Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

Travelogue Approved

Welcome to Delhi

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

Nice start. Eagerly waiting for rest of your t'log.

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

People like you ...are the inspiration behind others achievement . ..bring it on ,keep the pictures flowing .

you live only once.....

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

Please also can you provide here the route map taken by you ....as i can see you havent taken the traditional route of NH8.

you live only once.....

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

nice man,,, bring it on,,,, waiting fr the further updates,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

Thanks sir!! Hope to meet up..

Sure.. still in the process of writing it up.. will post it very soon..

Thanks for your kind words. Will post it soon.


Sure sir...Till then.. enjoy the teaser..

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

Looks good..

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

On 9th October around 1AM, I receive a call that my hon'ble presence is required at Delhi by 15th October 9:00AM Sharp. I

wasn't in a mood to budge from my cozy couch anytime before Delhi, but the intensity of the call had me on my feet. As you

know, I am not the guy who travels by the trains, buses or aircrafts, well.... sometimes aircrafts, yes. But I strictly

avoid these modes of transports. I feel like I am missing the beautiful surroundings by these. So, only one thing struck my

mind.. Lets go biking. It had been a pretty long time since I took to some serious long distance touring and this one was a

chance.
I hurriedly packed up a bag with few shirts, jeans, a blazer and some utilities. It was around 3 when I went to bed, with

my heart thumping with exitement. I soon woke up with a 3hr sleep, prepped up the beast who was going to make it possible,

got into the gears and bade a Good Bye to parents and off I was. Excitement soon died down when I realised that I was

pretty low on fuel and cash. ATM soon followed with the petrol bunker. Shell super at 84-ish seemed good at that time.

I was going to be away from the Sahyadri ranges and the sea for a pretty long time, so my first destination was fixed

somewhere on the beaches near Alibaug. It wasn't far and my route was Pune - Old Mumbai Highway - Lonavala - Pen - Alibaug.
Reached Alibaug near afternoon. Got a hotel for cheap rate due to off season. The night was spent wandering on the beach

with the Arabian waters touching my feet. It was all emptyness around me, and I was feeling sad for leaving the city.



It was 5AM when I took to the coastal roads of Alibaug to Pen. After 200-ish kms stopped for food and stopped a few kms

ahead again for a selfie. While posting it on facebook, I was made aware of the Birthday of Piyush (Paxy) our beloved

biker-brother at the NakedWolves Club of Pune-Mumbai. Wished him, although had to wake him up from his slumber, apologies

for that brother.
My target for the day was somewhere around Vapi. Fortunately, my average speed surpassed my expectations and I raced past

Mumbai via Mumbra to the Fountain hotel well before afternoon. All thanks to the traffic of Mumbai, I did manage to get

past the kilometer long traffic jam of trucks. Very soon I crossed into the border of Gujarat and stopped at a roadside

shack for food. Was delighted to have the Misal-Pav. Will be missing it.. Daman was not far from here and so was Silvassa.

By then I got a message from my dear biking brother Hardik from Surat asking to meet up thus setting the halt point of the

journey.


The roads of Gujarat are buttersmooth in perfect sense with absolutely nil pothole or unevenness on the hundreds of

kilometers of stretch. The scenicness never ends and is one to watch for. The architecture of the temples enroute are

another superb thing to watch out. The people around are simple, kind and helpful people. Where ever I stopped, people

flocked around to see the bike and were amazed to know my Source of journey and the destination.
I reached Surat with a 16kms deviation from the highway and a few kms further to Hardik's house. Hardik runs Bonitto.com

which is a startup, first of its kind dealing in women wear. With his office in International Trade Centre (ITC), Surat

and just a handful of employees he is doing great.
Headed to his home where I was being put up for the night. After a brief rest, we both headed to the nearby places

including the Nation's 3rd most haunted place Dumas beach. Had Surat's famous pakodas with curry ranging from tomato pakoda

to Onion pakoda. After loitering around for some more time near the haunted beach. It was all dark and had an eerieness in

the air. All houses were locked and doors, windows closed. Not a single soul was visible. We headed back to Nawab's (a

resturant) and then to Madras Dosa, a roadside stall serving some amazing custom dosas. Even Madrasi's (Chennai-ites) will

be amazed with the flavours, its absolutely delighting. Had a few dosas here, and I was full to the brim. With no more

space left in the tummy, we headed to a bridge near the port. Could see 2 ships docked and a ship being built. Soon after

we headed for the cozy beds at Hardik's home after a Paan. His house was being renovated and my heartfelt warm thanks to

Hardik, Aunty and Uncle for allowing me to stay. I know you took pains, I know a simple thanks isn't enough, but bhai tu

dil mein uttar gaya yaar..!

