Ladakh Trip: Day 2 (Surat->Udaipur)

Ride Summary: Distance: 550 km. Time: 10 hr 30 min.

After hearing about the heat wave, I set the alarm for 4 am. Couldn't get a good sleep and woke up around 3:30ish. Decided to just go on with the ride and set off from Surat at about 4:15 am. Packing/loading the bike takes some time; especially at 4 am :) Off I was. Destination: Udaipur

I was riding without a cup of coffee/tea and at around 5:30ish, the body said enough is enough. Stopped for a cup of masala chai just before Vadodara. My ipod shuffle mode somehow managed toplay a couple of gujju based bollywood songs.One from Ramleela and the other from Kai Po Che. I must admit that it feels different listening to them in Modi-Land.

I was doing fine distance-wise and was thinking that I would be in Ahmedabad around 8:15 until .... this happened. NH8 between Vadodara and Ahmedabad is an absolute disaster. I think it's deliberate so that everyone would take the express way that is only for 4 wheelers. To the very least, they should allow motorcycles beyong a certain cc (say 500?) on the express way. It has countless diversions and to add to that, single lane one way meant very few overtaking opportunities. To add to this, there are pedestrians, who see a motorcycle coming at them at 90 kmph but decide to run on the road -- a National Highway -- to cross it. And there were many of them. Wonder what this disease is called? In the entire trip, this was the worst patch and I honestly didn't expect it to be this bad. But kya kare. Somehow made it to Ahmedabad around 9ish and stopped for breakfast. Pakodas and Dal wada.

It was getting hot. So I applied my sun screen and decided to minimize the halts; thanks to the delay caused by NH8. But I was kinda worried about the bike's engine being heated. It was really hot as I entered Rajasthan. The 1st sign I came across in Rajasthan was "Do not drink and drive". I bet the state govt. was thinking that people would start drinking the moment they left the dry state. Smart ha! Rajasthan's terrain is so noticeably different. Rocky, desert like. You feel the stark difference as soon as you enter.It reminds me of the terrain I saw in Colorado or for that matter in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. This is a major difference between road trips and flying to a place. Nature takes you on a ride by showing how different things are. When you fly, you hardly see anything. And to add to that, riding a motorcycle gives you a 270 degree view of the landscape :)

Although hot, the ride in Rajasthan was fun. Different landscape; keeps you engaged. I wonder why they mentioned heat wave? Wave? Here I was swimming in those waves. Sweat dripping; stopping frequently for water. Finally decided to take a lunch break around 1 pm. The attendant tells me "Tandoor garam nahi hai. I said, at 1 pm? He goes, we can serve chinese. I said what's available? He says maggi! Wow! I had some masala maggi. Overall, you see the difference between Gujarat and Rajasthan immediately. Inspite of the heat, hardly any place on the highway, a shade, where you can stop. Forget about good hotels. The facilities are so in the opposite direction compared to the standards set by Gujarat. On the way, I had a Honda Amaze pass by. A family traveling including a boy and a girl (looked around 17 or so) trying to take my picture in full riding gear at 90 kmph. They passes me several times; thanks to the toll breaks car drivers have to take. I posed several times and every time they seemed very excited. I am sure I will be on his facebook wall tonite or some whatsapp group.

On the way, I saw a lot of intriguing stuff. Such as this. I wish I could take pictures of all of them.I mean look at this guy in the front. And on the top, those guys were actually playing the drums and singing songs. Similar to the "Tattad Tatta Sony TV ad". Jugaad at its best. Who would have thought; a jeep would be a bus!

Many ask me what's the point of such trips? The simpler answer is I enjoy them. The cool answer is 'I want my kids and grand-kids to think that their grandfather was cool'. Alritte. Enough said.

More fun stuff.
I am positive this sign was captioned by our very own Navjot Siddhu.

I reached Udaipur around 3 pm. Checked into a hotel and decided to go sight seeing after a nice hot shower. They have a cable car to go up a fort from where you can get a nice view of the entire city. Got a couple of shots and then got back to the hotel. On the way back, I stopped to ask about this vintage car collection. The guards thought that I was from the Indian army (probably due to the bandana). I didn't say no :) and he got so serious as to how to apply to get into the force. I thought he was kidding until I got back to the hotel. The attendant asked me as well! I should make good use of this I feel :)

On the way back, I stopped by for some nice Rajasthani rann meat. It was super awesome. I plan to pass out early as I again have an early ride tomorrow morning to Jaipur. Plan to stop by at the Ajmer Darga; let's see how it goes.

Oops, Here are those couple of shots that I managed of the Udaipur city.

Finally, I have a shot for my son Rishabh who is 6 yrs old. I hope he will be excited to see this: