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3,000 km family road trip with my BMW M340i; Pics & Experience

20th November 2024, 17:48 by Rahul Nagaraj

This car is super close to driving perfection. It's easily the best car I've driven. Whether it be acceleration or cornering or braking, the M340i just delivers.

BHPian krishnadevjs recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

So we finally did it. After a lot of planning, a lot more of convincing and cajoling my wife, we managed to do a 3,000 km road trip across the heartland of India with two kids in an M340i.

The plan was simple - Go to Ranthambore, do the tiger safari, go to Agra, see the Taj Mahal, return.
Stitching a road trip around this plan was the tougher one.
The initial plan was to go to Daman, enjoy with the kids at the beaches, then go to Baroda driving through the fabulous 8 lane highway from Bharuch to Baroda, and then onward to Ranthambore and Agra.
The return journey was to be looped through super-clean Indore, then Nashik and finally back to Mumbai.

However, basis suggestions and reviews by several folks that the Daman route was a nightmare, as well as the fact that Daman beaches aren't really swim-worthy, we changed our plans last minute.
The new plan was to go both directions along the Nashik - Indore route.

A road trip, in itself requires extensive planning. When you plan with two small kids, it requires even more planning.
Add to that mix a car with barely 130mm of ground clearance and you ideally require extensive route-stop-rest planning.
Apart from the Mumbai - Nashik route which we had done about four years back in our Octavia, the rest of the route was a complete unknown to me.
And it was the first time I was driving in North India (barring the Mt. Abu trip I had done a few months back). I really had no idea what to expect.
Looking at the distances and time shown by Google Maps, the itinerary was fixed as below:

Day 1: Mumbai to Nashik. Pitstop at The Gateway Nashik.
Day 2: Nashik to Indore. Pitstop at The Park, Indore.
Day 3: Indore to Ranthambore. Pitstop at The Earth, Ranthambore.
Day 4: Tiger Safari in the morning. Proceed to Agra in the evening. Stay at The ITC Mughal, Agra.
Day 5: Taj Mahal in the morning. Agra Fort or chill at resort in the afternoon.
Day 6: Agra to Indore. Stay at The Park, Indore
Day 7: Explore Indore. Stay at The Park, Indore.
Day 8: Indore to Mumbai.
Day 9: Reserve.

Day 1

And so we set off on the bright sunny morning of 26th October, Saturday.

It was a very relaxed departure, at close to 7:30 AM.

Soon enough, I regretted the decision to leave this late, as we were stuck in traffic.

Breakfast which we planned to have at the McDonalds outlet in Asangaon, now seemed further away.

Finally, our rumbling stomachs found solace as we rolled into McD at Asangaon.

We reminisced stopping at the same point 4 years back when our older one (Neha, currently 6) was the size of our younger one (Niya, currently 2).

A hearty breakfast and one Coke for the road later, we were on our way.
Any dreams I had of enjoying the drive were dashed by the endless line of trucks.

18 years of driving and I still cannot understand why these truck drivers MUST drive on the right lane, despite all the road markings.

Finally, around 12:30 PM, we reached our Pitstop for Day 1 - the beautiful and lush Gateway Nashik.

Checked in, went for a quick lunch and spent the rest of the day lazing about.

The Gateway has this nice, cozy play area for kids which Neha had loved when we were here 4 years ago.
Niya too thoroughly enjoyed playing there, once the sun was down.

Day 2

We decided to hit the road early on Day 2 as the journey was a bit longer. Google told us it would take almost 9 hours to traverse the 434 km between Nashik and Indore.
Basis my experience with the endless trucks on Day 2, we decided to give Google the benefit of the doubt and leave early.

We had asked the staff at The Gateway to pack breakfast for us; but I was a bit shocked what they had packed - a grand total of 2 vegetarian sandwiches for the four of us!
My wife took the initiative and went down to their restaurant, spoke to the staff and managed to pack a decent amount of Idlis, Vadas, chutney and fruits. With that, off we went around 6 AM.

The morning drive was pretty relaxed as we managed to get some open roads without much traffic. We covered half the distance to Indore in 4 hours, before deciding to stop for breakfast somewhere just before Dhule.

