santoshr BHPian



Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Pune Posts: 130 Thanked: 111 Times

Solo : 3187 kms across Gujarat

it all started with me wanting to go with them,

it all started when I could not be a part of the convoy,

it all started when I could no longer control my urge to drive.

And it all started after the solo monsoon drive with HVK and gang, during this drive when I was alone in the car I felt at peace and more in sync with the Rapid. Absolutely loved the idea of doing solo runs. With the upgraded tires the car was performing beautifully and so it was a shame letting it rot in the garage and doing office - home runs everyday. The Rapid is a highway mile cruncher and does a wonderful job at that.



Ran into brochure/map of Gujarat being promoted for tourism and I must agree Mr Narendra Modi has done one hell of a job. He's sold whatever he's done not done whatever, but it totally works.







With that set in mind began scouting on the route updates and finer details. A couple of my friends at work were surprised I was doing something as big as 3000 kms and that too solo. I had faith in the car and in my driving skills, and had faith in the State and so I wasn't worried alot. I was bought up in Gujarat and so I knew the language I knew how people operate and what the psychology is. But even then 3k solo drive was something my friends at work had never heard off. And I was trying to convince them that I have a whole bunch of friends in the driving community who have done much much more than 3k solo drives.



Planed Itinerary

Day 1 - Pune - Abad - Patan -- Visit Stepwell @ Patan + Sun Temple @ Modhera on the way

Day 2 - Patan - Dholavira

-- Road according to the Google Maps this is 230 kms via Radhanpur.

Day 3 - Dholavira - Bhuj - Mandvi

Day 4 - Mandvi - Bhuj - Dwarka

Day 5 - Dwarka - Somnath

Day 6 - Junagadh - Lothal

Day 7 - Lothal - Pune



Leave Sunday and return the following Sunday was the plan. Got some basics check in place --



1. Torch

2. Money

3. Nitrogen top-up and spare tire check

4. Oil check

5. Copy of Mediclaim policy

6. All originals of the car

7. Cigarette Lighter



A day before the departure a friend walks up to me and says what all things have you planned, and pointed out tht I should always make sure I have a couple of thousands in the car. Make sure the back pack has a torch and a cigarette lighter. His philosophy simply being "Not being prepared is being foolish", kinda made sense. Also it was it his idea to setup a Facebook page, so that they could follow me and so that everybody would know where I am at.



And it was his brilliant idea to carry an extra mobile device, and so I borrowed a sim card from a relative. Now I had two devices both running 3g one on Windows and one on Android. Which made perfect sense, I could not be running my tracks on one, be updating the FB page (only possible via Android) and stay in touch with Family using Whtapp from the other phone. For maps depends on the Lumia which had better GPS connectivity.



And I believe this is an invaluable tip, if doing solo runs always carry two mobile devices possibly always keep one in the car. Both should have data connectivity, enough of battery juice and fully functional.



T-24 hrs --> Chocolates, Redbull, Water, Coke, Chakna, Cash, ATM card for two different accounts, Yellow tape on light, Papers, FB page setup, allignment balancing.

While the allignment balancing was happening booked my room at Hotel Tulshi @ Patan.



I know how to pack light and so I was only carrying a backup and snack/chakhna open bag. Both the bags were strapped to the pillion seat. And so my co-pilot became Bagwati.



Shared my route plans with the HVK team and they recommended I make a couple of changes --

Day 2 - Patan - Viramgham - Dhrangadra - Malia - Samikiyali - Dholavira

And

Day 3- Instead of staying in mandvi stay in Bhuj. And do Narayan Sarovar

And

Day 5 - Instead of staying put in Somnath, route back and stay in Junagadh

Day 6 - Instead of staying in Lothal which has no staying options, head towards Baroda - Surat and bunk there



And so my updated plan became -



Final Itinerary

Day 1 - Pune - Abad - Patan

Day 2 - Patan - Dholavira

Day 3 - Dholavira - Mandvi - Bhuj

Day 4 - Bhuj - Visit Narayan Sarovar - Dwarka

Day 5 - Dwarka - Visit Somnath - Junagadh

Day 6 - Junagadh - Visit Lothal - A'war

Day 7 - A'war - Pune



This made more sense, and sounded doable however this was not it was set to happen. Tried to get some rest the night before, my plan was to leave early morning by around 3-4 so that I can make it to Patan before Sun down. The same day my LEC friends were packed up and ready to leave from Mumbai.



