Bulls on Parade to Udaipur

The Udaipur Upbeats

15 Aug - 18 Aug 2013

Rajasthan. A land of many wonders. It never ceases to amaze. BoP has always felt very close with the state. So after almost a year long hiatus, the chance of a ride happened, it was the obvious choice. Also, the recent Uttarakhand floods had tilted us more against the hills.

Then another problem occurred. Which place? We had covered almost the entire state with our rides. Only two places were left to explore. Udaipur and Jaisalmer. Both very attractive destinations and both far, far away. Our longest stretch on a single day had been close to 600 kms. The closer among the two possible destinations, Udaipur was 650 kms away (It later turned out to be 680 kms). It was a long haul. Also, stamina was at a very low level owing to lack of rides. But energised by the chance to ride, some riders agreed. Moreover, we had already covered Chittorgarh in good time. Udaipur was another 120 kms from that place with superb roads. How hard could it be? It turned out to be very hard.

So started the process of ride invitation, bike preparation and lodge bookings. We chose Thamla Haveli because of its location right next to Lake Pichola. Agoda.com helped in getting a great deal in the bookings. At one stage seven riders were ready to go, including surprise entry of newly made father, Gyan.

Then during the BBB meet at Lake Bhardwaj on 11th Aug, sentiments started to turn. 650 kms seemed too long a haul. But now that non-refundable bookings had been made, changing the destination was unlikely.

So finally on the last day, after more drop outs (the worst one being Bhaaya's which would be remembered) four riders were confirmed for the ride. Three of us, Gyan, Ankit and me met the night before along with Adit for the customary pre-ride meet at Mayabay ahaata. As usual, contrary to planning the night went long and we retired late.

15th Aug 2013: Happy Independence Day

(Gurgaon - Udaipur)

Vikas was the first to reach the designated meeting point, Leisure Valley Park. Gyan and I arrived soon. We waited for half an hour for Ankit and were just about to leave when he arrived. Shouting a loud warcry of "Jai BoP", we set off.

I had been thirsting for the feeling of a group ride for a long time and now the feeling was refreshed. The path would be long. We needed to keep our breaks to a minimum. Hence, the first stop was taken after covering more than 100 kms. The Prem Pavitra restaurant is ideally located for this purpose. But to our disappointment, we had reached there so early that the dhaba was not open. Luckily as we munched on some junk food, a waiter arrived and asked for our order.

Parathas arrived soon. One could see the impact of the high onion prices as only aloo parathas arrived and not aloo-pyaz. Our break took longer than scheduled and then we continued. We had expected the traffic to be lighter from here on, but the huge number of trucks traversing on this road keeps on increasing. Leaving at 4 AM looked like a very good choice, even though we had had two hours of sleep. Otherwise, the traffic conditions before Behror would have turned chaotic.

We were making good progress with the next regroup happening at the Manoharpur toll plaza and then tank fill-ups after crossing Jaipur. The Jaipur-Ajmer road has been one of the best highways to travel in India and it still is. This road shows how surfaces can endure the endless punishments if projects are executed properly. Haryana highways compare poorly in this respect. In fact, the whole of the country should take lessons from Rajasthan when it comes to infrastructure.

On the other hand, our physical surfaces and insides were not so solidly built. Age had started to catch up with us as we grew tired. In the earlier years we could traverse much more before squirming uncomfortably on our seats. That time comes more quickly now. Unsurprisingly, Gyan was ahead of us at this point. Even more unsurprisingly, he stopped for a break at a closed theka.

Being 15th of August, it was a dry day. But Gyan can sniff out beer from miles away. He showed the extent of this superpower today when he sniffed out the treasure behind shutters. Beer was purchased in black and we sat down at the nearby dhaba for a much needed break. Our waiter was very rude as he refused to serve snacks and demanded us to order a meal. We were not in the mood to have a heavy meal. Then the owner arrived and put him in order as proper snacks were ordered and we could finish our beer in peace. It was not much of a concern anyway as we had Vikas with us who has the talent of putting rude waiters in their place (ref. Tony). Ankit was majorly the victim of leg-pulling here. More specifically his "chhoti screen wala" phone was the victim. It had stopped working again.

