Note: Sorry for the month's delay in posting the remainder of the trip logs - the business travel was just too much to handle. So will try to make good of the weekend and finish as much writing as possible!
When I planned my trip, this stretch was NOT included. As per my original itinerary, I was supposed to head straight to Jaipur from Gurgaon and then onwards to Ahmedabad. But when I met Jaideep (JD666) on day 6, he told me of this fabled strip of tarmac which was more than 300 kms long and absolutely bliss so I was hooked. Jaideep had been on that road before, and he said the 300 km+ stretch from Bikaner to Jaisalmer via Pokhran was probably one of the best roads he had encountered, and it would be a pity if I had come all the way from Bangalore and did not savor the experience. "You will get tired of keeping the throttle at 140kmph", said Jaideep. " This is one of the few roads in India where you actually keep your bike at that speed safely for a long, long time." I was hooked, and promised myself that I will go to Jaisalmer when I came back from Punjab.
And here I was, wide awake at 5am in the morning, readying my things for another long distance ride. But today was different, I could feel it. Because the day to come was to bring with it a wonderful promise - that of undistilled pleasure of riding through unbelievable, magical landscape. It took me another 30 minutes to haul my bags downstairs and then start mounting them on the Ninja. I tried to wake up Jaideep, but he was fast asleep, and I tried to wake him up, he just mumbled something about having a safe trip (I think) and did not even open his eyes
So Jaideep's friend helped me with the bags and soon I was well on my way to NH8, having left the house at 6.20am. Since Jaideep's house was only a kilometer away from the NH8, getting there was a matter of minutes. Once I was on the highway, I started making decent speeds. I had been on the Gurgaon Jaipur highway around six years ago on my Royal Enfield and I totally enjoyed that experience. But this morning was different - scores of trucks crowded the somewhat narrow highway and the slight morning fog made speedy progress difficult. I had been advised by Jaideep to take a right from Shahpura (around 50 kms before Jaipur) to cut through and get on the NH11 to Sikar, so I was eagerly looking forward to that turn. The trucks were really, really making my progress difficult. And when I was riding my motorcycle through the moving mass of trucks on the Jaipur highway, it struck me as ironical that the worst (and dangerous) traffic and unsafe roads were not found in the plains of Bihar or the coast along the Bay of Bengal, but right in North India. If I was looking in my RVM's once every 10 seconds in the rest of the country, I was doing it once every 4 seconds in North India. More so because of the other drivers than the roads, I would say.
Sunrise on the somewhat foggy Gurgaon-Jaipur NH8:
120 kms more to go before I take the right turn!
Before I knew it, I had survived the 'thick-as-peanut-butter truck traffic' and had reached Shahpura from where I had to take a right into Rajasthan. As soon as I took a right, I saw a huge fort on my right and my mood changed completely - I guess Rajasthan does that to anybody. I was happier now, somewhat humming inside my helmet. A few kilometers of riding, and I left the small town behind. The scenery opened up too - semi arid land greeted me, with small hills in the background. I got off my bike and stretched my back after a few gulps of water and morning snacks. The sun was getting bright too, so I switched to a clear visor on my helmet. The roads were fairly decent at that point, and sparse traffic too. I saw a lot of people walking and singing, with colored flags in their hands. Seemed a walk to a religious place. I encountered a lot of such groups later on, right upto Sikar.
Padharo Mhare Desh - glorious Rajasthan begins!
People on a walk to a 'dhaam':
After resting for a while, I started riding in the direction of Sikar. When I planned this route, I had decided to take the inner country roads for a better cultural immersion. So my planned roads were SH13 from Shahpur to Khandela via Ajeetgarh, and then to Sikar via Udaipurwati on SH37 & 37B. But due to lack of signboards and improper instructions, I ended up going straight from Ajeetgarh and hit MDR 46 just short of Sri Madhopur. Till I hit MDR 46, I faced some terrible roads for more than 30-40 kilometers - road so bad that cars slowed down snail-pace to go over potholes, and my bike's front suspension bottomed out a few times. By this point, I had deviated so much from original plan of going via Udaipurwati so I thought it made better sense to hit the main NH11 at Reengus and then ride on to Sikar. The bad roads had somewhat quelled my desire of 'cultural immersion' so I though it worked out well in retrospect.
