(Sorry for the delay guys photobucket was crawling for 2 days then i tried picasa but could not generate the thumbnail code so i tried photobucket again and its working fine so here goes)
After a lot of thought, I ended up with loop in the name. So that it sounds like a series from the same guy.
As quite a few of you may know. It has been my intention to drive to Ladakh for the past 2 years and I was finally able to do it in June 2008. The experience has been incredible and to be honest I think I will redo it again if my timing allows me to. Next time in a four wheel drive and a little more adventure thrown in.
So the trip log as promised, I intend to keep it short and sweet without going overboard with the details or u guys might fall asleep at your pc’s.
There were 2 cars and 3 families involved. One Scorpio CRDe and one Innova Petrol. I am sure most of u will be as stunned as the fuel attendants who would see an Innova pull up in front of the petrol kiosk but that’s how it was.
Day 1: Mumbai – Udaipur. 700 km. 12 hours (all distances and timings will be rounded up to approximate)
There was unrest at Rajasthan so we thought of skipping Jaipur and carrying on to Agra. However instead of heading to Agra via Indore we thought of using the GQ until Udaipur and the proceeding to Agra via Kota and Gwalior. The road to Udaipur had been brilliant last year but this year Gujarat is 6 laning a major stretch on the highway between Surat and Baroda and it is pretty messy at the moment. Progress was slow and not as fast as expected. Did some lake side sightseeing of Udaipur in the evening and called it a day.
We stayed at hotel Swaroop Vilas beside Lake Swaroop Sagar. Nice comfy Air conditioned rooms for 2000 per room. (please note a little amount of haggling was involved at all hotels and since we were taking 3 rooms in all places the rates were lowered further).
Jag Mandir Palace
Day 2: Udaipur – Agra. To hell with the distance. We started at 6 in the morning and reached at 2 the next morning.
Udaipur to Chittaurgarh the road is brilliantly four laned but thereafter until shivpuri there is a lot of work in progress and in less than 2 years the road should be brilliantly 4 laned but at the moment it is non existent and we were cursing our misfortune. Managed to reach Agra somehow and check in to hotel Amar. It was a good 3 star hotel with air conditioned rooms for 2000 on a twin sharing and 2400 for triple.
Day 3: Agra.
Since it had been a long drive the previous day we all took it easy and went around Agra. Had a look at the baby taj and the Agra Red Fort. Had an early dinner and were off to bed to see the Taj Mahal early the next morning.
Red Fort
Taj Mahal
Baby Taj
Day 4: Agra – Delhi via Mathura and Vrindavan.
All were up early the next morning to see the Taj. 8 family members and a guide squashed into the innova, driving towards the Taj Mahal and bam. We hit a big stone that had been placed on the road at a circle and was only visible at the last minute. The right rear tyre had a major hit and suffered a puncture. So after a quick tyre change we continued further to gaze at one of the 7 wonders of the world and there it was basking under the rising sun. I wont continue describing the taj, hope my photos will do that for you.
After The Taj it was time for breakfast, puncture repair and off we were to see Mathura and Vrindavan. Due to the slight delay in schedule we made it to Mathura in the afternoon and most of the temples were shut. So we just had a doordarshan of the temples and continued to Delhi. For your reference the interesting temples of Mathura and Vrindavan are: Krishna Balaram Temple, Krishna Temple, Pagal Baba Temple and Rangaji Temple. Actually all of these are at Vindavan and mathura is one big mess if u intend to drive thru it in an SUV. So stick to Vrindavan and u will be satisfied. I shall repeat this take all possible measures to avoid driving thru Mathura. Gokul the birth place of lord Krishna is nearby and so is Govardhan Parbath ( the one he lifted on his finger) but we decided to skip it.
Up next was the drive to Delhi and we went and parked ourselves at India Gate for a round of Photography in the evening. Checked in to hotel 55 at Connaught Place near Picadelhi. It was a compromise in terms of standard but was alright for 2400 a room.
After freshening up, everyone felt like having kebabs so after enquiries at the front desk we were off in the Delhi metro towards Chandni Chowk. The metro sure does make an Indian feel proud. It does announce that ‘India has Arrived’ as far as urban transport infrastructure is concerned. Hope the Mumbai Metro evokes the same feeling once it is operational.
The walk from Chandni Chowk to Karims was like Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai and I was praying that it better be a good place or I would be stoned to death by 7 hungry people at the Jama Masjid. However Karims sure did live up to its expectations and everyone rode back to Connaught Place in the auto with a smile of contention and an overstuffed stomach.