Day 1



Because I was not able to sleep properly, left a couple of hours late. However that would mean I would miss the LEC kick off at Mumbai. So I was hoping I would skip the breakfast break and try and catch up to the convoy to atleast have Lunch together.



Began the journey at 5.09 AM, spent some time trying to get my applications going and realized I did not have a micro sd card on the Android and so I couldn't take pictures. The lumia worked but I could not post to my page on FB using lumia. Figdted around a bit did not want to waste time and so decided to move on.



The very first pic --





Mumbai Pune Express --







As I reached Fountain Hotel on Ghodbunder the LEC gang had already left and were an hour and a half ahead of me. I had to take a break at Lonavla and so I was now all guns blazing speeding at three digit speeds on NH8.



On NH8 towards Surat --







As I crossed Surat, the LEC group was already nearing A'war. Their lead was not mean to be, there had been reports of flooding in Bharuch and A'War which had resulted in the golden gate bridge cut off and so all the traffic was diverted onto the highway. This Jam had resulted in trucks backing up what was easily 10/15 kms, from the turn which breaks off into A'War trucks had lined up to get on the Bridge. Took the service road and by passed most of the traffic and their they were the LEC group. Dr Kamat in his Grande, Hirak and gang from Bangalore all waiting in line hoping the traffic moves. Thanks to the traffic I had caught up with them.

Finally there was a break and they were pushing cars onto the other side and letting them use the Two wheeler bridge. Rapid, Grande, SX4 cut across and were now on the other side passing the traffic by.



A few pics from the jam and us driving on the opposite side --













All that I had since morning was two cups of Tea and some dry snacks was hungry, however because these guys were running so late they decided to skip lunch and I trembled. But it made sense we had spent close to a couple of hours just crossing 2-5 kms and so it was necessary to make up time.

Gunned the accelertor once we crossed the bridge, it was breeze till we reached A'bad which is were we would seperate our ways. My route was to head to Go past A'bad -> Gandhinagar -> Mehsana -> Patan. I let the map do the talking as it guided me past A'bad towards Mehsana.



Interestingly as soon as we got on the Sardar ring road both me and Dr Kamat were fined a 100 bucks for having tinted glasses. This is also where Dr Kamat gave me a beating about why I was driving like a mad maniac, he din't know of my plans and so was a little angry why I was doing what I was doing.



As soon as we parted ways the jittery feeling in my stomach began. The sinking feeling that oops i am on my own now, its scary. Crossed the Gandhinagar circle and was now headed to Mehsana. A quick refuelling stop, and I was blindly following Nokia Drive till Mehsana. This is where things screwed up, the map started sending me inside mehsana into the lanes and gali gali. Turned around to come to the highway again, made a few enquiries called the hotel to confirm the route. Mehsana - Chanasma - Patan was the route, it was around 7.30ish and so I checked with the hotel. He re-affirmed that I should make it through and not stop at Mehsana.



Here I was now on SH 55, pitch dark with a few bikes around blindly following where the road took me. Finally some signage for Patan, checked into hotel tulsi at 8.45 PM. I had left at 5am and here I was in Patan close to a 1000 kms away having only had two cups of tea and a whole bunch of chakhna ( dry snacks in the car).



Took a quick shower to find out that the restaurant only served Punjabi food, which is such a big bore. I don't have anything against punjabi cuisine but when in Gujarat one must eat Gujarati food which is what I was expecting.



Conversation with HVK from Hotel Tulshi --

Quote: santosh -- Reached Patan. Lots of traffic in Bharuch so had to skip Modhera. Tomm step well and to Dholavira. Any tips on the route to Dholavira

Not sure if you recognized me, this is santosh. u helped me plan the route.

HVK - Yes off course I have your number saved.

santosh - Tomorrow will head to dholavira. Any pointers on the route to Dholavira

hvk - Patan - Viramgam - dhrangadara - Halvad - Maliya - Samikiyali .. Superb Roads.

Santosh - Cool Thanks, much appreciated.