It was early morning around 6AM when I woke up. The morning sun was shining with a glistening golden glow and view from

Hardik's gallery was of a beautiful Surat wrapped in a golden glow. Got fresh and took off from Surat after bidding Good

bye to all. Today's target was fixed at Mt.Abu somehow. Took a selfie as I touched the highway. As I was posting the pic on

facebook, received a message from Vaibhav from Godhra of meeting up. Metup with him at Golden Chokrdi, Vadodara over a meal

of fabulos veg manchurians. He is from Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly. After a small photo session, where we were troubled by a

cow trying to scratch her ear using my RVM (Rear view Mirror).


Started again for Abu road. The traffic being moderately on the emptier side, I was able to cruise comfortable at 130-

140kmph constantly. I passed into the Ahmedabad (Amdvad/Mhemdawad... its got lot of names) express way for a mere 20bucks

but soon opted out of the road to get to Dandi route, NH228. Its an heritage route. It was mere 100kms from here when I met

a Supercross motor enthusiast from 1970's era. He said he used to race but left and settled for a mechanic's life here. He

was highly hesitant to share his name or even pose for a photo. A medium heighted 5.7" with white hair, slim built man.

Seemed to me like he was trying to get away from his past life seriously. He generously oiled my bike's dry chain for free.

It wasn't long before Abu road was mere 300kms and the time was around 5PM.

I could make out that Mt.Abu was not possible before the daylight runs out. Being adamant and stubborn, that I am, I

continued into the dark highways with a fair share of traffic. Saw the moon rise, sadly the cell phone camera could not do

the justice required. I reached Abu Road at around 8. The air was cold and most of the shops shutting down. Had food here

and climbed up Mt.Abu at night. The curves were fantastic. Although I was startled twice at the corners by the langurs

crossing the road, I still managed to touch down/knee down on a few of the corners. Checked into Star Villa for a mere

600bucks for the night. The room was good, bed was better and Aircondition was best. I was a bit exhausted and I have no

idea when I passed out on the bed while trying to access internet.


Got up and ready to roll by 6AM and roamed around Mt.Abu till 10AM. Had breakfast at a high class Muslim guy run shack. I

was speechless at his Urdu. His attire was a deep black velvet cape, shining white Kurta and some insanely beautiful

leather chappals and complete royally designed walking stick. With his height hovering around 6feet with a slim built it

seemed as if he has walked right out of some Afghani fashion show. Even the guy who cooked up the omlette toast, had

somewhat of the same attire. I chitchatted with that guy (Hussain) for a bit. He directed me around.

Visited Nakki lake, Trevor lake and some more places around. The road leading to Trevor Tank after paying the entry fees

needs to be rebuilt. The idiots put a huge layer of dust on the broken road making it ideal for SUV or for trek but

dangerous of motorcycles. Managed to catch a glimse of the huge sized shy croc before it swam into the depths. There are

also huge sized gold fishes swiming near the surface. Met Michael and Tania from Moscow who were visiting India and were

here for a trek.


It was soon 10AM and I started leaving Mt.Abu. Called Karan bhai from Kota, Rajasthan which was my next destination. Before

long I was rolling faster on the empty roads of Rajasthan. Crossed a few places with very funny names like "Teja ka Was"

and "Ento ka Khet". The instant thought that crosses the mind is Anil Kapoor in his earlier days, bare chested with a

jungle of chest hair shouting, Teja!!!! :P In Rajasthan, the petrol pumps are very far and seldom working. Had to push the

bike for 10kms before getting to a pump that too on the opposite side of the road.

Soon after I crossed into the Udaipur-Chittorgarh T junction. Took the right to the City palace of Udaipur. Had food and

returned. Traffic was now moderate which withered off soon after 20-30kms. Was feeling hungry again so stopped at a Dhaba

for Butter Paneer and rotis. Befriended a Sardarji Trucker who was transporting stones to Chandigarh. He told me the

routes. Soon after I took to the roads again. It was empty. The surroundings were scenic. Saw a few ruins enroute and a few

lakes.

