A Deepavali Sojourn: 3300 km road trip from Mumbai to Rajasthan & back

Given the horror stories that I have heard about the Mumbai-Ahmedabad road since monsoon, I decided to start very early.

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I started planning this trip in August 2024 with a friend who had a few days off to be consumed by year's end. We decided to maximize the time by taking a Rajasthan Road Trip during Deepavali.

My 4th Generation City was completing 9 years, and I felt this was also an excellent opportunity to get it across the 90,000 km mark (but that is a topic for another post)

We opted to stay in homestays instead of hotels because we wanted to roam as much as possible during the days instead of lying by the poolside. We just need a clean room and a clean bathroom and can manage a few minor inconveniences.

I got my car thoroughly serviced at Nelly Auto, run by BHPian @noelnelly, before departure, and upgraded the rather anemic headlights of the 4th generation City.

Day 1: Mumbai to Anand - 450 km

Since we only wanted a short stopover, we opted to stay in Anand instead of Vadodara or Ahmedabad since it was a bit cheaper.

Given the horror stories that I have heard about the Mumbai-Ahmedabad road since monsoon, I decided to start very early, and we hit the road from Thane at 5.30 am armed with chips, snacks, and lots of water. Thankfully, we did not meet any congestion, though the road was not very good all the way to the Gujarat border. We were stopped at the border by cops who checked the car for alcohol, but since we had not carried anything, they let us go after 10 minutes. After a short stop for breakfast, we continued to Anand and thanks to the much better roads in Gujarat, we managed to reach by 2 pm. The Vadodara-Ahmedabad highway is fantastic, and I really enjoyed the drive.

We grabbed a late lunch or early dinner around 5 pm before bed. Unfortunately, the weather was awful and hot, a portent of things to come.

Day 2: Anand to Udaipur - 320 km

We left at 6.15 am from Anand and managed to reach Udaipur at 11 am on the beautiful roads in Gujarat and Rajasthan, with a brief stop for breakfast and tea. The weather was a little cooler than Gujarat, but not much. We spent the first evening exploring the impressive City Palace in Udaipur, which was quite remarkable, before going across the Crystal Room located inside Taj Fatehgarh (this is a separate ticket and entirely not worth it; seriously, don't waste your money); we then went to a nearby hill to watch the sunset over a lake and mountains. Remember that this involves a 30-40 min climb to reach the top, so if you are planning to do the same please wear sturdy shoes.

Before returning to our homestay, we enjoyed a fantastic Rajasthani Thali at Navidya Restaurant (located inside Amantra Hotel).

Day 3: Udaipur to Kumbhalgarh & Back - 160 km

We had an excellent breakfast at the homestay and met the owner, who is related to the family of the erstwhile rulers of Mewar. He shared some interesting anecdotes about the history of his home, stories from the earlier days, and about his family.

We departed for Kumbhalgarh, where I made a mistake; Google Maps showed me a toll-free road to Kumbhalgarh, which would take the same time as a toll road, and like an idiot, I opted for the same. Unfortunately, most of the road was under construction with many unpaved sections, making me crawl throughout the journey to Kumbhalgarh. The Fort itself was impressive, and we spent a good 3 hours exploring the Fort before taking the toll road back to Udaipur, which was in much better shape; we managed to reach our homestay by 6 pm before stepping out to a nearby restaurant for some nice cold beer and pizza. The Second Longest Wall in the World is quite a sight.

Day 4: Udaipur to Jaipur - 400 km

We left at 6.30 am from the homestay. Unfortunately, we had to wake our host to let us out of the door, but I was keen on getting to Jaipur early this Diwali day. The drive from Udaipur to Jaipur passed Nathdwara, Bhilwara, and Ajmer, and we reached Jaipur about 5.5 hours after departure with just a brief tea stop around 8 am at a McDonalds on the way.

We reached our Jaipur Home Stay, a charming bungalow in a lovely area with a wonderful ex-army host and an in-house restaurant. The room was beautifully decorated, with thoughtful touches, from nice historical pictures on the wall to beautifully selected serveware and doilies.