Summary of Day 1 -

Day 1 - Pune - Via A'bad Ring road Mehsana - Patan

Distance - 784 kms

Time - 0600 to 2000 -> 14 hrs

Break - Tea and Looo break - Around 7isih @Food Mall after Lonavla

Tea - 12.00 @ Hare Krishna near Surat

3rd Break - Near Mehsana for refuel

Stay - Hotel Tulshi (850/Night )





Day 2



I had inquired the night before on the timings of the "Raani ni Vaav". Raani ni Vaav was the reason I was in Patan, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List and is one of the primary attractions in Gujarat. Started early as the roads to the Vaav was through the city, early morning hustle bustle people having their teas getting ready for another day in the office and here I was 800kms from my home on a solo mission.



Funny how these solo drives help give you perspective. So ya back to Raani ni Vaav, some background info here -



Checked out from the hotel at around 0800 and reach Raani ni Vaav in 10-15 minutes. Some pics as the day began --



Thats the car after 800 kms of rain and mud and traffic --









First look of the Raani ni Vaav. Entry fee is Rs. 5 was spic-n-span, Rs. 20 for Parking and since I went early apart from the security and the restoration guys it was totally deserted. I have had a few friends tell me that this place can get crowded on weekends and holidays and so early morning visits are recommended.

















The let you go down to the last level but the well itself is closed.





And that my friends is documentary evidence, I was there. heh





Felt all excited having completed the first goal of the trip. Raani ni Vaav in Patan ( check ).



Now I had to trace back my way out of the town, get on SH 7 again and start driving towards Viramgam. Because I late to reach on Day1 I had decided to knock Modhera Sun temple out, just did not have the time. However as soon as I turned towards Viramgam I saw signage for Modhera Sun temple and lo behold the second goal of the trip was back in the check list. 20 Minutes on SH7 towards Viramgam and I was in Modher, the temple was right on the road I was on.



Contd pics from Day 2 --



Beautiful SH7 from Patan - Viramgam





Sun Temple from the entrace





Beautiful architecture, the building on the left is the actual temple and the bbuilding on the right is the Sabha mandap made up 52 pillars representing the weeks in an year.







The path to enlightenment I am standing on the tropic of cancer, on the day of equinox sunlight would light up the diamond on top of the idol









Sun temple's VAAV. This vaav has 108 miniature temples which people used to pray at before taking bath in the vaav.







Do not forget to hire a guide while there, simply looking at the architecture is useless there are lots of minute things here which are noteworthy.



