Ever since I read about Nidhi Salgame's all-women contingent covering Delhi to London by Car (listen to the podcast episode), I had an adrenaline rush to make it happen someday. It involves a lot of precise planning such as duration, route, countries, visa, documents, approvals, sponsors, an SUV, and some disposal income by your side, but the most important thing that one needs to have is the "self-confidence" that can't be purchased. It is this self-confidence that separates you from others. And that confidence arises only from experience.
Yes! A first-hand experience to cover a road trip spanned across states, lifestyles, cultures, landscapes, and varying weather.
A wishful desire to cover Delhi-London by car gave me wings to plan my next trip, which is a 1400 KM journey spanned across 5 states with changing landscapes, varying lifestyles, food choices, and demanding weather.
It's going to be Mumbai-Delhi by Car this time.
>>>How did this journey come on board?
Jay, my MBA amigo, recently got a job opportunity in Gurugram (Haryana). As the work required him to travel, he needed his car. Being a resident of Kalyan (50 Km from Mumbai), he desired to bring his car to Gurugram. The moment he shared this information with me, I got a cue.
"How about driving from Mumbai to Delhi?", I suggested. At first, he was skeptical of the idea, but after weighing various options to port a car and the overall cost structure involved, he agreed to what I suggested. (It wasn't easy at all. It took me 2 months of constant poking him like a parasite to get him on board).
Being residents of Metropolitan cities, we are occasional drivers. So, to drive for 1500 KM had our mental blocks. But as Ankur Warikoo shared a maxim in his book Do Epic Shit, "Stop worrying and start anticipating the future", we were on it. We knew it was going to be physically exhausting and mentally demanding, but we were more focused on enjoying the journey than reaching our destination.
Following this was a round of multiple coffee meets across Connaught Place to plan the 1500 KM drive from India's financial capital to its political capital.
>>>Planning
While planning for the entire trip, we were clear of 3 things in our minds:
cost-effectiveness, time-effectiveness, and exploration.
To travel from Mumbai-Delhi (or vice-versa) there are 3 routes to choose from. These are well connected with basic amenities to help travellers enjoy a comfortable travel.
- Route 1: Mumbai (Maharashtra)-Surat-Bharuch-Vadodara-Anand-Ahemdabad-Himmatnagar (Gujarat)-Udaipur-Bhilwara-Ajmer-Jaipur (Rajasthan)-Gurgaon (Haryana)-Delhi. 1418 KM
- Route 2: Mumbai (Maharashtra)-Silvasa (Daman)-Surat-Bharuch-Vadodara-Anand-Ahemdabad-Himmatnagar (Gujarat)-Udaipur-Bhilwara-Deoli-Dausa-Jaipur (Rajasthan)-Gurgaon (Haryana)-Delhi. 1450 KM
- Route 3: Mumbai-Nasik (Maharashtra)-Indore-Kota-Sawai Madhopur-Alwar (Rajasthan)-Delhi- 1418 KM
We opted for the 2nd route because:
Cost Effectiveness: Refuelling at Silvassa (3 Km from Gujarat border) with a petrol cost of Rs 94.43 per L. It helped us save approx 3K in overall fuel costs.
Time Effectiveness: The last leg of the route (Dausa-Gurugram) is covered via a newly built section of NE4 (projected to connect Delhi-Mumbai) for a whopping 180 KM on an 8-lane expressway. Smooth drive like butter.
Exploration- We zeroed in to explore Silvassa, Ahmedabad, and Udaipur as we've never been to these places. Also, someone suggested we stay in a hostel in Udaipur and explore the city like a nomad.
Hence, we divided the entire trip into 5 phases.
Delhi-Kalyan: I had to opt for a Train (Rajdhani from Hazrat Nizamuddin) to reach Kalyan (Jay's hometown).
Mumbai: Explore the not-so-touristy things in Mumbai. Do it like a local off-beat style for 2 days.