It's simple moments like this, just the four of us, on the roadside, sharing breakfast which makes road trips worth all the trouble. Moments which bring us together as a family. <3

A good breakfast (courtesy my wife's bargaining skills with the Gateway staff) later, we set off again.

Close to noon, we crossed over into Madhya Pradesh.

This was my first time driving in Madhya Pradesh, and only the second time visiting the state. The previous one was a visit to the Godrej soap factory in Malanpur, more than a decade back, during my Management Trainee Stint.

We stopped for breakfast at a Dominos in Khalghat, where we were greeted by this horde of lambs.

Niya went ballistic seeing so many "Baa-aa-aa"s together.

On the final stretch to Indore, the M340i hit a milestone - 30,000 KM up in 1 year and 9 months.

Soon, we reached The Park and checked in.

The M340i was now super dusty, courtesy all the trucks along the way.
Despite searching for a good car wash, I couldn't find a single one near where we were staying. Finally had to settle for a slightly shady local place.

I ensured they washed the car with my car-wash mitts and dried it with my microfiber. That was the best we could do.

For dinner, we met up with a friend and family at the famous Sayaji restaurant. Luckily, they had an Arabian Feast going on when we went.
As usual with my trysts with Barbeque Nation, I was full by the time the starters were done. Skip to dessert and I was ready to call it a night.

Day 3

This was to be the longest day yet, with 9.5 hours to traverse the 455km from Indore to the heart of tiger territory, Ranthambore.
This time though, we decided to get breakfast at the hotel itself and leave at a relaxed 9:30 AM.
Breakfast was quite good, with a nice spread and pretty tasty food. However, given the obvious problem that comes with a heavy breakfast, and the fact that we'd be on the road for close to 9 hours, I had to limit the quantum of intake.
Overall, The Park was quite good, but the rooms were a bit small, the parking was open and the location was a bit isolated.
This led me to rethink the decision to stay here on the way back (something I would rue later on).

Like I said, this was my first time driving in MP. And I had no idea how rural rural could be. At some places, there was nothing around for miles on end. At others, there was grain laid out covering almost 3/4th of 1 lane on the 2 lane road, ostensibly for drying.

The people and the culture around seemed so very alien to us and at the same time, very distinctly Indian. We were viewing the diversity of India first hand.
Wish my kids were a bit older to truly appreciate what was happening around us. We were seeing the essence of India on this road trip.

We soon crossed the Tropic of Cancer, and then drove into Rajasthan.

The roads were really good, with smooth tarmac and very less undulations.

It's quite surprising how highways in Maharashtra alone are so pathetic whereas all surrounding states (Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa) have very good tarmac.

Google maps, for some reason, decided our trip wasn't adventurous enough and suggested a detour which apparently saved time.
Suddenly, I was driving on a road between fields that was barely wide enough for the M340i.

https://youtu.be/nwBL2bNYzGk
And soon that road transformed into a culvert passing between two gushing water bodies.

Thankfully, this stretch wasn't too long and we entered back into the highway without incident.
There were quite a few amused locals who were surprised to see this sports car crawl through the fields and over the culvert.

Soon enough, there were not so subtle indications that we were well inside Rajasthan now - with magnificent forts on the side of the highway.

On one of many petrol stops.

Petrol in MP was the most expensive, followed by MH, Rajasthan and then UP. We struggled to find XP95 pumps along the way except in Agra and Indore. So, majority of the fuelling was done with normal 91 Octane Petrol.

Finally, close to 5PM, we reached our destination for the day - the Earth at Ranthambore.

This was a very nice, secluded resort which strives to be in tune with nature. Their in-house restaurant features authentic Rajasthani dishes made from vegetables that are organically cultivated at the property. Of course, they also have a non-vegetarian option for hardcore non vegetarians such as ourselves.

The place was very quiet and peaceful.

After dinner, we were just lying in their amphitheater, looking up at the sky. There was a documentary about the Tigers of Ranthambore playing, but we were just amazed at how clear the sky was and how many stars we could see.
Neha spotted Jupiter, and soon with the help of Google, we spotted Venus, Saturn and Jupiter as well.