Having checked the next item on my list, all geared up to make it dholavira. However things did not go as planned. Read on.... It all started with a group of my friends going LEH,it all started with me wanting to go with them,it all started when I could not be a part of the convoy,it all started when I could no longer control my urge to drive.And it all started after the solo monsoon drive with HVK and gang, during this drive when I was alone in the car I felt at peace and more in sync with the Rapid. Absolutely loved the idea of doing solo runs. With the upgraded tires the car was performing beautifully and so it was a shame letting it rot in the garage and doing office - home runs everyday. The Rapid is a highway mile cruncher and does a wonderful job at that.Ran into brochure/map of Gujarat being promoted for tourism and I must agree Mr Narendra Modi has done one hell of a job. He's sold whatever he's done not done whatever, but it totally works.With that set in mind began scouting on the route updates and finer details. A couple of my friends at work were surprised I was doing something as big as 3000 kms and that too solo. I had faith in the car and in my driving skills, and had faith in the State and so I wasn't worried alot. I was bought up in Gujarat and so I knew the language I knew how people operate and what the psychology is. But even then 3k solo drive was something my friends at work had never heard off. And I was trying to convince them that I have a whole bunch of friends in the driving community who have done much much more than 3k solo drives.Day 1 - Pune - Abad - Patan -- Visit Stepwell @ Patan + Sun Temple @ Modhera on the wayDay 2 - Patan - Dholavira-- Road according to the Google Maps this is 230 kms via Radhanpur.Day 3 - Dholavira - Bhuj - MandviDay 4 - Mandvi - Bhuj - DwarkaDay 5 - Dwarka - SomnathDay 6 - Junagadh - LothalDay 7 - Lothal - PuneLeave Sunday and return the following Sunday was the plan. Got some basics check in place --1. Torch2. Money3. Nitrogen top-up and spare tire check4. Oil check5. Copy of Mediclaim policy6. All originals of the car7. Cigarette LighterA day before the departure a friend walks up to me and says what all things have you planned, and pointed out tht I should always make sure I have a couple of thousands in the car. Make sure the back pack has a torch and a cigarette lighter. His philosophy simply being "Not being prepared is being foolish", kinda made sense. Also it was it his idea to setup a Facebook page, so that they could follow me and so that everybody would know where I am at.And it was his brilliant idea to carry an extra mobile device, and so I borrowed a sim card from a relative. Now I had two devices both running 3g one on Windows and one on Android. Which made perfect sense, I could not be running my tracks on one, be updating the FB page (only possible via Android) and stay in touch with Family using Whtapp from the other phone. For maps depends on the Lumia which had better GPS connectivity.And I believe this is an invaluable tip, if doing solo runs always carry two mobile devices possibly always keep one in the car. Both should have data connectivity, enough of battery juice and fully functional.T-24 hrs --> Chocolates, Redbull, Water, Coke, Chakna, Cash, ATM card for two different accounts, Yellow tape on light, Papers, FB page setup, allignment balancing.While the allignment balancing was happening booked my room at Hotel Tulshi @ Patan.I know how to pack light and so I was only carrying a backup and snack/chakhna open bag. Both the bags were strapped to the pillion seat. And so my co-pilot became Bagwati.Shared my route plans with the HVK team and they recommended I make a couple of changes --Day 2 - Patan - Viramgham - Dhrangadra - Malia - Samikiyali - DholaviraAndDay 3- Instead of staying in mandvi stay in Bhuj. And do Narayan SarovarAndDay 5 - Instead of staying put in Somnath, route back and stay in JunagadhDay 6 - Instead of staying in Lothal which has no staying options, head towards Baroda - Surat and bunk thereAnd so my updated plan became -Day 1 - Pune - Abad - PatanDay 2 - Patan - DholaviraDay 3 - Dholavira - Mandvi - BhujDay 4 - Bhuj - Visit Narayan Sarovar - DwarkaDay 5 - Dwarka - Visit Somnath - JunagadhDay 6 - Junagadh - Visit Lothal - A'warDay 7 - A'war - PuneThis made more sense, and sounded doable however this was not it was set to happen. Tried to get some rest the night before, my plan was to leave early morning by around 3-4 so that I can make it to Patan before Sun down. The same day my LEC friends were packed up and ready to leave from Mumbai.Because I was not able to sleep properly, left a couple of hours late. However that would mean I would miss the LEC kick off at Mumbai. So I was hoping I would skip the breakfast break and try and catch up to the convoy to atleast have Lunch together.Began the journey at 5.09 AM, spent some time trying to get my applications going and realized I did not have a micro sd card on the Android and so I couldn't take pictures. The lumia worked but I could not post to my page on FB using lumia. Figdted around a bit did not want to waste time and so decided to move on.The very first pic --Mumbai Pune Express --As I reached Fountain Hotel on Ghodbunder the LEC gang had already left and were an hour and a half ahead of me. I had to take a break at Lonavla and so I was now all guns blazing speeding at three digit speeds on NH8.On NH8 towards Surat --As I crossed Surat, the LEC group was already nearing A'war. Their lead was not mean to be, there had been reports of flooding in Bharuch and A'War which had resulted in the golden gate bridge cut off and so all the traffic was diverted onto the highway. This Jam had resulted in trucks