All India Road Trip

All India Road Trip

12th March - 27th April 2025

Introduction

In summer of 2025 I embarked on an All India Road trip, accompanied by my mother. Our drive on this journey was my 12 year old loyal companion- Renault Duster.

Plan was to cover all 28 states and 6 (out of the 8) Union Territories of India. Either the Capital city of every state or some significant towns in a state were planned to cover. As we continued on this journey, our plan kept modifying, adding new towns, new experiences and new learnings. Eventually we were able to cover 25 states and 5 Union Territories due to operational and other issues. But the experience was enriching, beautiful and addictive.

On 12th March 2025, we started our road trip from Mumbai with a plan in mind but nothing fixed. We kept our minds open and empty like the highways of our beautiful country. On 27th April 2025, we completed the entire journey and reached home back in Mumbai. For 47 days, we have been driving across our beautiful, diverse and scenic country, stopping at a new town every night. We have visited more than 62 cities / towns in these 47 days spanning across 25 states and 5 Union territories, driving over 15000 KMs.

The following is a compilation of the daily logs I used to write on the journey. It captures, the destinations we covered, the experience of our journey, the challenges we faced, our daily routine and emotions of a mother-son duo overlaying the journey. I have also created a video collage of the various memories we captured on this journey. Here is the link for the video I uploaded on YouTube. https://youtu.be/8izatq2PoMw?si=0odcOaWYwt9YAv9z

Hope you enjoy the video and the blogs and they inspire you to take that long pending journey you have been dreaming of. If you are already on a voyage, I would love to hear your experiences through comments and connect to learn from your journey.

Prelude

I have always been fond of my country - Bharat. The culture, the heritage, the diversity and the warmth that Bharat has to offer, probably very few other countries can match. As a Marketing & Sales professional, I have had the opportunity to travel to many places in Bharat. But these visits were from a professional objective and hence I could not really explore much about the places I visited. Though I got a glimpse of the culture by way of food, attire and sometimes even local traditions. And this always intrigued me to explore our country in entirety. But then we get so busy managing daily life, that dreams remain dreams only.

In January 2022, the seed for an All India Road Trip was planted in my mind. I have always been fond of travelling, especially driving and road trips. So I used to watch lot of videos on youtube about travelling, road trips, etc. This had ignited a spark in my heart for taking on an epic journey. A journey which not just explores the geographies I had never covered, but also expands my horizon and gives a new perspective towards life. 

After watching multiple videos on YouTube and reading several travel blogs, I finally developed a comprehensive 100 days plan for an All India Road Trip - covering all 28 states and 6 Union Territories (excluding Andaman Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep). It was a detailed plan covering day wise itinerary, things to carry, route to take, places to visit, working out expenses, etc. 

However, a lot of things were playing on my mind at that time. I had just lost my job. I was worried about finances for the house. Also staying out of house for 100 days would also have some impact on my family. So the plan was shelved.

It’s been 3 years since the plan was first made and a lot has changed since then. I was more excited for this road trip 3 years ago when I had made this plan. I used to love driving then. But today everything is changed. Nothing is same as it was back in 2022. I am now alone. I still don’t have a job. My finances are no better than what it was in 2022. My enthusiasm for driving is not as high as it used to be. And yet I am still doing this road trip. Why? 

Because life gives what is very dear to you, when you least expect it.

GOD gives us signs all the time. It is purely upto us to identify these signs and act as per that. 

In Jan 2025, I had gone to Dwarka Somnath with my mother and her friend. This was also a long pending trip for me especially because my transformation towards spirituality started after I watched a documentary on Dwarkadhish Temple. And it was during this trip that the All India Road Trip plan was reignited during one of the casual conversations between my mother and her friend. Honestly it just spurted out of my mouth during one of the conversations. And so I did not even take it seriously. But then my mother started following up with me on that and hence I started thinking about it seriously too.

I was still not sure because of the changed situations in my life. And then I realised that may be this is a sign from GOD and since there is nothing else happening in my life right now, why not do this trip itself. May be some clarity is destined for me from this trip.

And so I took this as GOD’s wish and started working towards planning and execution of this trip.

But not everything you plan works out that way. With some new rule for HSRP number plates for car, I had to get my car number plates changed, as I did not want unnecessary harassment from police due to this, during the road trip. And since my car is registered in Karnataka, I can only get HSRP number plates for my car from Karnataka state. I had to completely rejig this road trip plan to accommodate this necessary requirement for the trip. Original plan was made to start from Bangalore and end in Bangalore. But now I am in Mumbai and had to travel to Karnataka for HSRP number plates. Originally I had made the plan to do the trip in clockwise direction, which means travel from Bangalore to West, and then to North, then east and then come down to south and end the trip in Bangalore. But now because of the changes, I had to replan the trip anti-clockwise. Which means we head south from Mumbai and then go east, then go north and then come to west and end the trip in Mumbai.

Initially I had planned this trip to start on 4th March 2025 which is my mother’s birthday and do the trip till 9th June 2025 (my birthday) which turns out to be approximately 100 days. But after I returned from Mahakumbh and subsequent Vrindavan trip, I fell sick. And this sickness extended for over a week. And so I couldn’t start the trip on 4th March. Moreover, I did not get appointment at dealership in Mangalore for fixing my HSRP plates too. So I left it to GOD to decide when this trip happens. After all for me this is a sign from GOD and hence I am fully dependent on GOD to guide me on this trip.

After lot of calculations and planning and replanning, we finally decided to start the trip on 12th March 2025. In my initial plan I had planned a lot of things, like carrying a stove and some groceries to cook food on the way. I had been watching a lot of videos on youtube about how people cook food on road trips etc. But then I thought, this is GOD’s plan so let GOD guide me on how and what I should be doing on this trip. I discussed with my mother and she also seemed to buy into the plan of driving randomly and leaving it to GOD to decide for us.

We decided not to carry the stove or groceries. But we would keep some dry snacks and fruits so that we have some back up in case we don’t get any food at any place. Other things like table chair etc were also dropped from the plan. The plan was now to be on road for 100 days and drive towards a direction, and the destination will be decided by GOD. Initially I was thinking I will book the hotel room also during the day. But my mother encouraged me to look for the room at the end of the day. This was further challenging and exciting as I had never done like this before. I always plan properly and thoroughly and then go on any trip. I research about the place, the hotel, charges, sight seeing locations etc and then do the trip. But this was going to be absolutely opposite of how I have done my previous trips. I was a bit worried since my mother was with me and I did not want any of my random plans to affect her as she is 70 years and has health issues which she needs to be careful about. But when she herself encouraged me, I felt a bit relaxed. Though I was still worried about her health.

A night before the journey, I was getting jitters about this trip. An uncertainty whether what I was doing was right or not. But then I kept reminding myself that this is not my plan and that GOD is guiding me on this.

Day 1 - 12/3/25 - Drive towards Konkan

Finally the day came and I just went with the flow. We started from home at around 7.30 am and with a vague destination in mind we just kept driving. I drove with a relaxed mind and was careful not to take any physical stress or fatigue and take adequate breaks in between. I had thought of taking  night halt at a town called Kudal in the Konkan district of Mahrashtra. I had also shortlisted some hotel options in Kudal for night stay, but not booked any hotel. 

To reach Kudal we had to drive through the Mumbai-Pune Express way. Early in the morning there was relatively less traffic on Mumbai roads. We reached the Vashi toll which is now not functional and started driving towards the Mumbai - Pune expressway. The roads are good and so the drive was also smooth. We crossed the first toll on the expressway and google suggested to take a diversion from the expressway onto another highway. This highway would take us to Goa too. I had read a lot of reviews online about the bad road condition of this highway, so I was mentally prepared for it. However, the roads from Mumbai to Kudal are pretty much good except for some stretches where the road work is going on and so those stretches of road are a complete mess. But otherwise we didn’t get stuck or face any issues on the road. 

There were no places of sight seeing or worth a visit on the way so we just kept driving. Anyways we did not know much about this part of Maharashtra. Moreover this was the first day of our trip and the distance to be covered was high, plus the reviews I had read about the road conditions was making me a bit worried. So I chose to keep driving instead of exploring any places. Though we did stop on the way on some ghats and clicked some pictures. Also on the road when we took some break we clicked some pictures. 

 

We reached Ratnagiri at around lunch time, and I searched for some restaurants on the way on google maps. We found one restaurant called Konkan Kinara. We stopped there and got out to have lunch. The temperature outside was 39 degrees. It was so hot that even the small walk of around 20-30 meters from car to the restaurant drained us of our energy. The food tasted good. But eventually during the day I was continuously getting burps of the food. It was heavy and was also spicy.

We continued our drive towards Kudal after lunch. The sun started to get less hot as the day was coming to close. After around 3 pm or so the heat intensity reduced and had become bearable. Finally at around 6.30 pm, after almost 11 hours of being on road, we reached Kudal and checked into a hotel which I had shortlisted. It was a small hotel but right on the highway which meant we don’t waste time next day when we head towards our next destination. We were not very hungry as the lunch was heavy so we just had fruits at night for dinner and slept.

Today was the first day of the trip and yes the body is tired but there is a sense of satisfaction and happiness of finally starting this trip which was conceptualised 3 years ago. Tomorrow the plan is to drive through Goa and reach Udupi. I am sure GOD is guiding me and so I am relaxed and yet excited. Hope this trip brings clarity for my future.

Day 2- 13/3/25 - Crossing 2 states in one day!

Day 2 of our All India Road Trip. Plan was to reach Udupi. I had added Udupi to the plan because, I could get appointment for fixing the HSRP number plate at Mangalore dealership only. And so I had to include Udupi in the plan. So why Udupi and not Mangalore? Because both me and my mother wanted to visit the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple. In hindsight, I feel it was blessing of Sri Krishna Himself. Probably Krishna wanted us to take Darshan at the Udupi Sri Krishna Matha. And that’s why the HSRP appointment happened in Mangalore and the trip was planned through coastal India.

We started early morning from Kudal (in Maharashtra) to reach Udupi (in Karnataka). But then this is All India Road Trip, which means we need to cover all states atleast, if not the state capitals. And so Goa had to be covered in this trip. However both me and my mother were not too keen to explore Goa as we have visited here many times. So I planned to keep Goa as a transit destination. 

We were not too keen to visit the beaches or the fancy shacks / bars, etc. So I decided to take my mother to Old Goa which is near Panjim. This place has the charm of Old Goa with Old Churches, back waters and old structures. Moreover unlike the vibrant perception of Goa this place is quiet and peaceful. So I decided to visit Old Goa as a transit destination. We left from Kudal at around 7.30 am and reached Old Goa by around 9.15 am. This was our second state in the journey. After clicking some pictures at Old Goa, and also finishing our breakfast, we left from Old Goa at around 10.30 am. 

Next plan was to reach Murudeshwar, which is in Karnataka, our third state in the journey. Since Murudeshwar was on the way to Udupi, and I had seen the pictures of the large Shiva statue there, I was keen to visit the place. The temple is around 2 Kms inside from the highway, towards the beach. So it was perfect for a quick little detour. The drive is scenic with lot of greenery all around. Lot of river crossings and occasional drive along the sea. And most importantly good roads. Yes there was some road work ongoing at some places and hence there were diversions but overall the road condition is good and the drive was comfortable. Soon we crossed the Goa-Karnataka border and entered the 3rd state in our journey. 

At 2.30 pm we reached Murudeshwar, but the temple was closed and was scheduled to open at 3 pm. So we had 30 minutes to explore nearby places. We roamed around and went to the Large Shiva statue and clicked some pictures there. The Shiva statue is located at a hillock. One needs to climb a few steps to reach the statue on top. The views from top were beautiful. Not to mention the large Shiva statue sitting in a dhyaan is mesmerising itself. The clear turquoise waters of the sea, white sand on the beach, clear blue skies and greenery around makes for a serene and beautiful view. There is a small exhibition of sorts that is created on top. There is entry fee for that, Rs.20/ per adult. Inside different prominent incidents are created around Lord Shiva.  

By the time we finished all the sight seeing and clicking pictures, it was 3 pm so we climbed down and went inside the temple for Darshan. Thankfully the temple wasn’t too crowded, so we had good darshan and it was quick too. Murudeshwar is the first shivlinga I saw without the linga on top. Though Shiva’s face is there. There are also other smaller temples inside the temple premises which also we had darshan of. We finished the darshan and came to the car and decided to leave from there. But we had not yet had our lunch. So we decided to have lunch on the way. 

By the time we started from Murudeshwar after lunch it was 3.50 pm. The roads in Karnataka are good and so the drive was smooth. We reached Udupi at around 5.30pm and checked into Hotel Udupi Residency. Today was a fruitful day as we could do all the things that we had planned and yet cover the distance within the planned time. I have never been keen to drive in the dark. So I have planned this entire trip to drive between sunrise and sunset only. Being able to visit Goa, Murudeshwar and reaching Udupi on time was a satisfying trip for us.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Udupi Sri Krishna Matha in morning and then stay in the room itself as afternoons are extremely hot and we do not want to drain our energy by exploring the city in the heat. In evening we may explore some nearby beaches. Let’s see. Anyways plan is to take each day as it comes.

Day 3 - 14/3/25 - Last Minute drive

Today is Holi. But Karnataka does not celebrate it with same fervour as North India does. We had planned to visit the Udupi Sri Krishna Matha today. So in morning, we got ready by around 8 am and had our complimentary breakfast at the hotel. We then walked towards the temple which was around 500 meters from hotel. But the humidity made it more difficult than what it actually was.

We went to the temple campus and started looking for guidance / instructions on how to enter the temple for darshan. We saw a long queue and enquired with a gentleman on how to get into the queue. He guided us to an entry where there was no queue. We went up and there were 2 rows there - one for free darshan and other for ‘Sheeghra’ darshan. We chose to take the sheeghra darshan as we were already sweating due to humidity and did not want to further tire ourselves by standing in the queue. There was practically no crowd in the sheeghra darshan line, so we went to the temple and had our darshan.

Udupi Sri Krishna Matha is a unique temple. The darshan of Sri Krishna can be done only through a window which has 9 holes. And one gets hardly few seconds to peak through these holes and do the darshan of the deity. With the pandit doing their rituals it can block your view if you are not so lucky. But luckily for us we had good darshan with a clear view of Sri Krishna. My mother wanted to sit in the temple and do japa. So we sat there for some time. While my mother was doing her chanting, I saw some people standing in front of the window but behind not in the queue. I realised that I can get darshan even from a distance. So I too joined the crowd for the darshan. And after some struggle I had Darshan of Sri Krishna once again.

Somehow, my attempts to visit spiritual / religious places is proving positive for me. I am able to do darshan of all the temples / deities nicely. It is not necessarily easy but the darshan is worth all the effort it takes, and hence it is satisfying.

Finally after sometime, the temple staff asked us all to leave as they closed the window for darshan. So we left from there, went out and started exploring other places in the campus. There was a Geeta Mandir. Here the temple authorities have pledged to have 1 crore Bhagavad Gita to be donated.

We further went to Chandramouleshwara temple (Shiva Temple). The beauty of these temples in South India is the way the Garbh Griha is lit up with lamps instead of electric lights. Atleast during day time, the charm of the deity was enhanced due to the lamps. From there we went to Anantheshwara temple. This is a famous temple. It is said that Tipu Sultan tried to destroy the temple. But shesh naga appeared in the form of snake and protected the shiva linga and the temple. Tipu Sultan had to run away from this place due to this. And since then the temple authorities have protected the broken Shiva Linga by wrapping a silver snake around it. One gentleman we met at the temple narrated this story to me. I had heard or read about this story earlier also and so immediately I remembered it. 

We clicked a few pictures in the temple complex and then walked back to the hotel. It was hardly 10 am by the time we reached the hotel. We had anyways decided to relax in the room for today, so we just lied down on bed after reaching the hotel room. I started searching for some hotel options in our probable next stop in Kerala. However I was not able to find anything good. I anyways had to call and check at the Renault dealership about the HSRP number plate fixing. So I called them at around 11 am. To my surprise the lady acknowledged that my HSRP number plates were ready and it can be installed even today (though the appointment was for 15th March). 

I spoke to my mother and she said, let’s get it done today if possible. So we immediately checked out of the hotel and rushed to Mangalore. The problem was the dealership staff goes for lunch between 1-2 pm. And we were in Udupi at 11.30 am. Google Maps showed a 1 hour drive time to the dealership in Mangalore. There was a thin chance of us reaching just before lunch time. But we still took the chance and left for Mangalore. I drove faster than usual.  On the way I called the lady again and informed her that we would reach there by around 12.30. Finally we reached the dealership by around 12.40 pm. The lady was prompt enough to guide us to the service centre and arrange for replacing the number plates. The team replaced the number plates promptly and we were ready to leave from the dealership by around 1 pm.

But we had not had our lunch yet. So then started the search for a good restaurant to have our lunch. I saw one board on the road about some food court. We followed the directions and finally reached the place. It was small restaurant located at a height with steep stairs. I was worried as my mother has knee issues and she would have to climb these stairs. However she managed to climb the stairs and we went into the restaurant. We were asked to wait for few minutes as the table was getting ready. We sat at the table waiting for someone to take the order. The owner lady saw us waiting and came to take the order. And to my shock it was a non-veg only restaurant!! But the lady was kind and polite to guide us to a nearby veg restaurant.

We left from there and drove to the restaurant that was told to us. It was a typical south indian restaurant. We had the south indian meals. There is something about the south indian meals which really makes me satisfied - the taste, the portion, quality, everything just feels right. And more importantly doesn’t feel heavy or spicy. We had our meals and got back into the car. It was already 2 pm by then. Next was to enter Kerala our fourth state in the journey. I put Mahe as destination on the map and started driving towards that. Soon we crossed the border and entered Kerala, the 4th state in our journey. The roads in Kerala are in a mess due the construction/ repair work. There was hardly some stretch of good roads in between all the bumpy and dusty roads that we mostly drove on.

In between, google maps also played it’s trick and guided me to a ‘faster’ route which was going through some internal roads instead of NH 66. Yes some patches of this road were scenic going through the villages and small towns. But I doubt if it was in anyway faster as I could not keep my speed above 60 KMPH.

Finally we reached Kannur (much before Mahe which I had put as destination on google maps). It was already around 5.30 pm and both me and my mother wanted to take rest. So we looked for some hotels. But when GOD is writing the script, your plans won’t yield results. We somehow landed at this small hotel next to a mall. The hotel looked like it is hardly being used. The person at reception showed me the room which was spacious. Both I and my mother we decided to take the room. 

I had bought a portable washing machine because I knew that I would have to wash my clothes during the journey as I was not carrying 100 pairs of clothes for the planned 100 days journey. I carried the portable washing machine to the room and used it for the first time. The machine worked well and washed the clothes neatly. I put the clothes for drying on hanger in the bathroom. By the time it was dinner time and we both were hungry.

There was a veg restaurant in the mall next door. Anyways the hotel did not have a restaurant. So that was the only option we had, to go to the restaurant in the mall next door. It was a north indian cuisine restaurant. The staff there was not very accustomed to handling customers I guess. Though they were polite, but not very customer savvy. Moreover the language barrier was also a deterrent. However the food was good. So we  enjoyed our dinner and came back to our room. 

Tomorrow the plan is to reach Kochi. Nothing has been finalised yet in terms of hotel or which locality to stay etc. So we will plan for tomorrow, tomorrow itself! Anyways GOD is guiding us on this journey and so we will depend on HIM.

Day 4 - 15/3/25 - The arduous drive in Kerala

Today we had planned to reach Kochi. The distance from Kannur to Kochi is around 300 Kms but the drive time shown in google maps was around 7.5 hours! The roads in Kerala are absolutely tiring and test your patience. NH66 is fully under construction through out the state of Kerala, with continuous diversions and bad condition of roads. And where there is no construction the NH is a 2 lane road without any divider and with lots of pot holes. Add to that the absolutely no traffic / driving sense among the drivers in Kerala makes it even more frustrating for someone from outside the state to drive on these roads.

We started early at around 7.30 am today morning to start towards Kochi. We hadn’t booked any hotel so I just put Kochi as destination on the map and started driving towards Kochi. We hadn’t had breakfast as there was no restaurant in the hotel where we stayed. But we had some fruits and dry fruits before leaving the hotel in morning.

But breakfast was required. So we decided to drive till 9.00-9.30 am and then have breakfast at some restaurant on the way. But surprisingly we couldn’t find any decent restaurant on the way which was open at 9.30 am! I guess Kerala opens only after 10.30 am. Nevertheless, we reached a dead end on one of the service roads during our search for a restaurant. That’s when we decided to eat snacks from what we were carrying. We stopped on the side of road under some shade and had some khakra and other snacks from what we were carrying. The search for restaurant and the snacks break itself took up almost 1 hour of drive time for us. When we restarted our drive after our breakfast break the ETA was showing 1 hour late than what it showed when we started the drive in morning.

On the way to Kochi, I saw a board which said Guruvayur and suddenly I remembered about the Guruvayur Temple. So I asked my mother if she wants to visit the temple. She said yes if it is on the way. I stopped the car on side and searched for the temple and its timings and dress code if any. Mother also called her friend who visits the Guruvayur temple regularly for more clarity.

The temple has a strict dress code for men. All men entering the temple have to compulsorily wear a mundu / pancha without any shirt / t-shirt on top. Women should wear clothing which fully covers them. So I had to purchase a mundu before entering the temple. I have never worn a mundu or lungi so I was bit excited to wear one today. We reached Guruvayur town and then drove towards the temple. I parked the car in a parking area and walked to the temple. Phones and wallets were not allowed so we left them in the car itself. There was one shop in the temple premise from where we purchased the mundu. The shopkeeper helped me wrap the mundu around my waist but obviously he did it very disinterestedly. The mundu came off while we were walking towards the temple. My mother noticed and told me. So I had to tie the mundu again and tuck it inside my shorts which I was wearing.

The temple officially had closed for darshan, but only from outside one could have the darshan. So we went inside and tried to get the darshan from as close as possible. It was too crowded and people were pushing each other to get a glimpse of the deity from far away. I too stood among the crowd bearing all the pushing. It was really difficult to get darshan of deity from so far that too with so much crowd and pushing around. But I stayed persistent and I could get a very light glimpse of the deity when there was gap between people entering the temple. It wasn’t very clear darshan but atleast I could see the vigrah from far away and feel satisfied of having done the darshan.

We left from the temple and went to a restaurant opposite to the temple. We had sumptuous Kerala meal there with warm herbal water to drink. There is something about the the meals in south India, they never feel heavy despite having rice in the meal. Not to mention the taste and quality of meals. It is not too oily or spicy. Hence it feels very homely and simple and light on stomach. After the lunch we walked back to the parking area and started our drive towards Kochi. On the way I tried to click the picture of temple entrance gate while driving by.

The roads were in such bad condition that I was already starting to feel the fatigue. A small  distance like 30 kms was showing 1.5 hours on google maps. But what was really fatiguing was the drive itself. The oncoming traffic, the road conditions, the rash Kerala buses, all made for a really frustrating and tiring drive.

We finally reached Kochi at around 4.30 pm. And now started the search for a hotel room. We searched on google but struggled to find anything that would meet our expectations. We took multiple detours to search for some good hotel but couldn’t find one. Finally I went to a restaurant thinking it was a hotel. But the gentleman at the counter was kind enough to guide me on where I could take a room. And surprisingly he spoke to me in clean Hindi!

My mother suggested to call the hotel and ask for room availability instead of just driving and realising there are no rooms. So I called one of the hotels (Arctic Hotel) and they said they had the room available. We drove to the hotel, parked the car, I saw the rooms, negotiated the rates and finally checked into the hotel at around 5.30 pm.

After check-in we rested for a while and then came to the restaurant for dinner. Mummy had some fish while I stuck to the standard meals. Tomorrow plan is to start the drive early and reach Kanyakumari by evening. I checked on google and the famous Padmanabhswami temple is on the way when we cross the town of Thiruvananthapuram. But by the time we may reach that place, the temple may be closed. Moreover the dress code for women is saree and mom may not want to wear a saree in the hot weather. But let’s see what GOD has planned for tomorrow. After all who are we to judge or challenge GOD’s plan when he is making us do this road trip.

Day 5 - 16/3/25 - To the Land’s end of India

Today the plan was to reach Kanyakumari. Kanyakumari is around 300 KMs from Kochi. And today being sunday, we were expecting relatively less traffic on the road. Last 2 days of driving in Kerala was really tiring and I was just hoping that today I get some relief from the traffic.

We left from Kochi at around 7.30 am. Filled petrol in the car and started towards Kanyakumari. Being a sunday, the roads were relatively empty in the morning. I tried to cover as much distance during this peaceful phase of the day as possible. On the way at around 9 am we found a decent restaurant and to our good luck it was open so early in the morning on a sunday!  So we decided to have breakfast. We had sumptuous breakfast. I had Kadla Curry with appams and mummy had ghee roast dosa. Breakfast was filling and we were hoping we don’t have to stop for lunch now.

The roads were same as they had been since last 2 days - under construction! So there was no relief on that front. But I guess by now I had also gotten used to driving through these roads and conditions. Plus may be sunday also meant relatively less traffic.

Thiruvananthapuram was going to take around 5 hours. So we knew that by the time we reach there we may not get to take darshan, but we anyway decided to stop there and do darshan of temple (since we could not take darshan of deity). We reached Thiruvananthapuram by around 1.30 pm. The town is so well developed and looked premium. High rise residential towers on both side of the highway. Well paved highway roads (a rarity in Kerala). All premium brands of restaurant, apparel’s, etc. Infosys also has a big office building. It felt as if we are in some metro city.

We navigated our way through the town roads and reached the temple premises. Parked our car in one of the lanes and walked to the temple. I had to wear the pancha before entering the temple, as that is the dress code for men in most temples in South India. The temple was closed, but as we had planned we just did darshan of temple. I bowed down at temple entry door and then we clicked some pictures and left from there. We weren’t really hungry so we had some snacks on the way in the car itself. 

Kanyakumari was further 2.5 hours drive from Thiruvananthapuram. The road condition, the traffic and driver sensibility can be easily seen getting better as you enter Tamil Nadu. This was our fifth state in the journey.

We reached Kanyakumari at around 4.30 pm. We searched for some hotel, but couldn’t find anything in our budget. One security guy guided us to a hotel and helped us park the car there.  We found a decent room and we checked in to the room. After freshening up and a bit of relaxing we headed to Bhagavathi Amman Temple darshan. The Deity is famous for the glowing nose ring of Amman. As per some ancient stories, the Amman’s nose ring used to act as guide for sailors in the ancient times. And when we had the darshan of Amman, truly the nose ring was shining a lot. The temples in south have a completely different feel. The temples are constructed of stone and the garbha griha is dark with only lamps lit inside. So it gets a bit difficult to get clear darshan of the deity. But the nose ring was shining brilliantly.

After the darshan we strolled around on the beach side. Behind the temple itself is the Triveni Sangam - amalgamation of 3 oceans - Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal & Indian Ocean. Also you get a good view of the Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekanand Rock Memorial. We clicked some pictures here and enjoyed some time near the sea. Then we headed back to our room. On the way we finished our dinner too. Came back to room and rested. 

Tomorrow we plan to take the ferry and visit the Vivekanand Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue. If we can finish the sight seeing early, we plan to head towards Rameswaram. But anyways, these plans are only for us to feel good. Eventually we are all following GOD’s plan -  either knowingly or unknowingly.

Day 6 - 17/3/25 - Historic City of Rameswaram

Today we woke up early and got ready by 7 am. But the ferry terminal starts ticket sale only by 7.45 am. So we sat in the room and chatted for sometime, and then head towards the ferry terminal. We walked to ferry terminal and there was already long queue there for ticket. We got in line for the special ticket which apparently gives direct access to the ferry boat.

Finally at around 7.45 am the ticket sales started and the queue started to move. We took our tickets and were in the line to get on to the ferry boat. The boat ride to Vivekanand Rock Memorial, itself is only 5 -10 mins but the entry to the boat is where one has to wait long time. We had got in to the queue at around 7.30 am and when we got down at the memorial it was already 8.30 am. 1 hour only for getting the ticket and entering the boat.

Once on the island we had to buy another ticket for entry to the Vivekanand Memorial itself! One has to deposit footwear at shoe stand. We went to the rock on which Swami Vivekanand had meditated for 3-4 days. This is a calm and peaceful place. We clicked some pictures here and headed toward theThiruvalluvar statue. I believe the glass floor bridge to walk toward Thiruvalluvar statue is recently constructed. It can give jitters to the faint hearted. I took Radha Krishna name and stepped onto the glass floor. The sea below can make one really nervous. But I persisted and clicked some videos / photos. My mother was walking on the side. I encouraged her also to walk on the glass floor. Thiruvalluvar statue gallery is on 3rd floor. The statue itself is nice but the view from the gallery is not good at all. One can hardly see the face of Sri Thiruvalluvar. Even the photos are not that good when clicked from the gallery. 

There are 2 mandapams at Vivekanand Rock Memorial. One is a Pada Mandapam where there is an imprint of Bhagavathi Amman’s foot. Another is Sabha Mandapam. There is also a meditation hall for those who want to meditate. And some book stalls. 

After seeing all these sights, we headed back to ferry. This time there was no separate queue for the ‘special ticket’ holders. Nevertheless there was less crowd so we got into the ferry and reached back to the land. It was around 9.30 am by the time we reached back. We had our breakfast and went to the hotel. I cleaned the car and then we went to room to get our luggage. By the time we started for Rameswaram, it was 10.30 am. Google Maps showed around 5.5 hours of drive, which means we would reach Rameswaram by 4 pm. 

The roads in Tamil Nadu are very good. Especially after driving in Kerala for 3 days, this was a heavenly experience for me. However google maps did not let me enjoy this for too long. It showed me a diversion which was apparently 20 mins faster than the national highway. I had no choice but to follow google maps. This was a road through the villages of TN but the roads were far better than what I experienced in Kerala, plus the roads were empty. So it was a good driving experience.

This was a state highway and since this road was through the villages there were hardly any restaurants or petrol pumps. I had to refill the petrol in car. Luckily google maps showed some petrol pumps on the way so I filled the petrol in car and started our journey further.  On the way, in a town Kannirajapuram we found a resort with restaurant. It was a nicely developed property. I was surprised to see such a well developed property in a small town. We had our lunch there. Mummy was not feeling well so she had curd rice. I saw a dish on the menu which I remembered I had in past but couldn’t recall how it tasted or looked. So I ordered that - Kothu Parotta. Food was ok. We finished our meal and then started our journey towards Rameswaram.

The roads were good, though 2 lane without divider. The drive was easy too due to no traffic and good road conditions. We reached Pamban and crossed the famous Pamban bridge. There is a railway bridge parallel to the road bridge. This is a famous spot and people click pictures here. We weren’t lucky enough to spot a train on the tracks when we reached but we still clicked few pictures of the bridge and headed towards Rameswaram.  

I had put a hotel as destination on google maps. But google maps couldn’t take us to that hotel. So we struggled a bit driving through some really narrow lanes only to come back to the same place from where we already were. So we stopped at one place and mummy saw one hotel right where we had stopped the car. I went and checked if they had any rooms. The hotel person was kind and he showed me a room but the bathroom was too small. He showed me one more but I was not feeling convinced. Finally he showed me a room which was ok so I decided to take it since it was in walking distance to the Ramanathswamy Temple. 

It was already 5.30 pm by the time we checked in to the room. We rested for some time and then went for darshan at Ramanathswamy temple. Weather was pleasant so it was not much of an issue to walk. We had darshan of the Shivalinga which is also one of the 12 Jyothirlingas in Bharat.  There were other deities too in the temple. We had the darshan and then headed out. Surprisingly there was no rush at the temple, considering that it is a religious place of high significance for most Hindus. We had our dinner on the way and then walked back to the room. 

Tomorrow’s plan is to visit Dhanushkodi early in the morning and then head to Pondicherry. But then we are all following GOD’s plan - knowingly or unknowingly :)  

Day 7 - 18/3/25 - The bridge that changed the fortune of one country

In the morning we got ready a bit early and left from hotel at around 7.15 am. We planned to go to Dhanushkodi which is the last point of land of India facing Sri Lanka. Dhanushkodi is also the place from where Lord Ram built the Ram Setu to reach Lanka to bring back Maa Sita.

The drive was nice as there was less traffic. As we reach Dhanushkodi the drive gets even scenic. Straight road with no turns and sea on both sides and open sky in front is a sight to experience. It was around 25-30 mins drive from our hotel and we reached the last end point at around 7.45 am. We clicked some pictures at the point. We walked onto the beach and just wet our feet, taking blessings of the Ocean lord. 

We spent around 25-30 minutes here and then decided to head back. On the way back there was a turn towards a temple. We didn’t know what the temple was about, but since it was not far we decided to visit it. And we consider ourselves fortunate to have taken that decision. The temple is built at the location where Lord Ram coronated Vibhishana as the King of Lanka when Vibhishana came to meet Lord Ram. It was a beautiful deity of Ram Sita Lakshman Hanuman and Vibhishana wearing a turban (indicating his coronation).

Just nearby, there is a small shed created where the floating stone is also kept for darshan. The guys at the shed told us that it was from here that Sri Ram constructed the Ram Setu to reach Lanka. The stone was a limestone, weighing around 30 kilos (as told to us by the staff there). And yet it was floating on water. Everyone was lifting the stone and then placing it back in water after clicking pictures. I simply couldn’t lift the stone. I tried atleast 2-3 times but it was just too difficult for me to lift the stone. I bruised by elbows while trying to lift the stone from the small tank where it was placed. Eventually I quit the effort to lift the stone.

We left from there and on the way back to Rameswaram we decided to quickly peak into the House of Kalam - a museum created at the place where ex-President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam spent his childhood. Mummy was not too keen to visit as it was on first floor with steep steps. So I just parked the car nearby and quickly went into the museum. It had all the trophies and mementos that Dr Abdul Kalam had earned during his lifetime. I quickly just glanced through all the things and rushed back to car. 

From there we started our drive to Pondicherry, the 1st Union Territory of our journey. On the way we had breakfast at some local restaurant. Food was good. With full tummy we started our drive. Initial roads had some traffic, but once we crossed some distance the roads got better and traffic lesser. So it was fun to drive. Further as we reached Trichy the roads were now 4 lane expressway with divider. It was a breeze to drive on these roads. 

As we neared Pondicherry, traffic slowed down the pace. And then began our daily struggle of searching for a hotel. Every day at the new location we spend atleast 25-30 mins searching for a hotel. Eventually we got something decent to spend the night but the process of searching for hotel is a bit fatiguing. Especially because we need to look for a hotel with car parking facility as  I am not comfortable parking the car somewhere else. 