The huts were made of mud and there was a giant bathtub (a pool rather) which was also made of mud.
The kids had a blast here.

Day 4

Finally, the day that the kids were waiting for. The day we would (hopefully) see some tigers.
Got the kids ready by 6 AM and headed to the reception.
We had booked a Gypsy for safari and soon enough, an open top Gypsy came to pick us up.
This was our first time doing a jungle safari in an open-top Gypsy - so we were all pretty excited.

A small chilly ride later, we were at the Ranthambore Tiger Park. A quick document submission later, in we went.
Ranthambore apparently has 75+ tigers in a 1400 sq km forest. It's one of the largest tiger reserves in the country.
The forest is divided into multiple zones, to restrict the disturbance to wildlife from tourists. We went into Zone 3, which is apparently good for tiger sightings.

Soon, we spotted tiger paw marks - telltale signs that the owner was nearby.

The guide took us on several rounds of the park in hopes of spotting a tiger.

At several places, we just stopped to see if the tigers would come out.

Managed to get a nice picture of the sunrise from one such stop.

Very soon, we could hear the roars of the tiger - not far away. The guide said there was a mother and young adult on one side of us, and another young adult on the other.
Since they were trying to reunite, we should ideally spot them.

However, as luck would have it, the paw mark and the roars were all we could see or hear of the tigers. Soon it was sunny and hot, and the guides accepted defeat.

Supposedly an old pitstop used by the king on his hunting trips

Spotted this guy in the lake

Another view of the lake inside the park. Just that evening, I received a WhatsApp forward from our guide showing not 1 but 3 tigers at this very spot

We headed back to the hotel, not before spotting some other wildlife like peacocks, deer, monkeys and crocodiles.

We quickly freshened up at the hotel, and left around 1 PM, to hit the highway.

This stretch from Ranthambore to Agra was one of the most fun ones to drive. We got on a completed section of the Mumbai - Baroda - Delhi Expressway on this route.

Wide, 8 lane highways with hardly any traffic and a straight unobstructed view meant the M340i had to go into Sports Plus mode.

With a roar as loud as the tigers we didn't see in Ranthambore, she eagerly paced up to insane speeds. Max speed on the M340i is electronically limited to 250 KMPH. BMW may have underquoted that number.

A few exhilarating kilometers later, we were on the two lane road to Agra.
All the fun we had on the expressway had to be compensated with slow moving, crazy traffic all the way into Agra and to our hotel.
So far, I had believed that Pune traffic was the most indisciplined. But Agra has now beat Pune to take the crown.
Taking immense care to not scratch the car, we finally reached our next destination - the beautiful and regal ITC Mughal.

Checking in, the rest of the day was all for rest and a sumptuous dinner at their Taj Bano Restaurant.

My plan was to wake up quite early the next day morning and go see the Taj, thus avoiding the Agra heat, as well as the crowd.
However, this plan was shot down immediately by both kids, who just wanted to sleep in.

Day 5
Somehow, both the kids woke up very early the next day around 6AM, and since we were all anyway up, we decided to go see the Taj anyway.
It was my 4th time, my wife's 2nd and my kids' first time seeing the Taj, and every time it just blows your mind.

Walking through those arches leading to the main mausoleum, you cannot but imagine the sheer effort that it took to build this impressive structure.
And of course, the sad story behind its origins.

As a book on the Taj describes it, the Taj Mahal truly is a teardrop on the cheek of time

While there were news reports the day before about poor AQI in Agra, and how smog was disrupting views of the Taj, we were lucky to have low AQIs and clear views when we were there.

Unfortunately, Niya started throwing tantrums soon enough, and we had to cut short the visit and return back. We decided not to visit the Agra fort, since both the adults had already seen it and the kids weren't really enthused by the idea of a trek up the fort in the Agra heat.
This meant we were just lazing about in the resort and playing in the pool for the rest of the day.
It helped that the property had two very nice large pools in addition to another children's pool.

Around evening, I tried exploring the city trying to find a decent car wash spot. That's when I came across this gem of a place - Mr. Sparkle.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the guys there were passionate about ensuring the car was spotless and shining.

They did an amazing job, and the car was all spruced up for the long drive back home.