I soon hit NH11 at Reengus, and the nicely laid out tarmac and road signs were a welcome change! The NHAI boards overhead assured me that I was indeed riding to Sikar - the road had a fair amount of traffic, mostly cars/vans and groups going to the religious dhaam. The Sikar byepass came up in a while and I took the left road towards Bikaner while I saw most of the traffic head inside the city. Pretty soon, the single carriage but lonely road to Bikaner was ahead of me, and I was able to do 80-100 clicks an hour. The road from Sikar to Bikaner has a lot of ups and downs, so I was very careful of oncoming traffic on blind spots at these roads. When approaching an incline, it was impossible to see the vehicle approaching unless it had reached the peak of the trough, and whenever I saw an vehicle coming towards me on the opposite side, I slowed down to 40 kmph, because I knew there would be morons who would overtake other vehicles without seeing what's coming up the road. And I was right - I saw at least half a dozen such instances. Better safe than sorry. Other than being careful on the gradients, the road from Sikar to Bikaner was quite enjoyable, with a good paved surface. The scenery also began to change - more desert like and a trailer of what I was to expect next.
To Bikaner!
My first taste of the desert of this trip!
The colors of Rajasthan - women woodcutters on their way home.
The Greenest thing in Rajasthan!
A few kilometers before Bikaner.
I stopped a few kilometers before Bikaner to tank up on drinking water and buy a bag of potato chips. After being on an overdose of sweet energy bars, I wanted to eat something salty. And I was glad I was doing this ride in February. The sun was bright but not harsh and I was not uncomfortable at all in my full leathers. After drinking half a litre of water to wash down the potato chips, I got back on my bike and headed towards Bikaner, a mere 10 kilomters from where I was. The city came up around 2pm. There was no bypass to Jaisalmer, so I had to ride through the city - not much of a struggle though since the traffic was very light in this laid back town. But there was construction work (new flyover_ going on the road to Bikaner, so I went off road, and after riding for a few minutes, I was on the other side of the construction site. And I was free! Free to get on the much talked about road to Jaisalmer! But before I could let myself get carried away by my emotions, I pulled into a petrol pump for a tank full which would see me all the way to Jaisalmer. After the tank full, I kept on going on that road and I was somewhat surprised by the traffic because that was not what I had in mind. So I called up Jaideep and asked him whether I was on the right road. "Are you on NH15"? asked JD. "Yes", I replied. "Then you're on the road".
I guess I was a bit impatient. And maybe I was expecting road stretching into the horizon as soon as I left Bikaner behind, and maybe a barrier with two moustached, burly policeman holding checkered flags to see me off on the speedway. But I kept encountering medium traffic till I reached the NAL air force base, some 15-20 kilometers from Bikaner. But as soon as I crossed
NAL, I felt a change come over. A few more kilometers, and an unbelievable landscape unfolded in front of me. A long, straight and a thin strip of road sliced the incredible desert plains right ahead, disappearing into the horizon. No animals, no buildings, no people, no cycle or auto wallas. No snack or juice shop either. And absolutely, absolutely no traffic. I parked my bike to soak in the overwhelming sense of solitude. The pleasant afternoon breeze was playful, finding its way around the bike and kicking up some mild dust. I don't think anything prepared me for this - while chatting with Sunny once, he had told me that this stretch was like the Australian outback, and from what I have seen on television, he was goddamn right. I took out my camera and took pictures, wanting to preserve that moment. Here they are:
Behold the fabled road - it actually disappears into the horizon!
Ninja, you're a long way from home, my friend.
The outback...