backing up what was easily 10/15 kms, from the turn which breaks off into A'War trucks had lined up to get on the Bridge. Took the service road and by passed most of the traffic and their they were the LEC group. Dr Kamat in his Grande, Hirak and gang from Bangalore all waiting in line hoping the traffic moves. Thanks to the traffic I had caught up with them.Finally there was a break and they were pushing cars onto the other side and letting them use the Two wheeler bridge. Rapid, Grande, SX4 cut across and were now on the other side passing the traffic by.A few pics from the jam and us driving on the opposite side --All that I had since morning was two cups of Tea and some dry snacks was hungry, however because these guys were running so late they decided to skip lunch and I trembled. But it made sense we had spent close to a couple of hours just crossing 2-5 kms and so it was necessary to make up time.Gunned the accelertor once we crossed the bridge, it was breeze till we reached A'bad which is were we would seperate our ways. My route was to head to Go past A'bad -> Gandhinagar -> Mehsana -> Patan. I let the map do the talking as it guided me past A'bad towards Mehsana.Interestingly as soon as we got on the Sardar ring road both me and Dr Kamat were fined a 100 bucks for having tinted glasses. This is also where Dr Kamat gave me a beating about why I was driving like a mad maniac, he din't know of my plans and so was a little angry why I was doing what I was doing.As soon as we parted ways the jittery feeling in my stomach began. The sinking feeling that oops i am on my own now, its scary. Crossed the Gandhinagar circle and was now headed to Mehsana. A quick refuelling stop, and I was blindly following Nokia Drive till Mehsana. This is where things screwed up, the map started sending me inside mehsana into the lanes and gali gali. Turned around to come to the highway again, made a few enquiries called the hotel to confirm the route. Mehsana - Chanasma - Patan was the route, it was around 7.30ish and so I checked with the hotel. He re-affirmed that I should make it through and not stop at Mehsana.Here I was now on SH 55, pitch dark with a few bikes around blindly following where the road took me. Finally some signage for Patan, checked into hotel tulsi at 8.45 PM. I had left at 5am and here I was in Patan close to a 1000 kms away having only had two cups of tea and a whole bunch of chakhna ( dry snacks in the car).Took a quick shower to find out that the restaurant only served Punjabi food, which is such a big bore. I don't have anything against punjabi cuisine but when in Gujarat one must eat Gujarati food which is what I was expecting.Conversation with HVK from Hotel Tulshi --Now that I knew the route, traced it on the map and decided to call it a day.Summary of Day 1 -Day 1 - Pune - Via A'bad Ring road Mehsana - PatanDistance - 784 kmsTime - 0600 to 2000 -> 14 hrsBreak - Tea and Looo break - Around 7isih @Food Mall after LonavlaTea - 12.00 @ Hare Krishna near Surat3rd Break - Near Mehsana for refuelStay - Hotel Tulshi (850/Night )I had inquired the night before on the timings of the "Raani ni Vaav". Raani ni Vaav was the reason I was in Patan, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List and is one of the primary attractions in Gujarat. Started early as the roads to the Vaav was through the city, early morning hustle bustle people having their teas getting ready for another day in the office and here I was 800kms from my home on a solo mission.Funny how these solo drives help give you perspective. So ya back to Raani ni Vaav, some background info here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_ki_vav Checked out from the hotel at around 0800 and reach Raani ni Vaav in 10-15 minutes. Some pics as the day began --Thats the car after 800 kms of rain and mud and traffic --First look of the Raani ni Vaav. Entry fee is Rs. 5 was spic-n-span, Rs. 20 for Parking and since I went early apart from the security and the restoration guys it was totally deserted. I have had a few friends tell me that this place can get crowded on weekends and holidays and so early morning visits are recommended.The let you go down to the last level but the well itself is closed.And that my friends is documentary evidence, I was there. hehFelt all excited having completed the first goal of the trip. Raani ni Vaav in Patan ( check ).Now I had to trace back my way out of the town, get on SH 7 again and start driving towards Viramgam. Because I late to reach on Day1 I had decided to knock Modhera Sun temple out, just did not have the time. However as soon as I turned towards Viramgam I saw signage for Modhera Sun temple and lo behold the second goal of the trip was back in the check list.20 Minutes on SH7 towards Viramgam and I was in Modher, the temple was right on the road I was on.Contd pics from Day 2 --Beautiful SH7 from Patan - ViramgamSun Temple from the entraceBeautiful architecture, the building on the left is the actual temple and the bbuilding on the right is the Sabha mandap made up 52 pillars representing the weeks in an year.The path to enlightenmentI am standing on the tropic of cancer, on the day of equinox sunlight would light up the diamond on top of the idolSun temple's VAAV. This vaav has 108 miniature temples which people used to pray at before taking bath in the vaav.Do not forget to hire a guide while there, simply looking at the architecture is useless there are lots of minute things here which are noteworthy.Having checked the next item on my list, all geared up to make it dholavira. However things did not go as planned. Read on.... Last edited by GTO : 10th October 2013 at 15:21 . Reason: Please avoid using inappropriate words (s**t). Thanks