 

Finally we found a hotel and decided to check in. It wasn’t the best of the room but was better than what I had seen before this and so decided to take the room. After we checked in, started the effort of washing the clothes. I hadn’t washed my clothes since last 2-3 days. Also mummy had some unwashed clothes lying in her bag. We soaked some 4-5 pairs of clothes in soap water, and then began the struggle of washing and drying the clothes! Finally we were done with the process and then relaxed on the bed.

For dinner we were not too keen to eat the meals or south indian food. I felt like having a sandwich. But the restaurant at hotel served only South Indian food. So I went out and searched for a restaurant where I could get a sandwich. Luckily I found one and got 2 veg sandwiches back to room. The taste was ok but it was all soggy by the time I reached back to the room! Nevertheless we finished our dinner and went to bed.

Tomorrow plan is to do local sight seeing in Pondicherry, cover Mahabalipuram and then head to Chennai. Whether we choose to stay in Chennai or drive further is the last minute decision we will take. Anyways GOD is guiding us on this journey so we will follow what GOD suggests.

Day 8 - 19/3/25 - The first puncture!

The day started with a flat tyre! 

I had planned to leave early so that we can visit Mahabalipuram while the sun is not fully up and it is still relatively pleasant out. But GOD had other plans.

I got up early and got ready. Mummy was still getting ready so I thought I will clean the car and get it ready for the drive. When I reached the parking lot, I saw the rear tyre was fully flat. Initially I thought I will fill air and get it checked repaired on the way. But then the tyre was completely deflated and I did not want to take chance, so I decided to change the tyre. The whole process of removing the punctured tyre, raising the car on jack, removing the wheel and replacing with the spare wheel was tiring and messy. Moreover the tyre is so big that it doesn’t fit into the spare wheel space provided. So I had to put it in the boot. But now there was no space left for luggage.

I came back to room and told mummy about this. She said why don’t you go and get the tyre replaced while she will wait in hotel room. This made sense as then she doesn’t have to unnecessarily struggle with the search for tyre shop and wait while it is being repaired and replaced. I searched for tyre shops nearby on google maps. it was around 8 am and all the shops opened only after 9.30 am.  I went to hotel reception to check if they knew any tyre shop nearby, but I got same response regarding shop opening time.

So we decided to have breakfast at hotel since we had time at hand. The receptionist gave us food coupons and we had breakfast at the restaurant. It was a full combo south indian tiffin. Very tasty and filling. We came back to room and waited till it was 9.30 am.

At 9.30 I went to look for a tyre shop and get it repaired. I found one shop nearby and drove to that place. The guy was prompt to repair the punctured tyre and replace the tyre. The car was very dirty as it hadn’t been washed since last 8 days. And while the car was parked at the hotel, there were lot of bird droppings which stained the car. So I wanted to get the car washed. Luckily there were a couple of car wash shops nearby the puncture shop. So I drove to one of them and asked them how much time it would take. They said washing the car externally would take around 20 minutes so I got the car washed.

I reached the hotel back at around 10.15 am and we immediately checked out. We left the hotel at around 10.30 am. Went to the beach area of Pondicherry. It was hot as the sun was already up and shining bright. We clicked few pictures and went back to our car. Drove to Auroville, but since the car parking is far from the main ashram, mummy also refused to go inside. We decided to go to Mahabalipuram. The ECR road to Chennai is undergoing repair and so it is not at all comfortable to drive on.  

Finally after around 2.5 hours of drive we reached Mahabalipuram. The place had transformed drastically from what I had seen it around 17 years ago. We reached Shore Temple and took the entry tickets. It was extremely hot and tiring to walk towards the main site. We sat at some benches under the tree and then walked again. Clicked some pictures of the temple and headed back out. Mummy was already tired and was not keen to explore the other places (Panch Ratha,  Butter Ball, etc.). So we went back to car. Had Kulfi on the way and started our drive to Chennai.

We decided not to stay in Chennai but to drive further ahead and cover more distance as our next Destination was around 9.5 hours drive from Chennai. So getting out of Chennai would help us cover some distance and save time for next day’s drive. But we needed to have some token of Chennai. So we decided to go to Marina beach and click some pictures there and then and drive out. But as we entered Chennai city, traffic slowed down our speed. Moreover driving through city traffic was further more irritating. 

Finally we reached Marina Beach. At the entry itself Chennai Traffic Police stopped us. They tried to mint some money out of me. Asked me for license and car papers etc. They told me that the bull bar I have installed in front of my car is not allowed. I told them that I am not from Chennai and don’t even plan to stay here. This is only a transit visit. They spoke amongst themselves and eventually decided to let me go. We parked our car and went towards the beach. But it was low tide and water was deep inside. Mummy was not keen on walking till there in the hot afternoon. So we clicked some pictures at the entrance itself and left immediately from Marina Beach. On the way we tried to click some pictures of some landmark places in Chennai.

 

Again the traffic getting out of Chennai was very slow and irritating. Finally we crossed the toll and got onto the highway towards Srisailam by around 5 pm. We had around 1 hour to drive as far as we could. But the highway was crowded with trucks slowing down the speed. We reached a place called Tada, which I believe is in Andhra Pradesh. So effectively we had reached the 6th state of our journey by around 6 pm. 

Now began the struggle of searching for a hotel. Whatever hotels we felt were decent were on the opposite side of the highway. On our side there was hardly anything decent. Finally mummy saw one board which pointed towards inside from highway. At around 20-30 meters there was an apartment type building where there was board ‘Sunrise Avenue’. We thought it looked decent so I went in and enquired. The guy showed me a room which was essentially a bedroom inside a 2 BHK flat. It was more like a serviced apartment. The room itself was not very great but the fact that it was inside an apartment gave me good vibes. So I decided to take it. Moreover it was coming cheaper than what we have spent till now at other locations. And moreover for us it was only supposed to be a night halt. Plus it was getting dark outside and I did not want to drive after sunset. And with no other decent hotel in sight on our side of the highway I just decided to take the room.

We paid the money and took some of our stuff and went to the room. After we checked in we saw the details of the room. The bathroom was a complete mess. Leaking flush, extremely small, not clean, no mirror, no hooks to hang towel or clothes. We were very upset but had no choice now as we had paid the money. They forgot to give us water also in the room. So we decided to just spend the night somehow and leave early morning. We ordered food from some nearby restaurant. Had our meals and just went to bed. There were lot of mosquitoes and so we couldn’t  even sleep properly. Late at night the mosquitoes vanished and only then I got some sleep. 

Today was absolutely a nothing day. We wasted around 3 hours in the morning waiting for shops to open, after that clicked only some pictures near the beach in Pondicherry, drove all the way to Auroville but did not go inside, visited Mahabalipuram but couldn’t see all the places and also did not see or do anything in Chennai. Moreover the drive was not enjoyable either. But then there is no point complaining as we are all following GOD’s plan.

Tomorrow plan is to reach Srisailam where there is one more Jyotirlinga which mummy was keen to visit. On this trip, till now GOD has been gracious in giving us darshan and we are hopeful that we will be able to do darshan at this Jyotirlinga too. 

Day 9 - 20/3/25 - Drive through the hills

I got up at around 5.30 am in morning and decided to get ready quickly. I got ready by 6 am and mummy also got up by then. I sat outside in the living room while mummy got ready. Mummy also got ready by around 6.40 am. So we decided to leave immediately as we did not want to spend any more time in that room.

We went down and put our stuff in the car. The owner was downstairs. We mentioned to him  about not getting water so he gave us 2 bottles. I also mentioned to him about the leaking flush. But then we just decided to head further on our journey. Early morning the traffic was relatively less. But we hadn’t had breakfast so we started looking for decent restaurants on the way by around 7.30 am. Not finding any we decided to munch on some snacks from our car. 

In the meanwhile we saw a big statue of Lord Hanuman on the side of Highway. And sign board on the highway saying ‘World’s Richest Temple’. Strange! We decided to go inside the temple and take darshan. We asked some local men and they showed us some road which went inside towards the temple. We drove there. It was the temple of a Goddess with Shivlinga and Ganesh idols on  either side. I was wearing shorts and t-shirt and the temple priest told me that I should not wear shorts when visiting a temple. Honestly in my excitement I forgot about what I was wearing. We just went in because the temple intrigued us. We clicked the picture of temple and Lord Hanuman statue and started our journey further. 

Meanwhile we started munching on some snacks in the car. Soon I saw a board about a restaurant at 10 minutes drive. So I told mummy to stop eating as then we won’t be able to have breakfast. We drove for around 15-20 minutes and finally found the restaurant inside a hotel on the opposite side of the highway. But luckily there was opening for u-turn. The truck traffic was so much that I couldn’t take the u-turn and went a little further ahead. There was another small restaurant on our side of highway where few cars were parked and people were sitting inside. So we decided to explore it.

But when we went there, mummy didn’t like it so we drove opposite side by taking a u-turn. It was a decent restaurant. We had masala dosa for breakfast and then decided to leave. On the way we saw some local villagers selling mangoes. But we couldn’t stop as we were on the right lane and driving fast. But after some time, mummy noticed some more villagers selling mangoes  from a distance itself, so this time we stopped at one of them and bought some mangoes. We had one mango right there. 

I had to fill petrol in the car. After filling the tank full with petrol we decided to drive non-stop till lunch time. The drive on this highway was again irritating as the trucks had come out in full swing by now. All the 2-3 lanes were occupied by the trucks leaving no free lane for cars and other vehicles. Moreover every truck tries to overtake another truck. And they do it at slow speed thereby slowing down the entire traffic behind. It was very irritating to drive like this.

Google maps acts funny most times. At one point we had to take a left, but google maps showed me to stay on right. As a result I got onto the flyover and missed the left. I had to take a u-turn onto service road after the flyover and drive till the junction where I had to take left. The roads from here were 2 lanes with no divider, passing through villages and industrial areas. First part of roads were all dusty, then came the village stretches. The roads passed to vast stretches of empty lands / jungles with no houses or shops or restaurants. 

At lunch time we couldn’t find anything on the road. So we stopped at one place under tree shade and had 2 more mangoes. I asked a shop nearby if there was any restaurant. He said there is a restaurant after 15 kms. We drove further ahead and found a restaurant after some 15-20 minutes. We had our lunch. It was decent food. We started our drive further towards Srisailam which was  showing around 1.5 hours of drive.

Soon we entered the forest area and drive on the hills began. I had read that the roads are narrow on these hills and one needs to be careful. So I was cautious about not speeding and stay alert about oncoming vehicles, especially the buses. We had to cross around 3-4 hills. The winding roads challenged not just me but also the car as some stretches were steep climbs and the 12 year old loyal companion was also finding it tough to climb with the ac on. I switched off the ac on the uphill drive and then would switch it on during the downhill.

Finally we reached the junction from where the temple is on the left side and town on the right side. I was confused as to what to do. Mummy asked a valid question as to what time temple opens or closes. I checked and the temple was going to open at 5 pm. It was around 3.45 pm that time. So we decided to go to town and look for a hotel. I had searched for one hotel and drove to that place. But the guy at reception said they did not have any rooms. So I drove to another hotel. Initially the girl at reception told me there are no rooms but then she asked the owner and he asked her to show me one room. I saw the room and found it to be decent and decided to take it. They quoted Rs. 3500/- as tariff for room! I was shocked that such a small hotel charging so much for a basic room. but I had no choice as I did not know any other decent hotel in the town. So I decided to take it. I asked if they could give some discount, to which the owner said he will add breakfast in the price. I took the room and paid the money and we checked in.

This room felt so much better after where we had stayed the night before. Not to take away from the room itself. It was neat clean, big and the washroom was also clean. I got to washing some of my clothes once we settled in the room. Mummy took a cup of tea in the meanwhile.

Initially we were contemplating if we should do darshan in evening itself. But then I decided that we should do darshan in morning after taking bath etc. So now we had lot of time to relax from the long drives that we have been doing since past few days.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the temple in the morning itself and come back to room, and then move towards Hyderabad. Hyderabad is around 200 KMs from Srisailam and should take around 4-5 hours drive. Hoping we get good darshan of the Jyotirlinga tomorrow. Anyways GOD is making all our plans so we are relaxed as we trust HIS plan!

Day 10 - 21/3/25 - A Spiritual beginning to the day

I woke up very early in the morning at around 3.30 am. Tried sleeping but couldn’t. So eventually got up at around 4.30 a mand got ready. Sat for meditation for a bit. In the meanwhile mummy also woke and up and started to get ready.

After a very long gap, I was trying to meditate. Felt happy that the spiritual side of me is still active. Mummy got ready by around 6.45 am and we left for Darshan of Mallikarjuna Swamy. We reached the temple at around 7.15 am. Car parking was far from main temple entrance. So we had to walk almost 1 KM or so. When we reached the temple, the security staff told us that temple entry is closed and will open only at around 9.30 am. We were disappointed to hear that because firstly we wanted to have darshan in morning and secondly a wait of 2 hours means our further drive plans getting disturbed. But since our next destination wasn’t a long drive that didn’t bother me much.

We tried to understand from the security staff as to what are the timings of temple darshan etc. and then eventually decided to enter and wait in the waiting area. Entry for Senior Citizens is free so I had to buy the Sheeghra Darshan ticket for myself. We went inside and there was a hall with some benches there where many other people were waiting. Mummy got a seat on one of the benches and she sat there, while I waited nearby. There was a group of ladies in the waiting hall singing bhajans. It felt peasant to hear, though the bhajans were in local / south indian languages which we could not understand much.

After sometime I sat down on the floor like others. I closed my eyes and tried to meditate and somehow it felt very nice. I was actually able to cut out all the external chatter and reflect on my inner thoughts. I could hear all the bhajans and other noises in the hall, but I was not actively listening to it. I was trying to go deeper into my thoughts and connect with GOD. Occasionally I was opening my eyes when my concentration was breaking but I again tried to meditate. I don’t know how much time must have passed but I sat there with folded legs, erect back, closed eyes trying to go deeper within myself.

After I guess around 20-25 minutes, I opened my eyes and tried to (mentally) come back into the waiting hall. And now I could hear all the chatter and noise clearly. My legs were numb and I couldn’t feel them when I touched them. So I tried to fold my legs up. Within 5 minutes the gates were opened and everyone started rushing towards the gate. Mummy was sitting next to gate itself so for us it was closest. But I was worried as my legs had turned numb. Last time in Bangalore when I tried to get up and walk with numb legs I couldn’t feel the floor or my legs and I fell hard on the floor. I didn’t want something similar happening here especially when all the crowd is rushing towards gate. But still I had to get up, so I slowly tried to get up and by GOD’s grace was able to get up and walk and slowly the legs were normal.

We walked for some distance and again there was a closed gate. Thankfully there were some benches so we sat there. After around 15 minutes they opened the second gate too and then we all headed towards the main sanctorum for darshan. It was a unique Shiva Linga. There was a deity impression made of gold. But Shiva Linga usually is of stone. So I looked and in front of the golden deity was a small Shiva Linga, with  only the tip of Shiva Linga which was visible. Further it was garlanded with flowers so even harder to notice. I asked mummy if she saw the shiva linga and she said she didn’t. It was easily missable.

From there the crowd moved towards Brambaramba Devi Temple. Devi idols always look very beautiful and radiant. It was a small vigrah but so well decorated. We had good darshan of Devi and walked out towards exit. People in India somehow take pleasure in pushing each other and jumping queues etc. Even for prasad, people were just walking ahead randomly and putting their hands by pushing other people etc. This is something that I don’t know when and how it will change or improve.

After having the prasad began our effort of finding the entrance from where we came in. Because we had deposited our shoes and my mobile at the entrance. So we started walking and looking for the entrance. Finally after some enquiries and walking we found the entrance gate where we had deposited our shoes and my mobile. We collected my mobile and footwear and then the long walk towards the car park started. The road to car park was a bit uphill so mummy got tired. Finally after some rest stops we reached the car parking. 

On the way down, there is a Temple of Ganapathi which is called Sakshi Ganapathi temple. It is said that after having Darshan of Lord Mallikarjuna and Brambarama Devi, one should mark their attendance at Sakshi Ganapathi temple so that Lord Ganesh will note your visit as complete. We parked our car and went in. There was a long queue there. But we went in from the exit gate. Here you can do darshan only from far and cannot have close darshan of Ganeshji. Mummy was tired so we prayed to Ganeshji from far and asked his forgiveness and note our presence. 

From there we came back to room. Had our breakfast and then left from Srisailam. Hyderabad is only around 4 hours drive from Srisailam, so I was a bit relaxed. On the way to Hyderabad, we   crossed the Srisailam Dam built on Krishna River. There was a view point there where we clicked some pictures and moved further. As per google maps, the Krishna river divides the 2 states. On the south side of Krishna river is Andhra Pradesh whereas once we cross the river and go north it is Telangana state. So as soon as we crossed the river we were now in the 7th state of our journey. The roads were still through jungle area and hills so had to drive carefully. But after around an hour’s drive, we were back on the plains. 

My plan was to reach Charminar as it comes on the way when entering Hyderabad city and then further go into city and look for a hotel. At around 3.30pm we crossed the outer ring road of Hyderabad (which is usually the periphery of the city). And from there we encountered areas dominated by muslim population. We wondered how come this is so densely populated. And then it struck me that today is Friday and so there might be a lot of Muslim’s trying to go to mosque for their prayers. I realised that going to Charminar on a friday would be a big mistake as it will be over crowded by people and secondly it is possible that they may have blocked roads to do namaz. So we dropped that plan. Mummy suggested to head towards our next destination. So I changed the destination on google maps but there were no hotels in city limits. So I again stopped the car and thought for a while. Called a couple of hotels in Hyderabad which I had shortlisted earlier, to check if they had rooms. Both hotel confirmed availability of rooms but one was expensive so we decided to go to the other hotel.

Finally after navigating through the city traffic we reached the hotel at around 4 pm. We checked into the room and settled in. Soon I started the daily routine of washing my clothes. We rested for a while and then ordered light dinner. After dinner we called it a day and slept off.

Tomorrow the plan is to head towards Vijaywada. The drive is around 5 hours so I am relaxed about the drive. The room we have taken includes breakfast so we will have our breakfast and then leave for Vijayawada. The spiritual beginning to the day was indeed a blessing from GOD. Reminding me that HE is always with me and will never leave my side even if I forget HIM every now and then.

Day 11 - 22/3/25 - A day of relaxing

Today we got up in morning relaxed as we knew that Vijayawada is only 4-5 hours drive from Hyderabad. We went for the breakfast at hotel and then came back to room. I decided to clean the car (which is my routine on this road trip) before we start our drive.

It had rained in Hyderabad the previous night and the car was in a complete mess. My car was parked under a tree at the hotel and now it was all covered with leaves and dirt due to the rain! It hurts to see your loyal companion on the trip having to bear all this. Disheartened I tried to clean as much as I could. It was wet and hence I couldn’t mess it further so had to carefully clean off all the leaves and dirt. I asked the hotel reception if there was any car wash centre nearby. One of the hotel staff explained to me the route but I guess I missed the direction somewhere. So eventually we decided to just drive to Vijayawada and if we find any car wash on the way will get the car washed. But the problem with that was that mummy would have to get down from car and sit in the garage, which I sensed that she wasn’t very comfortable doing. So I dropped the car wash idea completely.

The roads to Vijayawada are in very good condition and the natural beauty along the roads with green fields, and hills at distance make it even more pleasant to drive. Google Maps showed the time to Vijayawada as 4 hours. So I was relaxed as I knew that we would reach the destination by afternoon. In between I got a thought that should we drive further ahead than Vijayawada. But then I remembered our night stay in Tada and I decided to stay in Vijayawada itself. It is good to take some relaxed days of driving too else it would take a toll on us mentally and physically.

We took few breaks in between just to relax and eat. We stopped at one of the dhabas for lunch. Mummy ordered Chicken Biryani while I had the vegetarian meals. The biryani was too much quantity so she got the rest packed for dinner. After lunch we continued our drive further. We reached Vijayawada by around 3.30 pm. A big board welcomed us into the city of Vijayawada.  

Then began our routine of searching for a hotel. The hotel that I had shortlisted did not have a phone number mentioned so I depended on google maps to guide me to the location. But when we reached the location I couldn’t spot the hotel, and we drove past the hotel. Among the city traffic, we navigated trying to find a hotel. At one junction we almost entered a one way and there was a momentary traffic jam there. So we reversed and took a turn and right there at about 20-30 meters from that junction we saw a hotel Grand Krishna Residency. I took that as a sign from GOD and decided to check if they had rooms. When GOD makes your plans why worry. They had a room which was in our budget and also decent as per our expectations. So I decided to take the room.

We checked in to the room and I started washing my clothes (again one of my routine on this trip). After finishing all the daily chores I relaxed in the room. The receptionist at hotel in Hyderabad had told me about the famous temple in Vijaywada - Sri Kanaka Durga Amma Temple. I searched about it and found that it is indeed a famous temple. But problem was we were reaching Vijaywada on a Saturday and I had read reviews that the temple is extremely crowded on weekends. So I dropped the plan of visiting the temple, as we did not want to get stuck among the huge crowd especially as mummy has knee problems and also other health challenges. 

I started researching about our drive further to Puri & West Bengal and North East. Since Manipur is currently under violence, I wanted to avoid driving through that state. I read some positive reviews about driving through West Bengal and North East, which felt better. Anyways, we have decided to drive only during day time (Between sunrise and sunset) so hopefully we shouldn’t face any issues during our drive. Moreover this is GOD’s plan which we are following so everything that has happened till now, is currently happening and is going to happen in the rest of the trip is going to be good for us.

In the evening, I ordered veg fried rice from hotel restaurant and mummy had her biryani which she had got packed from the restaurant in afternoon. I watched bit of the IPL opening match between KKR & RCB. But then started feeling sleepy so slept off early.

Tomorrow’s plan is to reach Visakhapatnam - the Port City. Before that we plan to visit the Riverfront Park in Vijayawada. Tomorrow being sunday we expect less traffic on the road. Anyways this is GOD’s plan which we are simply following.

Day 12 - 23/3/25 - Sudden change of plan

We got up in the morning relaxed as the breakfast was supposed to be at 8.30 am. I got ready early so I went down to clean the car. The car was very messy so had to clean it multiple times. Mummy also got ready by 7.30am. I asked mummy if she would like to visit the riverfront park and she said yes. So we went down to car and in the lift I asked a hotel staff if the temple would be crowded right now. He said not if you purchase the special ticket. He said you can finish darshan in 10 minutes with a special ticket.

So now we wondered do we go to temple and take the darshan or go to the riverfront park. Mummy was obviously keen to go to temple so I turned the car towards temple. We reached there and parked the car. There were too many people around. We asked for directions and walked towards the temple. Every board / sign was written in Telugu only so it was really difficult for us to understand directions. Moreover people also responded to us initially in Telugu and after asking them in hindi they would respond with broken hindi.

We deposited our shoes at the shoe stand and went towards the queue. There were different boards with numbers in english reading Rs.100, Rs.300 and Rs.500. I asked one of the person sitting at the queue which one will be faster darshan and he said Rs.500 queue will have faster and closest darshan to Amma’s vigrah. So we took the Rs.500 / head ticket and went ahead. We went towards the stairs and the lady there asked us if we want to go by lift. She guided us in the direction of the lift and we got into the queue there. After about 5 minutes we got into the lift and reached the top which was about 7th floor in the lift. 

We got out of lift and walked with the crowd. We saw a lot of people sitting on the floor there. we realised that this is not the main temple or queue. So we again started searching for boards / directions. We asked one lady and she pointed us to the queue for the ticket we had taken. There was hardly anyone there so we got into the queue and soon reached the main Garbha Griha. Amma’s Vigrah was beautiful. We went in and had good darshan. There was no pushing or shoving around as we have experienced in other temples till now. So it was a pleasant darshan. 

We came out of there and saw another queue and this time the board was in english. It pointed towards Nataraj Swamy temple. So we got into the queue. After about 5 minutes one guy came and gave a half coconut to the lady in front of us. They were a family. So I asked him if there is darshan happening right now. He said yes it is happening. Then he asked if we want to do darshan or take prasad. We said we want to do darshan. He said that this line was for prasad and for darshan we have to walk down further. So we left the queue and started walking. 

No sign boards or directions anywhere. We kept asking people and kept getting response in Telugu. Finally we reached the temple where the Shivalinga was kept. There a short qeue there so we got into the queue. Soon we had darshan of the Shivalinga. On the way back there was another small room with a curtain. There was a entry ticket of Rs.5 per person. Mummy was keen so she paid  for the tickets and we entered. Inside was a small room with glass walls all around and vigrah of Parvati Amma, Durga Amma, and Malleshwaram Swamy were on a jhoola. We had  the darshan and then left from there. 

On the way back we noticed that the darshan queue for Shiva Linga had become very long. We felt lucky to have come before the crowd. Now began the climb back to the top. We reached the  the lift corridor and got into a lift. Came down, collected our shoes and walked to the car. We had kept our phone in the car so couldn’t click any pictures inside temple. So we clicked few pictures from where we had parked the car itself. The temple on the hill top was hardly visible from this distance in the photo but it was still a memory for us.

It was already almost 9 am by now. We drove back to hotel and went for breakfast. Finished our breakfast and came back to room. Picked up the remaining bags and started our journey to Visakhapatnam. On the way while getting out of Vijayawada we bought some fruits as we had exhausted all our fruits. The roads are in good condition so the drive was smooth. Google maps showed around 6 hours of drive. Good roads with green fields on the side and blue sky in front made for a pleasant and enjoyable drive. We stopped at a petrol pump on the way and filled petrol and our water bottles.

Soon the search for a restaurant began as it was lunch time. We found one restaurant and parked the car but it was a non-vegetarian only restaurant so we left from there. We drove further in search for a good restaurant. Google maps showed few on the way but when we reach there it was just a small dhaba or a shed type so we didn’t stop. At one junction, there was big food court on the opposite side, which I had seen on google maps too but thought it would be just another small dhaba. But mummy saw it as we were driving past and told me to check it out. Thankfully there was a gap in the road divider for a U-Turn and there was no traffic behind me so I immediately gave the right turn indicator and took the u-turn. We went in and ordered some sabji roti which we both were keen to have after eating rice since last few days 

We had a good lunch and then started back our drive towards Visakhapatnam. The time remaining was showing as 2.5 hours. The distance wasn’t much but time was showing more than what I expected. Now we encountered a lot of trucks also on the highway. So had to keep navigating between the trucks trying to overtake each other. We reached on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam and were welcomed by a big gate. The city seemed to be well maintained, with landscaping and well paved roads. Google maps still showed around 40 minutes to the hotel destination. The last part of the drive felt unending.

Finally we reached the hotel at around 4.45 pm. Thankfully they had a room and it was in our budget. The room too was decent enough so we checked in. The room was walkable distance from the Ramkrishna Beach. Also there was a submarine museum which I was keen to see. So we left soon after check in and walked towards the museum along the beach. It was breezy and pleasant. Not hot or sweaty so I enjoyed the walk. Mummy was getting tired so we stopped during our walk and sat by the walkway.

We reached the INS KURUSURA museum. Entry ticket was Rs.70 per person. I bought the tickets and we walked in. I had always read and seen about the submarines in movies and youtube videos but never seen actual submarine from inside. The fact that a submarine travels inside water itself is a fascinating thing and within that the way it is shaped would obviously mean very little space inside for people to move around. And it was indeed very cramped up inside. At some places it felt claustrophobic too. Thankfully they had installed AC blowers at regular intervals which gave some relief. There were around 7 different compartments one after the other which we had to walk through along the length of the submarine. The bunk beds made for the staff were so small and cramped that it was hard to imagine how one could sleep here. Even the food  area was so small and cramped it is really tough to actually live inside a submarine. Salute to our soldiers and navy for going through so much tough life for protecting our borders.

We got out of the submarine, clicked some pictures and started the walk back to our hotel. It was getting dark by now as the sun was setting. We decided to eat snacks on the way back. There were stalls selling butta, bhel and ice creams so we had one of each each on the way back to hotel. We came back to hotel and relaxed. I watched a bit of the IPL match between CSK & MI. I washed my clothes and logged in the day’s expenses. We slept off after that.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to Puri. Google maps shows a drive time of 8 hours. Since we are driving to GOD’s land and this is HIS plan I am less worried about what tomorrow holds.

 

Day 13 - 24/3/25 - Jai Jagannath

I got up early and got ready. Mummy also got ready. By 7 am both of us were ready and breakfast at hotel was scheduled at 8 am. We were wondering whether we should skip breakfast and leave or wait for breakfast and then leave. Eventually we decided to have breakfast at hotel and then leave. Mummy had to arrange some of her clothes in the bags and I started writing the logs which I had missed since last 2 days.

At around 8 am we went for breakfast and then left the hotel after check out at around 8.30 am. Google maps was showing a drive time of 8 hours 18 minutes. Monday morning traffic of Visakhapatnam slowed down our pace. But once we were on the highway the good roads reduced our overall drive time considerably. After around 4 hours of drive we entered Odisha the 8th state in our journey.

For Puri, we had to take a right from the highway. This road passed through villages and narrow roads with no divider. Though the views were nice, the drive itself was not enjoyable as the roads were rough and navigating through traffic was also a challenge.

But soon we were on the Bhubaneswar-Puri highway which was again a smooth drive. As we entered Puri the city traffic slowed down the pace. Again began our daily struggle of searching for a hotel room. We were driving through the city looking at different hotels and accidentally reached a hotel on our side of the road. We decided to park inside and check for room availability. To our good luck room was available though out of our budget. But I did not want to search more hotels   and so I took the room after slight negotiation. Anyways in last 11 days we have saved some money on hotel rooms against our planned budget, so today a little overspend shouldn’t pinch us much. Moreover, our plan was to visit the Jagannath temple in evening so that we can leave early morning tomorrow and hence I did not waste time looking for more hotels.

We checked into the hotel and mummy started changing into a saree. So I took that time to wash my clothes. At around 5.30 pm we left hotel for the temple. Took an e-auto from outside the hotel to reach the temple. The auto driver was a nice guy, he guided us well to the free buggy service of temple and also told us what to say for return auto journey. We sat in the buggy and got down at the temple. 

Now began the whole effort of finding out details about entry and shoes, ticket etc. We asked a security person and he showed us the direction for shoes and mobile deposit. When I asked him about ticket for darshan he pointed to a pandit standing there. The Pandit told me that he will take us inside without any queue and give us good darshan. And we can pay him whatever we like after the darshan is done. I spoke to mummy and the priest followed me behind. We eventually decided to go with him as the crowd was more and we did not want to go through the regular queue especially with mummy’s legs paining.

He took us inside from one of the gates. We deposited our shoes and my mobile. He then guided us inside the temple. Inside there was lot of rush and I believe these pandits have some understanding with the temple staff and security. He tried to get us entry from some restricted place for a direct in front darshan of Jagannath but the temple staff denied. He spoke to some security guys and eventually arranged for mummy’s entry through that direct darshan. For me he took me to the place where all other people were doing darshan. There was a guy who had kept a small plastic stool there and he was allowing some selected people to climb on the stool and take darshan of the deities. I too climbed on the stool and did darshan. The idols of Jagannath and Baldev are only partly visible and idol of Subhadra mata is directly visible as it is right in front of the door of garbha griha. Last time when I visited the temple (around 18 years ago) I was an atheist and never payed any attention to the temple or the deities, but today GOD showered his grace on me and allowed me to have his darshan.

We had our darshan and then the pandit took us to some annadaan office where we donated towards annadaan. On our way out we paid him his dakshina and he seemed happy with that. The temple premises have been upgraded significantly. My last visit some 18 years ago I recall a complete chaos which was how most of the temples in India were that time. But now the temple tourism is improving significantly in India. All the temples are getting a makeover and the premises and areas around the temple are being modernised and made aesthetically pleasant. It feels happy and fills one with pride when we se such positive work being done to preserve our heritage and our religious places. 

We spent some time outside the temple and clicked some pictures and then decided to head back to hotel. We walked towards the place where the buggy was dropping the passengers. Mummy got into one buggy but I had no space as lot of other senior citizens were also waiting for the buggy. The same pandit spotted us and helped me get into another buggy.  Mummy and I got into different buggies but thankfully reached almost together. Then we hired an auto back to hotel and reached the hotel.

Plan is now to have our dinner and sleep. We may visit the Puri beach tomorrow morning and then head towards Kolkata. Let’s see what has GOD planned for us for tomorrow. Till then Jai Jagannath O!O 

Day 14 - 25/3/25 - Whatever is meant to happen, will happen   

Today we got up early in the morning and by 7 am both of us were ready. The drive was going to be a long one. Google maps showed 9.5 hours of drive to the land of Rosogulla - Kolkata, our 9th state in the journey. Breakfast was part of our stay package at the hotel, but started from 7.30 am. We had 30 minutes in hand so we decided to visit Puri beach which was less than a kilometer from the hotel. 

I followed google maps and reached a beach. There was a hotel at the beachfront and I sensed that the parking would be for hotel guests so I reversed the car and parked in the lane where other cars were parked. But there were some guys sitting at the hotel entrance who saw me parking there and they started arguing asking me to remove the car. I showed them other cars which were parked there and they started arguing in a slightly aggressive tone, which upset me and I too started arguing with them. Eventually one guy dressed in security uniform came and he explained to us that parking is on the other side and politely asked us to leave. The beginning to the day was with an argument so the mood was off. 

We went to the other side and parked on the road itself near the beach. We didn’t want to spend too much time at the beach anyways, so we went on the beach dipped our feet in the sea water and then came back to the car. Clicked few pictures at the beach and drove back to the hotel. It was already time for breakfast so we went to restaurant directly. It was crowded as there were many guests in the hotel, however we managed to get a table for ourselves and had our breakfast. It was already 8.20 am by the time we finished our breakfast. 

After breakfast, we quickly went to the room, picked remaining bags and went down to check out. After check out I put Kolkata as destination on google maps. I had looked for a few hotels midway - one at Kharagpur and another at Kolaghat. We started our drive towards Kolkata. The roads were good and the drive was smooth on NH 16. We had a good breakfast so we weren’t really hungry. But still we did take couple of breaks on the way. I filled up petrol in the car at Balasore which is the last town of Odisha as the petrol was slightly cheaper here than in West Bengal. 

Soon we entered our 9th state of the journey. We stopped at a dhaba for lunch but were not keen to eat rice or anything spicy or heavy. So we ordered simple dal and roti. Here in West Bengal the system is they give personalised / individualised plate. So we got 2 plates with a bowl of dal and chapati in each plate. Otherwise in other restaurants, if we order dal, they would give a big bowl of dal and chapati separately and we have to serve it in our plates. But at this dhaba we were already given a small bowl of dal in each plate.