I took a look at my cellphone and I realized I had spent a good twenty minutes on the same spot. I shook myself out of the reverie and told myself that 300 kilometers is 300 kilometers, no matter how good the roads and how high the speed was. And then I got on my bike, wore my gloves and helmets, thumbed the well rested Ninja into life and began to have to fun of my life. I kept twisting the throttle grip till it reached its end and it was then I looked at Speedometer. I was doing exactly 160 kmph, and the desert landscape of Rajasthan sped past me in a sandy brown blur. The twin cylinder screamed at 12,500 RPM, and the wind howled down my helmet vents while I lay crouched down on the tank. And yet no traffic. My wrist soon got tired of pinning the bike at 150 kmph, so I slowed down to a modest 130-140 kmph. I realized, that at this rate, I would be in Jaisalmer before sundown, which was ideal!
I kept going. And going. Well past speeds of 120 kmph. I slowed down when I saw an occasional vehicle I had to overtake, or a bus load of foreign tourists returning from Jaisalmer and heading toward Bikaner. Around 4.30 pm, I stopped and took a short break below the shade of a tree. I saw some noise in the sky, and I looked up to see a few IAF fighter jets doing border patrol. A perfect excuse to whip my camera out and take a picture of the jets and the surroundings:
IAF fighter jets flying together:
A temple in middle of nowhere.
Roadside vista!
I had my first sighting of wild camels an hour later, around 50 kilometers before Jaisalmer. There were in groups on both sides of the road, and when I parked my bike on the road, some of them craned their necks to look at me with benign interest. After discovering that I was of no use to them, they got back to grazing, their long necks pulling at the leaves of the tall desert shrubs.
Camels!
As the sun set in the west a little while later, its color changed from bright yellow into a gentle purplish pink. At this point, Jaisalmer was only 15 kilometers away, so I could afford to take it easy. I stopped to take a few pictures...
I entered Jaisalmer just when the last rays of the sun were fading to give way for the night. I had made a reservation at the RTDC Moomal tourist Bungalow and after asking direction and shrugging off a few hotel touts on motorcycles, I was finally there! I parked my bike in the hotel premises and went inside to the reception. I told that person that I had an online reservation, and he starts thumbing through a handwritten register. "No sir, we don't have a reservation", the man says. "What?! I booked online three days ago. I'll show you the receipt", I go, and show him a screenshot of the reservation on my netbook. At this point, he calls a younger chap from the adjacent office and he goes and double checks. He returns to say that I indeed have a reservation, and somehow no one had written that on the register! I let out a sigh of relief and wait for the person to show me my room. My room happens to be on the ground floor with a clear view of my parked bike, which was a bonus. And I must add - RTDC have their stuff right; the hotel room was spotless, towels clean and the soap kept in the bathroom, along with a clean bucket and a mug. The TV worked, and the sheets were clean. I bet this government run hotel would beat most of the privately run hotels in Jaisalmer hands down. A cold shower was very, very refreshing after riding hundreds of kilometers and I changed into my track jacket and sneakers.
RTDC Moomal tourist Bungalow in Jaisalmer (picture taken the next morning):
I rode to the town half a kilometer away to get a tank full, and also get fruits and juices for the next day. After refuelling, I went inside the main entrance of the Jaisalmer fort. This fort is one of the few rare (and famous) forts where regular people actually stay inside the walls of the fort. So the shops start right at the entrance of the fort and you can find them all over the place. I rode my Ninja up the narrow stone paths of the fort for a while and then headed back down. I stopped at a fruit sellers and bought something for the next day, followed by a stop at a confectionery where I stocked up on juice and flavored milk tetra packs. I also bought some camera battery, and then rode back to my hotel. I kicked myself for leaving the camera in my room, since the Jaisalmer fort at night is a sight to behold. Yellow floodlights bathes the walls of the fort in a golden glow - absolutely beautiful. Maybe next time...
Moomal has no room service so I walked into their restaurant and ordered some subzi and dal along with phulkas. The service was prompt and courteous and the food was homely without too much oil or spice. There was not one thing I could criticize about when it came to this hotel. For less than Rs.1000 a night, one could not have asked for more!
After the dinner, I covered my bike and walked back to my room, eager to lie down on the bed and sleep myself into the end of a great, great day. But I knew that much lay ahead the next morning, and I gradually slipped away into a deep sleep, dreaming of wild camels, sand dunes and extra Premium petrol stations!