Kalyan-Ahmedabad: 590 Km via Car. Explore Silvassa. Stay in Gujarat City and explore.
Ahmedabad-Udaipur: 275 Km via Car. Stay in Rajasthan City and explore.
Udaipur-Delhi: 682 Km via Car. Back to Home.
In this Part I, you'll get to know about first two phases. I've covered rest of the phases in Part II of this travel series.
>>>Delhi to Kalyan, Maharashtra
I had opted to travel via Rajdhani Express from Delhi to Kalyan. I boarded the train on 9th Feb from Hazrat Nizamuddin Station at 4:55 PM. Rajdhani offers a dynamic fare, and it cost me Rs 3300/-. The train took 17 hours to cover a distance of 1485 KM. It traversed from Delhi-Agra-Gwalior-Jhansi-Bhopal-Jalgaon-Nasik-Kalyan-Mumbai.
I had a comfortable stay during the journey as my fellow passengers in the compartment were very interested in bonding over the conversation. An entrepreneur who hails from Meerut was accompanied by his homemaker wife and an engineer son. The other couple, a navy official, and his wife were traveling along with their 6-year-old son and 2-month-old daughter. Along with us, there was an artisan from Modinagar (UP).
17 hours is a long time to spend with unknown people. I had two options. Either to plug in my Airpods and read a book or be involved in a mindful conversation with these people who hail from various walks of life and surely have a different course of journey from mine. I opted for the latter one and the 17 hours journey went like that.
It made me realize that everyone has a story to tell. All it needs is an ear to hear and confidence to begin a conversation.
Note: Apart from the packed food that IRCTC procures from vendors, the loose (prepared) item sucks, especially at dinner and breakfast. I'd suggest travelers carry their stuff to munch upon rather than paying Rs 400/- (optional in ticket) for rail food.
>>>Exploring Mumbai
The train reached Kalyan at 10:30 AM with a 30-mins delay from its scheduled arrival time which is bearable citing the foggy weather during the route. The moment I entered the platform premises I was stunned by the pace at which people were moving here and there. I could easily feel a rush in the nerves of Maharashtra. I enjoyed the first vibe I got.
Note: Due to a flyover construction at Kalyan Station, it's advisable to avoid pick-up/drop from a car. Better to use Auto which also runs on a shared basis that'll hardly cost you Rs 15-20 to reach your last-mile location.
I reached Jay's place and exchanged greetings with his father. We had Dhokla and Samosa for breakfast, followed by home-cooked Dal, Aloo-Beans Sabji, and Chapati for lunch. I decided to take a nap before we headed on to our Mumbai Darshan in a not-so-touristy style.
Feeling freshened up after a nap, we embarked on our journey. We took a shared Auto from his place to reach Kalyan Station and hopped onto MUMBAI LOCAL TRAIN. I've had so many preconceived notions about the Local Train journey as shown in movies and series. What's better to explore the city via Local Journey? It's an amazing one-of-a-kind experience that is way different from Delhi Metro.
The train offered various changing landscapes from pond to sea, high-rises to chawls, suburbs to rural, hilly to barren land amid a chaotic yet chattery liveliness of the lives of Mumbaikars. Being a resident of Delhi, I was amused by the way people of Mumbai interact with each other. It's a blend of politeness with rudeness, along with a deep touch of humility to assist and build a conversation with fellow passengers.
The local took 1 hr 25 mins to cover a distance of 54 Km from Kalyan to CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) earlier known as CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) or VT (Victoria Terminus) and cost us Rs 15/-.
From CST we took another local to Bandra to try mouth-watering Bombay Sandwich while embracing the beauty of Bandra's Band Stand Area. The area holds the house of Shah Rukh Khan alongside Taj's Lands End Hotel. I assumed the place to be a perfect spot for earning morning runners and joggers. The Sandwich cost less than Rs 100 along with a cutting chai of Rs 6. Cost-effective yet full-filling.