The food was light and sumptuous. We started our drive further. We reached Kharagpur but we had still lot of time so we decided to go further ahead. After about an hour or so at around 3 pm we reached Kolaghat. I put the destination as one of the resorts which I had shortlisted in Kolaghat. But google maps showed that we had crossed the turn towards the resort and showed a route to go further and take a u-turn. We thought instead of so much effort let’s drive for another 2 hours and we would reach Kolkata by around 5 pm. I thought I would get a hotel in Kolkata as it is a big metro.

We continued our drive further towards Kolkata. As we reached Howrah, I started searching for hotels on google. I had not shortlisted any hotel in Kolkata as my plan was to keep Kolkata as a transit destination and not a stay destination. Surprisingly we couldn’t find any decent hotels on our way. Sun had started setting by around 5.15pm and it started to get dark. I saw one hotel on google and called them and they said they have rooms available. We drove to the hotel. It was in an industrial park and seemed like a company guest house. But it was not well maintained, so Mummy rejected it. We were now stuck as we did not know where to go in Kolkata. I was not familiar with any location of Kolkata. We tried calling a couple of more hotels but either we got no response or no rooms or they were far from where we were. We actually had no plan for Kolkata. And that was where we got stuck. I decided to follow traffic and drive towards the city hoping that once we enter the city we might find some hotel.

At one junction the traffic police stopped me. The cop was checking my car papers online and I started chatting with him asking if he could recommend some decent hotel. He asked me where I want to go and I said I plan to visit Mayapur tomorrow. So he suggested to take a particular route which would lead us towards Mayapur and also the famous Dakshineswar Kali Temple is on that side. He said we will find plenty of hotels near temple. We felt happy that finally there is some guidance.

By now it was fully dark as we put the Dakshineswar temple as our destination and started driving towards it. Till now we had not even entered Kolkata city and we were just driving on the outskirts. The drive time was showing around 25 minutes to the temple without any traffic. I was happy that despite being near the city we won’t get traffic. Then I searched for hotels near temple and it showed some options. Mummy tried calling one of the hotels and it took to OYO customer care number. The lady from OYO sent a hotel option to mummy saying it is near to the temple. I asked mummy to put the hotel which she had called as destination on google maps. Both our google maps showed similar direction but different location. I assumed that both the hotels may be close by and so I continued to drive. As we neared the temple, chaos ensued. There was a traffic jam at one of the circles and I simply couldn’t understand which road goes where and how to understand the directions of google maps.

We kept driving around the temple for almost 20-25 minutes neither finding the temple nor any hotel. Eventually I was tired, irritated and lost hope of getting any hotel in Kolkata (I still thought we were in Kolkata). I told mummy, let’s drop the plan of visiting the Dakshineswar temple and head to Mayapur instead. Mayapur was showing 2 hours drive from where we were. Mummy kept quiet as even she did not know what to do. I put Mayapur ISKCON as destination and started driving in that direction. The roads were pitch dark with no lamps or lighting on the road. Even the car headlights proved ineffective in lighting up the road ahead. The chaos on roads further added to my misery. And I decided I cannot drive for another 2 hours like this especially since I was already tired and irritated with all that had happened in last hour or so. So I searched for hotels nearby on the way. Finally something decent appeared on the route so I selected that hotel as destination and started driving in that direction.

The other hotels on the way were largely bars with rooms. So I knew what kind of crowd would go to these hotels and hence I avoided such hotels. One of the shortlisted hotel also seemed like that. But the other which was nearby did not seem to have any bar. So we decided to check rooms there. The guy at hotel told me that the hotel is only 3 months old so I knew that the rooms would be new and clean. I saw the rooms and decided to take one. We checked in and then ordered food. Again Dal roti and salad. And same, we were served dal roti in individual plates like in afternoon. We had our meals and decided to crash. I was already very tired physically and mentally. My legs were paining too. So I just went to sleep soon. 

Tomorrow plan is to leave early as the hotel did not have any restaurant so we anyways have to plan our breakfast on the way. Anyways I had planned to visit ISKCON Mayapur so I thought we could eat our breakfast there.

Today was a very tiring and irritating day and I just wanted it to end. Thankfully it ended not necessarily the way I wanted. But then all these incidents are a clear reminder that it is not my plan, it is GOD’s plan and I am supposed to follow it. At night mummy also said that Kali Ma didn’t want us to visit the temple and so despite being so close to temple we couldn’t visit it. Without their wish we cannot do anything.

Day 15 - 26/3/25 - Barricaded!

Last night after getting the hotel late, I was very tired and slept off soon after dinner. But at around 2.45 am I woke up due to some loud noises in the hotel. Some lady was shouting and playing loud music in one of the rooms on our floor. I wondered who or what kind of people have come into the hotel. I just wished for the sun to rise early so that we can get ready and leave.

I tried to sleep / lie around on the bed as I was tired and wanted to rest my body. Finally at around 5 am I woke up as the noises didn’t stop. I finished my morning routine and it was around 5.45 am. Mummy too got up and got ready. We still had to pay for the room and dinner so we went down and finished all the formalities of the check out.

We had decided to go to Mayapur where ISKCON is building world’s largest Hindu temple. And since Mayapur was on the way it was also a perfect pit stop for us to have breakfast. The drive time on google maps was little over 2 hours. We started our drive at around 7.20 am and headed towards Mayapur. Mayapur comes after Krishnanagar and is small town / village. After the left from the highway towards Mayapur the roads were narrow, passing through towns and villages. 

After around 30 minutes we reached ISKCON. We parked the car and looked for the main temple. This is a huge campus spread over around 600 acres of land. Though the main temple itself isn’t that big but the deities inside were big. We had darshan of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Radha Krishna and Sri Narasimha Dev. Mayapur is the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Next to the main temple, is being constructed world’s largest Vedic Planetarium. The dome is huge and towering. But the entry to the new temple building was being done as a guided tour in batches. Most batches are in Bengali and English / Hindi is only 1 batch at 11 am. Bengali tours were for 30 minutes but the English / Hindi tours were for 1 hour. We had finished our darshan by 10 am. Also, the temple authorities mentioned that the deity is not yet installed in the new temple. So I thought it made no sense to wait 1 hour and then take 1 hour tour. So we decided to leave after clicking some pictures from outside. 

On the way we stopped at one restaurant inside the campus. There was only snacks available there. Mummy wanted to eat something else so I asked the person at counter if other menu is available and he said today being Ekadasi only fasting menu is available. So we had some snacks there and then left from Mayapur.

Back on the highway and then started the real nightmare. I had planned to stay in Malda for the night as there is no other big town with decent hotels after Malda. Last night when I had checked, the drive time from Mayapur to Malda was showing around 4.5 hours. And now when I put Malda destination on google maps it showed 5.5 hours! Suddenly overnight 1 hour increase in drive time and that too it was showing red/orange which meant lot of traffic on the route.

West Bengal has a weird system. Firstly it seems that the NH12 passes through all the towns and villages and therefore there is always traffic on the side of the roads. Secondly at every junction of the town the police have put up barricades which slows down the speed significantly. And these barricades are so bad that you cannot even see them from a distance. Only when you come close to the distance of around 100-200 meters can you spot these barricades! which makes for a safety hazard if you are not vigilant.

At every 1-2 KMs distance the barricades pop up making driving very tiring as you have to continuously juggle between clutch, brake and accelerator. After you cross one barricade and try to accelerate soon at another kilometer or so another one will pop up. And if the police runs out of barricades they will put up big drums and use them as barricades! They have put up barricades even at signals near big towns! And to make the drive even bad were the numerous trucks that ply on this highway. I have nothing against the truck drivers, but as a car driver it become extremely difficult to drive and navigate through the trucks especially with bad roads and barricades.

As we started getting closer to Malda, we decided to take a lunch break. Previous day’s drive coupled with not so good sleep was already making me more tired so I guess I needed this break. But then the break got extended. The food we ordered took lot of time to prepare and we got our order after almost 40 minutes. We finished our lunch and started for Malda. We must have stopped at the restaurant for more than an hour! Losing so much time in this part of the country where the sun sets early and having to drive on barricaded roads laced with trucks and other nuisance drivers was already giving me jitters.

We started driving towards Malda and now one more irritation welcomed us on the roads - the wrong side driving vehicles!! So many e-autos, bikes, cars and even buses and trucks drive on the wrong side! Some of them shamelessly drive in the right most lane. It makes for a safety nightmare. But these people don’t seem to care for anything. The sun had started setting by around 3.45 pm. Though the weather app on my phone showed sunset at around 6 pm, the visibility and light on the road had started reducing. I started getting nervous as we hadn’t booked hotel and the drive time was still showing around 1.5 hours.

I had shortlisted a couple of hotels in Malda. At one of the signals when we were stuck due to heavy truck stuck among barricades, I called up one of the resorts and to my good luck, they said they had rooms. I put the resort as destination and started driving further. The drive time was showing around 40 minutes to the resort. On the way we also crossed the Holy Ganga River.

Finally we reached the resort and I checked out the different room options and decided to go with a slightly expensive one as we wanted to feel better after the irritating drive of the day. We wanted to feel a bit more free and not feel barricaded even in the room. We checked into the room and rested for a while. I washed my clothes and then sat down to log in the expenses and other details of the trip. 

There was a bengali cuisine restaurant at the resort. I wanted to try out the authentic bengali cuisine and so I told mummy to have dinner there. I ordered the Bengali Veg Thali and mummy ordered some non-veg for herself. The Thali felt very heavy though some of the flavours seemed authentic. Problem with Bengali food is, it is sweet. The Pulao was sweet rice. Even the white rice seemed to have some sweetness or may be it was one of the curries /dal. I finished as much as I could and then we just strolled around in the resort campus. Though it was dark the weather was pleasant and not hot. Also I needed to help digest all the greasy food I had just eaten. We clicked few pictures in the campus and then came back to room.

The stay at resort gave a good break for us. Mummy enjoyed the stay at the resort and for me too it was a relaxing break. Anyways body was tired from the previous 2 days drive so once we reached back in the room after dinner, I soon fell asleep. 

Tomorrow plan is to take a stop at Siliguri as Gangtok is showing 8 hours drive on google maps and I do not want to drive on hilly roads in dark. So it would be better to take a stop in Siliguri, rest overnight and recharge and then start drive towards Gangtok the day after with a fresh mind and body.

This is what I have thought, but anyways we are only following GOD’s plan. Hope GOD plans less irritation for me for tomorrow and takes me to the destination peacefully. Till then Radhe Radhe!

Day 16 - 27/3/25 - A day of relaxation

Today morning I woke up at 5.45 am. It was getting bright outside that time. I slept well. I wondered how I slept till 5.45? Since last 15 days I have been getting up by around 4.30 am or latest by 5 am. But today somehow I kept sleeping till 5.45 am. I realised that the bed we have been sleeping in other hotels were too soft which actually makes it uncomfortable to sleep and so I used to get up early. The bed at this resort was firm and so the sleep was undisturbed and relaxing. 

The view from the large glass window of the room was beautiful with the red sun rising right in front of our room. I got up and finished my morning routine. Mummy was also up and awake by then. We got ready and went for breakfast at around 7.30 am. The restaurant was empty and only 2 of us were having our breakfast there. Food was ok, and we had a filling breakfast. 

Came back to our room by around 8 am. I went down to check out, make payments and get the car at reception. By the time all these formalities were done I requested the staff to get the luggage down. In the meanwhile I got to cleaning the car. I had not cleaned the car previous day. So I wanted to ensure that the car is clean and especially the windshield, rear glass and side mirrors are dust and stain free so that the view during drive is clear.

Soon mummy and the luggage also came. Today the plan was to drive to Siliguri. Google maps showed a drive time of around 5.5 hours. I had decided that we will stay in Siliguri as our next destination Gangtok was another 4+ hours drive from there and I did not want to fatigue myself. We started our drive towards Siliguri on NH 12 by around 9 am. The drive was better than yesterday though the barricades existed but the frequency was less and early morning the traffic was also less. After sometime, google suggested a right turn taking us through village roads. This road was undivided but driveable. Traffic was also thin on this road. Some stretches had the small village houses with kids playing outside, some stretches had vast green fields, and some stretches passed through the market / town areas which were crowded. But overall the drive was not irritating or tiring.

Soon we touched NH 27 which would take us to Siliguri. This road was similar to NH 12. But the drive time was only around 2 hours or so now. So I was relaxed. We decided to take a break for lunch as I had been driving continuously for 4 hours since we started in morning and both me and  the car needed to take a break. We stopped at a restaurant which was on the petrol pump. We had our lunch and then started the drive towards Siliguri. 

During lunch I spoke to a hotel and shortlisted it for our stay. The drive time to the hotel was showing a little over 1 hour. At around 3 pm we reached the hotel I checked out the different rooms and decided to take one. We finished the check in formalities. Once in the room, I got down to doing my daily routine of washing clothes. We had ample time at our hands today so we just decided to stay in the room and relax. 

I started searching for hotels for our stay in Gangtok. This was turning out to be a slight challenge for me as I was specific about the hotel having parking and also lift as I did not want both the car and mummy to suffer ;) After lot of research finally I found a hotel which was fitting into my requirement of having parking, having lift and being close to the famous MG Marg of Gangtok. It was slightly over budget but I thought better to book a hotel instead of driving around the hills searching for a hotel. I spoke to mummy. Couple of days back mummy said she wanted to stay at one hotel for 2 days to relax. I had suggested staying in Gangtok for 2 days that time. So I was trying to book 2 days stay at the hotel in Gangtok but mummy seemed unsure, may be because of the cost.

Also Surya Grahan happening on saturday was playing on her mind. So eventually we decided to book the hotel for one night and then decide the future plan next day. I paid the amount and confirmed my hotel booking. Now there is practically nothing to do so it is a good time to relax the body and mind and then start a fresh drive towards the hills tomorrow morning. Anyways, we are just following GOD’s plan. 

Day 17 - 28/3/25 - To the Top of the Hill!

Today morning was relaxed. Woke up at around 5.30 am and got ready. Today we had time so I finished my morning leisurely. Mummy too woke up and got ready. By 7 am we were both ready, but the breakfast was being served only from 8am. So we sat in room doing timepass. At around 8 am we went down for breakfast. We were served some good breakfast which I honestly was not expecting after previous night dinner experience. We finished our breakfast and then I got to cleaning the car while mummy went to the room.

After I was done cleaning the car I went to the room and then we left. Paid the charges at reception and left after completing the check out formalities. Today plan was to drive to Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim, the 10th state in our journey. Gangtok means the top of the hill and the city is nestled on the hill top.

The drive time was around 3.5 hours but it would be first time that I would be driving through the hilly winding roads. So I wanted to be relaxed before this drive and hence the previous day was kept for relaxation. We left from hotel at around 9 am and started driving towards Gangtok. The hotel was booked so destination on google maps was already fixed. The roads in Siliguri were  relatively empty as compared to what we faced previous day when we entered the city.

Soon we entered a jungle area and roads were beautiful to drive on with trees on both sides of the road. Though the road was undivided but it was good to drive as it was smooth. And soon the hilly roads started. Initially I was cautious and driving slow. As the drive continued, I got familiar with the terrain, the traffic and driving on these roads. So I was a bit relaxed now. But still I wasn’t taking any unnecessary risks of overtaking etc. Was just driving safely as I knew that drive time was not very high and that we would reach comfortably at our destination. 

The beautiful Teesta river flows along the road. We stopped at some points along the road and clicked some pictures. Soon we crossed the borders and entered the 10th state of our journey - Sikkim. A nice board saying “Welcome to Sikkim’ welcomed us at the check point. Gangtok was around 30 KMs from this point. The drive continued to be winding. As we entered Gangtok we were hit by traffic jams. Traffic jams on the hills can really get long and frustrating. And we don’t have a choice but to sit in the car and wait for the traffic to move.  

I had switched off the AC as I did not want to put stress on the car while driving though the winding hilly roads. But somehow the car was getting heated and I could feel some heat from the floor may be from gearbox area. I started getting worried as I did not want the car to get stuck on the narrow hilly roads. 

The last 2 KMs of our destination, the road was so steep uphill that the car just couldn’t climb up on any gear other than the first gear. I was getting worried and hoping that the car doesn’t breakdown. The car was stopping at some points. But luckily it was starting also without any issues. Finally we reached the hotel, but I couldn’t see the parking so I stopped the car few meters ahead of the hotel.

I went into the hotel and asked them where to park the car. They pointed to a lane going down next to hotel. I reversed the car in the narrow lane with traffic moving on both sides and then took the left turn where I was directed. This was another steep downhill and it was a real challenge for   me to manoeuver the car down such a steep road to the parking area. More so because of the issues that the car was facing while climbing up. But luckily I reached the hotel and we parked at one of the spots. We went up to the reception area and checked in. We got our room and we got our luggage transferred to the room. It was around 1.30 pm so we had lot of time.

Weather in Gangtok was colder than what we have been experiencing since last 16 days on this journey. It felt very pleasant and enjoyable. After freshening up we went to the restaurant for our lunch. After lunch mummy wanted to sit outside at the entrance area of the hotel. After sitting there for sometime, I could feel the cold weather. I noticed that the local people were wearing jackets and we were sitting without any cold weather protection. I told mummy we should go in as it may get cold soon and we need to be careful. We came to room and the room was chilled.

The hotel did not have AC anywhere and yet the hotel was so cold. Our room was almost freezing. Soon we started feeling cold so I went to the car and got the jacket and warm clothes. Also I brought our shoes. It was already getting dark outside, so we decided to go to MG Marg in late afternoon, to avoid going out in cold weather after sunset. We wore our warm clothes and shoes and headed out. As we stepped out of the hotel we saw that it was drizzling and the roads were wet. I was sceptical if we could go out in rain, but mummy said let’s go. I went to the car and got the big umbrella which I permanently keep in the car. We walked to one point where there were steep stairs going down towards MG Marg. We asked a guy walking up the stairs if these would lead us to MG Marg and he said yes.

Mummy and I started climbing down the stairs. Soon the drizzle increased so I opened the umbrella. I suggested to stand under a shed to let the rain subside, but mummy wanted to go. After a long climb down the stairs, we reached a road which further went down towards MG Marg. It was raining lightly by now and so most people on MG Marg were also standing on the sides of the shops. We too waited for 5-10 minutes under shed of a shop. 

The rain had now reduced so we stepped out to explore some shops. Mummy wanted to buy some gift which Niti had asked for. We entered a gift shop and mummy got to buying some stuff. We purchased what we shortlisted and left from the shop. Then we went to one shop where we looked for some spices. But didn’t find anything specific so we left. We roamed around on the MG Marg and clicked lot of pictures. It was only 5 pm by now. We had our lunch at around 2 pm and so were not hungry for dinner.  With nothing much to do, we decided to go back to hotel.

We walked till the junction from where we had entered the MG Marg. I was worried for mummy because the walk back was steep uphill and with wet road I didn’t want her to walk. I tried looking for a cab and found a cab standing on the roadside, I asked the driver to drop us at the hotel and he charged me hefty amount. I accepted the fare as for me having comfort for mummy was more important than saving some money. We got into the cab and drove to the hotel.

Once back in the hotel room, we felt more comfortable and cozy. The room was not as chilly as it was after lunch. Now we decided to rest. I dropped the idea of washing the clothes as I was not confident of them drying up by tomorrow morning due to the cold weather. I started watching the IPL match between RCB & CSK. For dinner we ordered food in the room itself. 

Tomorrow we plan to leave after breakfast and head towards Guwahati. But plan is to drive only till noon as after that the Surya Grahan may start and mummy wants to avoid driving during that time. I have shortlisted one location Chalsa, which falls in West Bengal, where there are some resorts. Hope we get room in one of them so that we can stay for the night. Let’s see what GOD has planned for us for tomorrow.

Day 18 -  29/3/25 - From Hill Top to Tea Gardens

Today was supposed to be an easy day. I woke up at around 5.15 am but then started searching for hotels and routes to Guwahati and further to Shillong etc. I was getting confused over not having enough options for stay etc in Meghalaya. So kept searching on google for different route, location and stay options. Didn’t realise but it was 6.20 am already. 

I got up and finished my bath and other morning routine. Mummy was also awake by then. I went down to the car with some luggage and started cleaning the car. In the meanwhile mummy also got ready. We then went for breakfast. After the breakfast, I paid the due amount towards the food that we had previous day at the hotel. We came back to    room and I took the remaining luggage to car. Mummy gave the key at reception and then we went to car. 

Now was the real challenge to drive the car out of parking through the steep uphill slope onto the road. The car drove till the main road but I had to stop as there were other cars plying through the narrow road that time. When I got the chance to take the car on the road the tyre just keep spinning. I had to let the car go down a few feet and then turned the steering and tried again and this time the car came up till the main road. There was traffic of other cars so I had to manoeuver the car through this traffic.

Once on the main road, it was an easy drive. Yesterday while driving to the hotel. the last stretch of few KMs were steep uphill and the car was struggling to climb up in higher gears. So now it was easy drive down. I kept the car in neutral with engine on and let gravity do the driving :) For a very long distance the car was going down the hills only due to gravity. After almost an hour or so I had to start using the gears, till that time the downhill helped in covering the distance. I asked mummy to check petrol price in Sikkim and it was lower than in West Bengal so I stopped at one of the petrol pumps and filled the tank full.

The remaining drive down the hills was as usual - winding roads, narrow gaps, manoeuvring through the oncoming traffic. I kept driving at a comfortable speed. Even on downhills I kept my foot on brake most times to ensure the car didn’t overspeed. We reached a point where we had to take left and leave the road which we had taken yesterday. From there, the road was still on hills for sometime but soon the flat roads started. It was a breeze to drive on these roads. Well paved roads with green trees on both sides. Soon we noticed tea gardens on both sides of the roads.

We had planned to stay at one of the resorts in Chalsa for today. Chalsa has many Tea gardens. Even when I was searching for hotels, I could see on google maps lot of tea gardens in this area.  In the morning itself before leaving the hotel I tried calling a couple of resorts but didn’t get any response. I assumed that it must be too early for them and so thought will call later once we are closer to Chalsa. During the drive down, I saw that one of the resorts had called me back. So I called them while driving and enquired about room availability and charges. The person from resort confirmed room availability so I started driving in that direction. We had stopped at one place for coconut water and I saw the resort person had sent me google maps location of resort too. So I set that as destination and started driving. It was around 40 minutes from where we were at that time.

Soon we reached the resort and checked in. It was already lunch time so after a quick fresh up we went for lunch and finished our lunch too. Came back to room and then started the routine of washing clothes. I had not washed the clothes in Gangtok as it was very cold there and I was not confident of the clothes drying up by next morning. So I had 2 pairs of clothes to wash plus mummy gave a few clothes to wash. The laundry work took almost an hour.

The resort was a nice quiet little property in the middle of farm lands. It almost felt like a family     home. Also it was maintained well. We stepped out in evening to explore the resort and click some pictures. It was fun as it was quaint place with farms on both sides. There was probably one more family who was staying at the resort apart from us, but they weren’t disturbance and so it was peaceful. 

After coming back to the room, I started looking for hotels and location options for our drive further towards Guwahati, Shillong and further ahead. Found a decent hotel near IIT Guwahati so booked that and also found some other stay options near Shillong. Now hope that we get the rooms on our day of travel so that the plan goes well. Anyways everything is happening as per GOD’s plan. Yesterday evening and today morning I couldn’t find any options and now when I sat I got some clarity atleast so I am sure that GOD is unfolding the plan on a daily basis. I hope to remain calm and trust GOD’s plan of this trip.

Day 19 - 30/3/25 - Gateway to North East

I had set an alarm for 5.30 am as I wanted us to leave early so as to reach well before sunset. I woke up just before 5 am itself and so I got ready and mummy also woke up by that time. I went out to clean the car. As I stepped out of the room I saw the beautiful sunrise. I clicked some pictures. The car was wet due to the dew. So I thought of going up to the roof and click some pictures of morning sunrise. After doing that I thought to clean the car while it is wet so that all the stains get washed.

 

I came down and started cleaning the car with the dew water itself. Took a lot of time to clean all the dirt and stains and wipe the car dry. Meanwhile mummy also got ready and she had cut the fruits for our breakfast. So we had that and then left from the room. We left from the resort and I started driving along the same road as we had come. But google maps has its own way of making our trip adventurous! 

Google Maps suggested some deviation in the route. I thought may be this will help us reach the main road faster so I took that route and soon regretted following google’s suggestion. The road was passing through the village and was very narrow with cutter on both sides and sand and stone dumps put on the road. At one point the light posts were right in the middle of the road with no space for the car to pass. I had to take the car back in reverse gear for almost 100 meters on uneven roads with pitfalls on both sides. The villagers were watching the fun on sunday morning wondering who this fool is who drove on this road.

Finally I managed to get the car out of that road and took the same road on which we came yesterday. Soon we reached the main road and then the highway. The roads were smooth and the views were beautiful. It was a pleasure to drive on these roads on sunday morning with practically no traffic. I was enjoying the drive with tea gardens on both sides. It was surprising that the roads we had driven few days back (with barricades at every kilometer, bad roads and wrong side driving), and this road were both in the same state!

Since I had already booked the hotel, that stress was less. The destination was already set on google maps. But now the struggle was to search for a restaurant for breakfast. All the suggestions on google maps were either very small shed for a restaurant or they were closed on sunday morning! Finally after searching and stopping and driving slow we found a place which    was actually a motel. We parked the car and went in. There were some people already sitting in the restaurant. We waited at a table but nobody came to us. After waiting for about 10-15 minutes I walked up to the counter and enquired with the guy for breakfast. He mentioned only poori sabji and aloo paratha is available for breakfast. We decided to have one each but then came the shock. The person mentioned that it will take around 30 minutes to prepare the order. I asked mummy what to do. She sat quiet for sometime and then said that she is ok to wait. 

I was getting a bit impatient as waiting for 30 minutes means losing lot of driving time. But now I had no choice but to wait. We sat there waiting for our order to get ready. We chatted with few bikers who were also having their breakfast there. They too were heading to Shillong. We told them that we have been driving since last 18 days and have covered the entire southern India till now. Finally after about 30 minutes we were served the food. We finished our breakfast and left from there. Google maps was showing a drive time of around 6 hours till the hotel in Guwahati.

Roads were good so drive was a breeze and I was able to cover the distance fast, effectively cutting down the ETA. Mummy dozed off in the car. Soon we reached the West Bengal - Assam border. This stretch was fully packed with trucks at the check post. We had to drive slow behind trucks, though for private cars there was no checking so we just drove through the barricade into the 11th state of our journey.

The roads in Assam are not that good. Some stretches have good roads but otherwise through out I encountered patched up roads or potholes which I had to navigate through. At one such bad stretch the car jumped off and both me and mummy were almost thrown in the air from our seats. Mummy woke up with shock. I apologised to mummy for the incident. And then after I was more vigilant about driving on these roads.

Surprisingly I did not see any tea gardens along the highway in Assam. There were a lot of tea gardens in West Bengal on the road towards Assam, but nothing on Assam. So much hype for the famous “Assam Tea” and not a single tea garden in sight along the highway!

It was around 1 pm and I wanted to take a break to stretch my legs and gain back my concentration so I stopped under a tree shade and stepped out. Stretched a bit and mummy also woke up. Asked her also to step out and stretch her legs. After a couple of minutes she asked to go to a restaurant for lunch. Again the search for a restaurant started. But luckily we found a dhaba along the highway. Place was big but not maintained well. Food was ok. We finished our lunch and started our drive further. Drive time on google maps was around 2 hours to our hotel.

The roads were getting more bumpy as we got closer to Guwahati. But we were able to cover the distance faster. The drive time started reducing significantly. We must have saved around 20-25 minutes. Soon we entered Guwahati, the Gateway to North East. Hotel was on outskirts of the city near IIT Guwahati. At around 4 pm, we reached the hotel and finished our check-in formalities.

We came to room and relaxed for a bit. After that I got back to my routine of washing clothes. I filled the machine with hot water and washed first set of clothes. When I put the second set of clothes, the machine stopped working. It just kept beeping. I was worried as I would now have to wash clothes with hand for the rest of the journey. Tried several times, even changed the hot water to cold water but still it didn’t start. Finally I just took out the clothes and just rinsed them in water and put them for drying. Rinsed off the machine and kept it. I hope the machine works tomorrow again as otherwise I will have to deal with a new set of problem!

In evening I spent lot of time trying to figure out ILP for Arunachal, Mizoram & Nagaland. For Arunachal Pradesh I managed to get the ILP through online application, but for Mizoram & Nagaland I was not able to provide certain details which were necessary. As a result, did not get ILP for these 2 states. After a lot of online research and trying to find some tour operator to help with the ILP, I eventually gave up the idea of visiting these states. I now started looking for alternate routes from Agartala to Itanagar via Assam (of course). I eventually slept off at around 9 pm as I was tired and mentally fatigued worrying about the ILP.

Tomorrow plan is to head to Meghalaya, covering Shillong the capital city and try and drive further ahead to cover the future distance. Let’s see what GOD has planned for tomorrow.

Day 20 - 31/3/25 - Abode of Clouds

Morning I woke up early and again started searching for hotel options as per the alternate route I had planned. In the meanwhile mummy also woke up. Sun was already up. Sunrise happens very early in this part of the country. Eventually we both got ready by around 6.30 am. But the breakfast at hotel starts from 7 am so we waited in our room till 7 am. After 7am, we went for breakfast and had a nice filling breakfast at the restaurant. The hotel has a pure Vegetarian restaurant which was a pleasant surprise for me. Usually hotels nowadays have a multi cuisine veg+non veg restaurants. Amongst that, this hotel running a pure veg restaurant was a welcome change for me.

We came back to the room and I went down to parking to clean the car and keep some of the luggage. There was a taxi parked next to my car and the driver was inside too. I enquired with him about ILP and if he knew any tour operator who could help get ILP for Nalanda & Mizoram. But even he said to go to tourism office. So now I fully gave up the idea of visiting Mizoram and Nagaland. I cleaned the car and came up to the room. We both went down to check out and after finishing the formalities came down to car. 

We started the journey at around 9 am from the hotel. I was worried that we may encounter the monday morning office traffic that too of 31st March! But to our surprise the roads were empty. Everyone seemed to be driving in a relaxed manner. And so I too started driving relaxed and slow. I asked mummy to check petrol prices in Meghalaya and it was almost 10 rupees cheaper. I decided to fill petrol in Meghalaya. The roads were good and the less traffic made it even more comfortable to drive through. Soon the winding roads of hills started and we crossed the Meghalaya border and entered the 12th state of our journey. I filled the petrol full tank at one of petrol stations in Meghalaya and for the first time in this journey the cost of petrol was the lowest! It felt happy to have saved some money ;)

I had put Umiam Lake as destination on google maps. The roads till Umiam lake were good, 4 lane divided roads. It was easy to drive on these roads despite the winding hilly areas. After around 1.5 hours, we reached Umiam Lake. We paid the entry fees and parked the car inside. We started walking inside towards the lake bed. As we got closer, the view of the massive lake mesmerised us. The water was turquoise and clear. Hills in the background made the views even  more enjoyable.

 

We spent some time at the lake. It was warm but not hot, and a cool breeze was making things better for us. We clicked lot of pictures of the lake and then decided to leave. The road from Umiam Lake to Shillong city as suggested by google maps was undivided 2 lane but good smooth road with regular traffic, making the drive easy. Soon we entered Shillong city. But there was nothing to do for us there so I called up the guest house which I had shortlisted in Khliehirāt a town in Meghalaya further south from Shillong. They confirmed room availability and so I set that as destination on google maps and started driving. 

Mummy wanted to withdraw some cash so we looked for an SBI branch. We found one and mummy went up to the branch which was on 2nd floor. When she came back she had a disappointed look on her face so I understood that probably she didn’t get the cash change. But the reason was different. It was a public holiday! Due to Ramzan Eid, the banks and most other offices were closed. And that’s why the the roads were relaxed and less crowded. We left from the bank and continued our drive further.

On our way to Khleihirāt, the roads were generally good and smooth. The drive was good and scenic. Meghalaya which literally translates to ‘Abode of Clouds’ stays true to this name. At many places you feel as if you are amongst the clouds. The Sun didn’t let us enjoy drive through the clouds but the views of hills along the drive gives the feeling of being in clouds. We clicked some pictures of the hills on the way. 

Weather had become a bit colder. We decided to have lunch and found a decent dhaba (Evanky) after some search along the highway. The ambience inside the dhaba was modern and the food was good too. The person was considerate enough to ask if I am ok with onion and garlic in my food. I requested the food without onion and garlic and that’s how it was made. We had our lunch and started our onward journey.

On the way I was hoping to find some photo op of Shillong but couldn’t find any. The roads continued to be good the drive was enjoyable as had been for the day till now. Occasional trucks would slow down the speed but otherwise the drive was good. Soon we reached the guest house and checked into the room. The room is a non AC room but the weather is pleasantly cold and so we did not feel the need for AC. The room itself was nice, clean and big enough for our requirement. So we settled in and then I got to washing my clothes. The portable washing machine is still not working. Which means I now have to wash all my clothes by hand for the rest of the journey.

I washed my clothes and left them for drying in the bathroom itself. Came back to room and started logging in the details of the day. The restaurant does not have a lift so I guess it is going to be tough for mummy. But the restaurant on top floor looks good, so for dinner now we need to decide what to do. Tomorrow plan is to head towards Karimganj which is another transit destination for us towards Agartala, capital city of Tripura (12th state in our journey). Hoping the drive continues to be good. As this trip continues to progress, the more I am realising that I am just the medium, the plan is actually made by GOD.

Day 21 - 1/4/25 - Potholed!

Today we had planned to get up relaxed but I woke up by 5.30am. The electricity in the room was not there for almost whole night. However since the weather was cold it was still manageable. But by 5.30am I started sweating so I called up the reception and asked them to restore electricity to the room. After about 10 minutes power was restored. But by now I was awake and we still had a lot of time at hand so I lied on the bed. After sometime I got up and finished my morning routine.

Mummy too woke up and got ready. But we still had an hour with us. I started looking for route options and stay options for other locations in the journey ahead. By around 8.20 am the restaurant called us to inform that breakfast was ready. We had our breakfast which was effectively only Poha along with some lightly toasted bread and boiled eggs. We asked them to toast the bread bit more so as to make it crisp but they just couldn’t understand what we were saying. We gave up trying to explain to them any further and ate whatever we could and left from there. We picked our bags and checked out of the guest house.

The guest house was on highway itself so the journey began as soon as we came on the highway. I was feeling relaxed as today’s destination, Karimganj showed a drive time of around 5 hours. But soon the nightmare began. The roads started getting bad. The views were still very beautiful, Hills covered in clouds made for a wonderful view in the morning. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the road as the road condition had seriously started deteriorating. Soon the road condition started going from bad to worse to undrivable to almost swimming! Large potholes of the size of craters filled with water from the rains of previous night welcomed us all through the route. 