Around 200kms from Kota, when I was cruising around 140, a Safari Storme loaded with a few guys came up and starting

videographing me. After 10mins for riding like that, they asked me to stop. I was shit scared. I was ready with my marine

knife lest anything happened. Later came to know that he was a local politician and a motor enthusiast. We clicked a few

photographs together. He gifted me a Gold plated Zippo lighter. After waving him good bye, started again on my route to

Kota.

It was dusk when I saw the board for Kota stating a left. I took that left into hell. This was the worst road you can

possibly imagine. Even the Supercross track seemed like a buttersmooth road infront of this. I was mentally thanking the

guy who prepped up the shocks to withstand anything, on literal terms. You can not make out if the road was in the craters

or craters on the road. To add up to that, there was a huge dust cloud, so thick that it hid the trucks just in front of

me. It was 22kms of pure offroading hell on a touring prepped bike.

Crossed Chambal river into the town of Kota. It was all Mela around and I nearly lost my way when the good hearted motor

enthusiast politician came to my help and directed me the way after leading me for a few kms. After I reached near the

destination, called to Karan Paaji, my most trusted alliance, to come over. He soon reached and helped me to get a hotel

room. It was damn costly at 2200 bucks for 24hours for single person. But it was totally worth it, well a bit overbudget

though. He is the first Sardar I ever met who doesn't eat chicken. Well, it was tough to get chicken in these parts though.

Slept comfortably for the night after washing up the riding Tee and Jeans. Next morning I was again up at 6AM. After a bath

went out to get some moisturiser. People were very busy as it seemed in this part of town and yes, pretty serious. Everyone

had that look on their face. Everyone seemed like its been ages since they last smiled.

Around 9AM Karan bhai came to my hotel. We went out to have the famous Kota ki Kachaudi. That was very tasty. post fooding,

we went to visit the Chambal ghaati. The area of the dacoits of 1970-1980's era. A bridge was being built here. Also went

around the city. It was like everything about education. The city starts and ends its days from Education. This is the only

city which proves my words that Education is the best business in today's times. Was amazed to know about a particular

class of lecturers' salary which is 1Cr a month!!!! Must be the highest salary paid in the entire Nation.

Finally after visiting in and around the city, I decided to leave for Agra the same day. People said that there is a Mega

Highway and I beleived them. Its worse than the streets of Pune. Entirely made up of stones for 10kms in between which

later converts into an uneven tarmac road with pot holes in between. However, the scenery around compensated for the bad

roads. Saw a few wild camels and then I was taken aback to see a group consisting of more than 100 wild cames shortly

after.

It was dusk soon. I stopped at a dhaba asking directions to Sawai Madhopur. It was around 50kms from the dhaba. The road

restrained me to travel above 50!! I could see lightening far away. It was night when I reached Sawai Madhopur. the roads

were damaged and completely drenched. So, it was here that got the shower which I saw 30ish kms far. Asked for directions

to the local police who were helpful and were equally enthralled to see me travel such long distance in the night. I took

the road to Dausa from where I would join the Jaipur-Delhi Highway. This road was equally bad as the last one and more

emptier.

Could not find a single dhaaba to eat for stretches apart. Stopped at one, when I was informed that they had closed for the

day! I was like, " How can you do that??? Its only 9PM for Christs Sake!! " Got myself entertained a bit watching the

Shakti Kapoor starred comedy flick running on their television sets. A few more kilometers further, I found two dhabas just

opposite to each other. Both were running the same channel on both sides of the road and the sound had a strange effect in

the barenness around. I had food here as I was running hyper hungry. Had a good chat with the dhaba wala. He was dumb

struck to see a biker in the dead of the night traveling the roads where even the truckers fear. He warned me strongly

against the idea of riding further and even offered me a place for the night for free. But, I was damn adamant on reaching

Agra to see the Taj.

Around 10-15kms more I crossed an empty toll gate. There was a single street lamp where I thought would be a good idea to

click a snap. The grass on both sides of the road were at around 8-10feet high. Adding to the surroundings, it was creepy

and chances of getting attacked by a wild animal was high in these surroundings. I am very confused about the inquisitivity

of the people of Rajasthan specifically, taken into the count that this is the 3rd time I am crossing the state. I dunno

why exactly people are more interested in my caste (Which I have absolutely no idea), my marriage (I am seriously

considering the option of putting up a display board stating Bachaelor) and what I do for a living (What to tell you, even

I have no idea what I do most of the time for a living). Even policemen, to whom I stopped and asked the directions were

very keen on knowing these details.