After check-in, we left for Jaipur, where we visited Jantar Mantar first and then City Palace. There, we bumped into Akram, an earnest Rickshaw driver who was really helpful. We hired him to take us around that day and the next. From City Palace, we continued to Jal Mahal and then Gatore ki Chatriyan. Akram then dropped us off at Hawa Mahal, and we had dinner in a nearby rooftop restaurant with a lovely view of the fireworks, a cold beer, and some good food.

Day 5: Jaipur - 0 km

The next day, we began the excursion to Amer Fort, which was super crowded but stunning. We had a fantastic guide who took us around the Fort and explained some of the incredible history of the Kingdom. Did you know that the Amer Fort, or Amber Fort, as it is called interchangeably, is the home of the third-longest wall in the world?

We then visited the Panna Meena Stepwell near Amer Fort before going to Jaigarh and Nahargarh.

Jaigarh is a complete waste of time since there is nothing to see here except a big cannon (after which the Fort is named), and you can walk along the ramparts. It might be nice in good weather, but at 35 degrees, it was pretty hot and uncomfortable.

Nahargarh is better than Jaigarh, with lovely sunset views of the city and a small but charming palace inside.

From Nahargarh, we went to pick up a few souvenirs before returning to our homestay and having dinner there.

You can drive to all three places, and there is ample parking, but since this holiday involved a lot of driving, we did not take out the car on this day and were happy to be chauffeured around.

Day 6: Jaipur to Pushkar - 150 km

We left Jaipur around 10 am and reached Pushkar at 12.30 pm, where we booked a nice tent stay. The resort is a 15-minute walk to Pushkar Lake and has a combination of tents and rooms, a lovely garden, helpful staff, and a polite and well-behaved resident German Shepherd. We had a nice dinner at the resort before heading for a walk around Pushkar Lake and visiting a couple of temples around the lake. We spent a good 3+ hours walking around before stopping for dinner.

Day 6: Pushkar to Ajmer & Back - 35 km

This day, we started with an excursion to Ajmer to visit the Shrine of Moinuddin Chisti. We parked a distance away at a well-marked parking lot since a kind stranger warned us about a traffic jam closer to the Dargah. Thanks to the good samaritan, we avoided a mess; it was so crowded that there was barely any place to walk. We managed to visit the Dargah and return, but we were exhausted by the time we got back to Pushkar, so we decided to spend the evening lounging in the resort to recover from the heat and the crowds.

Day 7: Pushkar to Jaisalmer - 451 km

We left Pushkar around 10 am, reached Jaisalmer by 4 pm, and checked into our homestay. We chose this homestay because of the lovely view of Jaisalmer Fort from its rooftop, and it was a mere 10-minute walk from the Fort itself. We had a Rajasthani Thali for dinner before walking down to the Fort and back.

Day 8: An evening in the Dunes at Jaisalmer - 0 km

I had some work to catch up on the following morning, so we had an excellent breakfast in the homestay and a tete-a-tete with a lovely Spanish couple following the same itinerary but in reverse.

At 2 pm, We left for our night in the dunes experience. After a visit to a haunted village (there are a lot of stories about it, but really, there is not much to see there) but it is the last restroom stop before you hit the dunes, we then stopped at a small lake before we rendezvoused with the camels at around 4 pm.

We then embarked on an hour-long camel ride into the dunes. On the way, we spotted some deer, many beautiful birds, and the ker and sangri trees, which form a vital part of Rajasthan's diet, especially in this arid area.

Reaching the dunes by 5.15 pm, we enjoyed tea and some pakodas while watching the sunset. There were 2-3 other couples from other tour groups, but everyone was spread out, and we did not see or hear them until the following day.

After sunset, we were served a simple but hearty meal before they made our beds on two charpoys. We just lay back, looking at the stars in the sky, the Milky Way, and even some tiny comets. After a small but hearty breakfast, the next day, we broke camp and left on the camels to rendezvous with the Jeep, which would take us back to our hotel by 10 am.

Day 9: Exploring Jaisalmer - 0 km

We first visited Patwaon ki Haveli and Jaisalmer Fort before going for dinner at the Lal Garh restaurant, where we had one of the best meals in Rajasthan after Navidya in Udaipur.

There are five Havelis, old homes of rich merchants that look beautiful from the outside with intricate carvings. You can visit all five, and each Haveli has a separate charge to see inside, but only the first one, which has the longest queue, is well preserved inside. The others are not in good shape and even have bats roosting everywhere.