The infamous NH6 which is a nightmare for most motorists is where I was driving. Navigating through the moon craters and the numerous trucks and taxis was a challenge initially which later started to feel like a video game, just that we were living all the action and not just watching it! Not just the roads were bad but the potholes were so bad that the front bull bar of my car must have scrapped atleast 5-6 times during that 2-3 hours of arduous drive. I was really worried as there was mud and water and mess all around and I did not want the car to get damaged or break down in such situation. I saw many broken down trucks on the way. It was practically very difficult to drive through these roads. Only the maruti altos which run as taxis in this part of the country were sailing through these potholes and the flooded craters.

On many occasions we felt as if the car would drown or worse even topple in one of the potholes. But GOD was helping us navigate through this bad road and hence we were just lucky to have crossed this bad stretch of highway in Meghalaya uneventfully. The roads were so bad that both of us were only focussed on crossing the multiple potholes safely without any incident. As a result we did not click any pictures or videos of the roads. Anyways any attempt to click any pictures or videos would have failed as the car wasn’t steady while driving through these roads. But thankfully, I got some video footage from the dashcam for sharing with family and friends and for our memory of the brave drive we had taken up today! 

Once we crossed the Assam border the roads started getting better. Though the potholes continued on the roads but they were actually pothole sized and not like moon craters. Also the roads were dry and hence these potholes were easy to spot and navigate through. But the check post at Assam-Meghalaya border on this highway was a complete mess. The entire highway was now blocked by parked trucks, probably waiting for their turn for clearance. For almost 7-8 KMs the trucks were standing on either side of the road. 

The car was fully covered in thick layers of mud which was soon starting to dry up on the car. I was worried as I did not want the car to get damaged because of this. Already the car bottom and front had scraped multiple times during the drive. So I started searching for a car wash center. I found one but he already had another car waiting and he mentioned that it would take 2 hours for my turn. So we continued our drive further. Near Badarpur town I found another car wash center and he said it would take him around 20 minutes to take our car for washing. It was already around 1.30 pm by now and we were thinking of having lunch in the meantime. Even the car wash guy suggested that we finish our lunch by the time he cleaned the other car. So we drove back towards Badarpur town. 

Mummy had seen some restaurant on the way so we started looking for it and found it soon. We went up and ordered simple dal roti. We had our lunch and left from the restaurant. We came back to the car wash center and he took our car on the ramp as I wanted to get it cleaned from bottom as well. The drive through Meghalaya highway was so bad that our car had almost waded through deep waters in many places. So I wanted to get the car cleaned properly. But we realised that the car wash center had no power that time. So he started cleaning the car interior and door trims. Once power connection resumed, he started washing some motorbike which was standing there. After that he took our car for washing. The pressure gun had to be used generously and multiple times on the thick mud which was now settled on the car body and bottom. After about 1.5 hours the car was now clean and ready to drive further.

We left the car wash center and drove towards the hotel. Google was showing weird time. It was around 4 pm when we left the car wash center and drive time was showing as 30 mins. But ETA was showing 5 pm. I couldn’t understand why google maps was showing this discrepancy. Later it struck me that we are in the east most part of the country. And while India follows one time zone, the country actually has 3 different time zones. So we were actually in an earlier time zone. Even the time on my iPad and phone was showing a gap of around 30 minutes.

We finally reached the hotel and parked the car. Finished our check in formalities and came to the room. The room was decent and clean. However the bathrooms need better cleaning and maintenance. Somehow in this part of the country people do not like to clean the bathrooms it feels. Many of the budget hotels we have stayed in had similar issue. Rooms are nice but bathrooms are not so well maintained. I rested for sometime and then I got to my routine - washing clothes. I soaked my clothes in hot water with surf and then washed them after some time. After that put mummy’s few clothes in the bucket and left for soaking. Washed those too after sometime. Then I sat down to complete the daily routine of logging in the expenses and travel distance etc.

I then started looking for reviews on road condition between Karimganj and Agartala as I feared that if the road for tomorrow is also as bad as it was today then I may have to change the plan. I found a couple of reviews and videos which indicated that the roads from Karimganj to Agartala are better than what we experienced in Meghalaya today. During this search I came across multiple articles which mentioned about the pathetic condition of NH 6 on Meghalaya side. After reading all those comments and reviews I suddenly felt that both me and mummy and most importantly my loyal companion Duster deserve a bravery medal for crossing the treacherous road today.

In the evening we decided to go to the restaurant for dinner as it was on the same floor as our room. The restaurant had a premium feel and ambience. I had read good reviews on google about the restaurant and was hopeful of some good food. But soon that turned into disappointment. As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by a gutkha eating waiter! That was a major let down for me. If you are running a supposedly premium restaurant and giving uniforms to your waiter staff, then shouldn’t there be some basic mannerism and etiquette’s that need to be taught to the staff?? A gutkha eating waiter with his mouth full and hardly able to speak was never the thing I want to encounter in a premium restaurant! 

We wanted to order vegetarian food but it seemed that the restaurant is not accustomed to vegetarian customers! We asked for Brinjal Bharta with chapati. The waiter still suggested us something in chicken to which I firmly replied to him saying vegetarian only. He seemed a bit disappointed with our small order of one sabji and few chapatis. The waiter came back after 5 minutes saying they don’t have brinjal bharta and started recommending aloo bharta instead. Who eats mashed potatoes as a sabji??? We told him we did not want aloo or paneer or mushroom. But he probably did not know of anything else vegetarian on their menu. I looked and saw Veg Kofta so I asked if we could get that. He asked another waiter, that waiter asked someone else and then finally they confirmed that they could serve us Veg Kofta. But we were not very confident. 

The menu said that all orders will take ‘minimum 30 minutes’ so we were not expecting the food to arrive early. They had put the IPL match on TV so I was watching that while chatting about the language barrier and how these small towns are trying to match up to the glamour of metro cities, etc. Meanwhile our order came and it looked decent - 2 Koftas with gravy and chapati. The gravy was sweet, though I was ok with the taste. We thought of ordering some desert after the meal so we asked the waiter if we could get any desert. There was another big group which had come to the restaurant and probably other walk in guests were also waiting outside, and the waiter and the staff were keen to get the table cleared fast. So the waiter simply refused giving us any more food saying “abhi kuch bhi available nahi hai”. He cleared all our plates and cleaned the table indicating that we should leave now. That was actually very rude but then I didn’t expect a restaurant in small town to know customer service and customer delight.

Mummy tried to talk to the manager but even he too seemed to be very busy with other guests than us. So I just told mummy to leave as they are not interested in hearing us or serving us. We came back to the room and retired for the day. I started jotting down my experience of the drive for the day.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to Agartala. Hoping that the roads are not as bad as what we faced today. But then when I think about it, I realise that this is not my plan in the first place. This is GOD’s plan and we are just following the plan because HE chose us for it. So he will ensure that the plan goes on and we are only supposed to play our part in this plan.

Day 22 - 2/4/25 - Ancient State of Tripura

Today morning I woke up at around 5 am but was relaxed as the breakfast was to start only at 8 am. So I lied around on the bed and then finally got up at around 6 am. Finished my bath and started writing some reviews on google maps. I have now decided to write reviews on google maps of all the places we visit during this trip as it will help others who search for these hotels and places get a perspective. I am writing these daily logs but I am not sure how and where I will publish this. But writing reviews on google maps along with photos and videos gives others a perspective and effectively I can also share my experience for benefit of others.

Mummy also got ready and we waited for 8 am. In the meanwhile I went down to car and kept the luggage in the car and cleaned the car. It seemed to have rained at night due to which there were rain drop stains on the car. Thankfully the car was not wet. At 8 am we walked to the restaurant and it was closed. I asked the reception about breakfast and he mentioned that he will send it to the room so we placed order for breakfast and after 30 minutes reminded them to send the order. After around 40 minutes our breakfast was sent to our room. The sabji was sweet! we just finished what we had got and checked out from the hotel.

I had booked the hotel in Agartala in morning itself, so destination was fixed. The roads were better than what we had encountered previous day, but were far from being qualified as National Highway. Regular potholes on the road made the drive slow, as I had to constantly manoeuver the car to avoid the potholes.

After about 1.5 hours of drive we crossed into Tripura, the 13th state of our journey. The roads in Tripura are sunken roads. It seems that the road sinks in at multiple places due to poor construction quality. As a result the ride quality is wavy. The car keeps swaying as if on waves. Add to this the potholes and it calls for very attentive driving.

We decided to visit Unakoti which is on the way to Agartala. I set the destination as Unakoti Rock Carvings and drove towards the location. Soon we reached the location. There is no entry fee but there are multiple stairs / steps made, to climb up and down the rock hills. 

Unakoti literally means one less than a crore. There are that many rock carvings at this place. Legend has it that Lord Shiva while going to Kashi rested at this place for the night, and told his fellow Gods to wake up and resume the journey before sunrise the next day. But none of the Gods could wake up before sunrise. Hence Lord Shiva cursed them to turn into stones. To commemorate this legend Unakoti has become a Holy place. 

Varied forms of Gods & Goddesses are carved on rocks at this place. We didn’t explore the place completely as I did not want mummy to climb all the stairs and get tired. Moreover it was very hot so we did not want to exert so much in heat. We clicked few pictures of the Shiva carving and then decided to leave. On the way back we stopped at the canteen in the premises and had a watermelon juice.

We continued our journey to Agartala. The roads continued to be as they were in Tripura - Wavy. I didn’t realise but the petrol in my car had come down to only 2 marks on the indicator. I searched on google maps for petrol pumps on the route and it showed the nearest petrol pump atleast 20-30 KMs away. Finally I reached one of the petrol pumps and filled the tank full. Agartala was    approximately 50 KMs from this place.

At about 40KMs away from Agartala, the roads started deteriorating. From bumpy to bad to very bad to no roads. I was reminded of the drive of previous day. Such road conditions continued for atleast 10-12 KMs and after that the potholed wavy roads continued for another 5 KMs or so. By now Agartala was around 25 KMs away. Now the roads suddenly started getting better and as we got closer to the city the roads became smooth and well paved. At one point there was some VIP car which pulled in front of us. We drove behind it and had a breeze passing through the traffic for sometime. Then as we entered Agartala city, a big gate welcomed us. The city traffic slowed down the speed. Plus google maps always confuses especially inside city. I took a wrong turn and we had to circle around in the city to reach the hotel. Thankfully we were not too far and soon reached the hotel.

Once at the hotel, I realised they do not have parking so I had to park on the road side. This was slightly uncomfortable for me, but now I had no choice as I had already paid the room charges when I booked the room. We finished the check in formalities and came to room. We rested for a while and then decided to head out to explore Ujjayanta Palace and Jagannatha Temple. We took an auto from the hotel. The person at reception was very helpful and kind. He saw us waiting on the road so he came down and helped us get an auto to the palace. We reached the palace and walked towards the entry gate. We had planned to see the light and sound show which was scheduled to start at 6.30 pm. We had reached the palace at around 6.15 pm and the ticket sale started soon after. I bought the tickets and we went in. Clicked some pictures of the palace on the way in. There were chairs arranged inside for the show so we went and sat in the first row.

The Light and sound show started sharp at 6.30 pm. The show lasted for 30 minutes. I felt that quality of animation and the show was good. Also from content point of view it captured all the  details of the history of Tripura state. Apparently Tripura state is also mentioned in some of our scriptures and has some legends related to Shiva and Shakti. There is also a Shaktipeeth in Tripura state. Already Unakoti had given us a glimpse of the ancient history of the state and now with the detailed history during the show it was becoming even more evident. Also Tripura is the 3rd smallest state of India. 

We left once the show was over. We wanted to visit the Jagannatha temple which was bit far and we had to walk for around 15 minutes to reach the temple. We had good darshan of Jagannath and then took an auto from the temple to hotel. Mummy had to buy a belt for her back as her back pain was not subsiding so we searched for a medical store near hotel and walked till there. Bought the belt and then walked back to hotel. We came to room and then I started logging in the day’s experience.

Tomorrow is relatively longer drive as I plan to go to Silchar which is further ahead of Karimganj. The road is same on which we drove today so there is no surprise on that front. Hope we reach our destination on time. GOD has been guiding us on HIS plan till now and I am sure HE will guide us tomorrow too.

Day 23 - 3/4/25 - Drive Back Day

Today was a drive back day. We had to drive back the same route on which we came through yesterday. Though our destination is different, 95% of the road is the same. We have to reach Badarpur and then from there take a left turn towards Silchar which is our destination for the night. It is a transit destination as Itanagar is too far from Agartala.

In the morning I woke up relatively late at around 6 am. I had slept late after watching the RCB match so I guess that’s why woke up late. I got ready and then mummy too got ready by around 7.30 am. I took some luggage down to the car and started cleaning the car. In the meanwhile it was breakfast time and mummy also came down to restaurant. We had our breakfast properly as we knew that there won’t be any good restaurant on the route since we drove on it yesterday itself. After breakfast we went to room to take balance bags. In the meanwhile I had paid off the food bills at the hotel and so we were practically ready to leave after handing over the keys. 

We put our bags in the car and I set the destination of Silchar hotel which I had booked in morning. The drive time was showing around 7 hours. The route was the same so nothing much to talk about. Same bumpy roads, wavy roads, potholed roads we crossed. Mummy had dozed off in the car. Probably she is getting too tired of all the travelling. I kept driving as I wanted to cover the distance as fast as possible. But hurry can lead to error. And that’s what we almost encountered twice in the morning itself. 

At one of the junction, there were police barricades and a biker on our side tried to cross the road without looking at our car which was oncoming traffic for him. He kept looking in the other direction where he wanted to cross. I had to brake really hard to bring the car to a complete halt ,else my car would have hit him head on and very hard. The guys on the bike were visibility shaken and so were we. He then went where he wanted to go and we continued to drive further.

Again at another place an elderly man was trying to take a u-turn on a scooty. He had given a right turn indicator, but we were on a slight uphill and so I was also trying race through. But suddenly I saw the scooty and I honked and braked simultaneously. The car came to a halt with a loud screeching sound. The old man was visibly scared. Everyone around started looking in our direction due to the screeching sound. After that incident, I took it as an indication from GOD to drive patiently and not be in a hurry. After that I kept driving with a relaxed mind hardly ever touching 80KMPH even on open roads.

We were driving at a good pace and were able to cut down the ETA by almost 35 minutes. We almost skipped the lunch and had some banana chips after stopping the car at one place. I clicked some pictures of the tea gardens around. When we reached Badarpur town, mummy reminded that she remembered seeing an SBI branch on the highway so we looked for it. Once we reached the branch, mummy went in to get the cash change for spending and tipping. It took her around 20 minutes. By now the ETA to hotel in Silchar was showing around 3.50 pm.   

From Badarpur we took the left towards Silchar. This road is no different from what we have been driving on till now. But we crossed railway tracks atleast 3-4 times in the 25 odd KMs distance to Silchar from Badarpur. The traffic jams at railway crossings don’t just slow down the average speed but also make it tough to drive through as the roads near the tracks are in bad condition and all vehicles are hurrying to get to other side fast. Moreover the big trucks take more time to cross the crossings. 

When we entered Silchar town the road towards the hotel was showing some blockage on google maps and we encountered the same on road as well. Apparently some accident had caused a traffic jam. Everyone was taking a u-turn, so we too decided to take a u-turn and follow the traffic if google maps does not redirect us through a new route. The alternate route was through a very narrow lane where even 2 cars had to cross each other at snails pace. In this lane entered the trucks and tempos making it a navigating challenge for all the vehicles. 

Finally we were back on the main road, and drove to hotel. There was no electricity in the hotel when we reached. We took out our luggage and gave the car for parking. We were informed that the restaurant at the hotel was closed for the day due to some issue and hence we would have to order food from outside. This was a slight disappointment for us as we were hoping to have some snack or food since we had skipped lunch.

We checked in to the room and Mummy started reading the Sai Charitra book which she reads every thursday. I was wondering what to do as I was feeling hungry but did not want to order food without mummy’s opinion. I had some snacks from our snack bag and logged in the expenses for the day which were very less. Then I browsed on Swiggy and placed order for some food. I checked with mummy and she was ok with the order. The order was going to take around 40 minutes to deliver. The hotel did not have a tap or bucket so no washing clothes today. In the meanwhile I thought of watching the highlights of last night match as I could not see the match fully. But then again some technical snag at the hotel cut off the internet connection. So then I just started logging the day’s experience. In sometime the food was also delivered and we requested the hotel to send us some plates. We had our food and then relaxed.

Tomorrow again is going to be a long and arduous drive to Nagaon another town in Assam. GOD plans, we follow.

Day 24 - 4/4/25 - Dusted

Woke up by 5.30 am in the morning and got ready by 6 am. Woke mummy up by 6.30 am as breakfast started from 7.30 am. Plan was to leave early after breakfast so that we can cover the bad stretch and rest of the road comfortably during day light. Mummy went to bathroom and I went down to clean the car. The roads in this part of country are so dusty that the car was getting covered in thick layer of dust every day. Though I have the Jopasu Car Duster but even that is now seeming to be struggling in front of the thick dust that settles on the car.

Today the drive was to Nagaon or rather to outskirts of Nagaon as I was not too keen to enter the town and get stuck in traffic. I had found a decent place on the highway before entering the town of Nagaon. The road to Nagaon had a section of about 25-30 KMs which was under construction and hence the drive was through literally no roads on this stretch. Having driven through such road 2 days back, I was cautious of driving on this stretch more for mummy’s back and the car. I didn’t want either of them to have any damage due to the bad roads.

I came back to the hotel and mummy also came down. It was 7.30 am so we went for breakfast. Finished our breakfast, took the bags from room and checked out of hotel. We started our drive for the day by 8.15 am, earlier than what we have been doing since last few days. The road till NH was through villages and hence narrow and bumpy. Once on the NH27, the roads were smooth. Though I had to be vigilant through out as the stray cattle were roaming right on the middle of the NH. The views were scenic and we stopped for a few pictures of the beautiful nature.  

After about 50 KMs of drive the bad stretch started. I drove as cautiously as I could. Thankfully it had not rained and hence the roads were all dry. Unlike the drive in Meghalaya, where the car was covered in thick layer of mud due to wet bad roads. Here it was the dust which covered the car fully. The Dry non-roads means lot of sand and dust which was flying all over as the vehicles were passing over it. At some patches there was loose sand due to which the tyre was skidding which made me a bit nervous. But my loyal companion, Duster, is stronger than my understanding and sailed through all those roads. This bad stretch of no-roads lasted for about 25-30 KMs till Haflong town after which we turned towards NH27 instead of entering the town.

By this time Duster was fully covered in dust! I was feeling sad for Duster as I like to keep it clean but now there was no point wiping off the dust as it would get dirty in the rest of the drive. The rest of the roads were good with occasional bad patches, potholes keeping me alert. But I was able to maintain a good speed. There were hardly any restaurants we could find on the road. So we stopped on roadside at Lumding and had some fruits and chakli from our snack bag.

We continued our drive further. Nagaon was around 2.5 hours drive from here. But the roads were good so we were able to cover the distance faster and reduce the drive time. I set the hotel on highway as destination and that saved another 5-10 minutes of drive time for us. At around 3 pm we reached the hotel. We went to reception to enquire for rooms and the lady showed us the available rooms. We selected one and checked in. We had not had lunch so we went down to the food court and had Veg Biryani. After lunch, took our bags and went up to the room. and settled in.

I got to doing my routine of washing my clothes. This was pending since last 2 days and hence I wanted to wash off the dirty clothes. By 5 pm I was done with all the daily chores. There was a cinema hall in the complex of this hotel so I asked mummy if she wanted to watch her favourite actor Salman Khan’s latest movie Sikander. But she didn’t show much interest so I started watching IPL match highlights and then started logging in the expenses and experiences.

During lunch I had mentioned to mummy about Kaziranga National Park which is around 50 minutes drive from our hotel. She was excited about it. Somehow it did not strike me to take the night halt at Kaziranga and instead I kept searching for rooms in Nagaon. Had I looked for rooms in Kaziranga probably it would have been convenient for us to take the safari next day morning. So tomorrow the plan is to do the Kaziranga Safari if we get a ticket from the counter, and after safari head to Itanagar, capital of Arunachal Pradesh, 14th State in our journey. If we don’t get tickets then we head to Itanagar directly. After all whatever happens, happens for the good. Anyways this is GOD’s plan and we are just following it.

Day 25 - 5/4/25 - From Rhino Spotting to The Land of Rising Sun

Today morning we got ready early. Both mummy and I were ready by around 6.45 am. Breakfast was to start from 7.30 am. I looked out the window and I could see fog in the distant. So I assumed that the car would be covered in dew, so it wouldn’t make sense to clean the dust. So I sat in the room and started watching the highlights of IPL matches. Mummy was doing her timepass on the phone.

At 7.30 am we went down to the Food Court for the breakfast. The breakfast had to be chosen from a fixed menu and we ordered our food. The food was good in taste and sufficient in quantity. We finished our breakfast and mummy went to the room while I got to cleaning the car as it was dry and not wet as I had assumed earlier. It took me more time to clean the car as I also wanted to fill air in the tyre which I suspected had a puncture. I went up to the room after cleaning the car and then left after finishing check out formalities.

We started our journey by around 8.45 am which was almost 45 minutes late than what I had initially planned. Somehow in my mind, I had this feeling that probably the Kaziranga Safari was not going to happen as otherwise GOD would have made it convenient during the journey. I set the destination on google maps and it showed around 49 minutes to the location. As we reached closer to the location on maps, it asked us to take a turn on the opposite side of the road towards some internal village road. I was doubtful as there were no sign boards or other vehicles going towards that road. So I stopped at the turn and asked a local if this was the correct road and he clarified that google shows wrong location and the actual location for safari was further ahead. 

We took the u-turn again and started driving further on the highway. After some time we seemed to reach Kaziranga town but still no sign of the National Park or any board directing ur towards it. So we stopped the car and asked an auto. He indicated that the National Park is around 20-22 KMs further ahead. We continued our drive on the same highway. At one point, there was a left turn towards Tezpur from where we had to also go towards Itanagar, capital city of Arunachal Pradesh. But we went straight as Kaziranga National Park was indicated on that side. Soon we were welcomed by a board which mentioned Kaziranga National Park. We were relieved that we were on the right road. Otherwise there were no other sign of the National Park and google kept showing some other direction.

We kept driving at slow speed for 2 reasons - one the speed limit was indicated due to animal corridor and we were also looking for any gate which would lead us to the safari. At one point, we saw 2 elephants walking on the opposite side. They were ridden by some local guys. I slowed down the car to click some pictures of the elephants. One of the guys brought the elephant in our direction. I did not know what to do, but I was sure that since the mahut is guiding the elephant there won’t be any issue. As the elephant came closer, the mahut asked for some money. I asked mummy to give cash to the elephant in his trunk. Mummy was busy taking the video and she did take a good video of the elephant coming and standing in front of our car. I took cash from my wallet and opened the window of mummy’s side and gave the cash in the elephant’s trunk which it took and then passed us.

We continued our drive further, and by now we had crossed around 20 KMs from the place the auto guy had told us. We were not sure so we wanted to ask someone.  We found a local trying to chop of wood from a tree branch. We asked him how far is the National Park and he indicated another 5 KMs so we kept driving further. At one point, I saw a car stopped on the left side and some people clicking some pictures. It struck me that may be they have spotted the Rhino. So I slowed down the car as we crossed them and looked towards the direction where they were clicking the photos. And lo! there they were, the one-horned Rhinos which are habituated only in India and that too only in Kaziranga National Park. There were atleast 5-6 Rhinos grazing on the grass along with some cattle. And they were very far from the highway. To the naked eye they were visible but camera just couldn’t capture them properly. Even with full zoom, they looked like small dots in the pics and videos I tired to click.

It was very satisfying to have seen the rare one-horned rhino and having such a close friendly encounter with the elephant. But we were still trying for the safari. So we kept driving further. At one small roadside shop I stopped to ask how far ahead is the National Park and the lady told me another 8 KMs. By now we had crossed lot more KMs than what was told to us by the locals till now. But we thought we can try for another 10 KMs and then take a u-turn towards Itanagar as we had sighted the rhino and elephant both. And after about 10 KMs we found the gate for safari. 

We drove in and parked the car. I went to the ticket counter where some guides were sitting and chatting. I asked them if the safari was available that time. They mentioned that I was late by 30 minutes. The last safari time is 10 am and we reached there at around 10.30 am. I was now sure that this safari was not part of GOD’s plan. We clicked pictures at the entry gate and left from there. 

I set the destination as Itanagar on google maps, which was around 3 hours and 45 minutes drive from the National Park gate. I was cautious to drive at a relaxed speed in the jungle area. Also I wanted to stop at the same location to see if we could spot more rhinos. And luckily during our return too we saw some people standing by road side and clicking pictures. So we stopped on the opposite side. I saw a lone rhino grazing. I got down to click some pictures and mummy too came out of the car. We had a good sight of the rhino though it was very far from the highway.

We continued our drive towards Itanagar. Reached the junction from where we turned towards Tezpur. On the way we crossed the Brahmaputra River. We stopped briefly to submerge some holy items we had in the car. Mummy got down and threw them in the river from the road itself. We continued the drive further. The roads were good, 4-lane divided roads. I was driving on such roads after almost 4-5 days. I was feeling better, but I had to be vigilant as the wrong side driving morons kept ruining the fun. In one instance, I came almost head on to an on-coming car driving in wrong side on the right most lane! The guy was absolutely unapologetic about his moronic behaviour! At another place, a stray cow suddenly got down on the road from the divider and came right in front of us. I was worried and hit the brakes as hard as I could. Our car stopped almost a foot away from the cow. This also scared the cow and it tried to run away. There was another car coming from behind. But thankfully none of the cars hit the cow. I felt relieved and continued our drive.

I asked mummy to check petrol price in Arunachal and it was around Rs.10 cheaper than in Assam. So I decided to fill the petrol in Arunachal. Anyways with the fuel we had in the car we could comfortably reach Itanagar so I wasn’t worried. We thought of having lunch as we had the breakfast early. It was around 1 pm when we luckily spotted a pure veg restaurant on the opposite side of the road. We parked the car and ordered food. Since it was a pure veg restaurant there were more options for main course than just paneer! We ordered Baingan masala with tava roti and dal, and later added jeera rice. The restaurant was part of one of the tea factory. There was a factory outlet of tea also next to restaurant. Mummy bought some tea packets for home and gifting. We finished our meal and continued our drive further.

Soon we reached Arunachal Pradesh border and also crossed one of the Police Check Post. I was expecting the police to stop us to check our ILP which I had procured online last week. But to my surprise the cop just looked at us and didn’t ask anything. There was another car ahead of us which drove through the check post and so did I and no one asked anything! I felt stupid for unnecessarily taking so much stress for the ILP and having paid Rs. 1000 for our ILP!

After crossing the check post I saw couple of sign boards saying ‘Welcome to Itanagar’. We had now entered the 14th state in our journey. Arunachal Pradesh is the eastern most state of India and hence it is also called as “The Land of the Rising Sun”. Itanagar is the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh and hardly has any places of sight seeing. The tourist places in Arunachal are   in north part of the state. But our plan was to only cover the capital cities of states so we took a hotel in Itanagar and checked in. After check in, I drove back towards the city to get the car washed. Also I wanted to get the tyre checked for any possible punctures, and yes there were 2 of them! I finished both the tasks and came back to hotel. Mummy had washed some of her clothes along with my shorts and t-shirt too. I had asked the hotel reception to check with mummy if there was any laundry. Mummy gave few clothes for express laundry but was worried for cost.

I started logging in the expenses and travel details. After sometime the laundry also was delivered to our room. I put the IPL match and started watching it. Ordered a sandwich for dinner as we also had the left over rice and dal from lunch which mummy had got packed. We finished our dinner and then rested for the day.

Tomorrow plan is to drive to Bongaigaon, Bongaigaon is a town in Assam which we had crossed while entering Assam too. And since Assam is the gateway to North East, we have to exit from here itself. Our next state in the journey was actually Bihar but we had to exit through Assam and Bongaigaon was at a driveable distance towards our next destination. But again, this plan is made by GOD and we are just following it.

Day 26 - 6/4/25 - Driving through Tea Gardens

Today woke up at around 4.30 am. It started getting bright at around 4.45 am and sunrise was at 5 am. I got ready by around 5.15 am and mummy too got ready by around 6.45 am. We were told by hotel that breakfast will start at 6.30 am so we went to restaurant by around 6.55 am but it was still closed. Later the receptionist told that breakfast would start by around 7.30 am. Since I had time at hand, I started cleaning the car. Due to previous night’s down pour the car was wet. So I had to clean and wipe the car dry.

At around 7.30 am we went to restaurant again for breakfast and now it was ready. We finished our breakfast and then went to room to pick up our bags. We checked out from the hotel and put the luggage in the car. Today’s destination was Bongaigaon a town in Assam. There was a hotel on highway which I had shortlisted during my search in morning. We started our drive at around 8.20am from the hotel. Drive time was around 8.5 hours. But I was hopeful that the drive time would reduce over the day because I was hopeful of good roads. 

The weather was pleasant so we kept driving relaxed with windows rolled down. The roads were good and so the drive was pleasant. The drive till Tezpur was same on which we had driven yesterday. After Tezpur the roads were undivided 2 lane road. The road condition was good but traffic at town junctions would slow down the speed.

On this highway we saw tea gardens on both sides of the road. It was a pleasant and beautiful drive through the tea gardens. Green tea gardens on both side and trees on the road side was making the drive enjoyable. By now we had driven through these tea gardens since last few days so while it was pleasant it was not novel and so we did not stop to click any more pictures of the tea gardens. Moreover at times it is just important to enjoy the natural beauty and capture the memory in our heart, instead of trying to capture it in our devices.

The stray cattle and goats would terrorise occasionally amidst the scenic drive though! At one point google maps directed to some roads through villages. The roads were rough and my speed was around 50-60KMPH. But suddenly out of gate of a compound a little goat came running  straight towards our car. I braked hard, but I think I hit the goat, because I heard a sound. I was scared. There was no human around. But I was worried of running over the goat. I was thinking of stepping out of car to check but mummy saw the goat run out of the car from the other side, so I felt relaxed. We continued our drive further more carefully now.

Lunch was a mix of snacks and some roti sabji at a small dhaba which was just to fill our stomach. The roads through the villages were a mix of good, bad and no-road. So driving was accordingly adjusted. It was a long day of driving, I was aware, so I was trying to keep my temperament calm and drive as per the road condition.

We reached Bongaigaon at around 4.40pm. The hotel I had shortlisted is right on the highway. We parked in the parking area and went to reception to check for room availability. Rooms were available and we finalised one. Finished the check-in formalities and came to the room. I brought luggage from the car which was parked a little away from the hotel. After fresh up I got to my routine of washing clothes. Finished washing clothes by 5.30 pm and then sat down to relax. Was feeling tired today. Had woken up early in the morning and drove almost non-stop today to avoid loss of time.

Tomorrow plan is to enter Bihar, 15th state in our journey. There is a town Kishanganj which is around 7-8 hours drive from Bongaigaon. So plan is to halt there for the night. Have shortlisted one hotel in that town. Let’s see what GOD has planned for tomorrow. In this trip GOD has given me enough and more indications that the plan is made by HIM and I am only chosen to execute it. Today I had one more realisation of this. While getting out of Arunachal Pradesh we crossed the check post again and no one asked for our ILP. Which made me wonder that probably for Mizoram and Nagaland too no one would have asked or checked the ILP. But then like yesterday’s Kaziranga experience, probably we were not meant to travel to Mizoram and Nagaland. And that’s why despite all my efforts to enquire and get the ILP, it just did not happen. This is an indication from GOD because he is making this plan.

Day 27 - 7/4/25 - Bihar mein apka swagat hai

I woke up by 5am in morning and finished my morning routine. Got ready by around 5.45am. Mummy woke up and started getting ready. In the meanwhile I was searching for road condition and hotel for our onwards journey. Later I went down to clean the car. Yesterday don’t know where but it seemed the car went through some mud patches and a lot of mud was stuck on the left side of the car. Plus there was a lot of dust. So I had to clean it up before we start our drive. Breakfast was anyways at 7.30 am so we had time. I came back to room by around 7.20 am. We went for breakfast at 7.30 am. After breakfast came back to room, rested for a while and then left. After check out we got into the car, kept our luggage and started our drive towards Kishanganj which is the border town of Bihar, the 15th state in our journey.

It was around 8.20 am when we started the drive and google showed a drive time of around 8 hours 20 minutes. The hotel was right on highway so no time was lost in coming back on highway. Roads were good and so the drive started well. We were cruising at around 80KMPH. Mummy and I got into a lot of conversations during the drive and so I do not recollect much of the drive or road incidents. But I was attentive whole time when driving. We stopped for a fuel break at around 10.45 am and then for lunch at around 12.30pm. I was feeling very hungry and so had to eat. Luckily we saw some dhaba type restaurant on the highway and stopped for lunch. Ordered Thali which was very basic but enough to satiate my hunger.

We started the drive after lunch. After sometime the 4-lane divided highway ended and we were now driving on 2 lane undivided highway. The roads were good so it was one less worry while driving. But after sometime we were again back on 4 lane divided highway. We saved atleast 35-40 minutes of drive time. When we started in morning ETA was showing as 3.52pm but we were in Kishanganj by almost 3.30pm. Islampur is the border town of West Bengal after which Kishanganj is the first town of Bihar. The town and our hotel both were almost at the border of West Bengal. Hotel was in a lane on right from the highway. But when we reached Kishanganj there was diversion on to a flyover. I was not sure how long the flyover was and remembering my previous encounters of following google maps I thought of taking the flyover. But this flyover was long and we missed the right turn which was under the flyover! So we had to drive almost 1 KM further ahead and take a u-turn and come back to the lane. We had to cross the railway crossing to go towards the hotel. 

Hotel was in a narrow road. There was parking only for 2 cars. The security guy helped me park the car in the narrow space. I went upto reception to check for room availability. I liked the room so finalised it and came back to car to take the luggage. We came to the room and rested for a while and then I started with my routine of washing clothes. After that I started searching for good hotel options in Patna. I was not too keen to enter the city as I wanted to avoid the city traffic while entering and next day when leaving the city. Luckily I found a hotel on the highway, and after going through reviews and finding a decent price I booked it online. So it is going to be a touch and go visit for Patna. 

The hotel had a nice rooftop restaurant where we had our dinner and later I watched the MI vs RCB match in the room. The match was good with both teams fighting hard for the victory. RCB eventually got the better of MI and it was something for the RCB fan in me to cheer about. Tomorrow we head to the capital city of Bihar, Patna. There is no other plan to stop anywhere so it is going to be another day of driving around 8 hours tomorrow. Hope the roads continue to be good so the drive is relaxed.

