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Embarking on 3200 km solo road trip to Rishikesh in my Toyota Fortuner

12th October 2024, 14:35 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

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One of the things that assured me that I could accomplish this task was the fact that I was driving a reliable Toyota. My 4x4 automatic SUV always felt at home.

BHPian adityaNview recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Statement by Me: "I have a Twin Flames Retreat in Rishikesh"

Reply : "Oh Wonderful"

"I feel like driving down to Rishikesh from Raipur"

"How many of you will be travelling?"

"I will be travelling alone"

"I hope that you are taking a driver with you!"

"Nope! I plan to take this trip alone with Krishna {God} as my companion"

"ARE YOU MAD?"

I had this one conversation with almost every family member and most friends. Some asked me to consider alternate means of travel like flights, however, being a diesel-head, all I could feel is "the heart wants what the heart wants".

I had skipped introducing myself to this beautiful forum earlier and therefore I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself.

I am Aditya Agrawal, M, 34 Years, resident of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. I have studied law and pursued business, but I am now a full-time professional tarot read. I am also pursuing my Twin Flame Journey. I am not sure if many members here are aware of it, but if they are curious, I would love to talk to you about it. Just for reference, it is a journey we take to undergo a transformation whereby we follow our heart by feeling things, instead of applying logic or mind. No, we do not give up or relinquish money, assets, and family, instead, we explore more and more things about ourselves with a heart full of love and compassion. Lastly, we pursue our eternal romantic interest who shares the same core values as us, making them the only person sharing our exact soul blueprint.

The retreat was taking place at a resort near Rishikesh, Shaantam Resort and Spa, between 15th and 17th September, 2024, whereby, a group of around 40-45 people were getting together to learn more things and share their life stories.

I was ready with my trusted life ride, a Sept 2023 purchased, Black Toyota Fortuner 4X4 AT with only 35000 Kms under its belt. It was also supposed to celebrate my car's 1st Birthday.

Just for reference, this is my 3rd Fortuner in a row and trust me, I have tried a lot of vehicles in between but could not buy another car because of my love affair with Fortuner.

I have been always under the watchful eyes of my parents. And this decision to drive alone was constantly met with fearing question of uncertainty. What if you meet with an accident? What if you get stopped by strangers and robbed? What if your vehicle breaks down on the way? What if you encounter a puncture on a lonely road? What if you face road rage by locals? And many more.

To be very honest, I was beginning to doubt myself. These "concerns" were scaring me. However, when I looked within me, I was an optimist. All fear and doubt vanished when I realised that I, as a tarot reader, was supposed to help people face their fears, and if were to let this fear cripple me, I wouldn't be able to meet my eyes and compromising on that self-respect was not an option.

I also had this desire in me to achieve my goals, once I have set them, in real-time instead of postponing them into the future.

I have read a lot of travelogues on TeamBhp over the years and somehow, it had planted a seed in me too to drive and explore the country.

The plan was set in place. I started riding on 13th September, in the afternoon, to reach Jabalpur and stay there for the night. Total drive time 6 hours, 349 Kms, with one short tea break at Hotel Nataraj in Chilphi Ghati.

I started around 8 in the morning towards Rishikesh. I had hoped to reach Rishikesh by late night. I was under the assumption that I would be able to drive for 1100 Kms at a stretch and if not I would stay put in Delhi. Due to some error, I found myself on the Old Delhi Road from Agra instead of the Yamuna Expressway which I had intended to use. Jabalpur to Jhanki was slow and through lots of small villages. Gwalior to Agra and ahead was a hectic patch with thousands of trucks and high traffic reducing my speed drastically.

I saw Vrindavan on the way and instinctively turned towards the directed path to visit and pay my respects to Krishna Ji. I stayed there that night and it was a wonderful experience.

I had the opportunity to visit The Banke Bihari Temple. I attended the Aarti as well by God's grace because I reached it at the opportune time. Being a weekend, the whole place was jam-packed with thousands of devotees. There was a lot of rush and no place to get in. A didi, who visited daily, held my hand and took me inside the temple. I feel blessed to have felt the surreal vibrations that the place holds. After a very quick visit to Nidhi Van, on the insistence of my mother, I started my journey towards Rishikesh.

Starting from Vrindavan, I quickly encountered good roads leading to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway leading directly to the Delhi - Meerut expressway. It was my second time on such large expressways and therefore I was a little overwhelmed. I was astounded by the speed with which we were covering long distances.