Our next step was in South Bombay's Colaba. To reach our destination, we took a Local from Bandra to CSMT followed by a Taxi. This place witnessed the terrorist attack of 26/11 and still holds the bullet marks fired across the cafe. It was my sole reason for visiting the cafe to see the marks apart from it being a heritage Irani cafe dated way back in 1871. The slightly renovated cafe speaks of its rich heritage and history through its old-styled Iranian architecture. It's Leopold Cafe. After waiting for almost 20 mins it was our turn to hold the table amid a jam-packed cafe bursting with city life. We ordered their Special Pizza alongside a glass of Budweiser and Old Monk to cheers for an amazing start to the journey. The feast cost us Rs 1900/-.
It was midnight late and we were roaming the street of Colaba to book our taxi to CSMT to catch the last local at 12:20 AM to Kalyan. Believe me when I say this, even at this odd time the city was burstling with liveliness. You couldn't feel lost/alone/scared/anxious even if you were traveling on your own. And that's what I experienced while we boarded last local for the day. We reached home by 2 PM and were done for the day.
I was tired but excited to embrace the journey that we were about to cover in the coming days.
>>>Exploring Mumbai (offbeat)
We started the day at 10:00 AM with a quick breakfast of soaked dry fruits, dhokla, and hot Bournvita milk. We followed the same journey from Kalyan to CST to reach our first destination scheduled for the day. But before that, we took a detour and explored the Palika-Bazaar-styled market spanned across the subway under CST. We munched on Mumbai's famous Pav Bhaji by Canon served by an all-women staff. We also tried Veg Frankie at the adjacent outlet before heading to our destination.
The next stop is to visit Starbucks's first-ever Reserve outlet in India which is located at Fort, Mumbai. We tried its SHC (Signature Hot Chocolate) there and satisfied our craving for sipping at Starbucks in Mumbai. On our way back we saw a live shooting of "Astral Pipes" ad featuring South Star Allu Arjun.
Moving forward was our time to experience the newly launched Double Decker E-Buses. I have a childlike curiosity to sit on the upper side of the double-decker at the front desk and explore the city. And that's what I did. We hopped from Fort and opted for a last stop at Back Bay Depot, Colaba, and hopped again from Colaba Depot to the Cricket Club of India stop. CCI stands just opposite the magnificent sea line at Nariman Point/Marine Drive lane. The view was surreal and was perfectly supported by the pleasant weather out there.
Imagine sitting at the Marine Drive, observing the endless Arabian Sea that touches the base at Mumbai's Nariman Point with a Cutting Chai in your hand, and you are involved in endless conversation about love, life, and suggestions with your best friend. As for me, it's the only place in Mumbai where one could easily let go of the pile of burden for some time while immersing oneself in the serenity of the sea. It simply asks you to dream, plan, execute, and feel your life. And this is exactly what I was doing.
We moved to our next destination which is Pizza By The Bay at the Marine Drive. The place offers a beautiful panoramic view of the Mumbai and Sea in one go. One could easily embrace the view along with a Mocha and their Chef's Pizza on the go. It was mouthwatering and so did the price. It cost us Rs 2000/- for 2 Mocha and a Pizza. (Mumbai houses the cheapest and the most expensive food at the same go).
From there we decided to walk towards CST (1.5 KM barely) and explore the city by foot. We came across Fashion Street (FS, just like Janpath Market in Delhi), Azad Maidan (where almost every Mumbai Cricketer must've played at least one game), Bombay Gymkhana (opposite the Azad Maidaan), and the famous Khao Gali at Marine Lines.
With this, we took the locals from CST to Kalyan and ended our 2nd day in Mumbai with a Vada Pav. Amid a mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety, we called it a day by 10 PM and brazen ourselves up for the most exciting phase of this journey, the 1500 KM Drive.
The most amazing yet exciting part I yet to come.
Stay Tuned for Part II. Releasing Soon.
Cheers!
Mayank
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