Day 28 - 8/4/25 - Punctured start to the day

In the morning I woke up early but lazed around as breakfast was at 8 am. Eventually I got ready by 7 am. Mummy too got ready. I went down to clean the car which was parked inside thanks to the owner who allowed me to park the car inside at night. I finished cleaning the car and noticed that the rear tyre on passenger side was flat!

I was now disappointed, disheartened, worried everything at the same time. The drive to Patna was around 8 hours. I wanted to leave early, but because of late breakfast at hotel anyways the start was going to get delayed and now a flat tyre. I too felt punctured mentally! I initially thought of replacing the tyre, but then thought it was too much of physical effort and time that I would have to invest before an 8 hour drive day. So I just filled air in the deflated tyre and hoped that it would sustain for another hour or so till we leave. I asked the people around and they said that a puncture repair shop is right on the highway which is less than a KM from the hotel. So I was relaxed.

I came back to room and it was around 8 am by now. We went for breakfast. Breakfast was decent, and we finished our meal soon. Came back to room at around 8.30 am. Rested for a while as I was told that the puncture shop would open only at 9 am. We had to while away our time. After sometime mummy suggested that we leave so at around 8.50 am we went to reception and finished our check out formalities. Came to car and the tyre had still retained some air so I was relaxed. We put our luggage in the car and started the drive back.

The road till the highway was a narrow lane but we had a truck ahead of us due to which it was relatively easy for us to navigate the small vehicle traffic in the narrow lane. We reached the highway in 5 minutes. I saw a puncture repair shop right on the opposite side. We went there and got the puncture repaired. It was a crowded road and navigating and parking the car in such a narrow lane was a challenge.

After repair we left from Kishanganj for Patna. I had booked the hotel in Patna previous evening itself so the destination was known. I had booked the hotel in Patna on the highway as I was not too keen to enter the city and get stuck in city traffic after a long day of driving. Luckily I found a hotel which claimed to be a 4-star property but was nothing more than a 3-star at best. But it was good enough for our requirement of being on highway, having parking and decent room.

We started our drive, and initially the Kishanganj town traffic slowed the speed. But as we crossed the town the roads were good and we were able to drive at good speed. 4-lane divided highway in Bihar was something that probably I had not expected especially since I had witnessed  the road condition of Bihar during my management trainee days around 19 years ago. But then when the whole country has developed, even Bihar has moved with times. The drive was good till Purnia after which again the roads were 2-lane undivided. This part of the drive was tiring as there were frequent villages / towns which we encountered on the route. And at these junctions there was lot of vehicular traffic and pedestrians. Due to which speed slowed down drastically.

The roads were good for most of the stretch except for near the towns where there were bumpy roads and occasional potholes too. As we reached Begusarai, the roads again were now 4-lane divided highway which made driving a breeze. To reach Patna we had to cross the Holy Ganga river. The bridge on the river was undergoing maintenance due to which one side of the bridge was closed for a section. Traffic was being regulated due to this and we had to wait around 15 -20 minutes for our turn to get on the bridge.

I was worried as we were losing time and I did not want to drive after sunset. Sunset was expected at around 6pm and ETA on google maps was showing around 5.45 pm. We crossed the bridge on Ganga River and after a short drive through 2-lane road we were back on broad 4-lane highway which seemed to have been paved recently. It was a breeze to drive on this highway. Roads were relatively empty so drive on this road was good. Speed limit for cars was 100KMPH and I used that to drive faster. However the ETA on google maps kept increasing despite me driving at good speed. I realised that may be in Patna city there would be traffic jam due to which ETA is showing later.

Finally we reached the outskirts of Patna city, the capital of Bihar. And now we started encountering all city vehicle traffic. From 2-wheelers to cycle, to e-auto to regular auto to city bus to trucks and ofcourse cars. At one junction it was showing a dark red patch on google maps. That’s where the jam was. We tried to navigate through it. I tried to follow another car which went through unpaved side road. This stretch was lower in elevation than the highway. At the junction where we had to take a right turn to get up on the highway, I was hoping that the car in front doesn’t get stuck as otherwise for me it would be difficult to get on to the highway. The car ahead of me climbed up the highway smoothly. I thought of following the car but I made a small judgement error. Instead of climbing the car perpendicularly I tried to turned towards the traffic direction. As a result one of the wheel was in air. The front wheel was just spinning without any traction. I tried 3-4 times but just couldn’t climb up. Traffic behind me was piling up. Now I was worried how do I take the car up. The highway in front was jam packed with multiple vehicles trying to navigate through the gaps to get away from the jam. Vehicles behind me were hoping to get on to the highway to get away from the jam. And in between these I was stuck on the climb.

I let the car roll back as much as I could. Turned the steering to make the car as perpendicular to the road as I could and then tried to get on to the highway again. Luckily this time the car climbed up so I was relieved. Now was the challenge of navigating through the traffic jam. Somehow after lot of honking and taking multiple left right short turns we managed to cross the traffic jam junction. But the hotel was still around 5 KMs away and the city traffic was continuing to slow down the speed. After about 15 minutes we reached the hotel.

I was very tired mentally and physically by now and just wanted to rest in the room. I had decided while driving itself that today I will skip the daily routine of washing clothes. We finished our check in formalities and went up to the room. The room was small but it was manageable. We kept our luggage and settled in. I started logging in the expenses and travel details. We ordered dinner as I was feeling a bit hungry and started watching IPL match. Dinner came at around 6.45 pm. We finished it and then I started searching for hotel options in Ranchi. I had seen a few hotels but was not sure. I searched again and read the reviews and checked the location and shortlisted a few. Will call them tomorrow when we reach Ranchi and then decide which one to take.

Tomorrow plan is to leave after breakfast and head towards Nalanda. I want to see the ruins of the Nalanda University. From then head towards Ranchi, capital city of Jharkhand which will be the 16th state in our journey. GOD is making the plan and I am just following it as per HIS instructions.

Day 29 - 9/4/25 - Land of Nature

Woke up early and got ready. Mummy too woke up and got ready. Cleaned my car. It was fully covered in thick layer of dust, so were the other cars parked nearby. This is the gift of Patna! Cleaned all the dust. It was 7.25 am by now. Breakfast was served from 7.30 am. Went to room and then after washing my hands we came down for breakfast. Had our breakfast and came back to room. Finished our check out formalities, kept luggage in car and then started our drive towards Nalanda, the historical university which was burnt down by the cruel invader Bakhtiyar Khilji. It is said that students from world over used to come to Nalanda University to study. There used to be over 10000 students studying there. More than 1 Lakh books on different topics and scriptures were available at the University. And when Khilji burnt it, the books and university kept burning for over 3 months!

The drive time was showing around 2 hours on google maps. But the highway in front of the hotel was blocked with trucks. Apparently the trucks do not get permission to enter city at night and only after 9.30 -10 am they are allowed. So all the trucks had piled up right on highway blocking the enter highway. Google maps suggested some road from inside Patna city, which I was a bit unsure but had no choice and follow it.

The service road on which the hotel was located was completely in shambles. I was reminded of our dangerous drive in Meghalaya. However the main road was not too far so I endured the drive with oncoming auto traffic and navigating our car through the narrow gap between parked vehicles / trucks and autos. The roads inside the city were relatively empty at around 8.30 am. So Google was right and this road helped us cross the highway blockage faster.

Once on the highway, it was the same stretch of highway on which we had driven to Patna yesterday so it was smooth drive. Soon we reached Bakhtiyarpur town, from where we had to take a right turn to go towards Nalanda. From here the roads were 2-lane undivided, but the traffic was practically nil and roads were good so we could drive smoothly. At around 10.20 am we reached Nalanda and were welcomed by a big gate at the entrance. We were struggling to figure out where to go as Google Maps started it’s antics of confusing us by suggesting roads turns which we could not locate on the actual roads!

However as soon as we reached near the Ruins, E-auto guys and other guys started flanking the car asking us to park. We however tried to ignore them and drove a little ahead and one auto guy was continuously honking behind us so we stopped a little ahead giving him space to go ahead. We saw some security guys and asked them where to park and they also suggested the same place where the other guys were asking us to park. But that auto guy asked us to go further and park ahead. So we drove further. He kept following us and took us to a ground which was empty with only 2-3 vehicles parked there. He negotiated for a auto service where he would show us 4 places in the area. I agreed as I did not know much about the place and hoped that we would get to see more than just the ruins for which we had come to Nalanda.

We parked the car and got into the auto. The auto floor was high, and mummy was finding it tough to climb in but still she managed to climb the auto. The first place of sight seeing was of a Chinese student who had come to Nalanda. Apparently he was the first student at Nalanda University or may be the first Chinese student at Nalanda University, not sure. It was a memorial to honour Xuan Zang the Chinese student. We clicked some pictures. There was also a small shop selling idols. I suggested mummy to buy some small idols for Niti’s house.

From there he took us to a temple which was birth place of one of Jain swami who was a disciple of Lord Mahavir. We entered the temple and did darshan. They were all empty. Looks like only Jains visit the temple and other people do not visit it. Though the temple was well maintained.

Third site was of Black Buddha. Honestly it was a big Buddha statue in black stone so people call it Black Buddha. The guy there gave us some history of the statue and how it was tried to be decimated and how it was uncovered during excavation etc. Apparently the statue’s uncovering led to uncovering of the entire Nalanda ruins excavation. 

Fourth and final was the Ruins of Nalanda University. We entered inside and it was all right in front of us - the ruins, the burnt brick walls. It was almost like a small town which was constructed. ASI has maintained the site well. There were some tourists there but the place still appeared relatively empty. We clicked few pictures and roamed a little. It was getting warmer so we decided to leave as we had to drive further ahead to Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand. 

We left from the place and asked the auto guy to take us to some place where we could get Litti Chokha, the famous food dish of Bihar. He took us to a small roadside dhaba and we had one plate of Litti Chokha. It was nice but heavy to eat and digest as it is made of besan / sattu. We left from there and the guys posing as parking guys started hounding us to pay parking fees. I tried to reason with them but then they used their trick of 2-3 guys gathering and surrounding the car., arguing aggressively. Eventually I paid them what they asked for and left from there at around 12 noon. 

The drive time to Ranchi was showing as 5.5 hours, so by around 5.30pm we would be in Ranchi. I was relieved that we would reach before sunset. The roads were all 4-lane smooth roads with less traffic so the drive was a breeze. Except for where the highway crossed through some town. Soon we entered Jharkhand the 16th state in our journey, and the state welcomed us with a big board on the highway. 

Entry into Jharkhand was through a drive on the hilly roads. But the road was well laid out and so it wasn’t much effort to drive through the hills. The sun suddenly became less brighter. Clouds engulfed the sun making it pleasant yet a bit dark to see. I had to take off my sunglasses to see clearly. We reached the town of Koderma after the end of hilly roads and here it was cloudy and dark as if it was going to rain. As we kept driving further the rainy conditions were getting more prominent. I checked on the weather app and it showed severe weather warning in the town of Koderma. I was hoping to cross the town early and not get stuck in rains.

It was drizzling a bit though and the roads were all wet but it did not rain thankfully. The car was all covered in wet mud due to the wet roads and drizzle. We crossed Koderma town and now the sun was bright again. The roads were dry. I tried calling a couple of hotels which I had shortlisted previous night. All said they had rooms available. We reached Ranchi at around 4.30 pm, and I changed the destination to one of the hotels which I had shortlisted as it was the first on our way. The Hotel was a small hotel. Rooms were nice but it did not have parking and the restaurant was not functional. We decided to move on to next hotel, which was bigger than the previous hotel, with parking space. It was also expensive, but we decide to take it as it was already 5.30pm and we had to navigate through the evening city traffic to reach the hotel.

We finished the check in formalities and came to room. Rested for a while and then my routine of washing clothes started. After washing clothes we went down to restaurant to have dinner. We started chatting and mummy suddenly mentioned that she wished the trip got over by monday and we go back home. She mentioned she had started feeling homesick. I was surprised and may be must have said something which probably hurt her. I did not say anything intentionally, but must be something I said or the way I said that must have hurt her. So now I was not sure how far this trip is going to continue.

After dinner we came back to room. I started logging in the expenses and searching for route options back to Mumbai and hotel options for next day. Ambikapur is a town in Chhattisgarh on the way to Raipur which would be good place to stay either way the plan goes. So I shortlisted some hotels in Ambikapur. Now let’s see what is in store for tomorrow. Everything is anyways planned by GOD so I will follow HIS instructions and do my duty.

Day 30 - 10/4/25 - 30 days on the road!

Today we complete 30 days of this road trip and it doesn’t feel anything different or weird, atleast to me. I am just doing this road trip ,following this daily schedule of driving, staying at a hotel, washing clothes, getting up next day again driving to a new destination. This atleast in last 30 days hasn’t yet felt different. It feels like the whole world is my home and therefore somehow I don’t feel away from home.

Today the plan was to cross from Jharkhand to Chhattisgarh which would be the 17th state of our journey. But the state capital Raipur is far so I had planned to take a stop at Ambikapur. After finishing my morning routine and getting ready I sat down to write the previous days experience. Breakfast was to start at 7.30 am. Mummy got ready by around 7 am so I went down to clean the car. After yesterday’s drive through wet roads and rain the car had become very dirty. It took a bit of effort to remove all the dirt which had dried up on the body of the car. But eventually I managed to make the car look cleaner. I guess even my duster is now giving up after cleaning the humongous amounts of dirt and dust that it is subjected to cleaning from the car on a daily basis in last 30 days.

It was almost 7.30 am by that time I cleaned the car and came to room. We came down for breakfast and finished our breakfast. I had paid the food bill while coming up after cleaning the car so now no other formality was left apart from submitting the key at reception. We took our bags and came down to reception. There was some luggage adjustment which had to be done so that took us around 10 minutes.

We started our drive to Ambikapur at around 8.20 am from the hotel. The drive had to be through Ranchi city. Unlike in Patna, Ranchi was bustling at that time in morning. People walking to their work, cars, autos plying on the road to get to their destination. Also there was some road work in some parts of the city. This slowed down the speed. I was also taking it easy. Somehow mentally and physically I was not keen to drive fast today. May be because the drive time to Ambikapur was only 5.5 hours on google maps so I knew we would reach our destination in afternoon itself. Past 3 days I have been driving almost 8 hours daily and have been constantly worried about reaching before sunset. Today no such stress was there, and that’s why also I was enjoying driving at a relaxed speed.

Mummy had to read the Sai Charitra book as it was thursday. I stopped for fuel refill at a petrol station and also got air checked in the tyres. I was getting a feeling that something was not right with the tyres especially after the 2 punctures in 2 wheels in last one week. The 2 wheels had higher tyre pressure so I got that reduced and maintained equal pressure in all wheels. I was driving easy as mummy was reading and did not want her to get disturbed or get motion sickness. I had stopped playing music also in the car.

After mummy finished reading, we somehow started chatting on how both mummy and papa managed their life after marriage and what all struggles they had to go through. This conversation was very interesting and so I was also enjoying it while driving at a comfortable 60-70 KMPH. Roads were good and relatively empty so there was not much to worry about while driving. The scenery was beautiful. India is a beautiful country and it’s natural beauty can be witnessed when you travel across the country.

We kept chatting and the distance kept getting covered. Driving through hills at some sections, through small towns, through open highways and sometimes through 2-lane highway. But all this drive was peaceful. May be mentally I was relaxed due to less drive time and so everything was just feeling good. This was the road trip I was actually wanting to do. Enjoy the drive, enjoy the scenery, enjoy nature. Today I was getting to do that, plus the stories of mummy papa were making it even more interesting.

We stopped at Gumma town at a fruit stall to buy some oranges and also have some juice. The fruit shop guy was a young man. All through these 30 days we have seen the real India. Young, Old everyone is keeping themselves busy and working. Everyone is adding to the growth of the country. Everyone is doing their little bit to support their family. And everyone is trying to be as ‘Atmanirbhar’ as possible. Even among the people with less education or lower financial potential, confidence was something that is high. At the remotest and smallest of shops too I have found people using UPI willingly. Everyone had a smart phone. Everyone is using internet. Everyone is well informed and updated.

Truly India is growing and developing. Not just the infrastructure but the people too. Yes there is still a long way to go. But when you travel and see the unity in diversity of people, cultures, language, food, beliefs, it seems like the big wheel has now started rolling. And the day all the cogs and gears move at same pace, there will be no stopping India. 

We reached a river and the bridge across the river welcomed us into the 17th State of our journey, Chhattisgarh. Why is this state called so? I do not know much but what google tells is that British gave this name as this part of the country had many forts. Chhattisgarh, which literally translates to 36 forts, otherwise is home to a lot of forests and natural beauty in form of waterfalls. We were now driving through lot of small villages and green forestation on both sides of the road. It was a beautiful drive and truly enjoyable. Nature has this special ability to heal you and bring you peace.

There were some stretches of the road which were really empty with practically no other vehicle on either side of road and we were passing through forestation area. This was making me a bit nervous due to the naxalite history of the state. But soon we were near our destination and now there was regular vehicular traffic on the road on both sides. 

Around 20KM before Ambikapur, we saw a gate on the opposite side which mentioned about a  ‘Swayam Prakat Hanuman temple’. This intrigued us and mummy said should we visit the temple. The temple was not in sight from the highway so we took a u-turn and stopped at a dhaba opposite the gate. The dhaba person told us that the temple is around 2 KMs inside from the highway. So we drove in and reached the temple, had darshan and left from there.  

At around 2.30 pm we reached one of the shortlisted hotel. Went in and enquired for the room and decided to stay there for the night. After check-in we rested and freshened up and then went down to restaurant for lunch. After lunch, started my routine of washing clothes which we had soaked before going for lunch. Mummy had also given some of her clothes to wash. Both mummy and I started washing the clothes. 

After that it was relaxation time. I started logging in the expenses and started searching for route options for our further drive and stay options etc. Soon it was evening. The weather outside had changed drastically with strong winds blowing and rain lashing the hotel grounds which was visible from our room. Thunderstorm and lightning gave us a good show from the room window. Mummy felt like having tea so she made tea from the in-room kettle, while I continued my search.

For dinner we just ordered soups and veg cutlets and finished before the IPL match started. Today was RCB vs DC match so I was interested to watch it. But RCB somehow is not able to perform well at their own home ground Bengaluru, so eventually I slept when I realised that DC would comfortably win the match.

Tomorrow plan is to drive to the capital city of Chhattisgarh, Raipur. I have shortlisted a few hotels, so let’s see how and where we reach and stay. Anyways after 30 days of experiencing many things in this journey, one thing is constant, that this is GOD’s plan and we are just chosen to follow it.

Day 31 - 11/4/25 - From Nature Jungle to Factory Jungle

Today plan was to reach capital city of Chhattisgarh, Raipur. Woke up in the morning and got ready. Mummy too got ready. I cleaned the car as it had rained previous evening. Came back to room and then went down for breakfast. The restaurant had not set up the breakfast fully, so I had poha which was available in the buffet. We finished our breakfast and came back to room. Picked our bags and left for check out. After finishing check out formalities set our luggage in car and started our drive for the day.

Google maps showed drive time of 5.5 hours so I was relaxed. Roads were good, drive was enjoyable through forestation and little bit hilly roads. Views were beautiful. Everyday as we drive across the country we cannot stop admiring the natural beauty of the country and the undying spirit of our countrymen. India is truly incredible with a perfect order in all the chaos.

On the way, there was a waterfall, named Kendai Waterfalls, which I thought of visiting. We almost missed the left turn from highway, and I had to reverse the car on the highway. And after me I saw another car too reversing to go towards the falls. I asked a local man at a shop for the way to the falls and he was very polite to speak to. I thought the young village boy would respond in rough tone and manner but I was pleasantly surprised to see him speak so politely and with respect.

We drove towards the falls. But there was hardly any water there. So we just clicked some pictures and then left from there. On the way we stopped to click pictures at one of the lake / river. The roads were good so the drive was smooth and relaxed. At one of the towns we saw sugarcane juice so stopped to have it. Next to it was a sweet shop and mummy said let’s check it out. We went in but I reminded mummy to stay away from sweets. We bought some snacks instead. Saw samosa in the counter so felt like having one after more than 30 days. Had one samosa each and it was nice. After this short break we left from there for our further drive. 

I had not booked any hotel so we thought to take a break for lunch and call the hotels which I had shortlisted. We found a nice food court kind of place on the opposite side so we drove there. We had our lunch and I called one of the hotels to confirm availability and tariff. The hotel confirmed room was available so after lunch I set the hotel as destination.

As we were reaching closer to Raipur, I could see at the horizon a sea of factory chimneys letting out thick black smoke into the sky. As we drove further I could see the smoke into the sky. So much for development and modernism that we sacrifice our nature! I was disappointed but then everything is part of civilisation.

Soon we reached Raipur and were greeted with city traffic, bad road conditions, huge speed breakers which would not just break the speed of the car but also the back of the passengers! Finally we reached the hotel and the security helped us park the car inside. I went to the front desk and checked out the room that was shown to me. The room appeared decent but after check in and settling in the room we could see the multiple issues with the room. But we had little choice and anyways it was only for a night so we adjusted. 

I got to my routine of washing my clothes and then logging in the expenses. After this I started looking for options for our next destination. And here is where my confusion started. Mummy was not too keen to go to Nagpur (obviously she does not know the drive routes as suggested by google). Jabalpur seemed like a location which we would have to come back to from Bhopal. At one point mummy suggested why cover Bhopal at all. But this is supposed to be an All India Road trip covering state capitals so not covering Bhopal would mean completely changing the plan. All these view points thoroughly confused me. At one point I also started looking for options to visit Amarkantak which is the starting point of the Holy Narmada River. But hotel rooms were not available as per google so I took that as a sign that probably it is not supposed to be part of the journey.

I was only getting confused more and more so I left the further search. Anyways this plan is being made and executed by GOD so I was confident that by next morning there would be some clarity that GOD would give me. I put the tab and phone for charging and started watching IPL match. But CSK was playing so bad that I lost interest in the match too. I switched off TV and slept off.

Now today I truly do not know where to go tomorrow. Mummy kept saying that GOD will guide us and I too knew it, but was just not sure how. But with this assurance that this plan is being made by GOD I went to sleep.

Day 32 - 12/4/25 - Body needs rest!

Yesterday we had a samosa on the way and also Biryani during lunch. I don’t know which one of these the stomach did not accept. At 1.30 in the night I suddenly had pain in the stomach. I woke up and then couldn’t sleep for another 1-1.5 hours. As a result woke up late in morning at 5.45 am. Mummy was awake before me today.

I got up and got ready. Mummy too got ready. In the meanwhile I tried to sort out the confusion of previous night of finalising the destination for the day. I eventually thought of sticking to original plan as earlier too when we tried to deviate from the plan, we got stuck. In my original plan I had kept Nagpur as a town for stay primarily because there is a zero point in Nagpur. The zero point was the geographical centre point of the undivided India which the British had identified during their presence. But after partition, the geographical centre point of India is now changed to a village called Karaundi in MP. All this I learnt when I was searching for the route and hotel options. I thought it was futile to enter Nagpur city to only see one place which does not hold practical significance as of today. So I started looking for stay options on the outskirts of Nagpur. Luckily I found one hotel right on the highway on the outskirts of Nagpur City. Google had good reviews and rating too for the place. So I decided to stay there for the night.

We went down for breakfast at 7.45 am which was scheduled to start at 7.30am. And again the breakfast was not setup. Looks like people in Chhattisgarh are very laid back especially when it comes to breakfast! Only one item was set up so I had that. Even after we asked for other items the girl could not arrange for the entire buffet spread. May be the kitchen itself was not ready. Either our bad luck or that is how it works in Chhattisgarh!

We finished our breakfast and came to the room. I took the bags and went to car to clean it. There was only dry dust on the car, so it didn’t take much time to wipe it off. The car was parked in open and the birds had fun leaving their marks on the car! I anyways wanted to get the car washed as it had been almost a week since I last got it washed in Itanagar. Plus the 2 days of rain the car was subjected to, also indicated some cleaning.

After cleaning the car I went to the reception and mummy was there. We finished check out formalities and then left from the hotel. Drive time to the Nagpur hotel was showing around 5.45 hours. So I was relaxed as I knew we would reach by afternoon. Getting out of city wasn’t much effort as it was a saturday morning, but the roads were narrow. Soon we were on the highway. Raipur city on the way to highway, seemed to transform to a more modern and premium looking town. Roads continued to be good with greenery on both sides. Soon we reached another town, Bhilai which too looked very modern and premium. 

We kept driving and had no plans to stop anywhere. Though we did take few breaks to have some fruits and take some rest. Somehow I was feeling a bit tired. Back and body was in discomfort. But I did not realise what was causing it. I thought may be the driving position was wrong. We crossed the Maharashtra border and now the roadside hotels and names started looking familiar. But very clearly the greenery seemed to have reduced. 

It was getting hotter as we drove through the afternoon. Even the AC in car seemed to be ineffective. The car dashboard had heated up and was difficult to touch. It was very bright outside and even with my sunglasses it was strainful to keep eyes on the road. Temperature was showing 38 degrees outside.

Soon we reached outskirts of Nagpur city and the bypass helped us skip the city traffic. We reached the hotel at around 2 pm. We parked the car under a shade which thankfully the hotel had made this provision and there was a vacant spot available. We took our bags and entered the hotel. We were greeted with straight face and stares. I asked for the room availability and tariff. Saw the rooms and decided to take one which cost less as we just wanted to spend the night.

After check-in, we went to the restaurant for lunch as mummy was hungry. Somehow I was not hungry as we had apple and some snacks on the way. Plus the heat I think had made me more thirsty than hungry. Mummy could not decide what to order and I was not too keen to eat so we just ordered simple dal rice. 

We finished our meal and came back to room. I put my clothes for washing. Started logging in the expenses for the day. I could now feel the body craving for rest. But still I had to finish washing my clothes. So I quickly rinsed the soaked clothes and put them for drying. Came to bed and just decided lie down. I was searching for some hotels in Bhopal but stopped that and lied down. Mummy got worried and asked if I was ok.  Somehow the body just needed rest.

I slept off and did not realise. Woke up at around 6 pm when mummy woke me up. Eyes struggled to open. Body was feeling relaxed though. I got out of bed after sometime. And that’s when I realised how tired my body was after 30 days of driving. Actually everyday there was something to keep the mind busy in terms of stay options, route options, sight seeing options etc. So the attention was never at the body. But since last 3 days we have been driving easy and I had left the day’s destination to GOD so may be less mental activity brought the focus to body. Not to mention the heat and the food and upset stomach which also led to physical strain on the body. Nevertheless I am glad that the body too got the deserved rest. 

For dinner there was hardly anything available from the menu so we ordered fried rice and manchurian which was not very enjoyable for me atleast. Finished the dinner and watched IPL for sometime. Then slept off to give further rest to body. Tomorrow plan is to reach Bhopal, capital city of Madhva Pradesh, the 18th state in our journey. Have shortlisted few hotels in evening. Let’s see what is GOD’s plan for tomorrow.

Day 33 - 13/4/25 - Jheelon Ke Shehar Mein Aapka Swagat Hai!

Today woke up at around 5.30 am and was feeling fresh. Got ready and mummy too got ready. By around 7.45 am we went to restaurant for breakfast. Finished our breakfast and checked out from the hotel. The car wasn’t much dirty so I skipped cleaning the car today. We put our luggage in the car and started the drive towards our destination, Bhopal, capital city of Madhva Pradesh, 18th state in our journey.

The drive time on google maps was showing less than 5 hours with ETA at 13.36 pm. I was surprised and happy at the same time. But on the other hand I thought why waste a day. Instead drive further ahead. But then the route and our next destination were in different directions. So I again left the plan to GOD and just focussed on doing my duty of driving.

It was 8.25 am when we started from the hotel. Weather in morning was pleasant, though the sun was up and shining bright. The roads were good and relatively empty on sunday morning. I kept driving at a relaxed speed of 70-80 KMPH. While contemplating about whether to drive further ahead or to take a stop at Bhopal itself. I asked mummy to check some destinations on google maps and drive time. But then decided to stick to the plan and not change the plan last minute while driving.

I was worried for the car as yesterday due to hot weather the ac had almost stopped functioning. Hence I wanted to reach Bhopal as early as possible so as to avoid driving in afternoon heat. After about 50KMs of drive we completed 10000 KMs of driving on this journey, a major milestone and almost half of the planned distance for the journey. Soon after we also crossed the Madhva Pradesh state border and entered the 18th state in our journey. The roads continued to be good and the drive smooth. Most of the highway was from outside the towns hence hardly any traffic slow downs on the way. But the drive was therefore through empty stretches and jungles / hills. 

The car needed refuelling and for long stretches there were no petrol pumps. Finally we found a petrol pump and filled the petrol in the car. This was also our first break for the day. And as it turned out it was also the only break we took for the day. Drive continued further towards our destination. At some stretches the drive was through some hilly roads and the roads here were in really bad shape. I almost felt like I was losing control over the car and that was making me nervous. I had to slow down the speed drastically to ensure that I could manoeuver the car through the sharp curves of the hilly roads.

As we entered Madhva Pradesh, again we encountered stray cattle on the road. At one point I was driving in the right most lane and a cow was walking on the left most side of the road but suddenly it charged towards the car. I was scared and tried to get away from the cow and cross it ASAP. Thankfully nothing happened but that was a bit scary because it was the first time that any cow had charged at the car despite me not honking or driving too close to it.

At around 12.30 pm we entered the city limits of Bhopal, and were welcomed by a board on the side of the road which read “Jheelon Ke Shehar Mein Aapka Swagat Hai” in Hindi. I could not click the picture as the traffic was moving and the board went past quickly while driving. But the words stuck with me. Bhopal is also known for its lakes as it has 2 big lakes and hence the name. The traffic in city was less so the drive was also uninterrupted, with no slow downs or jams. I had shortlisted one hotel on the outskirts of Bhopal and had set that as destination on google maps. Because the drive was smooth we were able to cut down almost 30 minutes of drive time and reached the hotel at around 1 pm.

I went to the hotel and negotiated with them to give me the room at the tariff mentioned online. They agreed and we checked into the hotel. Hotel was decent and the rooms are spacious too. Mummy was feeling sleepy and tired so we decided to finish our lunch and come back to room early so that she could sleep / take rest for sometime. Restaurant was on the same floor as our room but access was through the lift! We finished our lunch at restaurant and came back to room. I got back to washing clothes while mummy got to browsing her phone. 

Today is also the RCB match with RR in afternoon so I finished washing the clothes before the match began and then started watching the match. RCB eventually won the match. For dinner we wanted to eat something light.. I was feeling heavy in stomach. May be all the heat combined with the outside food we have been eating since last 30+ days is now bothering my intestines! Hope this is something minor and gets well soon. So we ordered sweet lassi and some starter from room service

Tomorrow plan is to drive towards Varanasi / Kashi. But it is very far so we will take a night halt somewhere midway. Also I want to visit the Centre Point of India landmark which I found out 2 days back during my search. That landmark is in Karaundi, a village in MP which is a slight detour from our route but on the way. As of now I have kept 2 options for night stay for tomorrow which is near Karaundi - Sihora or Katni. But it seems hotels are all surprisingly booked for tomorrow (Monday night). Anyways this is GOD’s plan so I am sure there will be clarity on the current uncertainty.

Day 34 - 14/4/25 - Bharat Ka Kendra Bindu

Monday mornings are not as painful when you are travelling. Woke up late at around 6.15 am. Had stomach pain at 2.30 in the night and then could not sleep till around 4-4.30 am so woke up late. Got ready and mummy too got ready. Searched for hotel options in Katni and still nothing was showing available. So I left the plan completely to GOD.

We went for breakfast at around 7.45 am. Thankfully the breakfast was setup so we finished our breakfast and after that I came down to clean the car. Mummy in the meanwhile took her medicine and came down after 15 minutes by when I had finished cleaning the car. Paid the pending bills at reception and finished the check out formalities.

The stay for the night was unknown, but the destination for the day’s journey was known. I was planning to visit the Geographical Centre Point Of India or Bharat Ka Kendra Bindu. This point is of significance as it helps measure the entire country and is the centre point for the magnificent, beautiful, diverse and large country Bharat. Per-Partition, Britishers had identified a place in Nagpur as the Zero Mile for India. And it is still there in Nagpur city, but it is of less significance now after partition. Post-Partition this place in a village called Karaundi in Madhva Pradesh, is the actual geographical centre point of India.

The drive time was showing around 6 hours. We started our drive at around 8.30 am so ETA was showing as 14.30 pm. Roads are good in MP. Vehicular traffic is regular as on other NHs that we have encountered till now on this trip. So the drive was smooth. But the unique things about MP is the heavy ‘Cattle Traffic’ on the road. And these stray cattle are experts in ninja technique and guerrilla technique. Suddenly they emerge from the bushes on the median of the road or from the side of the roads, change their track suddenly, start running suddenly, making it extremely difficult for motorists to navigate and drive through their herd. Moreover most cows / bulls here have big horns which further scares the drivers like me who have not encountered these gentle animals on the highway before.

I was maintaining a speed of 80KMPH for this reason and also to ensure that I do not unnecessarily overspeed. The whole point of this journey is to enjoy the drive across the country. What’s the point of speeding and then losing out on the fun of watching the scenery, nature and the beautiful country. We took a bio break and also refuelled the car. Bought some snacks from a small shop near the petrol pump. Continued our drive while munching on some masala peanuts which were spicy yet tasty.

At around 1 pm we reached Jabalpur but I somehow missed noticing the town name and so we drove past some good dhaba and restaurant options for lunch. Eventually we had to stop at a small dhaba on the highway and have our lunch. Food was decent though. We had Baingan Bharta and roti. I tried calling the hotels which I had shortlisted in Katni town for room availability. But all the hotels said they were running full for the night. Surprising but there is nothing I could do about it. 

The Centre Point was still around an hours drive from this dhaba. We finished our lunch and continued our drive at around 2 pm. I asked mummy to check the distance till Rewa which seemed to be the next big town after Jabalpur. And it showed around 3 hours of drive further from the Centre Point landmark. So we decided to drive till Rewa instead of searching for hotel in Katni or anywhere nearby. This would also help us cut down our drive time for tomorrow to Kashi, giving us sufficient time at Kashi for darshan and exploring the ghats, etc.

After Sihora, we had to turn into village roads. The village roads were narrow but well paved and with less traffic so drive was easy. Soon we reached a board which mentioned ‘Bharat Ka Kendra Bindu’ in hindi, pointing towards a lane on left. We took that turn and then the roads started to deteriorate slightly. But the views were still nice. We passed through a large pond, green trees, small village houses. Also there was some big vidyapeeth on the way.