Entering Uttarakhand was magical. There is a reason why it is called God's own land. The air was fresh, the traffic was light, and the feeling was surreal. I quickly made it to Haridwar and moved through Rajaji National Park for my destination. It's a beautiful green corridor with narrow, not-so-good roads but with beautiful scenery.

I reached the resort around 4 PM. I had covered 1461 Kms in the past 48 hours and I was proud of myself.

The next three nights we stayed in the resort with little to no driving.

When I was supposed to start my return journey, two friends joined in to ride with me to Delhi. What was supposed to be a 7 hours ride, soon turned into 15 hours. We went to Mahakal Temple near Rishikesh, followed by Chaetti ghat. One of my friends, suggested we take Canal Road towards Haridwar which meant driving approx 40 kms next to a Canal with Ganga water being taken places. This was mesmerising. Since it was pitrapaksh period, we decided to stop at Haridwar for a dip in the Ganges and perform Pind Dan for our ancestors. We were again lucky to fetch the last Gondola ride to Mansa Devi Temple in Haridwar, which is located on a hill top. We reached Delhi at 2 AM.

The next day, I started with a heavy heart towards Raipur. I again took the Western Peripheral Road, which was followed by Yamuna Expressway (YAY), then the Agra - Lucknow Expressway and finally, the Bundelkhand Expressway. I drove for about 8 hours, covering 700 Kms. I stayed at a small town Chitrakoot, on the Madhya Pradesh - Uttar Pradesh border. I wanted to continue driving but was suggested by my brother to rest as it was entirely safe to cross the Panna Forest region past midnight.

I couldn't sleep that night and hence was back on the road at 6 in the morning crossing Satna, Kanti, Jabalpur and Chilphi Ghati to reach Raipur by 6 in the evening.

Total Distance covered was 3189 Kms. I was happy that I was not stopped, not even once, at any check post or state border crossings. I found one puncture two days later in Raipur and got it fixed immediately.

Personal Thoughts:

In hindsight, I should have taken the car to the showroom for a check-up or at the very least could have checked the tyres and their pressure. I did not.
One thing I realised on this trip is that Google Maps have improved tremendously over time and the time that they show is now more practical and the difference between my travel time and the time they estimated was very minimal. I am not a frequent Google Maps User and therefore I had assumed that the estimated time of arrival will reduce significantly as the travel progressed.
I could have taken an alternate route from Raipur Via Nagpur or Seoni too. However, somehow, I just did not feel it.
The mental attitude matters a lot. I have seen it and have felt that a positive mindset can work wonders for you. When you are negative, you are bound to attract negativity in your life.
The people in India are friendly and helpful. At every turn I took, never did I encounter a bad person or foul person. It was a delight to travel. People here amaze me with the help that they provide. I was offered help by a politician, an unknown one, in the middle of nowhere, near Damoh, whereby that person took a detour of 10-15 kms in the opposite direction just to help me reach a particular road. Another incident included a hotel manager who stayed awake to serve me dinner and show me my room in Chitrakoot, late at night.
It never occurred to me but I realise it now that being a member, of this beautiful forum, I could have received a lot of help if the need had arisen.

Personal Notes on my ride, The Butch Fortuner

The car felt at home always. Be it the expressways, the village roads, single-lane highways, the mountain roads and ghats, and the river bed. There are some areas near Rishikesh where we could take Fortuner down to the River Ganga. It would classify under mild off-roading and I had a great time manoeuvring the car.
In comparison to the previous generation (a White 2017 Toyota Fortuner AT 4X2), the current generation Fortuner has improved upon the ride significantly. It wasn't as harsh as before. Road cuts and joints did not feel that significant in this one. This one has a softer ride which is way more bearable than the last one. However, as a result of the softer ride, the handling isn't as great as the last generation.
I got 11.9 Kmpl as mileage. I paid approx Rs. 25000/- as fuel expenses.
Personally, in the last 16 years, I have driven upwards of 6 lakhs kms, but never wandered off alone to any remote corners in the country. One of the things assuring me that I could accomplish this task was the fact that I was driving a reliable Toyota. I understand that it all comes down to the driver, but still, it helps when the car is reliable.
I never felt any backache. I did find my right shoulder numbing out a little with all the driving around.
I have nothing but high praises for selecting this car as my ride. With so much sentimental value attached, I have never felt this attached to any other car.

Time for some pictures