At Karims
Day 5: Delhi
The best way to see delhi (or any other city) in a day is to take a bus tour (Rs. 200 oer head Air Conditioned) which is what we did. The Bus tour covered: Birla Temple, Indira Gandhi Memorial, Rajpath, India Gate, Lunch (charged as per order), Doordarshan of other important places, embassies etc, Qutab Minar, Bahai/Lotus Temple and it ends at the Red Fort. One may enter the Red Fort to See the sound and light show if they desire to or the Bus will drop u off at the Pick up point or any other convenient place.
India Gate
Indira Gandhi Memorial
Qutab Minar
Birla Temple
Lotus Temple
Rajpath
This is a series down the same yellow Line
Day 6: Delhi – Chandigarh.
An early morning start from delhi to avoid getting stuck at Panipat saw us reach Chandigarh and check in to hotel Jalandhar by noon. A triple sharing room was for 1600 and twin for 1400, all clean rooms with AC. If your standard is high you may opt for hotel Sunbeam right next door with a more polished feel and tariff. The food at hotel Jalandhar was pretty good but a little pricey when compared to the tariff. We relaxed a bit and headed off to Rock Garden at 1500 hrs. Spent some time there and drove around the secretariat and High Court (the last 2 can be skipped). We were at Sukhna Lake for a while and headed back to the hotel. Chandigarh does not offer a lot to tourists but all of us fell in love with the city. It is AMAZING. No other city that I have been to is as simplistically yet efficiently laid out like it. Everything is in blocks and the road network is just like a matrix criss crossing all over.
Rock Garden
Chandigarh High Court
Its Called the Hand
Day 7: Chandigarh – Amritsar
Another early morning start saw us reach Amritsar by noon. A word of Caution to all Car tourers. The Old City around The Golden Temple is one big mess. There are car parks around the outskirts where u must park your car and take a cycle rickshaw or walk upto the temple. After debating whether or not to spend the night at Amritsar we stumbled upon hotel City Heart which is about 100 metres away from Jallian Wallah Bagh. It is really well done and the tariff was about 1200 per room, with AC. Once u have confirmed your booking at a hotel in the old city u may drive in to offload your luggage. The hoteliers have a tie up with the traffic police for that. Amritsar is best avoided in the summers and if u do go there in the summer please avoid the afternoons. The heat is really scorching, we had no choice but to bear with it. After visiting Jallian Wallah Bagh and the Golden Temple we pushed off to the Wagah Border for the Change of Guard Ceremony. The Grand Stand for the general public does not offer an exceptional view and it would be advisable to make use of Army contacts (if u have any) to get to the good seats reserved for VIP’s etc. The whole atmosphere is really charged up throughout the ceremony and u will automatically find yourself screaming Hindustan Zindaband and Vande Mataram along with the crowd. The ceremony starts at around sunset but it is advisable to leave Amritsar by 1600 hrs., latest, so that u can get a better seat (which will still leave u wanting a better one).
Wagah Border
Golden Temple
Day 8: Amritsar – Srinagar
My dad and I had been keeping a tab on JK registered cars at Wagah border and all conversations with their drivers left us feeling that Amritsar to Sinagar is not doable in a day. It left me wondering if I had bitten off more than I could chew in my planning. However we decided to start at 0500 in the morning and see how it goes. We kept our pace steady and were able to make it to Kashmir Valley (it starts after u cross the Jawahar Tunnel) by 1700. After which it is another 2 hour+ drive to Srinagar. After scratching our heads regarding where to stay we finally settled into a houseboat at Dal Lake. At 2500 a room it was an amazing experience one which my family and I wish to experience for a longer duration in a more relaxed state in the future.
Houseboats typically have a Living room, Dining hall and 3 bedrooms. The biggest one has 7 bedrooms but 3 is the regular number. The boat is lavishly decorated and carpeted and shoes are to be placed at the entrance. A tip for people who go boat hunting at night. If the light (usually a bulb) at the front entrance of the boat is kept lit it means that they have a vacant room and u can ask the shikara wallah ferrying u around to take u to it. Usually most boat operators have tie ups with the shikaras and u wont have to bother much.
Day 9: Srinagar
We just took it easy for the day and took a Shikara ride of Dal Lake in the morning/afternoon. Our boat owner agreed to be our guide and took us around Srinagar. To be honest I’d recommend lounging in the houseboat instead of driving arond coz mostly u will be seeing gardens which will be way too crowded and u wont be seeing anything spectacular. There is a fort at hari parbat hill which should offer spectacular views but we decided against it to recuperate (coz we had been drained at Amritsar due to the heat and the subsequent drive to Srinagar the next day) and conserve our energy for the road to Leh.
To be continued....
please give me time to sort the photos
i realized that if i put a lot of photos on a thread it opens slowly on some people PC's so i have switched over to thumbnails.
