those fuel cans, cant we?"..hmm..undeterred we drove on. Passing Mumbai..we were so excited about our trip..it started drizzling and there was lush greenery dotting the highway. Heavenly. The traffic thinned out and we kept driving. 100kms..200kms..300kms..and it started getting darker and we realised after awhile we were nearing Gandhinagar. Quickly searched on Justdial for a decent hotel and checked into it by nightfall. That was our said rule. About not driving at night. The next morning we drove out of Gujarat and onto Rajasthan. The terrain had become drier and dotted by cacti..I also spotted camels..it was different but still fun. Next stop Jaipur. Then Amritsar. After that Jammu and finally Leh. I cant write a thesis on the beauty of the trip and the different landscapes that I saw. Because I wont be doing justice to our beautiful land which is amazing beyond mere words can explain. So I wont. What I will do is, I will tell you one experience in each place that has stuck with me. Hope you take something valuable away from these excerpts. As they say travelling really broadens your horizons and teaches you alot. So heres what I learnt which no text book or movie could ever.
Gandhinagar
Gujarat was not as populated as Mumbai or Pune, but I saw Pani Puri stalls and dhabas at every crossroads in Gandhinagar. No wonder that Gujaratis are so much into snacky food items. Their "muthiyas" and "fafdas" are legendary and now I got full proof of their "pani puri" and "bhel puri" obsession. Doesent seem like an acquired trait for sure. Its definately in their genes and on the roads of Gujarat. Enough said about food. The infrastructure in Gujarat is impeccable. The roads are super clean and well maintained. I couldn't help but praise our prime minister, Modi sir gets all the credit here. Its like he had waived a magic wand there. Wish he would wave his wand all over India and make it as awesome, or even more in all probability.
Next stop Jaipur, Rajasthan
This is a city I will never forget. Its beautiful and quaint and royal and majestic. One issue though was that we couldnt find a restaurant to eat easily. We drove around for 2 hours in vain. GPS dis not help. Husband was getting super hungry(hunger being something out of his control which caused him to hurl abuses at the "GPS Lady", as if she was a real lady).Finally after passing through narrow city archways wherein our cars left mirror broke. Searched for a Ford service station. Which was easier to find than a decent restaurant. Hmpf. Such a far cry from Gujarat which husband seemed to like more than this place. Food is a priority for him. There should not be any debate about that. And not just any type of food. The healthy, tasty, perfect type. So finallyy we set our eyes on a gujarati restaurant. Husband is half gujarati so it was such a relief. We settled into an empty restaurant. Seems like people of Jaipur just dont have the eating out culture. They have five star hotels. One in which we stayed. But finding a good restaurant was like finding a needle in a haystack. We visited the Hawa Mahal, City Palace and took in the sights and sounds of the bazaar. It was all so old worldly and royal.
Moving on we wanted to reach Chandigarh before nightfall. I dont remember how but we reached Amritsar instead. All impromptu, on-the-spot decision making. Ofcourse Haryana on the way was not a pleasant experience. A bit of a downer actually..
To be continued..
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