From the Mountains to the Sea

Day 1 - Buribana to Indirapuram, Ghaziabad

We would be leaving home in Buribana for nearly four months so we didn’t want to be in a hurry. The plan was to leave at 9.00 and after loading up we left more or less on time at 9:13. Since fuel was low we filled up at the first petrol pump near Bhimtal. A symbol popped up on the display near the Ranibagh bridge. Checking the tyre pressure we found it was low and so filled up air, and the symbol disappeared. It was much later Pantnagar when the symbol came up again we realised it was a puncture. At our regular place Udipiwala at Kathgodam we had some Lassi and Chach and too a comfort break.  At 12:00 noon we set off for Delhi via the Haldwani bypass. The new highway through Lalkuan and Pantnagar was now ready and we decided to take that instead of the regular Tanda route which goes through Haldwani.  Here we stopped for puncture repair, and we realised two Phillips screws had embedded in the tyre and to be screwed out. The Highway between Rudrapur and Rampur is still not ready and there were a couple of places where overbridge construction was still underway. At one point close to Rampur we didn’t realise this and since the traffic diversion was not clearly marked we had to take a detour. We were carrying our own food, and we had sliders with bacon and eggs around 12:30 and burgers with same mix at 4:30. We took a coffee and comfort break at Udupiwala near Gajraula. Reached Satish and Susheela’s place at Indirapuram at 5:30.  

Total drive 340 km.  Driving time 7:30 hours.

Day 2 – Indirapuram to Ratlam

We leftIndirapuram  at 7:15 am. Jashdhara went off to catch her flight to Goa and we drove off towards the Mumbai Expressway via the Noida -Kalindi Kunj - KMP bypass I drove the first section. The car moved very smoothly at 100 – 110 kph at 1500 - 2000 rpm. The speed limit was 120 kph and we were careful to keep below it. We took our first break at the Haryana - Rajasthan border near Nuh. It was the second rest area on NE4 and it was very spread out with a McDonald and a sparling loo at the entrance. At the other end was a open-air food court with several food trailers. We all had Uttapam and Chhach and filled the tank as petrol in Rajasthan cost 10 rupees more. Satish took over the driving at Badkapara Toll plaza at around 11:45. Here we got off the Expressway paid the toll and then went back on to the Expressway till we exited at Kushthala near Sawai Madhopur. We now had to take an inner highway that was very ambitiously called the Lalsot Kota mega highway. It however didn’t have a central divider. We drove onto Kota where we thought we would be taking a bypass. Instead, we went through the city, and finding no convenient restaurant on our route ended taking a comfort break at a petrol pump. Now we moved towards Chechat to get back to NE4 to Ratlam. But before we reached NE 4 the road snaked through some hills in a Tiger Reserve. We passed under a very high stone rail bridge. The road was narrow and the curves were sinuous so the traffic, comprising of multi axle articulated trucks, snaked through very slowly. At one point when we were supposed to go off the main Highway towards the Chechat toll plaza Google map sent us off in the wrong direction, but we made our way back to a very unimpressive road going through fields and small towns. At a village Moraka, the long semi-articulated trucks got stuck at a Y shaped trijunction and we were stuck for nearly 20 mins. Meanwhile our DTE (distance to empty)  indicator showed150 km while Ratlam was still a little over 200 km and we were not sure there would be a petrol pump on the next part of NE4. Thankfully there was a pump just before we got on to the Expressway so we filled up with the more 'expensive' Rajasthan petrol. Here Satish and I switched again. The next section of NE4 was nearly empty and cruising at 110 + was not difficult. We took another break at a newly completed rest area where there was just one operational snack stall in a large empty hall. We were the only customers but within 15 mins 3 more cars came in. The sun was setting on the horizon as we took off again. It was soon dark and at one point a dark coloured cow strayed onto the Expressway and I had to swerve to avoid hitting it. Otherwise, the rest of the journey was uneventful. 15 km before Ratlam we got off NE4 and drove through a narrow road with considerable traffic into the city. Satish reviewed some hotels, and we finally decided on one with a 3.9 rating. We reached Hotel Shree Palace at 7:20 pm. The room and food were okay. But there is a noisy party on in the banquet hall below.

Total drive 747 km. Driving time -10:30 mins.