However, it wasn't before 1AM when I touched the Jaipur-Agra Highway. A short break was necessary and I stopped a few kms

ahead at a Dhaba. Befriended a trucker from Bihar who was coming from Jaipur and going towards Agra. This guy too was

pretty scared when I mentioned him the route. He was literally congratulating me on my safe ride through the patch. I have

no freaking idea why, but this did freak me out a bit. Whatever maybe, I was safe and thats all mattered.

Around a 100ish kms more, I felt a very heavy wave of fatigue. Thats when I decided to stop and have a bit of rest for the

day. Unfortunately Bharatpur was quite far and I was not in a more to travel that distance in a state of fatigue. Somehow

managed to get hold of a Dhaba within the next 10kms. Asked him for a "Khatiya or bed" for which he charged me 150bucks and

later settled for a fine 100Rupee note. I paid him 50bucks more in order to keep a close watch on my belongings as I slept.

I slept soundly since 3AM till 6AM and as I woke up, I found my things to be intact. It was a heart warming feeling. My

first target was Bharatpur, the practical boundary of Uttar Pradesh. After around 20-25mins ride, I crossed a toll where I

was welcomed by a boy in his early teens may be with his pet monkey "Akrru".

I stopped by him to have a chat and a snap. Asked him about his schooling. The boy was an orphan and made his living by the

day by showing tricks with his pet Akru and studing by the evening. It was good to know about that. Gave him a 500rupee

note and his eyes gleamed with joy. I still remember his words "Bhaiyaji, bahut dino baad isse dekhne ka mauka mila hai,

pichli baar ek Mem ne di thi" i.e. Brother, its been a long time since I saw this note. Last time one foreigner woman had

given this to me. I was now at a loss of words.

Few kms more towards Agra, I get greeted by rain. Stopped a bit under a tree which was pretty useless in blocking the

rains. I continued into Agra. Saw the Red Fort but I was in no mood to stop by it. Today was Taj's day. I soon reached

Taj's West gate and parked the bike. There was this guy with his camel who asked me if I was interesed in taking a ride to

the Mausolem. He said 50bucks for the ride to and from Taj. I said, I will pay you 300bucks for only you showing me around.

I was wet and in no mood to deal with other guides around. Moreover, this guy looked poor. However, it turned out to be my

best choice. I got the treatment of what a foreigner tourist gets. additionally, I never required to stand in any sort of

queue, felt something like a VIP.

Funniest part was in the security check. After I had kept my luggage in the locker room and went through the Market place

of Taj, the Meena Bazar, I was still wearing the metallic knee guards and the riding jacket. While in security check, the

military guy was confused about allowing me or not. He talked to his senior and I could distinctly catch the two words

"Civillian Commando". After the checking and all, I asked him what was it all about. He said, Taj is visited by bikers and

the guys who wear these metallic armors are nicknamed Civillian Commando, as only they are allowed with metal armors other

than black cat commandos. It took me some time to absorb what he said. However, I was asked to wear this Boot socks to

prevent pollution to the Mausolem. Mostly all Indians were required to remove their foorwear and only the foreigner tourist

were allowed to keep them on but with this boot socks.

After the visit to Taj finished, I left for the Yamuna Express way. The road leading to the Express way was too bad. Even

few poeple were trying to race with me. Finally I reached the Yamuna Express way. I was completely drenched and it was

still raining. The air was cold. Asked at the toll booth about the climate ahead, and I was informed that till 55kms it was

the same. It was spine chilling at even a mere 100kmph with all those gears.

However, after around 80kms, the climate seemed better. I stopped to dry out my boots and Tee. After a stop of around

30mins, called up Shashank who was about to come to receive me from teh Express way. I am bit weak in directions of the

Greater Noida and Noida. It all seems the same to me and its utterly confusing. I took off soon. Speeds were in the range

of 140+ and still then all the cars were over taking me...

Met Shashank after crossing the Toll booth of Jewar, the last toll both on the Delhi end. shashank showed me around at

Budhh International Circuit (BIC: India's only F1 track) before heading towards his home at Chattarpur.


Read better at TourTrailTails with all the HQ pics there... Link is in my signature.

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

Nice one, what a way to shift location. Bring on the rest of the log.

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

umm..... That was all of it...

A few more pics...





At Taj




At the Yamuna Express.... and reached Delhi NCR

Re: Shifting. Pune to Delhi. On Bike. The Solo Wanderer.

Nice to read and view. Carry on.