The best trips in life are the ones which are completely unplanned..and I had a first hand experience of how true this was. For a few months I had been planning a long road trip..I mean a real road trip..sorry Mumbai Pune does not really qualify as a road trip!
The Motivation
Ever since I moved back to Mumbai from the states, I had been planning something ..firstly I had a lot of leaves accumulated, secondly thanks to the slowdown there was no urgency to get cracking with work.. and thirdly, I wanted to get a break from the mundane home to office and weekend shopping routine.
Now came the hard part of deciding where to go.. The how part was never a problem, knowing my good old Santro would take me even to places where no man or machine has ever dared to go!
I hadnt met some of my closest friends in Bangalore for over a year..so that seemed like a good option. In addition I was supposed to attend a marriage in Chennai around May end. If I could get all the way to Blore, Chennai was only 300 kms away...do-able. Kill 2 birds with one stone..Sounded just Perfect
The Planning Stage
Here's where I literally wasted time the most...Convincing a couple of friends to come along...Distance between the 2 cities..car mileage on highways...stops enroute...service stations along the way...what if the car broke down..reaching Blore in time so as to spend time with friends and also make the Chennai trip..so many permutations.
As luck would have it, my wife fell ill just before the planned start date..putting my entire trip in jeopardy. Ofcoure I was not going to go alone!
Somehow since I had got into the mode, I desperately wanted to go to Blore atleast..if not a road trip, atleast by train or flight...But deep in my heart I knew this was the closest I had come to finalizing a great road trip and drive I must! Some friends (including the ones I was planning on meeting in Blore) tried to talk sense into me..driving alone for 1000+ kms in India is risky..for a multitude of reasons. My closest friend in Blore, Shashi , even offered to buy me a return air ticket, just to dissuade me from the drive option..but something was telling me I was thinking right..And the 2 people who backed me wholeheartedly were my wife Jyoti (who thought I should do it if I set my heart to it) and my friend Vibhor (who thought I would crib about this all my life if he succeeded in talking me out of it)
The final verdict came from Shashi..he simply said, 'soch liya hai to aa jao'
This was on a Wed evening at around 9 ..I decided to hit the road early next morning
The Drive
The alarm went off sharp at 4.30 AM..and I dont remember when was the last time this happened, but I was already up and waiting for the alarm to go off!..a quick shower and a strong coffee later I was packing my bag..and my Mom was naive enough to think that I woudnt wake up so early in the morning, and hence would drop the idea of going alltogether!.The only items I took care to carry were - 5000 bucks in cash, all car papers (PUC, registration etc), some chewing gum, a bottle of water and a pack of smokes. Rarely had I felt the sense of purpose and enthusiasm as I felt that morning before leaving home. At 5.30 Am sharp my Santro sputtered into life and we were on our way.
It was still a few mins to dawn and I could see the usual signs of mumbai coming back to life after a long nights sleep..the milk van unloading its cargo, the paper walla sorting his stack, the call centre guys coming out after the night shift .. thanks to the near empty roads, and my adrenalin levels, I was at the foot of the Pune expressway in about 1/2 hr...usually it takes me well over an hour to reach Panvel from Thane.
The first stop was at the food court after the Khalapur toll plaza..time was about 6.45 AM.. had a hearty breakfast of wada pavs and tea..Took my time relishing my smoke..oh..also called up Shashi to let him know that I was a man of my words..and I was 1/10 of my way to meet him!
Hit the road again..and I was hurtling past Katraj a little before 8 AM.. good timing so far.
Continued straight upto Khambatki ghat foot hills and took my next stop for a smoke, tank up the gas and also make some phone calls.. The car had heated up and needed to cool it off before starting the ghat ascent
To be continued ---