Day 3 - Ratlam to Beed

We left our hotel at 7.20 am taking the road towards Dhule via Dhar. Google maps took us through the Collectorate compound at Dhar. Then we drove towards Dhule through a state highway. We stopped at small roadside dhaba and had poha the standard MP breakfast at 9:15. Here Satish took over the wheel. We then drove down the Ghat and finally we met up with the very busy Agra Mumbai highway. Seeing some roadside vendors selling guava, we also bought some. They were very crisp and tasty. At Dhule we took the Dhule- Beed highway. This road was excellent at times and was a little uneven at other times as it is still being being built or upgraded. We drove through undulating rocky land and then up a hill and then through a high plateau. It looked like a new road didn’t have any restaurants or dhabas. At 2 pm we stopped for lunch at a very basic dhaba which promised to serve us daal and bati. After our order we realised the cook was missing and had to be hurriedly summoned. The bati here was very different from what we had in Rajasthan. The atta dough is first made into flat thick flat cakes then steamed and then cut to pieces and fried with some spices. It looks somewhat like the Bengali dhoka. The meal was little spicy but tasty with two kinds of curry, the bati and some fresh hot rice. Unfortunately for Susheela there was no restroom. I took over the wheel here from Satish. The next leg was towards Aurangabad and this section too was spanking new and somehow there were no trucks. We passed a sign where it said Ellora 3 km and I was itching to make a detour. We needed a comfort break and caffeing and when we saw a dhaba with the grand name Rudra Family Garden we stopped. With 4 cars parked outside the restaurant seemed promising. Unfortunately, the loo comprised of 2 small rooms - more like shacks behind the kitchen with fields beyond.  And they didn't serve either tea or coffee. A little shack outside the restaurant had a boy busy listening to music on his phone. I can make tea, but no coffee, he said. I was feeling a little tired, so I agreed to have some tea, though tea is not my favourite cuppa. Tea came in thimble sized paper cups. Satish had asked for sugar less tea - fiki chai. It was milky and sweet. We asked for another cup - and the boy added some more milky mix into the saucepan and put it to boil. When Satish asked him to add some more tea leaves he showed us his tea dabba - khatam he said with a smile. Tea break over we started towards Beed. An hour before Beed I handed over the wheel over to Satish. Satish was familiar with Beed as we had a project there earlier and decided on a hotel. We reached the hotel at 7:00 pm. Hotel Golden Choice was very clean and sparkling. Dinner was jowar bhakri with dal palak, lahsooni methi and bhindi bhaji all cooked with local spices - pyaz, chopped garlic, crushed peanuts and curry leaves. Today we crossed 3 important Central Indian rivers Narmada Tapi and Godavari. Most of the route was over undulating plateaux and hills. We passed adivasi villages, small bullock carts and the crops included cotton, banana, arhar while many fields had freshly planted wheat.

Total drive 620 km. Driving time 10 hours.

Day 4 – Beed to Benaulim 

We were off again at 7:20. The road to Sholapur was very smooth and keeping a steady speed of 80 – 90 kph was not a problem. At one point we saw place with m any windmills. We also saw trucks slowly hauling these over 100 feet long pieces. And a place where these huge propellors and turbines where stored. Finding our first comfort break was not easy. Loo standards in Maharashtra were below par for the most advanced state of the country. We finally located a Family restaurant which served traditional misal pao just beyond Tuljapur. I took over the driving from Satish and the road continued to be smooth and the car purred along. At one point when we were about 300 km for the day the average speed was 75 kmh and fuel efficiency according to the display was 19.6/l. After 3 hours or so on the concrete highway Satish suggested we needed to take a break to cool the tyres and for a comfort break. We spotted SR Family Dhaba where both pickups with cows and buffaloes and passenger cars were parked. The idea was to have a quick break but seeing a comprehensive menu of Marathi snacks we got excited and ended up having sabudana wada, sabudana khichdi and ended off with a lassi each. It was nearly 1pm when we started again with Satish at the wheel. Our good luck with roads didn't last long and leaving the snazzy NH 52 and NH 166 behind, a little before Miraj we moved on a state highway. We now entered the sugarcane belt. The mature sugar cane had a feathery inflorescence. Here and there were some plastic covered tents where the migrant adivasi sugar cane cutters were camped. There were some tobacco fields as well. Soon we were stuck behind snaking line of tractor trailers and bullock arts loaded with sugar cane and we started crawling. This must be the land of the Maharastra sugar barons I thought to myself. At one point we crossed over to Karnataka and I thought may be the situation would improve. But that was not to be! At one point there were two sugar mills on either side of a narrow road so the 'jam' was treacly. At one point 'google devi' wanted to lead us astray. Using my back up phone with a different service provider we realised that the connection had been disrupted. Then we hit the ghat section towards Ajara and the evidence of sugar cane thinned. Here we took our next comfort break and tea or coffee and changed drivers. The ghat roads were also scenic with fields or forests on either side. Near Amboli and nearly up to Sawantwadi the forests became thick and the climb and decline were steep reminding me of my daily drives near Buribana. We were now approaching Goa and hit NH 66 which was coming from Mumbai and goes all the way to Kerala. The highway was being widened. The traffic increased and it was also increasingly getting dark so the last 100 km or so was no different from any everyday drive. Soon we crossed Atal bridge over Mandovi and I was in familiar territory. We entered our housing complex at 8:18pm, our longest day on the road in 4 days. The long winter migration drive was now over. I was looking forward to spending the next three months in warm sunny beachy Goa. What a bird's life!

Total drive 633 km, Driving time-11.30 hours,