The last leg of the trip and probably the one in which I do the least amount of driving. I finally get to sleep for a few hours (
thanks to the unwatched sitcoms). While I sleep, the lady passes one more special mark which thankfully my friends remember to capture.
Important Landmark - achieved somwhere in Rajasthan
We say goodbye to the gates of Udaipur
The empty roads of RJ greet us
with beautiful turns & twists through the Aravali hills
But as we approach GJ, the greenery starts disappearing and the last of such beautiful buildings
When I wake up we have reached Ahmedabad. Just a short while ago we were facing single digit temperatures in Rajasthan, and suddenly it's hot like hell out here. We again take the Sardar Ring Road and completely bypass Ahmedabad. An hour later, we reach Vadodara where we decide to have our lunch. Now the benefit of passing your hometown is you know where the best eating joints lie on the highway.
A brief description about the place :
Kismat Kathiawadi Hotel
- This comes on your left side when you are traveling from Surat towards Ahmedabad adjacent to the one of the flyovers (
very close to the airport). They have put up boards on either side indicating the location.
- Pure veg & Kathiawadi food. Extremely simple & very cheap. We hogged liked anything yet the total bill came to 208Rs!
- No A.C. hall/ okiesh (indian) loos. We went there at 1.30 p.m. and it was hot like hell.
A snapshot of the hotel
Just while we leave Vadodara, we see this and wonder what vehicle could have done this to this car. Even if a Volvo or a mega truck hit this car, how can it get so crumpled up!
Try to guess the car from this pic
Now you know which car it is
I wonder what happened to the driver & passengers
Moving on we make good distance in the afternoon, and surprisingly hardly find any traffic on the Narmada bridge. I again catch a few hours of sleep, however before I sleep this is the last image I take of the MID.
And when I get up a few hours later, this is what I see.
Now we have traveled just around 200 odd kms, and apparently my friend could maintain a constant speed of 100 odd kmph. But the balance distance (
of the tripmeter) was close to 1200 kms. So how could the mileage increase by close to 2km/l in such a short distance? We debate however we don't come to any conclusion and we leave it at that.
Later on I take on the wheel and we maintain a steady progress on the rest of the journey. Except for the last 50 kms on the Vasai - Mira Bhayandar stretch, there is hardly any traffic to be seen and we zip through Mumbai around 8 in the evening. A short stop for dinner at McD (Panvel), and we reach Pune by 10.30 p.m.; tired but satisfied.
Tea break somwhere on Vapi-Dahisar Highway
The hills region that surround Mumbai just before we reach Vasai
The last stretch before we reach home!
Edit: Coming up - the epilogue and a few snaps there were missed out.