i love to drive/ride and get to the destination too!!!
now, our friend, mr. patel was getting married in pune on the 6th of december. since we four friends(thakur, jariya, rane and me) were to go to pune for the wedding, we decided to pre-pone the trip and also extend it, to accommodate a small vacation in goa into our itinerary!! :D why not!! our one-way trip distance of 619kms was increasing by just a measly 486kms more, incurring an additional 125hrs in our planned 45hr pune trip.
(google calculated the distance from indore, madhya pradesh to calangute, goa as 1049kms)
i had a lot of work/back logs to finish off before the trip. who wants to get repeated calls and the need to find time to slog on the laptop on a vacation (for the record though, during previous vacations i have always carried my laptop along but never once switched it on for the purpose of work!!). so the week before departure was loaded with extra hours at the office, the impending vacations helped finish backlogs, and time flew in a jiffy. not before long it was the 1st of december. here follows a log of getting to calangute beach from indore. we drove the diesel suzuki swift.
01dec2011
1600hrs: finally left indore and on the city bypass which is being converted from 4-lane to 6-lane.
1628hrs: cross pithampur, industrial town near indore. the four lane roads are super smooth to ride on.
1700hrs: a broken down factory building with only a huge gable end wall left standing. RS written on a banner on the wall. reminds of rohit who would in all probability been with us on the trip, alas.
1715hrs: zero discipline on the toll booth. we are far away from being a civil society. all the lane breaking and arguing ends up taking double the time.
1735hrs: more chaos on the road, not that we are not used to it. am thinking we need a revolution of sorts. a movement that reminds that we are not just individuals but a 1.2billion society. our general attitude it 'bas main nikal jaun, baaki apna dekh lenge' (let me get through, other's will manage). a bit more feeling for the communal and our lives will be lot more easier.
1807hrs: driving now. we need to rotate ourselves on the wheel, we plan to check into our hotel by noon tomorrow. rane will not be given the steering, we are less confident in his driving. thakur isn't feeling well. he has been asked to try and sleep in the rear so that he can take over sometime tomorrow early morning.
2057hrs: fatal accident on the other side of the median. a young couple on a bike dead. we must have reached the scene 2-3mins after the accident as there are only 3 vehicles ahead of us. the local villagers have blocked both sides of the road. soon around 80ppl have gathered. traffic starts piling up behind us. a long delay is anticipated. to our surprise two ambulances manage to reach the spot within 7-8mins of our getting there. and cops arrive 5mins later. i am definitely impressed. the road is cleared, the mob quietened, the ambulances depart and we are back on the move within 25mins of reaching the spot. now all this surely would not have been possible in say 2006.
2116hrs: i am off the drivers seat. jariya back in action. we don't plan to stop for dinner, to save time we have methi parathas and chutney already packed from jariya's home. the chutney turns out to be fantastic!!
2322hrs: 468kms on the odometer. on the two-lane section of the pune-nashik highway now. oncoming traffic slows us down. overtaking in the full beam lights also a hindrance(the truck do give us the dipper, its the buses and cars that are a problem).
02dec2011
1250hrs: back to driving now. rane had been sleeping along with thakur but jariya too is falling asleep. during childhood it was imperative i sleep 7-8hrs a day, just couldn't stay awake. 5 years doing bachelors in architecture changed all that... i move into my own thoughts. on the road, even as we keep eating up the distance, midst the rushed motion there is a stillness within. the open road not just calls me forward to explore but opens my mind to various thoughts, thoughts hidden in the otherwise routine of life...
0257hrs: 685kms on the odometer. just paid the toll ahead of pune on the pune-banglore highway. google maps got us quickly out of the sleeping city roads, though we did have to ask a few autowallah's for direction once. technology helps but i still like to rely on my own keen sense of direction! ;)
0315hrs: finally thakur takes the wheel. he is all rested and feeling better now. i will try leave him to deal with the open road, let him do the talking. i will try catch some sleep.
0526hrs: was sleeping on the front seat, and i get a rude awakening. thakur wakes me up by saying 'baba kuch nahi dikh raha' (i can't see anything). i open my eyes and am shocked to see only white through the wind screen. in my mind we are going at 120kms an hour. i think frost has accumulated inside the windscreen and immediately turn on the defogger. panic. thakur laughs, there is massive fog outside, we are moving at 30kms per hour, slowly the surface marking paint and the fog lamps come into my vision. nice way to break my one and half hours of sleep! the fog clears and kolhapur city is close by.
0600hrs: just gobbled up a mcspicy chichen burger. the mc'd outlet at kolhapur highway is open 24x7. a dhaba meal is more rewarding but not possible at this hour. global fast food chain to the rescue. wonder why i tried to go to the loo here, possibly because of the cleanliness? can never make it in a public place. behind a bush on the highway might have been doable.
0631hrs: the fog descends once again, the sun tries to peep out of it. nobody needs to sleep now. the previous bits and pieces of sleep will last till goa. soon we have to leave the highway. its all country road from there onward. the best parts of the road trip. can't wait to bid goodbye to the many trailers, large freight trucks and our 'tata and leyland' trucks that have been really populating the highways these recent years.
0705hrs: jariya is driving. its so much of a pleasure driving on the narrow roads. much more rewarding to the driving enthusiast within. gotta take the wheel soon.
0911hrs: just finished driving a long downhill stretch through the western ghats. i like to believe i am a good driver. tried take the best line in and out of the curves. blind turns were duly slowed down upon. gear shifting and braking was precise. bet my friends had some heart in mouth moments! now am smiling from ear to ear. finally rane is going to take the driving seat.
1019hrs: third diesel stop of the trip. as more experienced highway drivers we all get into rane for missed over-takings and error's in judgement. the anxiety of getting to goa is building, the silly jokes are laughed at, the fatigue non-existent.
1038hrs: the familiar 'back lanes' of north goa beaches. lush agricultural fields surrounded by lots of palm trees. 1094kms on the odometer. check-in is at twelve. we have time to kill. good and solid driving coming to an end.
1132hrs: have left the car finally and are walking towards the sea. here it comes. we find a beach shack, order for beer. i sit and take out my shoes, the sand feels heavenly to my feet. the gentle waves of the winter sea are inviting us. the open road has turned into an endless horizon!
1105kms and 19hrs and 45mins later i am filled with peace.
like vegas; what happens in goa, stays in goa.
kothari who came from mumbai to join us for the vacation will second that! will write a blog about the best thing that happened on the trip though!!! :)
