[Sangwan]

This travelogue dates back to December 2019. My best friend, lets call him A, who is a software engineer had taken few days off from office and thus we decided to visit the great Rajasthan and also the beach town Mandvi in Gujarat as it was closer to the Rann of Kutch too. As A lives in Panchkula, Haryana he came to Rohtak a day prior before our departure. As there are numerous very detailed Travelogues on must watch places to Rajasthan I won't be going over the tourist spots much.

Objective: A and I are best friends but after college we were in touch on the phone all the time but only on special occasions he and I used to visit each other so this road trip gave us a good reason to catch up with things happening in our lives, A wanted to test out the Triumph ST thoroughly he rode it only on the day of delivery and once when he and I went to Bikaner for a single day (Will post a travelogue regarding that too).

Itinerary: The following was the route planned on the whole trip.

Day 1: Reach Jaisalmer, and walkaround.
Day 2: Visit Longewala, Tanot Mata Mandir, Munabao and stay the night somewhere.
Day 3: Enter Gujarat, visit Rann of Kutch and stay the night in Mandvi.
Day 4: Visit the beach, head to Udaipur in the evening.
Day 5: Stay in Udaipur, walk around
Day 6: Visit Kumbhalgarh and head to Jodhpur
Day 7: Stay in Jodhpur and walk around
Day 8: Head back to Rohtak

Preparation: Nothing special was done, the bike was working flawlessly. I took the allen key set, spanner set, chain lubing spray and puncture repair kit just to be on the safer side. Although nothing was needed and everything went well. No prior hotel bookings were made as we were just two guys and all we needed was a place to crash so we booked the hotels only after we were near to the destination. For carrying the luggage I was using Rynox Drystack Saddlebags. Also to stay on the saddle for long, we were using Fego Float Air Cushion seat.




None of us was very concerned with taking photos as this trip was more about riding but I will share as much as I can and also our phones had average camera so the pics aren't really good.

Day 1

Distance Travelled: 719 Kms

Today was the longest riding day for the whole trip which I thought but it was the second day. I like to start really early so that I can reach the place in daylight. As with most of the us the feeling that tomorrow is going to be the first day I didn't sleep well, went really late to bed and woke up early. By 4:30 am me and A were out on the road. It was a typical December morning but it wasn't much foggy, but there was a lot of dew and having glasses on meant I need to keep the visor up. And I didn't thought that it would be so cold but it was! I was riding first and A was at the back and when we halted for a break then we checked the temperature it was 5 degrees and it was cold enough for me especially for the. You can see the images and see what I mean.

Thats me all packed up


That's A trying to dry his pants



He's not happy



The DEW




Somewhere around Behal, Loharu, Haryana



That's A



That's Me



Brothers for life



What a beauty



A is finally happy!



The cold was so much that it was really hard to take pictures without making the hands shake . The roads in Rajasthan are really good and really allows you to have fun with the Motorcycle. The rest of the journey was uneventful with me and A switching after every 150 KMs or so. This has been between us since college days, we try to ride equally so that none of us get bored riding as a pillion. We reached Jaisalmer at around 3:30 PM and booked a hotel, dropped the bags and headed straight to a cobbler! I didn't had luggage rails at that time and with the bags filled to the brim, and pillion's leg touching the bags, the bags were touching the rear tire and there was tear on both sides, so got that fixed and bought some bungee cords as well. Later on went to Gadisar Lake and relaxed there.

Day 2

This I think is the most memorable day for me for the whole trip. We woke up pretty early and planned to visit Tanot Mata Mandir, then Longewala and return to the room. Visit the Jaisalmer Fort, check out and head to Munabao.

On the way to Tanot, it was biting cold all along but there was literally no one on the road and also I noticed how they have widened the road from Tanot to Longewala. The last time, it was 2017, it was just a single lane road. I am all in for the development but I felt that widening of the road took away the charm. The single lane road, desert on either side, cruising at a slow pace all that is kind of gone now.








I just love how Triumph Looks especially with this beautiful background.