The last KM or so was a really bad stretch of road till the actual location of Bharat Ka Kendra Bindu. I missed seeing one of the speed breakers or probably a pothole and the car hit on the underside in the front. Thankfully no damage was noticed. We reached the entry gate and there were 2-3 security guards poorly dressed sitting under a temporary shed kind of thing on the side of the entry gate. We parked the car on the side. We were the only tourists visiting the place that time. Apart from us the locals, goats and cows were enjoying the view of the premise.

We clicked pictures at the entry gate and then entered inside after asking the security just to ensure there is no entry ticket. Inside we were welcomed by a flock of goats, cow dung and goat shit. In the middle is a small pillar kind of structure with four lion statues on four corners. The pillar mentions that it is the Centre Point of India. We clicked some pictures here. But the place is in complete shambles with zero maintenance. Tiles were broken, paint wearing off. Such a significant place and the Government of India or MP Tourism is doing nothing to promote and maintain it! I drove all the way across half the country to see this place and I find it in this  condition. I was disappointed.

We left from the place after about 10 minutes and continued our drive further. I set Rewa as destination. Drive time was around 3 hours 13 minutes. It was 5 past 3 pm that time and so ETA was showing as 6.17 pm. Sun sets in this part of country late so I was relaxed about not having to drive in dark. the roads continued to be good so the drive was smooth and we were able to cut down some driving time. Mummy started searching for hotel options in Rewa. We saw one board on the way indicating a MP Tourism hotel in a town called Maihar. And so mummy thought why not stay at MP Tourism Hotel. After sometime we saw another board mentioning about a MPT property in Rewa town. I asked mummy to google the property for reviews and photos etc. Photos looked impressive but the reviews were mixed. Also the hotel was on other side of town which meant we had to drive through the entire Rewa town traffic to reach the hotel.

There are many Midway Treat restaurants which are opened by MP Tourism all across the state. We decided to check one of them out and luckily we found one a few KMs before entering Rewa City. We stopped there for a quick pit stop. Ordered a grilled sandwich which was good. Staff as polite. The Restaurant itself was well made with lawn in front and ample parking space. It was  good pitstop for our body and the car too.

We left from there at around 6 pm and the MPT Hotel  was showing another hours drive from there. I had searched some other hotels on the highway while waiting at the restaurant and those were showing a drive time of only 25 minutes. So we decided to stay before instead of driving through the Rewa town. Also it was now starting to get dark and so it was better to stop the drive for the day. We entered the city and there was a nice big board on the left with REWA mentioned. As we went further ahead we found a hotel which was one of the shortlisted hotel by me so we parked the car there. I saw the rooms and finalised one.

We checked in and then I started with my routine of washing clothes. Since we had sandwich at 6 pm we were not very hungry so we decided to rest in the room. I searched for some hotels in Varanasi which was our destination for tomorrow. Found a good hotel but parking in Varanasi is a challenge. This particular hotel offers valet parking service so I shortlisted it. Showed the hotel to mummy and booked it. So for tomorrow now, one tension less.

At around 7.30pm I suggested to mummy to go to roof top restaurant. And it was a good decision for us. The roof top restaurant was an open air, pleasant place with cool breeze flowing and the ambience was relaxed. We forgot our tiredness from the day’s trip. There was a swing in one corner and mummy enjoyed sitting on it. We clicked some pictures and had our dinner. Came back to room and logged in the day’s expenses. I watched the IPL match for sometime and then slept off. 

Today was the longest driving day of our journey so far. We covered a distance of almost 550KMs in one day with a drive time of  around 9.5 hours. Tomorrow plan is to reach Varanasi by after noon. Drive time is around 5 hours. We may be able to cut it down a bit more hopefully. After lunch, we plan to visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple and take Darshan of Vishwanath Mahadev and then spend time at Ganga Ghat and explore the narrow by lanes of Varanasi. GOD gives all this inspiration and HE only helps make the plan and execute them too. Today when we started we did not have a place finalised for night stay but eventually GOD guided us and also helped us find a decent stay for the night. So I am sure that tomorrow also GOD will guide us as He calls us to HIS home.

Day 35 - 15/4/25 - Moksh Dham

Woke up early as usual. Got ready and mummy too got ready. Breakfast was supposed to be available from 9 am as was told to us during check-in. Mummy got ready by 7.30 am. She asked if we should leave. I was pleasantly surprised as mummy usually prefers having breakfast at hotel. I immediately agreed but then she sat down again. So I asked her again if she wants to skip hotel breakfast and leave early to cover the distance faster.

Eventually we agreed to leave and by around 8 am we were in the car. The security person had washed the car well so that one task was less for me to do as part of my morning routine. I set the hotel in Varanasi as my destination and the drive time was showing around 4.45 hours. We left from the hotel and the roads were relatively empty with less traffic. We were able to cross the city soon. On the highway usual morning traffic helped us cruise well. Mummy started cutting fruits in the car as we were not sure where we would get breakfast. We stopped at a roadside and ate the fruits. After sometime we saw the Midway Treat (MP Tourism Restaurant) board and decided to stop for a quick bite. We ordered Aloo Paratha which was good. There was another family there from UP who chatted with us looking at my KA registration car. 

After breakfast we left from the restaurant. It was almost 9.40 am by now and we had covered only 50 KMs. I kept wondering where did we lose so much time. I tried to maintain the speed at 80KMPH but the roads suddenly started becoming bumpy and therefore I had to keep the speed under 80KMPH.

At around 11.30 am we crossed the MP border and entered Uttar Pradesh which is the 19th state in our journey. A UP Tourism board welcomed us with details of the upcoming towns and their spiritual significance. It appears that Mirzapur has a famous Vindhyavasini Maa Temple. We were pleasantly surprised at this trivia as our impression of Mirzapur was based only on the webseries and movies that bollywood makes and projects. 

ETA to hotel was showing at around 1 pm. We reached Varanasi, one of the most ancient city, by around 12.30 pm. Hotel was inside the city in some narrow lane. City traffic slowed down the speed and navigating through the crowded roads was a bit overwhelming for the first time visitor like me. We reached a junction from where the hotel was showing inside a lane on left. We turned into the lane and then the whole struggle for navigating through speeding 2 wheelers and parked vehicles and pedestrians and drain holes etc started. 

I called the hotel and the person at reception was of little help in guiding me to the hotel or assisting me to reach the hotel. We crossed a narrow lane and stopped ahead. I walked around to see where the hotel is because the hotel person was absolutely not able to give proper directions or instructions. I found the hotel and entered to seek help but the guy just pointed me to some other lane and suggested me to take the car there and park it inside. There was a metal workshop next to hotel who had spread our their metal frames on the road with a big nail jutting out in the middle of the road, making it nearly impossible for me to navigate the Duster through that. Though the locals here are used to these conditions so they make the necessary adjustments and help and guide the vehicles but it was very unnerving.

Finally I managed to reach the parking spot and park the car. We took our luggage and walked to the reception. Room was already booked so nothing to see and finalise. We finished check-in formalities. I asked the reception person for some guidance on visiting the temple, etc. He seemed clueless and gave us some wrong gate information, whereas when I had seen some youtube videos the gate number suggested there was some other gate. I realised that the guy is either unaware or not interested. I casually asked if they could help us with the darshan and that’s when he seemed to take interest. Clearly money minded attitude, and so I decided not to ask him anything further.

We went to the room and it was decent size but not worth all the hype and 5-star reviews I had read while booking it. But we anyways had to spend little time in room as we planned to head out to temple for darshan. It was 1.30pm by the time we reached the room. I enquired with the reception for food and was told there is no restaurant! So now one more headache of searching for a restaurant where we could get decent food. Again google maps to the rescue as it showed some restaurants nearby.

We got ready and left to search for restaurants which were showing walkable distance from the hotel. But walking in the afternoon summer heat especially with mummy who gets tired due to her lungs issue was what bothered me but I had no choice. We reached main road and saw one restaurant but it was just a chat and snacks store. So we started looking for another restaurant nearby and luckily found one across the road. Crossing the road was stressful with all the speeding 2-wheelers, e-autos, cycle rickshaws and pedestrians. Mummy was getting very nervous so we held hand and crossed the road. 

Food was ok at the restaurant. I just wanted to eat something as I thought we would take long time for darshan at the temple and staying hungry so long may not be good. We finished our lunch and asked the restaurant owner for guidance on visiting the temple. He guided us to a chauraha from where we could take e-auto to another chauraha. From that chauraha we had to walk till temple.

We went to the chauraha as guided by the restaurant owner, and there were e-autos waiting there. We sat in one and he took us to the chauraha (Maidgin Chauraha) from where we had to walk in till the temple entrance. When we got down from auto he suggested us to take cycle rickshaws as he saw mummy was struggling to climb and get down from auto. We crossed the road and entered the road which lead to the temple. There were some cycle rickshaws guys waiting there. I negotiated with one of them for fare and we then got onto a cycle rickshaw. Probably mummy’s first cycle rickshaw ride because she told me that she does not like human beings taking so much physical effort for her comfort. But we had no other choice apart from walking till temple which was almost a KM from the chauraha.

The road apparently was closed so the cycle rickshaw fellow had to take us through some other road. The guy was taking too much effort trying to navigate through the narrow lanes amongst all the speeding 2-wheelers which keep honking incessantly, and pedestrians etc. For us it was all very overwhelming but these guys are locals and so they are used to these conditions.

Finally we reached the temple gate no. 4. We asked one of police person standing at the gate for sugama darshan ticket counter. He pointed in one direction. When we were about to go there he called us again and said why take sugam darshan ticket, there is no crowd and we could do darshan within 15-20 minutes in normal queue. We were happy to hear this and thanked the police person for his guidance. We walked in and reached the outside campus of the temple.

There was a footwear stand where we deposited our footwear. There were a lot of small shops selling flowers and other offerings for Lord Shiva. But we just walked past them. We reached entry barricades and were guided towards the mobile phone depositing section. I went to deposit the phones, while mummy waited at the entrance.

We walked in to the temple and it was less crowded. Soon we reached the main temple premise and there were few people standing in the queue at that time. We stood in the line waiting for our turn of darshan. The police person was right, after about 15-20 minutes we reached the Garbha Griha where the Shiva Linga is located. We bowed to Lord of the Universe (Vishwanath) and took HIS blessings and moved forward.

I was keen to see the corridor which had been built newly to reach the Ganga River ghat. I asked mummy to wait inside the temple campus while I tried to get the mobile phones inside. But the police and security protocols were too strict and I could not take the mobile phone through the temple. One of the security guy told me that I could bring the phone inside and he would allow me to carry it. But when I took the phone and tried getting in, the police personnel sitting there did not allow me to take the phones. I had to go back to mobile stand the deposit the phones again and then walk back in to the temple. I mentioned this to mummy and eventually we came out of temple took our foot wear and mobile and then had to walk back through main road towards Manikarnika Dwar from where we could go towards Manikarnika Ghat. It was a long walk through ‘Banaras Ki Galiyan’ (narrow by lanes of Banaras/ Varanasi). 

We came across a lassi shop and mummy wanted to have lassi. The shop was at a height and we had to climb 2-3 tall steps. I was worried for mummy if she could climb but I guess the excitement of having lassi made her climb the stairs. We sat inside and I saw lot of photos stuck all around on the walls of the little shop. I asked one of the boys at shops why so many photos of different people are stuck here and he said that it is memories that people leave here. Some had stuck the spoon with which they had the lassi. Turned out it is some popular lassi place called Blue Lassi Shop!

We finished the lassi and walked further towards Manikarnika Ghat. After a long walk through the narrow lanes we entered the temple complex again and walked towards the exit of corridor. We went through the exit onto the Manikarnika Ghat, which is famous for the last rites of human body in Hindu tradition. Apparently the smashan (crematorium) runs 24 hours unlike any other smashan in the country (as told to us by the boat guy later in the evening during our boat ride). It is believed that one who leaves the physical body in Varanasi or one whose last rites are performed at Manikarnika Ghat attains liberation from the cycle of Birth & Death. Hence Varanasi is also called Moksh Dham.

We climbed down the long stairs and started walking towards Dasashwamedh Ghat for Ganga Aarti. Clicked some pictures of the ghat and Ganga River on the way. I was keen to take blessing of Ganga Maa but mummy was visibly tired and did not seem keen  to climb down more steps. So I just kept walking towards the Ganga Aarti ghat. One guy stopped us on the way and told us about Boat Ride plus Ganga Aarti darshan from the Ganga River side. The guy who met us at the restaurant in Midway Treat had mentioned about seeing the Ganga Aarti from boat. Also mummy seemed keen to get on to the boat, may be to avoid walking further, or to avoid going into the crowded ghat and struggling for seat or may be genuinely to enjoy the boat ride. I agreed and we got onto the boat. But before climbing the boat I took the Ganga River water in my palm and sprinkled it over myself as a blessing from Ganga Maiya. Helped mummy too as she could not bend down.

We sat in the boat which was relatively empty. The aarti was supposed to start at 6.40 pm and it was still 5.45 pm that time. We sat on the top floor of the boat and enjoyed the nice breeze which was flowing. Mummy also got to sit and rest her feet. At around 6.25 pm the boat started to move away from ghat and we reached the Ganga Aarti ghat which was overcrowded with other boats. Effectively we could see the aarti from a far off distance only. But then I thought that even if we had walked till the ghat we would have had to sit some where far behind and would have got similar views. Here atleast we were seated comfortably so just saw the aarti whatever we could. 

After the aarti all the boats started to move towards the river for boat ride. The boat guy started telling us about the different ghats along the river. All the ghats are either named after a deity or some matha or some king/queen is what we understood. The significance of Manikarnika Ghat also was explained by him during the boat ride.

After the boat ride, was the long walk back till main road along with climbing the long stairs of Manikarnika Ghat. Mummy climbed it fast though. On the way back I was keen to explore the corridor, but was worried for mummy as she would have to climb stairs again. But luckily I saw escalator on one side and was happy. We climbed through the escalator and reached the corridor which had many restaurants and other shops. Mummy suggested we have our dinner here. So we went to one of the food court and had our meal. I ordered a simple plain dosa and dahi wada while mummy just had buttermilk as the lassi was heavy for her.

After dinner we started walking towards exit and after some misguided directions by local security staff we eventually managed to get into the right bylane leading us to the same Manikarnika Dwar. Now was the struggle to find a rickshaw to take us to the Maidgin Chauraha. We found one young and healthy man pulling a cycle rickshaw, who took us to the chauraha. From there we found an e-auto to the Laura Bir Chauraha where our hotel was located. From that chauraha hotel was around 500 meters walking so we walked through all the traffic laden roads into the narrow bylane of the hotel.

Reached hotel and both of us were extremely tired. The walking and climbing did not tire us as much as the overcrowded street and traffic noise and vehicle horns. I just wanted some peace after the overwhelming experience of crowded Varanasi streets. I was worried as I had still not shortlisted any hotel in Ayodhya which was our destination for tomorrow. I had still not logged in the expenses too. So I got to doing both these tasks. Eventually at 10.40 pm at night I decided to sleep and leave the hotel finding to GOD.

Plan for tomorrow is to leave early morning to avoid the city traffic, but considering that we slept so late and both were tired physically, that looks difficult. Anyways since Ayodhya is only 5 hours drive from Varanasi, I am bit relaxed about the drive. The only thing which still bothers me is the hotel accommodation in Ayodhya. But anyways GOD is making this plan so I am sure HE will only guide us to some decent accommodation in HIS own Janmabhoomi tomorrow.

Day 36 - 16/4/25 - Jai Sri Ram!

I woke up by around 5.30 am. But since I had not shortlisted any hotel in Ayodhya started searching for same, but could not find anything good near the temple. Eventually went for bath and finished my morning routine. Then sat down to write previous day’s experience. Mummy was still asleep as she was very tired after the long walks, steps climbed and multiple antics we had to do to take darshan and do Ganga Aarti, etc previous day. 

Finally at around 7.30 am I woke her up. She then got up and started to get ready. I continued writing my experience. It was a day of multiple experiences the previous day and so writing all that down was not just taking more pages but also a lot of time. Finally we both got ready by around 8.15 am and decided to leave to avoid the chaotic city traffic.

I asked mummy if she knew the name of the hotel she stayed at last year when she visited Ayodhya with her friend. She couldn’t remember so she asked her friend for contact of the person at Ayodhya. She called the person who had assisted them last year and he mentioned they have a room available. He sent the location to mummy and we set that as our destination for the day. The drive time was showing around 4.5 hours.

We had not had breakfast so I was contemplating if we should go out, have breakfast and then leave or just leave and figure out breakfast on the way somewhere. Mummy suggested the second option. But I was not keen to stop in city for breakfast as parking could be an issue. We took our luggage and went down to reception and handed over the key. Asked the reception person again about the roof top restaurant and he said that it is not functional!

We took the car key and went to parking lot where the car was parked. Kept our luggage in car and then started our journey by around 8.35 am. The roads were relatively empty so I was trying to drive out of city as  early as I could. But mummy started suggesting hotels on the way to stop for breakfast. I told her I don’t want to stop in city as parking can be an issue and if traffic starts then driving would also be painful. She kept quiet but then I only felt that may be she is hungry and that’s why she is suggesting. I saw one small sweet shop and stopped a few meters ahead of it on roadside. We went to the shop and had our breakfast. It was probably the cheapest breakfast of our journey so far for just Rs.75.

We left from there and continued our drive towards our destination. Mummy and I had a small argument in morning while leaving from the hotel so I was also upset and I decided to stay quiet. Mummy eventually slept off during the drive. Roads in UP are extremely good and the drive was very easy and smooth. We were cruising above 80KMPH with less traffic and good roads. I was able to cut the drive time considerably by around 35 minutes or so. After sometime the route suggested a turn towards right and from there on the roads were now 2-lane undivided. There was traffic and shops / houses on both sides so the drive had slowed down. But still ETA was showing as 12.45 pm.

Soon we reached Ayodhya the birth place of Lord Ram. Our destination was not too far now, but due to city traffic the speed slowed down. Google maps suggested some internal road for the hotel but that was a wrong route, and we got stuck at a dead end. We called the owner and navigated to the main road based on his directions to reach the hotel. I was upset as the hotel was on a road which seemed to be under construction. Huge debris was lying right under the board of the hotel. There was no access to the hotel gate and the guy who came to assist us asked us to park the car on the road itself. I was not very happy with this because in morning when mummy called the guy he said they have parking at the hotel.

Anyways since we had verbally agreed we parked the car took our bags and went in. It was not a hotel but a guest house. It did not have restaurant or breakfast included in the room tariff. I found the tariff to be high so I tried to negotiate a bit and he agreed to give some discount. We checked in to the room which was basic. But I was still unhappy plus the morning upset mood further triggered more irritation for me. I started mumbling which made mummy also nervous I guess.

We decided to leave for temple darshan so mummy got ready. But I forgot to wash my clothes so I put my clothes for washing and let them soak for sometime. I washed the clothes and then we left. We decided to have lunch first and then head to temple. There were a few restaurants right outside the guest house. We went to one which was called ‘Ghar Jaisa Khana’. Restaurant was on first floor so I was worried for mummy if she would be able to climb after yesterday’s tiring antics. But she did and we went in the restaurant and sat on a table. We ordered our food and when the food was served it was indeed looking like ghar ka khana. Not the spicy, greasy food of restaurant. We enjoyed the meal as it did not feel heavy on the stomach. 

After lunch we came down to main road. Asked a few autos to take us to temple but they refused and one of them suggested that we could get auto for temple further ahead near the highway which was around 100 meters walk from the guest house. We had no choice so we started walking towards the highway in the afternoon heat. Just then another auto came from behind and asked us where we wanted to go. I mentioned Ram Janmabhoomi temple and he agreed to take us. But he said that he can only take till one point after which his auto won’t be allowed to go further in. He suggested us to take bus instead and started driving us towards the bus stop. When we reached bus stop mummy suggested that we take the same auto itself till wherever it could take us so we continued to sit in the auto and went till one junction after which there were barricades. He asked us to walk to other side of barricade and take another auto for temple which was still around 1-1.5 KMs away. But luckily as we got down from auto a golf cart came and stopped ahead of us and the guy asked if we wanted to go to temple. We said yes and hopped into it. He dropped us at main gate.

We got down at main gate and started walking in. After walking for sometime we reached a main area where there were shoe stands and locker rooms for mobile phones. We deposited our footwear and then walked to locker rooms and submitted our phones too. Since we had to deposit the phones much before entering the main temple premises, couldn’t take pictures of the temple. Just clicked couple of pictures of the external building. 

After that again began a long walk in hot afternoon sun till the main temple building. The main temple is built in such a way that one can get darshan of Ram Lalla even from entrance. So it was nice and pleasing. We continued to walk further towards the Garbh Griha to get closer darshan of Sri Ram. This temple is dedicated to the adolescent Sri Ram as it celebrates the birth place of Lord Ram. There was not much crowd so we could do darshan easily. The idol of Sri Ram Lalla is so pleasing. And the sringar that they do is also beautiful. It feels blissful to be able to visit all these places of religious and spiritual significance and get blessed by GOD.

After darshan again began the long walk till lockers and shoe stands. We collected our mobiles and shoes stopping at multiple points on the way letting mummy take break and catch breath. We then exited the Ram Janmabhoomi temple premises and came on to main road. Next was Hanuman Garhi temple which was few meters ahead. We again sat in one of the golf cart and reached the lane which would lead us to the entrance of Hanuman Garhi temple. I was feeling dehydrated and tired so decided to have cucumber and jaljeera. Felt bit better with that and then walked towards temple. I had seen in the photos that there were lot of stairs to climb for the main temple. I was worried for mummy and myself since we both were tired.

But when we reached the main temple I saw the stairs weren’t many. So we decided to climb and take darshan. The crowd was less so we could climb faster and easily. We also had good darshan of Hanumanji and then decided to climb down the stairs. Before coming down we clicked few pictures at the temple and entrance. Then we came back to main road. I asked one of the golf cart guys if any auto guy would be willing to drop us till the hotel and he indicated one auto who might agree. The auto was standing on opposite side of road, so we crossed the road and walked up to him. Initially he denied but then he agreed and we got into the auto.

It was hot and we had exhausted our water, so we stopped to buy some water and then the auto  dropped us at the hotel. Outside our guest house itself there was a convenience store of sort. We decided to check for some snacks as we were running low on snacks in our snack bag. We bought a few and then came back to the room. Both of us were very tired. Thankfully the AC had been left on when we left the room so the room was now chilled when we entered. It was such a pleasant feeling. We freshened up and just sat down on bed to relax.

After resting for sometime I got to logging in the day’s expenses etc. Then I started searching for hotel options in Agra. I found few near Taj Mahal itself and they were within budget. I was really surprised but then all other guests had written good reviews too. I was thinking of booking the hotel so that is one tension less when we reach Agra. Taj Mahal remains closed on fridays and tomorrow is thursday. We would be reaching Agra by early evening after the drive and stops for food and fuel etc. So we would have less time to actually search for hotel and then visit Taj Mahal. If we cannot visit Taj Mahal on thursday then we would miss seeing it completely as next day being Friday it would be closed! That would be a completely futile effort for us. So I checked a few hotels and then booked one hotel which is near Taj Mahal.

After this I started logging in my experiences and updating reviews on Google for the hotels and other places we had visited in this journey. Mummy was too tired I guess and not hungry so she slept off at around 8 pm itself while I kept searching for next destinations, sight seeing and hotel options. Eventually I slept at 9.30pm.

So now, for tomorrow, we plan to leave early as there is no restaurant in the guest house, so no breakfast. Check-in to the booked hotel at Agra and then head straight for Taj Mahal. I have booked the Taj Mahal entry tickets also online to avoid standing in queue and losing time. Let’s see how things turn out tomorrow. Mummy was keen to see Taj Mahal, and I was not very keen. But now that this is happening one more tick in my life’s experiences. I am sure since we have taken Sri Ram’s blessings today we will be taken care of by HIM.

Day 37 - 17/4/25 - Boring and Tiring Drive to the ‘Wonder of the World’

We got ready early today. Anyways breakfast was not part of the room so we anyways would have to take breakfast outside. The distance till Agra was showing 480 KMs, but drive time was showing only 6 hours. Which would mean average speed of 80KMPH!! I was surprised and wondered if this is some trick that google maps is playing. But I had little choice and to follow the route suggested by google maps.

We finished our morning routines, I cleaned the car, mummy paid off the room bill and we set our luggage in car and started our drive to Agra. I had already booked the hotel at Agra and also purchased the Taj Mahal entry tickets online so those were going to be less efforts at our destination. I set the hotel as destination on google maps and drive time was 6 hours 8 minutes. We started our drive at around 7.05 am. The highway was close to the guest house so it was easy to get on to highway.

After driving for sometime, we were directed towards Purvanchal Expressway. This is a 310KM long expressway, connecting Lucknow with Ghazipur. We entered this expressway midway and distance to Lucknow was showing as 80KMs. The expressway is very well made and smooth to drive. No autos, no 2-wheelers, no pedestrians only 4-wheelers and heavy vehicles. But the expressway is big with 3 lanes on either side and therefore easy to drive on. I thoroughly enjoyed driving on this expressway. The only task is to keep the foot on accelerator and hand on steering wheel, because there is practically no manoeuvring or braking required on this expressway. Drivers also behave sensibly and either overtake from the right most lane or give way to others by driving on left most lane. 

We reached Lucknow at around 9.30 am, but we did not plan to enter the city as we did not want to get stuck in morning office traffic in the Lucknow City. Anyways the few attractions google suggested to see in Lucknow did not excite us. So we took the bypass and drove further towards Agra. After a left turn we had to drive on the service road for almost 10 KMs. We were hoping to find some restaurant or dhaba to have our breakfast as we did not find any on the Purvanchal Expressway. But even on service road there was nothing where we could find some food. 

Finally at one village junction we saw a small hut with fast food board. I asked what we could get for food and he mentioned jalebi which was kept on the counter and samosa which another uncle was frying at that time. I told mummy the options and she suggested we get the samosa packed and leave. So we waited till the samosas were fried. We took the parcel and got into the car. The samosas were piping hot and could not be eaten without burning our mouths. I turned on the AC blower on maximum and pointed the vents to samosa which mummy kept on her lap.

Soon we got onto the Lucknow Agra Expressway which was parallel to the service road we were driving on since last 10 KMs. The distance to Agra was showing 300KMs on the expressway. This was another good expressway we encountered today. Good wide roads with little to no traffic was fun and enjoyable to drive on. We had the samosas which had now turned warm enough to eat without burning our mouth. 

And now started what I assumed a fun drive till Agra. Sun God had other plans though. The weather got so hot that even through the polaroid glasses that I was wearing, the sun shone brightly into my eyes. 80KMs of Purvanchal Expressway was fun, but driving on same road conditions with sun shining brightly and heat reaching a temperature of almost 40 degrees was absolutely not enjoyable. 

After sometime, the empty roads kind of start haunting you. There is nothing to do on these expressways. No hotels, no petrol pumps, no small shops. Also this expressway is bit elevated from the service road so unless you are driving on the left most lane which is for parked / stopped vehicles you cannot see anything on the road side either. It almost felt like being on a ship in the middle of the ocean. You can only see water all around you and you cannot do anything else, especially if you are driving the vehicle!

I noticed the petrol indicators were now low. I searched for petrol pump on google maps but it showed none! I was surprised, how can Govt build such an expressway and not provide petrol pumps on the way. If they do not want to provide food stalls or toilets or any other recreation /break options for commuters then fine. But the road is built to drive vehicles, and vehicles need fuel. Not providing fuel pumps is unimaginable.

The fun of driving on expressway was now turning into irritation for me. I had fuel only till we reached Agra and not till Hotel. Mummy suggested to switch off AC and drive with windows rolled down. To our good luck, I saw a board which indicated a rest area where there was food court and petrol pump too. I felt relieved. We took the left towards the rest area. Filled the petrol. Relieved ourselves at the food court public toilets and then started our drive further. I had asked the petrol pump attendant if there are any more such rest stops on the expressway and he indicated that there will be one more which will come after around 100 KMs. So apparently only 2 rest stops on a 300KM long expressway. Govt does not want vehicles to stop at all and keep driving.

The drive from here on was really getting tiring for me. The sun was making me tired and my eyes were almost closing with nothing else to do but keep the foot on accelerator pedal. I stopped on road side to stretch my legs and feel a bit refreshed. But it was so hot outside that neither me nor the car could bear the heat, so we left after a 5 minute quick stop. I was worried for the car as the engine heat indicator was showing towards hot level. I kept regulating the speed so as to not put too much load on the engine. But the roads were so smooth that by default the speed would reach 100KMPH unknowingly.

Soon we reached the next rest stop and decided to park the car under some tree to give it some shade. We took the left towards the rest stop and there were no trees!! I wonder why Govt of UP / India not bother making the rest stop green with plants and trees? Just talking about planting trees won’t help unless the Govt also seizes every opportunity to plant trees and provide such green zones for citizens. I parked the car in open as I could not see any shade. We went into the food court just to take a break and stretch our legs. Food court was on first floor, we went there and I just sat on table and closed my eyes and put my head on the table. My eyes needed a break from the bright sun outside. 

After about 5 minutes we decided to have lunch here itself as food at hotel would be unnecessarily expensive. After browsing through different food options we ordered our food and ate at the food court. This was a good break for us also. We then headed to the car which was unfortunately bearing the brunt of Sun God. The heat indicator kept fluctuating from very hot to hot. I was worried for the car but we kept driving further. Drive time to our destination was showing a little over 1 hour. Soon we reached the toll plaza which I believe was exit for the expressway.

But we got stuck at toll plaza! The tempo in front of me had some issue with it’s fastag and the driver kept arguing with the toll booth staff. The toll booth staff also probably were trying to mint some money out of him so they also kept arguing with him. There was a long queue of vehicles which had piled up behind us so we could not even reverse the car to get into some other lane. Everyone behind us and us included were honking at the toll booth but the staff did not bother about that at all! 

Finally I got down from the car and walked to the toll window and told both the staff and the tempo driver to get aside as there is huge line of vehicles piled up behind. After this the toll booth guy got angry at tempo driver and asked him to park the vehicle on side. But by this time some impatient moron driver had already come from other side assuming he can simply pass through like a VIP. So that caused further inconvenience for tempo to take his vehicle to the side. That moron driver forcibly shoved his car into the gap between our car and the tempo. Typical driver mentality. I honked but there was nothing more I could do. This part of the country is also notorious for toll booth rage where people unnecessarily get into fights and also end up firing guns. Mummy was worried so I just sat in the car and waited for him to leave.

After he left, I too drove past the toll barrier. The good expressway road continued for sometime. After that we had to take a left to enter the Agra City. The right turn from under the highway led us to the city. Soon we were inside Agra city and near the lane which would lead us to Taj Mahal. There was a red signal from where the road leading towards right was going to Taj Mahal. I waited at the red signal but it did not seem to turn green at all. Some vehicles in front of us just drove away after waiting for sometime. I was now the first in the row and some vehicles started honking behind me. I had to go towards right lane as per google maps. There were vehicles coming from opposite side. After waiting for sometime, I just took the car towards right when there was empty traffic from opposite side. One bike guy followed us behind, I thought he is trying to help us. I asked him whether this road is a one way because I did not see any other vehicle before us or behind us coming towards this lane. Turned out the guy was some guide who thought we were going to Taj Mahal. After I told him my hotel is in this direction he left taking a u-turn.

We continued to drive further on this road and another bike guy coming from opposite direction tried to stop us. By now I had understood that these are all just guides so I politely told him that I was going to my hotel. We reached a barricade from where cars were probably not allowed. I told the guy there that my hotel is in the lane so he allowed us to drive through. We drove for a KM or so and soon we were outside our hotel. There was no parking in front of the hotel, nor could I see any basement. I walked into the hotel and told them I had a reservation. The lady at reception acknowledged my booking and asked one of the staff to guide me to parking which was in an open ground without any shade. I was worried for the car but had no choice. We took out some luggage and mummy went inside the hotel and finished the check in formalities, While I went and parked the car in the ground indicated by the staff. Took my bag, cap and walked to the hotel.

The room was small but it was already booked so no choice now. Moreover we planned to leave in sometime to visit the Taj Mahal. So practically the room would be used only for sleeping at night. After settling in I started my routine of washing clothes and mummy too had few clothes to wash. So I soaked the clothes and then we started washing our clothes. I figured out some space inside bathroom to put the heavy clothes for drying. After the chore we sat down to rest for a while. 

At 3.45 pm I reminded mummy to get ready for going to Taj Mahal. We left from hotel by around 4.15 pm. Taj Mahal entrance actually is walkable from the hotel, but the heat was making it difficult to walk even 700 meters till the entry gate. We kept walking under the tree shade but still the heat was something we could not beat. Near entrance mummy was tired so we stopped for a while and I bought a bottle of water. After resting for a while we walked towards the entry gate. I had booked tickets online so did not have to spend time at ticket counter. We walked towards entry, scanned our tickets, showed our ID and walked in.

Inside Taj Mahal was crowded but I guess it was lesser than during peak season. We clicked lot of pictures. It was hot and the temperature was still above 40 degrees. Mummy got really tired walking and so we sat down at one bench for sometime going through the photos we had clicked. It was around 5.20 pm and the ticket mentioned entry till 5.40 pm so I thought may be they will vacate the premises by 5.40-6 pm so I told mummy let’s go to the mausoleum for which we had purchased the tickets. We walked towards the entry gates and our tickets were scanned again.

There were stairs to take to go up to the floor of the mausoleum. Plus we did not have footwear cover, so security pointed us to walk to the exit side and pick covers for ourselves. These essentially were discarded covers. I did as told by security guy and came with 2 pairs of covers for ourselves. Mummy was struggling to walk the stairs upto the level. However she still managed. There was not much crowd so we kept walking inside and following the path. There were 2 Kabr or tombs of Shahjahan & Mumtaz laid in the centre of the mausoleum. We exited the premises and came out again on to the outside area. On the backside was Yamuna River. Clicked some pictures here and then climbed down again. We kept walking towards the exit slowly chatting and clicking pictures.

After exit, we were looking for the golf cart to drop us at our hotel. Mummy was really tired and did not want to walk further. The golf cart boarding point was a little further ahead. On the way I saw one guy selling khichiya papad which I believe is made of rice. It tastes yummy so I asked mummy if she wanted to have it and she said yes. I bought 2 papads and boarded the cart which was waiting there. The cart dropped us outside the hotel and we came back to room. We changed and rested for a while.