We then left for the Fort, but we were quite done with Forts by now, so we only spent a little time exploring the fort. The palace inside the Fort is also not in good shape compared to others in Rajasthan.

Day 10: Jaisalmer to Jodhpur - 266 km

After a simple breakfast of Parathas, we left for Jodhpur by 9 am and reached by 1 pm. After checking in, we decided to spend the evening in the hotel and relax.

Day 11: Jodhpur - 0 Km

We woke up at 5 am to reach Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park to see the sunrise. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that the Park is closed until 8 am in winter (though this November it was frankly too hot to be counted as winter). Thankfully, our Uber driver waited while we confirmed the park was closed before returning to our hotel for a snooze.

We returned to the Park at 8.30 am, and it was pretty nice. There are two well-marked trails with lovely views of Mehrangarh Fort in the background, and the park is full of birdlife. We walked for 2-3 hours before walking down to Jaswant Thada from the Park (a 10-minute walk away).

Jaswant Thada is stunning, and we spent well over an hour exploring the monument and its gardens before walking down to Mehrangarh Fort, my favorite fort in Rajasthan. It is wonderfully designed and decorated. After you tour the palace area, do visit the gardens behind the Fort.

From Mehrangarh, we took a cab to Mandore Gardens. Seeing how poorly these ancient monuments are kept with minimal supervision or maintenance is a travesty.

These stunning Gardens if well managed could be so beautiful but the negligence was heart wrenching. We went to Umaid Bhawan Palace from Mandore before returning to our hotel.

Day 12: Jodhpur to Vadodara: 559 km

We left early, around 7 am, and managed to reach Vadodara by 3 pm, passing through Abu Road and Palanpur in fairly heavy traffic before hitting the Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway. We relaxed in the hotel in the evening.

Day 13: Vadodara to Thane: 526 kms

We departed Vadodara around 9 am, and the journey to Surat was in high traffic but relatively effortless. The minute you cross into Maharashtra, there is a noticeable difference in road quality. Potholes are far more frequent, the road surface is awful compared to Gujarat and Rajasthan, and it has become difficult to maintain even a 60-70 kmph pace.

Once we reached near the Fountain Hotel junction, I was stuck in an awful jam that continued a fair distance on Ghodbunder Road. Thankfully, it opened up after Bhayandarpada, and I managed to reach my residence by 4:30 p.m. I did not make any stops on the way except for two quick toilet breaks.

The Highlights:

• The City is a joy to drive on long journeys if the roads are decent. The seating position is comfortable, and the excellent VTEC engine cruises effortlessly until 120 kmph (on expressways where the speed limit is 120). The seat is super comfy and does not cause any driver fatigue. It is a breeze to overtake when needed, though sometimes you need downshifts.
• The left side armrest is not well-positioned to rest your arms well for long drives, but it was not too bad either. Other than that, I have no complaints about the car.
• During my last long drive trip in 2022, my car returned an average over 17 km, but on this trip, I barely managed 14-15 kmpl despite similar driving styles. Is this the impact of Ethanol blending or engine aging?
• While the roads in Gujarat and Rajasthan are excellent, cattle have become a giant menace in those states. They suddenly walk into traffic or sit in the middle of the road; honking your horn at them has no effect. I barely managed to avoid hitting them on a couple of occasions. If you are building roads and keeping a 100 or 120 km speed limit, it is vital to fence these roads; otherwise, there are bound to be accidents
• Restrooms remain a problem. There are not enough hygienic and clean rest stops with clean restrooms.
• Wither Maharashtra Roads: It is distressing to see the awful condition of Maharashtra roads despite high tolls. Sudden potholes, badly concretised stretches, poor and uneven surfaces—it is like every possible issue is available every 1-2 kms. Forget other countries; Maharashtra now lags behind most states in India in terms of the quality of road infrastructure—such a sad state of affairs for this great state.
• Touts de Jour: We really need some formal mechanism for managing touts at tourist locations. The minute you reach a location, you are inundated by guides chasing you or people trying to sell you something. It gets really wearying.

Overall, I am happy that road trips in India are now an enjoyable possibility rather than a chore. I am planning my next trip for 2025. Suggestions are always welcome.

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