From Jaisalmer Fort



Beautiful Jaisalmer



We decided to move to Munabao. Munaboa, is a town having the last railway station to the western side of India. You need a permission to visit further and its controlled by BSF. If you don't have the permission like us then all you can do is visit the Munabao Railway Station. But that is not the point here. The point is the journey from Jaisalmer to Munaboa is really special. It has all the elements one crave for while heading to Rajasthan, single lane village roads, desert on either side, no soul in sight and nearer to get to Munaboa, all you see is a hint of wildlife with really really small villages amongst sanddunes. There was construction going on the road to Munabao too last time I was there, wonder what the status is?

By the time we were done visiting Munaboa, it was getting dark and there wasn't any place to stay the night so we headed to Barmer which was 127 Kms and reached at around 9:30 PM. Went to bed and thus a great day added. Added another 775 Kms to the odometer.

It seems a lot and to the reader it might feel that all we were doing is running but with the Triumph, low traffic on the road and good roads it never felt too much.

Also, travelling at night from Munabao to Barmer was another treat. It was pitch dark and once a while we saw a car/truck otherwise it was just the two of us, talking, riding and looking at millions of stars which you don't see in cities anymore.

Roads between Munaboa and Jaisalmer




Look at that beauty

[Sangwan]

Day 3

Distance: 697 Kms

Today me and A were entering Gujarat for the first time in our lives. Our plan was to visit Rann of Kutch, then head to Mandvi at the end of the day. Another long riding day but with the Street Twin the distance was never an issue and plus we just love to ride so why complaint, the more the distance the better.

The roads from Barmer to it was Radhanpur I think was the best roads I witnessed on the trip, absolutely butter smooth roads, very less traffic and you can just push the bike as much as you want. At around 5 PM we reached our first destination. I will let the pictures do the talking.



A making a pose



Street Twin having a view



The parking lot's view from top



Some more views from the top




Witnessed an amazing sunset and headed to Mandvi




Day 4

Being from a Land locked state makes you really happy when you see the beach. And me and A woke up early as usual to see the sunrise happening and just stay at the beach for long. Some pictures of the morning

Triumph enjoying the beach too



The Beach





A and Me




Sun's coming up



The beach was the main motivation behind Mandvi and with that memory made, we headed back to Rajasthan to Udaipur. Loved going through the Tunnels and the roads were amazing.

[Sangwan]

Day 5

Today was an easy day as we had no long rides planned and all we did was sight seeing in and around Udaipur. We went to City Palace, Monsoon Palace, took a boat ride and had food at Ambrai.

















I am not associated with Ambrai at all, but the food is great and what a view when having dinner. Beautiful lakes, tasty dinner and having A in front of me unfortunately I would highly recommend you to visit the place, make a prior booking and have a great time.










A and Me having Candle Light Dinner



Day 6

Today our plan was to Kumbhalgarh, then head to Jain Temple, Ranakpur and head to Jodhpur in the evening. A total of around 260 Kms which is nothing compared to the distance we were covering since last couple of days. I love Kumbhalgarh more than Udaipur, the fort and its ambience is just amazing. What a fort and it's just fascinating how hard it was for the foes to conquer this one. Also, it has around 36 Kms long wall which makes it amongst the longest walls in the world.



















Later, on our way to Jodhpur the google maps took us through rural roads which was kind of time consuming but we enjoyed the ride. Again saw an amazing sunset on our way to Jodhpur. Had trouble finding accommodation once we reached there and settled for a place in city center.

[Sangwan]

Day 7

Again the usual, sight seeing in Jodhpur. Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada and Umaid Bhawan Palace were on agenda. The highlight was doing Zipline tour of Mehrangarh Fort. Would recommend it highly and also the fees was INR 2000 per person, not expensive at all and you'll have a blast doing it. Sharing the pictures of that day.















Another great place to eat would be "Dylan's Cafe", you get to eat tasty food while looking at the Mehrangarh fort. Overall, it was a great day and we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest.