I sat down to log in the expenses and checking our route and hotel options for our next day journey.  I put IPL match on TV and was watching it while doing my search and uploading reviews etc. Tomorrow plan is to reach Kurukshetra while taking a pitstop at the National Capital, Delhi. Delhi being a Union territory and a busy national capital we don’t intend to spend too much time so as to avoid getting stuck in traffic. So we will just visit the India Gate which is the famous attraction of the city also is connected to Indian Soldiers history. Kurukshetra has historic and spiritual significance. So tomorrow might be a day of going back in History. Let’s see what GOD had planned for us for tomorrow. In last 38 days GOD’s plan has taken us to the southern and  eastern most parts of the country and now it is time to explore the northern most part of the country.

  Day 38 - 18/4/25 - Visiting Historical places

Breakfast at hotel was starting from 7 am. We got up early and got ready by around 7.15 am and went for breakfast. After breakfast I went to clean the car while mummy was at room finishing her routine prayer. After cleaning the car I drove till hotel entrance and paid off the dinner bill. Went to the room and called mummy down to leave.

We started our drive towards India Gate, Delhi at around 8 am and the drive time on google maps was showing a little over 3 hours. So we would reach India Gate before noon hopefully at a time when it is not peak afternoon heat. On the way we decided to stop outside Agra Fort and click some pictures from outside only as we did not want spend time going inside and also walking inside in the morning would tire us for the rest of the day. 

I drove to Agra Fort and we clicked few pictures. I had an argument with mummy where she couldn’t / didn’t want to click pictures and I thought she could get some good photos. After that argument, our drive till Delhi was silent! The drive to Delhi was on Yamuna Expressway. I realised we had very little water with us, and from previous day’s experience of driving on expressways in UP I was worried if we would completely run out of water. Luckily as we crossed the first toll, there was a food court on the side, and so I stopped the car and bought 2 water bottles and filled our bottles. 

We continued our drive on the Yamuna Expressway. Soon we crossed Mathura, the birthplace of Bhagavan Sri Krishna. And shortly after that Vrindavan, the raasa sthali of Sri Krishna and Sri Radha Rani. I was so keen to drive through Vrindavan but that would mean losing some time. Moreover Yamuna Expressway runs on the north side of Vrindavan which means we would have entered from Kesi Ghat side. I prayed to Radha Rani in my mind asking her if she pleases let us drive through Vrindavan, but I guess GOD’s plan was to drive to Delhi and so I continued on the Yamuna Expressway.

Unlike the other expressways we drove on previous days, Yamuna Expressway seems to have food courts at regular intervals so that gave us some relief, otherwise traffic was thin, roads are good and therefore driving is enjoyable. I kept driving in the left most lane for most time as I was not too keen to drive at 100 KMPH and also not block the lane for other fast moving vehicles. Because of that the ETA somehow increased by around 15 minutes and India Gate was now showing at 11.45 am.

We got off the Yamuna Expressway and entered NOIDA, and here is where we started encountering vehicular traffic. Though there was no jam, but all the vehicles driving at fast speed navigating like snakes was something to watch out for especially in north India, where egos run high and road rage is a common every day thing. I could not really make out whether we were still in UP/NOIDA or we had entered the borders of Delhi. But we were driving in the NCR region for sure.

Soon we reached India Gate, and that was a clear assurance of being in Delhi, our 2nd Union Territory of the journey. I was looking for parking, so I stopped on the right side of the road hoping to click pictures of car in front of India Gate. But traffic was high and I could not  get on to the road to click a clear picture.  I asked one of the photographers / local guide for parking and he indicated me to take a left turn from ahead. We were on the right most side of the road, so turning towards left in the Delhi traffic was some challenge though I was able to reach the left lane and then turn left from there. There were some cops there who helped me with parking area direction. Parking area was buzzing with tourists though we found a parking spot inside.

After parking the car we started walking, looking for directions. We found a public toilet and so we just freshened up as we had not stopped anywhere on the highway after we started the drive in morning. We walked further and I saw an underpass which indicated direction towards India Gate. We walked through that and now we were in front of the India Gate a landmark which stands tall as a testimony to the sacrifices our soldiers have made during World War I. The names of these soldiers are etched on the walls of India Gate. Last time when I visited India Gate around 9 years ago it was a typical tourist place in India with beggars and vendors thronging around the India Gate. But now after the renaming of the area from Rajpath to Kartavya Path, the entire area has been beautified and modernised. Now there were no beggars or hawkers or vendors there, just some photographers asking to click pictures. All the hawkers / vendors have been given space near parking area itself. 

We clicked some pictures of the India Gate and the newly installed statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the fearless freedom fighter who sent shivers down the British Empire. It was hot so we did not want to stay out there for too long, plus we had to drive further to Kurukshetra. So we left from there, towards parking. On the way mummy suggested eating snacks, but I then said that wouldn’t be our lunch and we may find some place on highway for proper lunch. We left from there without much discussion on the topic.

I set Geetopadesh Sthal in Kurukshetra as the next destination and the drive time was showing around 3 hours. It was around 12.45 pm when we left from the India Gate and so ETA was showing as 3.45 pm. But we had to still stop for lunch on the way. Driving through Delhi can be extremely confusing for new comers like me as you can see only wide roads and vehicles zooming past them. Google maps helps but then there are so many roads branching out of one main road that one can get confused where exactly are we supposed to drive, which lane to stay in or where to turn. Atleast for me it was getting confusing. Due to this I missed one left turn  and had to go around and take u-turns and then come back on the road where we were supposed to go. We also encountered the famous Delhi Traffic Jams though thankfully it wasn’t for too long.

We had started running low on petrol in the car. So now both us and the car needed fuel to ensure further journey is smooth and hassle free. I could not find any hotel on our side of the road, everything google was suggesting was on the other side of the road. Finally I saw one restaurant  suggestion on google maps, which was on our side of the road but we had climbed a flyover so I thought we would miss it. But thankfully the restaurant was right where the flyover ended. But getting to restaurant was an effort as there was continuous traffic coming from the lane adjacent to the flyover. I navigated to left side and stopped the car. As I stepped out of car to check out the restaurant I saw one car moving out of restaurant parking. I immediately got into car and reversed into the parking slot.

We went into the restaurant and ordered food. Finished our lunch and started our drive further. Traffic was continuous on the highway. Soon I found a petrol pump too. I stopped the car for filling the tank. At the petrol pump I asked the guy what place it is. He said it is Singhu Border, the infamous Singhu Border where the farmers had protested for more than a year or so. I asked him so are we in Haryana and he said, once you cross the flyover it is Haryana, The petrol pump was on the service lane and we had leave the flyover to enter it. And he was right, as soon as we drove towards the end of the flyover a big yellow board welcomed us into our 20th state of the journey.

The roads are good in Haryana but the traffic was still there. I was able to maintain good speed but navigating through traffic was something I was cautious as I did not want to unnecessarily trigger someone’s ego. Haryana road transport buses always seem to be in a hurry and drive really fast. Though I did not find them to be rash like Kerala buses but they drive fast and that could make some drivers nervous. I tried to stay away from them whenever I spotted these buses. However all this traffic was only till Panipat city. After we crossed Panipat, the traffic did reduce and now it was comfortable to drive on broad, good roads.

Soon we were welcomed by a board which said ‘Geetopdesh Sthali Jyotisar mein apka swagat hai’ We had entered the Kurukshetra town limits, though the main town was still few KMs away. I had set Jyotisar as destination. I was planning to stay near Brahma Sarovar which is in the town of Kurukshetra whereas Jyotisar was slightly on outskirts, and hence it made sense to visit Jyotisar first and then come back to town and find a hotel near Brahma Sarovar. As we turned left from the highway a big gate welcomed us with Arjuna’s Rath and Sri Krishna giving him Geetopdesh. I quickly tried to take a picture while driving through the gate, but the sun was on opposite side and so the image actually came dark. 

We continued our drive further inside the town and the speed had to be now as per city speed. Soon we reached the Geetopdesh Sthal in Jyotisar. We parked our car and walked in. This is a huge banyan tree where it is believed that Sri Krishna imparted the divine knowledge of Bhagavad Geeta to Arjuna before the Mahabharata War. There are other smaller temples too in the premise. There was an ancient Shiva temple which has believed to witness the atrocities and destruction by many invaders. There is also a Viraat Swaroop statue of Sri Krishna where a Light & Sound show happens every evening. I believe the show is about the Geeta updesh or so. There is also a museum constructed recently but it was closed. I understood from a local lady sitting outside the temple that the museum was inaugurated on Geeta Jayanti and then closed as it is not yet complete! The Government is trying to maintain this place, but I feel a place of such great significance for the entire mankind needs more attention and promotion. 

I called the hotel which I had shortlisted, while we were sitting at Jyotisar and they confirmed that  rooms were available. So our next destination was now set which was around 15 minutes of drive from Jyotisar, back towards the town. We left from Geetopdesh Sthal and drove towards the hotel. Hotel is a small budget hotel with no parking of its own. So we parked the car on the road side opposite to hotel. We finished the check in formalities and went to the room. After resting for a while we left for Brahma Sarovar which is just across the main road from hotel.

We were figuring out how to enter the Brahma Sarovar when we saw the Dakshinamurthy Hanuman Temple and decided to take blessings so Hanumanji. From there then we figured a way to enter Brahma Sarovar and it was a blissful place. A huge pond with Shiva temple and other temples. Also they do evening Aarti like the Ganga Aarti. We roamed around the sarovar and clicked some pictures. On the walls there are many incidents mentioned which are related to Kurukshetra and Mahabharata explaining the historic significance of the place.

We went for the evening aarti and sat there. But soon a huge storm brew up from nowhere. There was dust and winds gushing at very high speeds. Initially we thought it will pass away in sometime, but the storm kept increasing and many other people sitting for the aarti also started going back so we too decided to leave from there and reach hotel. We did not want to get wet so we started walking towards hotel which was a bit far to walk especially in the storm. But the winds were so furious carrying all the dust and dirt with them that it was getting extremely difficult to even keep the eyes open. It had also become very dark now and was difficult to see the path. 

We somehow managed to reach the hotel in the dark storm. We both were fully covered in dust from head to toe so we washed our face and hands in the restaurant washroom which was on ground floor of the hotel. We decided to have our dinner at the restaurant before going to the room. We ordered simple soup and sandwich for dinner. It was decent, and we finished it soon. At room we just rested and I logged in the day’s expenses etc. Even the IPL match was delayed due to rains in Bangalore. So I started searching for stay options in Dehradun our destination for tomorrow.

When we started this journey, we were unsure about whether we will be able to do it. We had decided to take every day as it comes and today after 38 days we have driven more than 12000 KMs and passed through 20 states and 2 Union Territories. Living a life on the road, always on the move is something very new to both of us and while we both have adapted to it, there is always an inner drive to settle down or go back to your home. But in these 38 days it is crystal clear to us that GOD is making this plan and guiding us on completing the plan so we will leave our worries to HIM and just do our duty.

Day 39 - 19/4/25 - Upward and Onward

Today plan was to reach Dehradun, capital city of Uttarakhand the 21st state in our Journey. This also marks our journey heading northwards. We got up in the morning and got ready by around 7 am. There was no breakfast in the room package. But mummy did not want to waste time searching for a restaurant for breakfast. We had also exhausted all our fruits so we decided to wait till 8 am when the hotel would serve breakfast as per order. Mummy had to rearrange all her clothes while I had to clean the car especially after last evening’s storm. I brought all the bags to room and let mummy do her chore while I went down to clean the car.

After cleaning the car I came to room and mummy was also done. It was still 7.30 am so we had time to while away. I started writing previous day’s experience while mummy got busy with her phone. At around 8 am we went for breakfast. Mummy went to restaurant and placed the order for food while I took all the bags to car and arranged them inside. 

During breakfast mummy started narrating to me an incident which she had in recent past at one of her friend’s house. Where she went to the washroom in their house and after that she suddenly started feeling shivering and caught high fever. But apparently next morning she was fine. This coupled with last evening’s storm incident was worrying her. Also yesterday during the drive couple of times she mentioned to me that she felt as if Papa was sitting on the back seat in the car. Everyday when mummy gets ready she applied a bindi on her forehead but at the restaurant the bindi had fallen off. For mummy this is normal because she sweats a lot and so bindi falls off. I did not take this seriously and just pointed out to her that her bindi has fallen off.

After breakfast, we thought of visiting the Shiva temple at Brahma Sarovar which we missed last evening due to the storm. We drove to the main entry gate and parked the car. Mummy applied the bindi again and we went inside the entry gate of Brahma Sarovar. I looked at mummy and again the bindi had fallen off. It wasn’t too hot nor was mummy sweating so much, still the bindi fell off twice. All this coupled with all the stories mummy told me during breakfast made me worried. We went inside the temple and had darshan of Shiva ji.

From there I set the destination as Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar. Haridwar is not on the way to Dehradun from Kurukshetra, but I thought coming all the way upto Uttarakhand and not visiting Haridwar would be futile for the trip. Anyways Dehradun being capital city is more modern and commercial, while Haridwar has spiritual and religious significance. Har Ki Pauri is the ghat from where river Ganga flows and every one takes a dip into the Holy Ganga. The drive time to Har Ki Pauri was showing little over 3 hours. We started from Brahma Sarovar at around 9.35 am so ETA to Har Ki Pauri was around 11.35 am, which was convenient assuming it won’t be extremely hot. 

We had to exit Kurukshetra town and come till the highway from where we had taken a left yesterday. Traffic was same as it was last evening. We reached the entrance gate of the town and saw a fruit shop so decided to buy some fruits since we had exhausted our stock. Also mummy had an upset stomach so we decided to keep some fruits with us in case mummy needs to eat them. I clicked picture of Duster in front of the entrance gate, since yesterday evening while entering I could not get a good picture.

Yesterday we had taken left from highway to enter Kurukshetra, while the right from highway would take us towards Uttarakhand. We crossed the highway and drove straight as the route was showing towards right from the highway. The roads now were 2-lane undivided highway. Traffic was there on this road but it was moving traffic. But overtaking on an undivided highway is always irritating and stressful. I kept driving with a calm head, overtaking whenever I got opportunity and not taking any unwanted risks. 

We encountered a lot of tractors on this road. With fields on both sides of the road, a tractor would suddenly jump onto the highway from a narrow lane between the fields. After about 50KMs drive we entered Uttar Pradesh again. It seems we had to cross UP to reach Uttarakhand. The roads in UP have been good as per our experience of previous few days driving in UP so it was a  breeze driving on the smooth roads.

We reached a gate which thanked us for visiting UP, and I knew soon we would be entering the next state. After driving for a while a broken board welcomed us into Uttarakhand, the 21st state of our Journey. The roads in Uttarakhand are good but not as good as in UP or some of the other states we drove in. Haridwar and Dehradun both were around 60-70 KMs now. The roads were a mix of 4-lane divided highways and 2-lane undivided highways. But they were good to drive on and hence I did not really encounter anything strikingly different. Soon we reached Haridwar town.

After driving through some narrow roads we were back on 4-lane divided highway. There were sign boards on the highway showing Har Ki Pauri towards left but google maps kept showing the destination further ahead. We could see lot of cars parked and sign boards showing direction towards parking so I was assured that google is probably taking us to one of the parking. Finally we reached a point where google indicated to take a left turn. We took the turn but still could not find parking zone so we asked some cops sitting under a tree, and they guided us to turn left ahead. 

Over there was a gate with boom barrier. We took our parking card and went inside. The girl at counter told us to keep driving straight and we would reach a bridge where we can park the car. So we kept driving straight. There were a few cars ahead of us so we thought maybe be everybody is driving towards parking. A lot of vehicles were parked along on the sides as we drove and then finally at one point we got stuck. It seems there was no more parking available further. So we had to reverse the car for almost 100 meters in narrow gaps. We kept going further in the opposite direction and there was some space for parking. We parked the car and got down to figure out where to go for Har Ki Pauri.

It appears the entire ghat stretch is called Har Ki Pauri. There were a few steps to climb onto a walkway. As we climbed on the walkway we could see Holy Ganga River flowing along side. I suggested to mummy to dip our feet and take blessings here itself as the main place near the bridge, where most people visit would be crowded and also far from where we had parked. Already mummy was not feeling well, and then walking so far in the sun would further affect her health.  

We also had a garland which mummy got from Kashi Vishwanathan temple as prasad. So we decided to submerge the garland in the Holy Ganga. I climbed down the steps till the river and did aachman and bowed to Holy Ganga. After that mummy also did the same. We clicked few pictures there and then decided to head back as it was hot.

We came back to parking and got into the car. I set the destination as Tapkeshwar Mahadev Mandir, in Dehradun which was showing around 1 hour drive from Har Ki Pauri. It was lunch time and so I thought of having lunch before we continued our drive further. I looked for restaurants but they were all on service road. We were driving on the highway and could not really find any opening in the median to get on to the service road. Moreover all these restaurants appeared to be very crowded with lots of cars parked in front of them. So we kept driving further ahead, and I saw one restaurant which was on the service road and there was opening to go there. We went to the restaurant and it was empty. Mummy did not want to eat so she just had buttermilk while I ordered a Biryani. We finished our lunch and got back in the car to start our drive.

I thought that mummy is not well and making her walk and do more sight seeing would not be wise. So I asked her if she wants to go to hotel straightaway. She said yes and I called up few hotels which I had shortlisted. One of the hotel said that room is available so I set that as destination and started the drive. Drive time was showing 1 hour but the roads were now getting crowded.

Driving through the traffic, we reached Dehradun the capital city of Uttarakhand. Dehradun is a modern city and commercial hub I believe. Lot of malls, premium brands and other consumer goods shops were all over the city as we drove through. I hardly got a feeling of being in a small town/city. It appeared very much like any other metro city. We reached our hotel and I enquired for room availability. I saw the room and agreed to take it. We took our luggage and went in. Mummy went to the SBI branch which was in the same building as the hotel. She needed some cash change so she got that while I finished check in formalities and parked the car in basement.

We came to room and I got to washing clothes which were piled for 2 days. Mummy also gave some of her clothes. After washing the clothes I started logging in the expenses and started searching for hotel options for our next destination. I was not sure whether to go to Shimla or to Chandigarh. Both are equally far from Dehradun but Shimla is in the hills while Chandigarh is on the plains. Finally I decided to go to Shimla as the further drive would then we streamlined.

In evening we decided to take a walk on the Rajpur road till the Clock Tower, which is believed to be a famous landmark of Dehradun city. The entire Rajpur road is a commercial and shopping hub with all major brand shops all along the road. We walked for around 15 minutes and reached the clock tower which was a major traffic junction. With heavy traffic moving in all directions it was  difficult to go close to Clock Tower so we clicked some pictures from the road side itself. 

Mummy saw a medical store on opposite side of road, so we crossed the road but the shop did not have the medicine mummy needed. We explored further ahead and found 2 more shops but none had the medicine mummy needed. So we walked back towards hotel. We stopped for a break at one mall type building. 

There was some south indian restaurant nearby, so I casually asked mummy if she wanted to have a dosa for dinner. She agreed and then we walked to the restaurant. It was a small restaurant inside a petrol pump. The guy at counter was a young boy. It seemed the restaurant was popular among young / students. Service was not great, food was not great. We just finished our dosa and walked back to hotel. Mummy was visibly tired. I let mummy go to the room while I went further ahead to explore. I had read about some bakery which was very famous so I decided to check it out, but it was closed due to some work. I went to another bakery nearby and had a butterscotch pastry.

 

After that I came to room and mummy was relaxing in the room. Tomorrow plan is to go to Tapkeshwar Mahadev Mandir in morning (since we did not visit it today) and then head towards Shimla which is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh, the 22nd state of our journey. I started searching for hotel options in Shimla while watching IPL match. I managed to shortlist a few hotels but lets see where we end up for the night. Anyways wherever we go, it is not by our choice, it is by the choice of GOD so why worry.

Day 40 - 20/4/25 - An unexpected stop

Morning we got up and got ready by around 7.20 am. Breakfast was to be served at 8.30am. I checked with hotel reception if they could pack the breakfast for us early and they said only sandwiches can be provided. So we decided to wait till breakfast and then leave. I went down to clean the car. Came back to room by 7.50 am. Started writing my experience of previous day. 

At 8.30am we went for breakfast. The spread wasn’t very good so I just took poha and ate that. Mummy had sheera as her mouth was sore due to the medicine and upset stomach. We came back to room and then took our bags and left. I went down to basement to take out the car while mummy stopped at reception to handover the room key. There is a petrol pump right outside the hotel so I stopped to fill the petrol. Mummy also came in sometime.

We planned to visit the Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple which was a slight detour. Yesterday I had dropped the plan of visiting it as mummy was not feeling well. I asked mummy if she wants to visit and she said if it is on the way we can visit it. I set the destination as the temple and started the day’s drive. Anyways I thought it would be good to take blessing of Shiva Ji before starting the drive to hills.

Drive time was around 15 minutes but the route was through some narrow lanes near the temple. We reached the temple and parked our car. The temple was at a lower level than where we had parked the car so we had to climb some steps down. Mummy managed to climb down. We reached the entrance of the temple and there was stream of water flowing below. I clicked a few pictures before entering the temple.

The Shivaling itself is inside a cave so we had to bend down and watch our head while entering and taking darshan. When we went in there was aarti going on. Mummy also got a chance to do aarti to shivaling. We came out after aarti and sat for a while outside the temple. I saw a lift which said Rs.20/ person. I told mummy to take the lift. We went up by lift and paid the charges to one sadhu baba. Walked till main road which was still a bit of climb and went to car.  

From the parking lot I called one of the hotels which I had shortlisted in Shimla. The person confirmed room availability but wanted me to pay some advance to block the room. I did not want to pay advance so I decided to drive to Shimla and then finalise the hotel. I still set that hotel as destination for directions and the drive time was showing around 5.45 hours. 

We drove back through the narrow lanes navigating the oncoming vehicles and reached the main road. I missed a left lane which google was suggesting so google then redirected me through another road. After this google directed us to a well paved 4-lane divided highway and we were happy that finally some good roads to drive on. But that happiness did not last long as the highway was under construction, and worse there were no sign boards for deviation of ongoing work etc. At some points people were working on the road itself while vehicle were driving by. 

After driving for sometime on this road, we hit a road block. There were huge concrete boulders kept to block the road. Some other vehicles too which got stuck along with us. A local man suggested to take the car over the small divider and get on to the other side saying all vehicles drive the same way. None of us were sure but one guy ahead of us drove his Innova over the divider and was able to cross through. So I too tried to drive over the divider. Unfortunately Duster got stuck and couldn’t move. The front wheel was not touching the road below and was just spinning as a result. I tried to take the car reverse a bit so that front wheels could get the road underneath and  was finally able to drive over the divider and go on the other side. 

From there the roads continued to be good but only on one side due to ongoing work. After sometime we reached a place called Paonta Sahib where there is a big famous Gurudwara. We had to turn right over a bridge and cross a river. On the other side of the bridge was Himachal Pradesh. A big board welcomed us into Dev Bhoomi Himachal Pradesh and we entered the 22nd state of our journey. There were some guys who collected toll from us for entering Himachal Pradesh. I asked why is there no fastag and one of the guy gave some excuse that Govt is going to install one soon there. I did not argue as I wanted to drive further and cover the hilly area fast.

We drove further and soon we were at the foothills of the hilly road. From here the roads were good but hilly so 2-lane undivided. Also at some points the roads would split into another road which I was not able to notice properly on google maps, and almost ended up taking a wrong turn. Though I was able to understand my error quickly and managed to turn back and go on the right road. 

The roads were winding and the drive was a bit tough. Even the Duster after having driven for more than 12000 KMs in last 40 days, seemed to have some trouble climbing on these roads. I switched off the AC so that there is less load on the engine. But the sun was hot and we were not able to get good speed on the road due to some traffic. Mummy was already not feeling well so she requested to turn on AC. With AC on, Duster was able to go slow on the hilly roads. After some distance we were at a good elevation on the hills so I rolled the windows down and turned off AC so as to have less load on the engine.

Mummy suddenly asked me to stop at a small shop and requested to get some lemon soda or limca etc. I got a bottle of limca which she took a few sips of. We started our drive and within 10-15 minutes mummy asked me to stop on roadside again. She was visibly not well. She got down from car and vomitted  all the breakfast she had in the morning. She lost her energy and struggled to stand. She started walking towards roadside where she could sit. I grabbed water bottle, limca and tissues for her. We sat there for sometime. She puked some more sitting there. I was worried, as if her health deteriorates then going to hills would not make sense. There was good breeze flowing there so it was soothing mummy that time. After a while mummy got up and  came back to the car. We started our drive further. The destination, Shimla was still 2.5 hours away.

I suggested mummy to lie down in back seat, but she requested me to lower the backrest of the front seat so she could lie down there itself. We drove for another 1 hour or so and again mummy asked me to stop on the road side. Again she puked out some of the indigested food. By now I could see she was feeling very weak. But there was very little I could do as she was not willing to eat anything. We sat there for sometime. I tried to chat with her to distract her attention from the vomiting sensation. It was peaceful location with nice breeze flowing so thankfully that was giving some relief to mummy.

We got back in the car after sometime, and I asked if she wants to take a stop somewhere close by. Our Destination was still 1.5 hours away. She said let’s keep going since drive time is only 1.5 hours. After about 30 minutes we reached a town called Solan in Himachal Pradesh. Now mummy suggested to take a hotel if we find one. I started looking along the road for hotels. Also on google maps for hotel options. I saw one big hotel in Solan town but it was full and they did not have any rooms. So we continued our drive further looking for hotels. We saw a few on the way but mummy was not sure about staying there so we continued further.

After about 15-20 minutes we crossed a place where mummy saw a board and mentioned about some hotel. I stopped on the side and checked behind and it was a familiar hotel. This was the same hotel where one of the youtuber had stayed with his mother. I had seen some videos of a man who drives around in India with his mother just like us. And he had stayed at this hotel and put a video on youtube. I had seen the video and so I immediately recalled the hotel. I told mummy that this is a good hotel as I had seen the video. We reversed the car a bit and took the turn towards the hotel. I parked the car and went to the hotel. There was no lift in the hotel so I had to climb 2 floors till hotel reception. Thankfully they had rooms which the guy showed me and I liked one. But I was not sure if mummy could climb the 2 floors.

I came back to car and asked mummy to get down and personally see the hotel and the stairs. She said she can climb, so we took our bags and walked to the hotel. We started climbing the stairs slowly, and reached the reception and mummy sat there. The person was taking sometime in taking the copy of my ID, so I suggested mummy to go to the room and rest in the room. I finished the check in formalities and came to room. I had not had lunch so ordered aloo paratha. Soaked my clothes for washing. Mummy also changed and put her clothes for washing as some of the vomit had spilled on her dress. I ate my lunch and then washed the clothes, though I was not sure if they would dry in the cold weather.

The hotel was located in a village in a place called Kandaghat. The weather here was pleasantly cold. The hotel was located among the hills with greenery all around. The view from the balcony was pleasant and peaceful. But mummy was feeling cold probably because she was not well. She dunk herself into the thick blanket provided by hotel. I messaged my sister (who is a doctor) about mummy’s health. She suggested to consult some local doctor. I thought of checking mummy’s temperature so gave her the thermometer. Temperature was normal but she had weakness as she had not eaten anything and she had puked out whatever she had eaten in morning. 

Soon mummy slept off and I started watching RCB match. I let mummy sleep and watched the match with earphones. She had a good rest and so I was happy that she could get some rest and hoped that she gets well soon. In evening mummy woke up but said that her stomach is still growling. I was now worried and decided to check for some doctor nearby. There was no one at reception so I had to depend only on google for suggestions. My sister had suggested some medicine, but I thought if mummy doesn’t get better by morning next day then we will take the step of visiting a doctor. 

For dinner mummy suggested having a khichadi, while I ordered dal roti. She had the khichadi with curd and then rested. I continued watching IPL match. I was now wondering if we should end our journey and head back home. But we are in the northern most part of country. And Mumbai would take atleast 4-5 days of driving. So I started looking for route options where we could still cover the remaining states and capitals and reach home within a week. 

We still had to cover Jammu, which was further north of India and to cover that it would take us atleast 3-4 days time to and fro. I had already dropped the plan of visiting Srinagar and Leh due to weather and road conditions. It was raining heavily in those areas and the highways were flooding and closed for commute, so it was not safe to go to there. Ladakh is one of the Union Territories in our plan while Srinagar is part of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory. But now if we drop Jammu too, then effectively we would be skipping both these Union Territories completely from the plan. In North East we had already dropped 3 states due to ILP issues. Effectively reducing our plan from 28 states and 6 UTs to 25 states and 4 UTs.

But what was important was to ensure mummy is well. Driving around the country for another 8-10 days in summer heat and outside food, would only make her health worse. So I started looking for route options back home.

What is interesting is, that few months back when I had seen the video of the guy with his mother staying at this hotel, I had liked the place and was wondering if I could visit the hotel. I was not really sure where the hotel was, just knew that it is on the way to Shimla somewhere. And even today, while driving I was wondering if we would cross the hotel. And how GOD makes things work. We ended up staying in the same hotel! Not that it was my wish or anything but just coincidence made it all happen. I just hope now mummy gets well by tomorrow and we can drive down from the hills so she can feel bit relaxed. I am now working out route options to go towards home. But let’s see what GOD has decided for us. We surrender to HIS will and play our part in this world.

Day 41 - 21/4/25 - Plan on the go

In the morning, mummy was still not feeling well. I started looking for doctor / hospital options near our hotel. I was mentally prepared to stay one more night at the same hotel. Mummy asked me to order one black coffee with some lemon slices. I ordered it from the hotel and asked them about any doctors nearby. There was a Govt Hospital around 2 KMs from hotel in the town of Kandaghat. In the meanwhile mummy had messaged my brother-in-law (who is also a doctor) and taken some medicine suggestions. I asked at reception what time would shops open and he said only after 9 am. It was 8 am that time so we had to wait till the medical shops open to get the medicine. In the meanwhile I ordered Aloo Paratha for breakfast and after that I started writing the previous day journey experiences.

At 9 am I decided to get the medicines, and drove towards the medical shop in the market area of Kandaghat town. Parked my car on the road itself and went to the medical shop. Thankfully I got both the medicines which had been suggested. But taking a u-turn at the spot was difficult so I drove further ahead and took a u-turn at a wider section of the road. The drive back to hotel was by going around 1 KM further ahead as there was no break in the median on the road.

Came back to room and gave the medicines to mummy. Also, since we started this journey, the 4 water bottles we were carrying, hadn’t been washed so I requested the hotel staff to wash our steel water bottles and ordered some water from the hotel. Made the electral water for mummy in one of the bottles. I went down to clean the car as it had rained a little previous night so there were dust spots on the car. In the meanwhile mummy too got ready. Came back to room and mummy was ready to leave. The owner of the hotel was sitting at reception so I chatted with him a bit and mentioned to him that I saw the review of his hotel on youtube by one of the youtubers and that’s why I was assured of a good stay. The owner Sachin was a good person and a genteman and helpful.

Till this point I was not sure where we would be going next, whether we would continue our journey towards Jammu or should we head back to home or should we just stay put in Chandigarh and take a call next day. Everything depended on mummy’s health and how she is able to recover / cope with the road journey. But then mummy herself suggested that we should continue our journey as not much is left and GOD has brought us on this journey so HE will take care of us.

I was still not sure, so I decided to drive till Chandigarh which was anyways planned destination as the 3rd Union Territory of our journey. At around 11 am we packed our bags and got ready to leave from the hotel. We paid our bills, paid tips to both hotel staff as they had been very polite and helpful to us during our stay and then left from the hotel.

I set Sukhna Lake, one of the popular places in Chandigarh as our destination on google maps. Drive time was showing around 2 hours with ETA at 1 pm in afternoon. I was worried as again walking around the lake during peak afternoon heat would further hamper mummy’s health. But I had no choice as we had to leave and move forward in the journey. I was very careful on the drive down the hills and was driving at a relaxed speed, stopping occasionally to click pictures of the  beautiful views of the hills. Thankfully the roads were 4-lane divided roads and in good condition so I stuck to the left lane and kept driving at easy speed, taking extra caution on the turns as that’s where the jerks can be felt the most. 

The hilly section of the roads would take anywhere from 1-1.5 hours of the total drive time and I was hoping it gets over soon. On the way mummy kept saying that she is fine and we should finish the journey which we started etc., but I was still unsure. One thing I knew was that we had to get down from the hills, come to plains, reach Chandigarh, assess mummy’s health and then  take a call on further drive. I had seen a few hotels in Jalandhar for night halt (in case we decide to drive towards Jammu) and also some in Patiala (in case we decide to drive south towards home). I had also seen a couple of hotel options in Chandigarh. But had not shortlisted any, so I had no clue about any hotel at any of the places.

At around 12.15 pm we came down the hills and now the winding hilly roads had ended and we were driving on the plain roads. A gate thanked us for visiting Himachal Pradesh and after some distance another gate welcomed us back into Haryana. This gave relief to mummy also as she was worried of puking again on hilly roads. I can understand her agony, and so tried to drive as cautiously as possible. Once on the plains, the roads were good and we soon reached Panchkula town. This was a beautiful looking city with landscaping on both sides of the well paved roads, cleaner than most other cities, good looking houses and buildings. Overall the city gave a feeling of being in a premium locality.

Chandigarh and Panchkula are like sister cities very close to each other. Soon we entered Chandigarh and the city was similar to Panchkula, well maintained roads, greenery and landscaping on both sides of the roads. We reached Sukhna Lake and looked for parking. We found one place where other cars were parked so we too entered the parking area and parked our car there and walked in towards the lake. 

There was a food court kind of place made there with small eatery shops and souvenir shops. We sat there for a while under a tree. Mummy was feeling better being out of a moving vehicle and sitting peacefully with breeze flowing. After sometime we went towards the lake. The lake itself is muddy water but the ambience is serene and peaceful. There was some crowd there on a monday afternoon but it wasn’t overwhelming or disturbing. It was mostly family crowd and were having a relaxed time at the lake. We clicked some pictures and sat there for sometime enjoying the breeze. I tried to walk further to explore the lake premise click some more pictures, while mummy sat at one place to rest. 

There were vendors selling bhel at the lake. The smell of the chopped onions and the masala chana dal probably intrigued mummy and she felt like having it. I was happy as after almost 2 days mummy was asking to eat something. I enquired with the vendors but they had only dry bhel. I still bought one hoping mummy to like it but mummy just had one small bite from it. 