Day 8

All good things must come to an end. These last few days were very relaxing and we were having a blast and today after a distance of around 530 KMs we'll go back to our original lives and get back to the daily grind. Nothing to write about today, woke up pretty early just like first day and reached home at around 1:30 PM. Took a nap and the next day A retreated back to Panchkula.

The real Hero who made it all happen in real




Final reading


More thoughts about the experience

Rajasthan to me is very special but I wish at some places there were dhabas which we have in Punjab and Haryana, food options aren't that much. It was a lot of riding but Triumph performed beautifully and we both had a blast when we were riding it. Ergonomics were spot on, zero vibrations, going at more than 100 KMPH for hours and not at all tired after long rides. Wind blast becomes an issue only when you cross 120 mark and I don't see a reason why one should be going there on a motorcycle. The refilling at petrol station owing to smaller tank was one reason we stopped otherwise both of us were good to go for longer times without a break.

When going through Munabao, there isn't a single petrol pump so you might to buy petrol from locals living there, that is a bit expensive but hey at least you are not stuck in middle of nowhere. So make sure that your tank is full before going towards Munabao.

I have travelled throughout the Rajasthan in Car and on Motorcycle and I feel motorcycle gives you the best experience especially it the thing you are using is a 900 CC beast. If possible I would highly recommend you to do touring on motorcycle when visiting Rajasthan.



I thank you for your time.

Cheers,

Sangwan

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Axe77]

Beautiful pictures and travelogue. There’s nothing like riding together with just your best mate. Done a few such rides and they’re epic, just on the company and camaraderie alone - the riding pleasure is a given.

A small suggestion if you don’t mind, seeing the pics.

1. Being more visible to others

You guys seem to have ridden in some real low visibility / foggy conditions. You should consider getting some fog lights (even if it doesn’t light the road enough, it improves your bike being visible to oncoming traffic. Please also consider buying even a simple reflective vest on such rides. You’re both in pretty dark clothes on pretty dark bikes. Anything to improve your being visible to others is worth it and reflective vests are the easiest way to get there.

Even your saddle rain covers are black. Preferable to pick neon or similar high viz colors, specially since you’re unexpectedly and significantly increasing the width of your bike via saddle bags.

2. Personal protection

That’s quite the distance you’ve covered on fast highways. Some basic personal protective gear would also be preferable. Also, you’ll find on long journeys proper riding pants are actually far more comfortable to wear than jeans so basically killing two birds with one stone with that one.

[Sangwan]

Thank you so much for the advice Axe77. I have told in my Introduction that the bike is not with me anymore. I have also written an ownership thread on the bike and I second your recommendation that one should buy proper riding gear. I had already bought few items but at the time I did this road trip I had nothing.

When I will buy my next motorcycle I have already decided to buy riding gear first and then make the purchase.

[Sangwan]

Thanks to the members and moderators for putting my posts on the homepage of Team-Bhp. Really makes me super happy, couple of days ago I was struggling to become a member and now my posts are at the homepage. How the tables have turned

[sandeepmohan]

I ride in sub 15 degree temperatures for atleast half a year. One thing I can't stand is getting wet. I suggest wind and rain repelling trousers. Makes a big difference when you are out on a ride. I picked up trousers for the purpose of hiking on a glacier and realized I could use it for riding too. They keep you warm as it cuts out wind. The only wind entry point is at the ankle. The material is usually 100% polyester so even if you need to wash them, they dry quick. Even though they are not meant for riding, they work well and any day better than wearing tight jeans or cotton pants.

One heck of a ride you folks did.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I suggest wind and rain repelling trousers. Makes a big difference when you are out on a ride. I picked up trousers for the purpose of hiking on a glacier and realized I could use it for riding too. They keep you warm as it cuts out wind. The only wind entry point is at the ankle. The material is usually 100% polyester so even if you need to wash them, they dry quick.

Thanks for the suggestion although don't have a motorcycle anymore but will keep it in mind when I will be buying my gear for next bike.

And thanks for the kind words and I always read your thread about your motorcycle love it.