We decided to walk towards food court to eat something. I saw a coconut water stall so bought that for mummy. I took veg cutlet from another stall. We had our food and then headed back to the car. It was 2 pm that time, so I suggested mummy that we take a room in Chandigarh for the day and rest as she was still not feeling fully well. But she insisted that we continue the journey further. There was no network in my mobile so I could not set next destination on google maps. I drove out of parking lot and started driving. After sometime when the mobile got network, I set Jalandhar as destination on google maps. Drive time was showing 3 hours,

I started driving on the route and soon we entered Punjab state where a board welcomed us into the 23rd state of our journey. Roads are good in Punjab and so the drive was comfortable. There was a bit of traffic which was mostly cars so navigating was also not much of a stress. I was driving at a good speed of 80-100 KMPH. As we got closer to Jalandhar I called one of the hotel which I had seen earlier during my search. They had rooms available but it was a bit costly (though within the budget we had planned). I was not too keen to spend so much for hotel in a transit destination but I had no other option available. There were a few other hotels on the route but then stopping and checking rooms and then finalising would put some stress for mummy. So I decided to just drive to the hotel where I had spoken and stay there. 

We reached the hotel and gave the car for valet parking. Took our bags and went in. Finished our check-in formalities and came to room. Mummy rested while I washed my clothes. I started logging in the expenses for the day. And started searching hotel options in Jammu. It was really tough to find a decent hotel in Jammu which offers parking facility. Either the hotel is a budget hotel in narrow lanes without parking or it is extremely expensive above Rs. 5000/ night. Finally after a lot of search I was able to shortlist 3 hotels. I just hope tomorrow when we reach Jammu we get a room in one of the shortlisted hotels.

We ordered food, as mummy said she is feeling hungry. There was some special menu in the room which said one plate wonder which had a combo of multiple items. Mummy wanted to have Thai Green Curry but it was available in non-veg option only. I called the restaurant and asked if they could make it in veg. They said yes, so I ordered that plus one another veg option. But what was finally delivered was only the veg option which I had ordered and the Thai curry was not sent. The quantity was more than enough for 2 of us, so we just ate some. Taste was not that great so left the rest.

Now tomorrow plan is to head towards Jammu but all depends on how mummy is feeling. Hope she recovers soon as otherwise for her this journey is becoming more painful than enjoyable. Anyways this is GOD’s plan so let’s see what is in store for tomorrow.

Day 43 - 23/4/25 - Driving towards the neck of India

I got up in morning and got ready. Mummy too got up but after bath she came and lied on the bed saying she is feeling nausea. She lay in bed for sometime while I finished writing experience of previous day. Breakfast was to start at 7.30am, but mummy could not get up. She asked if we could order breakfast in room. I checked  with room service and they said I can bring some fruits and curd from the buffet to room myself. So I went to restaurant and brought some fruits and a cup of curd to room and let mummy have breakfast. Mummy was feeling bit better by now. I went down and had my breakfast.

After breakfast I came back to room and mummy was ready to leave. I wasn’t sure where to head as her health was not improving. We finished our check out formalities and got into the car. I set Jammu as destination, and drive time was showing as 5.5 hours. It was 9 am so the ETA was showing at around 1.30 pm. 

If we look at India map, the southern part feels like the feet, the middle part is ofcourse the torso, the north east and Gujarat feel like 2 arms and northern part feels like shoulders while Jammu feels like the neck and Ladakh feels like the head. So today we planned to drive towards the neck of India.

The roads in Punjab are good 4-lane divided highways. But we encountered too many huge tractors, which would block one full lane. plus trucks trying to overtake them. So navigating through these heavy vehicles slowed down the speed, especially at town and village junctions. But otherwise the roads were good to drive on.

After about 2 hours we reached Pathankot from where the road splits into 2 - one goes to Jammu and other goes to Amritsar, both equidistant. We turned towards Jammu, and soon we reached Ravi river. Jammu & Kashmir border starts after crossing the Ravi river. We reached the other side of Ravi and entered the 4th Union Territory of our journey. We stopped on the other side of river to click some pictures of the boards placed there. The first town in J&K UT is Kathua which is the Gateway to J&K. The roads from here started deteriorating. NH work is in progress but the service roads were in shambles slowing down the speed. Jammu town was around 3 hours drive from the  border.

We kept driving on the bad roads and it reminded me of our drive through Kerala. Similar service roads with NH construction along side. We passed different towns of J&K and finally reached the outskirts of Jammu from where google suggested to take a left turn. This was a well made concrete 6-lane highway going towards Srinagar. The drive here was now enjoyable though short as I knew that soon we would enter Jammu city and the city traffic would again slow down the speed. I called couple of hotels which I had shortlisted and one of them confirmed availability of room. So I set that hotel as destination and started driving.

On this journey, google maps has ensured to confuse me as soon as we reach near our destination of the day. On this highway, we were supposed to take a right turn towards Jammu city. Usually when such a turn is indicated, google maps also shows a slight left to indicate taking under the elevated highway. But this time google just kept showing straight and right. I thought may be after the elevated highway we have to take the right turn so I climbed the elevated highway and we missed the right turn underneath! We had to drive further around 3-4 KMs to find u-turn and come back towards the road leading to Jammu city.

Jammu airport was on the way on this road. As we drove further towards the city, the road towards the hotel was blocked and traffic was being diverted! We had no clue so we just followed the traffic. Google maps redirected a new route but even that road was blocked. We were now feeling stuck with no other way suggested by google. All the other cars were also stuck and seemed to not know where to go. I drove towards a road which was open and stopped on the side. I told mummy may be this is indication that we are not supposed to be in Jammu. During the drive also mummy kept saying that these places are not safe and anything can happen here. I had jokingly said that time that as soon as we step into Jammu there will be a terrorist attack! And now we were stuck! This reminded me of our drive in Kolkata where were just driving around the Dakshineswar Temple but not finding at hotel or the temple.

Mummy suggested to ask an auto driver standing nearby, for directions. I was not sure but I still went and asked the auto driver. The auto guy thankfully suggested us to keep driving on the same road where we were and take a right turn at the next junction and we would reach the place where we want to go. I got back into the car and started driving on the road. We reached a signal from where google maps was now suggesting to take a right as also suggested by the auto driver. From there on, google maps helped us navigate till the hotel. We reached the hotel and parked the car. I went and checked for room availability and the person at reception confirmed the room still being available. I saw the room and we decided to take it. It was a huge room. I finished the check-in formalities and we came to the room and settled in. 

I soaked my clothes for washing and came and sat on the bed, and I got a notification on my phone reading ‘Terrorists attack tourists in J&K!’ I was shocked but did not want to react as mummy would get more worried. How does it happen that every unpleasant or negative thing I say GOD makes it come true almost immediately and when I say something positive I have to wait for it or struggle for it? What is it that GOD wants from me?

I was worried that if mummy gets to know this news then she will blame me for having said the same thing earlier during our drive. So I just kept quiet and started doing my daily routine of logging in expenses and searching for hotel and route options for our drive further. I washed my clothes and then continued to search for hotel options. The drive till Jaipur, our next destination is around 15 hours and so we need to take a halt somewhere in between. Sangrur a town in punjab is equidistant from Jammu to Jaipur, so I started looking for hotel options in Sangrur. I could not find anything decent, but anyways will leave the selection to GOD as HE is making this plan.

Mummy was feeling bit hungry so we ordered simple dal rice and curd and finished our lunch. After lunch I continued searching for hotel and route options. Mummy kept browsing her phone and then she slept off after a while. After an hour or so she got a call from one of her friend who informed her of the terrorist attack. Also papa posted the news on our family group. So mummy told me that there has been a terror attack in J&K. I still kept calm and told her that I saw the news as soon as we came to the room. I started looking for more details of the attack to ensure that it does not affect our exit tomorrow.

The terror attack was dastardly where terrorists fired gunshots on unsuspecting tourists in Pahalgam. Some news suggested that terrorists asked religion of people and then shot them. Situation obviously got tense and I was worried as we did not want to get stuck in Jammu in such a situation. So tomorrow the plan is to leave from Jammu as early as possible as we do not have breakfast included in the room. Exit J&K as soon as possible and try to drive towards Jaipur as close as we can. Sangrur is a town I have shortlisted as it is equidistant. So we will look for hotel as we reach closer to the town. I am sure there is something good in everything GOD makes us do, so with this assurance we will look forward to tomorrow as we now come towards the last leg of our journey!

Day 43 - 23/4/25 - Leaving in Urgency

After yesterday’s terror attack, everything was uncertain. How will Bharat react? Will there be shutdowns in J&K? Will the roads be open. By yesterday evening, the situation was getting tense as more information started to come out regarding the terror attack. I had mentioned to mummy that we better leave early and get out of J&K as early as possible. Anyways breakfast was not included in the room and mummy was anyways not feeling well so we could just have some fruits and leave early.

I woke up early but started reading news about any further developments or action that have been taken. Google maps showed the route to be clear. I got ready and then mummy went for bath. After bath again she came and lied down on bed saying her health does not seem to be improving. I let her rest for sometime and finished writing my experience of previous day. After a while she was feeling better so I asked her to take her medicine. Apparently mummy had to go to toilet 2-3 times at night and hence was feeling weak. She took her medicines and I gave her orange to eat along with it. I went down to clean the car. Came back up and she was ready so we just took our bags and left. Finished our check-out formalities and got into the car.

I set Jaipur as destination. Last evening when I was checking the route it was suggesting 2-3 routes so I was not sure which one to take. I had shortlisted the route through Sangrur as it was showing as shortest route. But to reach Sangrur we had to pass through a town called Moga in Punjab. And I also read a news yesterday evening that some people were arrested in Moga for making a plan to assassinate Home MInister of Bharat and some other dignitaries. So I was not sure if it would be safe to take that route. But Google has it’s own way of adding unwanted adventure! Today morning when I set destination as Jaipur it showed only one route, going through Ambala!

I decided to first get out of J&K and reach Pathankot and then decide which route to take. In the morning, traffic was less so I kept driving faster whenever I got a chance, to reach J&K border. After about 2 hours we reached the border and crossed Ravi river that’s when I felt a bit relieved. We drove further ahead towards Pathankot. I had not had breakfast, but I did not want to waste time in searching for a restaurant and stopping the car, so I munched on some snacks from our snack bag. 

I tried resetting google maps but it continued to show only one route option via Ambala. I decided that I will drive till Ludhiana and then reset google maps and check if it suggests route through Sangrur, only because I had seen some hotel options in Sangrur. I had not seen any hotel option in Ambala. Just before reaching Jalandhar, police had blocked the highway and all vehicles were turning towards village roads. I kept following the other vehicles in front of me and after driving through some rough village roads we were back on highway. 

But again further ahead the roads were blocked. I understood from others that farmers had started protesting again! This was the same highway on which we had driven to Jammu yesterday and today already farmers started protesting. The timing of this protest, after the terror attack in J&K was suspicious. 

I had to find a way to bypass this block and get back on the highway. I took a u-turn and followed some cars which again turned towards internal village roads. After some turns and u-turns and navigating through narrow roads and oncoming traffic we finally reached the highway. Jalandhar was around 15 KMs away. Soon we reached outskirts of Jalandhar city but bypassed it and drove  towards Ludhiana. We lost around 15-20 minutes due to the blocks on highway. The roads in Punjab are good though and I was able to maintain a speed between 80-100 KMPH. As a result we were able to cover the distance faster. Soon we reached Ludhiana, where I had planned to take a lunch break and figure out further route. But there were no good restaurants to be found on the highway in Ludhiana!

I was now getting worried as I was not getting an opportunity to stop the car and check the route / hotel options, plus I had not had proper breakfast so was also feeling bit hungry. Finally after driving some distance we found a dhaba on highway. We parked the car and went in. Mummy decided to have only curd so I ordered dal rice for myself. While the order was getting ready, I searched some hotel options on the route suggested by google (via Ambala) and called a couple of hotels. Both confirmed availability of rooms so we decided to stop at the one which was closer as it also seemed better.

Our food arrived, but it was so bad that I could not eat it at all. I just had few spoons and left the rest. Mummy finished her curd. To add to this, there were flies all around the table and I saw a little mouse running under the sofa! We paid the bill and just left from there. I set the resort which was closer, as destination and started the drive. It was around 1 hour drive from the dhaba. Roads were good so drive was not a stress.

We reached the resort and went in. They gave us a room which had some issue with bathroom door so we changed our room. We settled down in the new room and I soaked my clothes for washing. After washing clothes I started looking for stay options in Jaipur. I had visited Jaipur before corona and was not keen to explore the city. It was just a tick mark for me to visit the city as capital of the 24th state in our journey. So I was looking for hotel options on highway itself. I  shortlisted a few hotels slightly inside the city but let’s see where we end up staying tomorrow.

I do not intend to extend this trip any further and just plan to reach home as early as possible. So may be in next 4-5 days we may be home. On this trip we have now seen good roads, bad roads, hot summers, cold weathers, rains, terror attacks and farmer protests too. Don’t know what more adventure GOD has planned for us to see.

Day 44 - 24/4/25 - Pink City

Yesterday’s stay at the resort was good and so we felt relaxed after finally reaching some place safer. Ambala town was 15 KMs away from the resort where we stayed for the night and Jaipur, our next destinations was around 7 hours drive.

Breakfast was not included in the room we took, as mummy’s health was still recovering so we decided to have fruits from our stock that we had. Also, it helped us bring down our room tariff slightly. We got ready by around 7.30am. I went to clean the car and came back and started writing previous day’s experience.  Mummy cut fruits and we had that before leaving. We finished our check out formalities and put the bags in the car.

I set Jaipur as destination as we had not booked any hotel. Drive time was showing around 6.5 hours with ETA around 3 pm. Roads in Punjab are good so that was one less thing to worry about. Before entering Ambala town, we had to take a turn towards another NH. I fuelled the car to full tank at one of the petrol pump. As we got onto this NH, the roads deteriorated with diversions and construction work going on. I mentally prepared myself for an irritating drive for the day but thankfully after some 20-30 KMs the roads again became 4/6-lane divided good roads.

We had just fruits in morning so I thought we could take a break for some breakfast. Mummy probably was hungry in morning when I had told her that we agreed to eat only fruits and leave. I saw a board mentioning rest area and many other smaller boards of different food joints were coming along the highway. So I decided to stop at the rest area to eat something. Somehow I was not worried about time today. We parked the car in the rest area and went inside the small food court kind of place with different food counters. Ordered simple south indian food. It was such a relief and a change from the heavy, greasy food of north india. I enjoyed a good south indian dosa after long. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered one more plate and had that too.

We left from the rest area after our breakfast by around 10.15 pm. We had spent only around 20-30 minutes at this stop so the ETA hadn’t got affected much as we had managed to reduce it in the drive till the rest area. The roads continued to be good with less traffic and I kept driving at a good speed of 80-100 KMPH. Soon we got onto NH 152D. There was hardly anything to see on this highway apart from occasional fields on the side of the roads. There were rest areas made at regular intervals but we already had our stop once and did not want to stop again.

The sun was getting hotter and so was the car too. I was hoping to find some tree shade to stop the car under to give it some rest but not a single tree along the highway! Government is building good roads but I think they should also plant trees along these highways. Atleast this should be their moral responsibility and duty. During hot summers, the trees along the road side can give so much relief to the vehicles and passenger. On Punjab highway there were stretches of big green trees along the highway which not just makes for a pleasant view but also provides shade when one needs to stop or take a break.

Car’s temperature meter was showing high and I was worried was hoping for no issue with the car. I consciously kept driving at around 80KMPH to reduce the load on the engine. Thankfully the car and the engine kept performing well. After Narnaul which seems to be the last town in Haryana we got onto NH 148B and from there we then got onto the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway NH 48. Here we reached a town called Kotputli which is in Rajasthan and so we formally entered the 24th state in our journey. It is surprising to note that a state like Rajasthan which thrives on tourism, has not put up any board at it’s border with the other state. The highway we were driving on was the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway! A lot of tourists from Delhi take this highway to reach Jaipur and not a single board marking the state’s border was put! 

We reached a place called Shahpur after Kotputli, where there was a restaurant whose boards we had been seeing since last 50KMs of driving. I parked the car in the parking lot. This was a big place with lot of shops and food options. I saw a Subway counter and thought of having a sub since I was not very hungry and also it would be a refreshing change from eating the roti / rice since last 45 days. I ordered a veg sub and mummy did not order anything. After meal, we decided to explore some shops for any souvenir we could purchase. Niti had requested for some dolls so we looked for some shops if we could find anything. Then we decided to enter the main restaurant. The main restaurant itself was huge like a food court. There were other food counters too inside. We asked one of the staff if we could order lassi and he asked us to sit at. a table. The lassi was good and filling. After finishing our lassi we came back to car park. I had called one of the hotels while at Subway so I set that hotel as the destination. Drive time was around 1.5 hours.

Weather was HOT and the car unfortunately had to be parked in open so it got hot too. I was hoping that the Duster survives the last few days of this road trip, but my loyal companion has surpassed my expectations every time in this journey. Soon we reached the outskirts of Jaipur city but were guided to take the bypass road by google. We kept driving on the bypass road and then turned left towards the city. The Hotel was around 6 KMs inside from the highway. That was not a long distance to drive in city traffic, moreover the time was around 3.30 pm so probably not much of work traffic was on road. We soon reached the hotel and parked the car in a place where there was some shade. Took our bags and went in, finished the check-in formalities (which took sometime!). Ibis hotels are functional hotels with no frills. You carry your own luggage and the rooms are comfortable and functional.

We settled in the rooms. I had run out of the detergent so no more washing clothes for the last few days of the road trip. So I sat down to log in the expenses and distance. I started searching for stay options at our next destination, Udaipur which is a border city in Rajasthan. I also started looking for next destination for our trip. Since mummy and I both were not too keen to explore any of the next destinations that we had planned it only made sense to head towards home at the earliest. Also, with the terror attack, Bharat is expected to retaliate soon and it would be better to be back at home before we get stuck in any such situation.

We decided to order dinner but the dish I wanted could only be delivered after 7 pm. So we kept whiling away time. At 7 pm I placed the order for dinner and it was delivered to room by around 7.30pm. Food was expensive but the taste and quality was very good. After a very long time we both enjoyed genuinely good food. We finished off everything for 3 reasons - one, we did not have a proper lunch so we were hungry, second, we got good tasting food after a long time on this trip and third, the food was so expensive that it didn’t feel like leaving any of it ;)

After dinner I kept watching the IPL match while mummy was busy on her phone and tab. After the first innings I watched a few overs of second innings and then slept off.

GOD has been really kind to us in giving us this opportunity to see our own country. Tomorrow plan is to head towards Udaipur, which seems to be a drive time of around 7 hours. Again there is no plan to do any sight seeing so we will just take a room hopefully near highway and then stay in the room till next morning and let GOD guide us on the next steps.

Day 45 - 25/4/25 - The Lake City

We both were ready by 7.30am today morning. Breakfast at the hotel started from 6.30 am so there was no need to wait. I was hopeful of some good breakfast after last night’s dinner experience. We went to restaurant and checked out the spread. And there was masala khichadi and chole kulche among other items being served. These are the exact dishes we had ordered last night for dinner! What a disappointment. We took whatever else we could find in the breakfast spread.

After breakfast I went to clean the car while mummy went to the room. Ibis hotels has a weird system of accessing lift only with room key! After cleaning the car I could not go to my floor as I did not have room key with me. So I had to go to the reception and request them to give me access to 3rd floor.

I came to room and mummy was also ready so we took our bags and left. We finished our check out formalities. In the meanwhile mummy saw a small local vendor inside the hotel who was selling some decor items for home, etc. Mummy mentioned about buying some stuff for Niti, so I told her to check out the items while I cleared the bills and kept the bags in the car. But then when do women ever stop when they get to shop! Mummy started shopping for multiple things from the guy. We were already getting late and this shopping was further delaying us. I told mummy couple of times that we have to leave but she just seemed to ignore what I said. I waited in lobby for sometime and then went and sat in the car watching a video of Swami Sarvapriyanand.

After sometime mummy came and kept the big bag of shopped items in the back seat. I set the destination as Udaipur and the drive time was showing around 6.5 hours. We left from the hotel by around 9 am, and as expected the Jaipur city traffic hit us. By the time we could get on the highway it was already 9.45 am. Plus there was so much traffic of trucks that navigating through them was also irritating first thing in the morning drive.

But the roads were good and wide so driving was smooth. I fuelled up the car tank after about 100 KMs and continued the drive. The route was through Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. Weather was warm and I was worried that as afternoon peaks the temperature would get hot and again the car would struggle. I was maintaining a good speed of 80-100 KMPH to cover as much distance possible during morning hours.

There was nothing to see or nowhere to take a detour so I just kept driving on the highway. At around 1 pm I decided to take a lunch break and also give some rest to the car. We reached Chittorgarh and I started looking for a hotel with car park under a shade. I found one on the road side and turned the car towards the hotel. Parked the car under the shade. Much deserved break even for the car. Restaurant was a basic dhaba style one, with AC Hall. We went in and ordered food. The guy serving us was very enthusiastic and cheerful. He also recommended us what to order and made something and brought. Food was simple like homemade and that was a good relief from all the typical oily greasy and heavy food we get at restaurants.

While waiting at the restaurant, I called a couple of hotels which I had shortlisted in Udaipur. One of the hotels confirmed availability of room. After lunch we started our drive and I set the hotel as destination. Drive time was around 2 hours. We had left from the restaurant at around 1.30pm so ETA at hotel would be 3.30 pm. Roads were relatively empty now, probably due to the hot afternoon. I wished even we could take a break for ourselves and the car but then we had to cover the distance too so I kept driving. Duster has been performing really well during this entire journey and hence we were able to cover the country without any hassles.

Soon we reached Udaipur and started navigating through city traffic towards our hotel. Hotel’s entrance was on the service road and I kind of struggled to find the exact entrance. I managed to find the access to service road and we reached the hotel. I checked out the different rooms and  finalised one and we checked in and settled in.

Now I have decided that we will just drive towards home as early as possible. Anyways this trip is now not as exciting after all the things that have happened in last one week. It does not feel right to keep roaming around clicking pictures when the country witnessed a tragic terror attack. Also, the uncertainty about how Bharat would retaliate keeps looming and it would be better to be back home instead of getting stuck in unknown territory. And with mummy already showing less interest in sight seeing it makes no sense to spend days out of home, wasting time and money in hotel rooms. So tomorrow the plan is to reach Bharuch which would be our last and final state of the journey. And then next day reach home via Daman which would be the final Union Territory of our journey. 

With that we would have completed 25 states and 5 Union Territories. 3 States of North East (Mizoram, Manipur & Nagaland) have been missed and one Union Territory of Ladakh is missed out of the original plan. I just hope that these last 2 days of our journey the Sun God is a bit lenient on us. Anyways everything that we experience or don’t in the journey is decided by GOD so I am sure there is something good in this for us anyways.

Day 46 - 26/4/25 - “The Peanut City”

Today plan was to leave after breakfast and reach Bharuch. Breakfast was scheduled at 8 am at the hotel and we were ready by 7.20 am. So I went down to clean the car and came back. Breakfast was good at the hotel. It was served on the table unlike the buffet that other hotels serve. After breakfast we got into the car as I had already cleared all the bills and finished the checkout formalities before breakfast itself. I had shortlisted one hotel in Bharuch, so I set that as destination on google maps. Drive time was showing around 6.5 hours.

We left from hotel at around 8.40 am. The route till highway was through Udaipur city. Thankfully  due to saturday morning there was less traffic in the city, so was able to navigate and reach the highway within 30 minutes or so. Once on highway the drive was good as the roads are good. Navigating the trucks on the highway was anyways part of the drive. 

Sun was out and bright but thankfully not hot yet and so I was keen to cover as much distance as I could before noon. Soon we reached Rajasthan-Gujarat border and were greeted with a nicely made sign in the style of fort, on the divider on the highway. I clicked pictures of the sign while driving itself as it anyways marked our entry into the 25th and final state of our journey.

The roads in Gujarat were bumpy and had potholes occasionally. At one such pothole, the phone fell off from the magnetic holder and at second pothole, the dash cam fell from it’s holder on the windshield. So I had to drive carefully and keep the speed under 80 KMPH. After driving for sometime on this highway, the route suggested a left turn onto the Ahmedabad Ring Road. This road was good but crowded as there are too many high rise buildings, hotels, restaurants etc on both sides of the road. From the ring road we then got onto the NE1 which connects Ahmedabad with Vadodara. This was a good road, with 2 lanes on either side of the divider. The traffic was moving at good speed and I was able to maintain a speed between 80-100 KMPH. Before Vadodara, we stopped at a food court and had something to eat.

From NE1, the route then suggested turning to NE4 which is Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai expressway. This was a huge expressway with 6/4 lanes on either side of divider. This expressway was empty and so driving on this road can actually put the driver to sleep. The speed limit on this expressway was 120KMPH, the highest I have seen across entire India till now. I initially kept the speed at 80KMPH but then started driving at 100KMPH. The drive time till Bharuch hotel was around 1.5 hours now. I had called the hotel while having lunch and confirmed room availability.

Soon we reached the exit for Bharuch town and the roads again became typical city roads - bumpy, potholed and full of traffic. We reached the hotel soon and parked the car. The hotel had some private party and therefore there were too many guests, due to which the check-in process took some time. After finishing check-in formalities we came to room and rested. 

The reason I chose Bharuch was also because the city is famously called “Peanut City”. The salted peanuts of Bharuch are very famous all over India. There are lot of peanut shops in the city. Mummy had mentioned that she likes the salted peanuts and so I thought this would be a good stop for the night stay. Also Mumbai Home is around 7 hours drive from Bharuch so it made sense to stop here for night stay. We plan to buy some salted peanuts but our hotel is on the bypass road and the shops are all inside the city. So tomorrow when we start our drive home, we may just drive inside the city to buy some peanuts. Let’s see how the day begins tomorrow.

Last 46 days, have been truly enjoyable for me despite all the challenges. Getting to see the country where I was born, where I live and where I belong is a rare opportunity that very few get. GOD has been very kind to us, guiding us through out this journey. Yes, this could have been slightly better, slightly different, slightly longer too, but then whatever happens, happens for the good. Anyways till now GOD has taken care of us and now for the last day too GOD will guide us properly and safely to home. 

Day 47 - 27/4/25 - Back to Home

The final day has arrived. Yesterday evening I was very relaxed because there were no clothes to wash, no hotels to search for, no routes to check, literally no work to do, which had become my daily routine since last 46 days. Today is the day when we head back home and end this trip.

We got ready in morning by 7.30 am and went for breakfast. We finished our breakfast and came back to room to pack the bags and freshen up before leaving. Finished our check out formalities and put the luggage in the car. It was 8.15 am and no shops would be open on a sunday morning so early. So we dropped the idea of buying salted peanuts from the ‘peanut city’.

I set the Old Lighthouse in Daman as our destination as that would be our final Union Territory in this journey. Drive time was showing around 3.5 hours and so ETA was around 11.45 am, good time to reach the hot costal town. The route was showing through some back roads from the hotel which was like an Industrial area. So the roads were bad. At one turn there was a cow crossing the road and we came a bit close to it. I stopped the car well before the cow but it got alert and started staring at us. The cow had big horns and was also big in size. It kept staring at us for a good 30 seconds or so. I got worried as it now started to move towards us, so I just drove slowly past it avoiding any altercation.

Soon we were on the highway and on to the Narmada Bridge, also called Golden Bridge in Bharuch. Narmada is another sacred river in Bharat, which is worshipped by a lot of devotees. Mummy suddenly felt the urge to throw some coin in the river. So I slowed down the car and took it towards the left lane on the bridge. There were sign boards at every 20-30 meters warning about no stopping or parking on bridge, so I did not stop the car. By the time mummy could take out the coin from her purse, we had crossed the river and were now towards the land area. I then drove ahead and we were in Ankleshwar. There was a bit of traffic here probably because of railway station area, but we were soon on the NH 48 from here.

The roads continued to be good and I was able to drive at a good speed between 80-100 KMPH. Ofcourse the trucks kept me alert on the road all the time as I had to drive like a snake in between the trucks occupying all 3 lanes on the NH 48. We didn’t stop anywhere as we had a good hearty breakfast and also there was enough fuel in the car. Soon we reached the point from where we had to turn inside towards Daman. The roads were undivided and narrow and there was regular city traffic on these roads. So the speed slowed down. Anyways all other vehicles were driving at a very relaxed pace giving a complete sunday, summer vacation relaxed vibe. But we were on our journey and had to drive further after Daman so I tried to navigate through the slow moving traffic,  which was not much honestly. 

We were welcomed by a board into the Union Territory of Daman & Diu, the final location and the 5th Union Territory of our journey. We kept driving towards the Old Lighthouse which is inside the Moti Daman Fort in Moti Daman. 

The town appears to be well developed with good residential buildings, shops and market areas etc. Last time when we had come to Daman we did not explore much and just went to a park nearby. Today we were able to see the Daman Town. 

We reached our destination, Moti Daman Fort, but the road was blocked. I figured out that the road towards the fort and beach was straight but google suggested us to take a right turn. We turned back and headed towards the beach road.

This locality was so well developed as a tourist location. The marine drive, the water sport activities, everything looked very nice and premium. Almost reminded me of Visakhapatnam Marine drive. The Moti Daman Fort is a magnificent structure and very big too. We had been driving along the fort boundary for some time. We parked the car at one ground and asked locals for way to go to Old Lighthouse. Some locals misguided us saying car cannot go there so you have to walk from here. We clicked few pictures of the fort and lighthouse from outside.  

I was keen to click the picture of the lighthouse as it had Daman name mentioned on it, so it would be a good remembrance of this trip. I started exploring and walking in hot sun. Finally I asked some other locals and they said that car can drive till some point but after that we have to walk till the lighthouse. I went to get the car while mummy sat along the marine drive. We drove towards the entry gate of fort as suggested by the locals. As we entered inside we saw a lot of tourists clicking pictures against some old building structures. A lot of them were dressed in traditional dress with photographers clicking their pictures. I was keen to go to the lighthouse and so I didn’t stop. 

But soon we exited the fort and reached the same place from where we had first entered the entire fort area. So I took a u-turn and went inside the fort again. Asked another local and he guided us to take a lane towards the lighthouse. Even this lane was a long one so we asked some more locals and were told to keep going straight. I parked the car under a tree shade and asked mummy if she wanted to walk so much. I sensed she was tired and did not want to walk so told her to wait while I clicked the pictures of lighthouse and came back.

I locked the car and walked towards the lighthouse. The entire area was nicely landscaped with flowers and greenery around. The lighthouse was accessible through a few steps. I climbed them and went to the light house, clicked a few pictures. I started walking back and saw mummy clicking some pictures near the entrance. So I clicked some of her pictures and then we went back to car. Mummy wanted to take photos / videos of the places where other tourists were clicking pictures. So I drove slowly through the same lane again so mummy could take a video.

After exiting the fort I was looking for a route to home. I was getting confused at the route shown  by google as I could not understand which road to take. Mummy in the meanwhile got down and clicked some more pictures. I finally turned the car towards the main road and started driving and let google redirect the route. Thankfully I was going on the same route as suggested by google. The drive was from the other side of Daman now, where a lot of road work was going on, due to which the roads were in bad condition.

We reached a railway crossing junction where all the vehicles had stopped and waiting for the barrier to open for traffic. But google was suggesting a right turn. I was not sure so I stopped the car behind other vehicles. I saw a few 2-wheelers cross us and take a right turn, before the railway crossing. So I too went behind them and there was a right lane just before the railway crossing, which google maps was also suggesting to take. This lane took us through the village roads which were narrow but empty. There were mango trees on both sides of the road.

Soon we were on a bridge crossing over the railway tracks and connecting the service road along the highway. But we were in the opposite direction so we had to go under the flyover on highway and take a u-turn to drive towards Mumbai. Mummy was hungry as it was lunch time and I saw a board of a restaurant which was 5KMs away. So I decided to stop there for lunch. It was a good restaurant with ample parking space. Luckily we got Gujarati food, sev tameta no shaak with bajra rotla and khichia papad. 

We had our lunch and then started our drive towards home. Drive time was showing 2.5 hours, in green font. I was surprised as the gujarat highway is known for traffic as we reach near mumbai. I assumed that during afternoon people do not drive much. I told mummy now we will not stop anywhere and keep driving till we reach home.

Soon we crossed Maharashtra border and entered the home state. The roads started deteriorating as soon as we entered Maharashtra. This has been my experience even when I used to drive from Bangalore to Mumbai earlier. The roads are bumpy and have potholes making the drive uncomfortable and also does not inspire confidence driving at high speeds. The comfortable speed on this highway is anything under 60KMPH!

But my loyal companion, Duster was determined to get us home well before sunset and so it endured all the bad bumpy roads and I was able to drive at around 80KMPH. We could see the cars ahead of us almost jumping up and down due to the bumpy roads and I am sure even our Duster must be doing the same. And I wondered, why can Maharashtra not maintain good roads like the rest of the country. In the last 47 days I have driven almost 15000 KMs across the entire country and only in Tripura I found such bumpy roads where the car would dance up and down. And Maharashtra such a big state with country’s financial capital as it’s capital has roads similar to roads in Tripura, the third smallest state in the country. This is shameful for Maharashtra as a state!

There was some ongoing road work on the highway which also caused few traffic jams and delays. Soon we reached outskirts of mumbai and now traffic was increasing as city vehicles also added to the highway traffic. Traffic on Western Express Highway is a known thing and the roads are bumpy and potholed. I kept navigating through traffic and soon we reached our home at around 4.30 pm. We entered our apartment complex and I parked the car near our building. Mummy got down while I unloaded all the bags and kept them near the lift area. I went and parked the car and came home and that concluded our All India Road Trip.

A journey which started as an idea, was developed into a full fledged plan and was lying dormant for almost 3 years, finally was put to action. Yes this trip wasn’t exactly how I had planned it originally 3 years ago. A lot of things changed during the journey. Our destinations, our plans our stops, etc. But it was still an experience to cherish and learn from.

A country as diverse as Bharat, can only be explored when you truly love your country. Even during our journey there were so many moments when we felt disappointed, irritated, frustrated, elated, excited, and many more emotions. But the only thing that remained constant was the feeling that this is my country. Just like in a family there are all types of people, who will irritate you, make you angry, make you happy, but you don’t give up on them. They are still family. Just like that, Bharat is my family. I may get irritated with people in some parts, I may get angry at the roads in some parts, I may feel disappointed with food in some parts but still it is all mine and I am a part of this beautiful, diverse, vibrant, energetic, growing, learning, leaping country called Bharat. Today I can truly say I am a proud Bharatiya.

I can only thank GOD for showering HIS grace upon me by giving me this opportunity to embark on this journey and experience the beautiful country. This journey has transformed some part of me for sure. I have realised that I am not meant to sit in one place. I am meant to keep moving. Keep travelling. Keep learning. Keep growing.

So until GOD guides me on my next journey, I wait for HIS sign and keep planning for more such trips.

Jai Shri Radha Krishna