We still had 400 kms to cover. Until now we had been safe from the rains. But as soon as we turned off Kishangarh towards NH-79, it started to pour. It never fails. We have always encountered rain at this location. Raincoats were adorned. All of us rushed to protect our wallets and phones. All, except Vikas. One of the privileges of owning an Xperia Z. It really brings up the envy of others.

However, it stopped raining soon and it grew very bright. The going started to grow painful. Wet underpants and bright sunshine doest make a good combination. The trucks we encountered were seen carrying some huge loads. One was seen carrying the body of an airplane with another carrying the wings. It is due to such high tonnages that the road has now deteriorated with waves forming along the tracks. I would still iterate that the worst section of this road is still better than the best of the roads Haryana has to offer.

I was desperately waiting for a stop now and thankfully saw Vikas waiting at the side. Groaning loudly, I got off from the motorcycle. It was paining. After a few minutes of waiting Vikas called up Gyan to find his location. It turned out that he and Ankit were waiting 10 kms behind us. This time would be remembered as the one where I was riding ahead of Gyan, a feat thought as impossible. The moment turned even more hilarious as Gyan had planned to zoom ahead after the last stop in the hope that he would be able to catch some sleep till the rest caught up. Moreover, Ankit was his accomplice, the one who was getting very good “throttle response”. HAAAAAAARRRR HAAAAAAARRRRRR.

Rain was continuing to play hide and seek. At one instant, there was a single cloud overhead and it was showering over us with the surroundings completely clear. The weather has always been so kind to us.

We reached Chittorgarh at 5:45 pm in full daylight. At that point we wished this was our destination. Our stamina had really dwindled. We took a well-deserved break here watching the heavy haulage trucks.  

Meanwhile Vikas called up at our hotel and gave the order of Laal Maas for dinner. It is a customary dish to have when in Rajasthan. Only the last 120 kms stretch remained. Since the sun would set soon we stuck together from there on. This was the final push as we saddled on. We would be riding on unexplored territory now. It feels proud to have covered so much of our wonderful country that it took 14 hours of riding before traversing newer regions.

The roads were as usual excellent. But the rain had taken its toll at a few places. It grew dark and as we neared Udaipur, the passenger car traffic started to increase. Cars with Gujarat, Rajasthan and MP registrations with very few Delhi and Haryana registered. The city would be busy during this long weekend.

We reached the outskirts of the city around 8 pm. Only 12 kms left to go. 

It was a triumphant moment. We had endured the long journey. It reminded me of the time we reached Dharamshala breaking the jinx of McLeodganj. This was another myth-busting moment. We had reached the numb state now where distances did not matter. After a brief break, we pushed on for the final 12 kms. Although markets were closing up now, there was still traffic to be encountered. It seemed as if all the bikers of Udaipur turn out on the streets at night. Many of them were rash. I couldn’t understand why some took pleasure in getting in between our group of four. Some took us to be a slalom course and zig-zagged their way. This continued till we crossed the bridge into the old city where things narrowed down, literally.

Vikas navigated on his GPS to our hotel after giving a wholesome tour of the old city. At 8:40 PM, we touched down. After 16 hours, we had finally reached our destination. It was time to unwind. Quickly freshening up, we were on the rooftop restaurant along with our dear old Monk. As the dark liquid went down the throats, the stiffness of the body started coming out. With the Lake Pichola right besides us, the atmosphere grew even more peaceful. Ankit was again trying to get his phone working.

After a couple of pegs, the “base” was set. Vikas had brought a special treat for this ride. Rum-soaked raisins. A very simple, yet very exotic recipe. As he downed a couple of them, he gave the reaction that comes after a big shot of tequila. This was unexpected. When I tried my hand, the same reaction occurred again. This cautioned Gyan and Ankit and they started to work more on their “base”. The taste is indescribable. The sweetness of the raisin and rum mix together in a deadly concoction giving out an exotic aroma with the headrush of hard liquor. Finally Gyan and Ankit were also ready to give it a shot. Gyan’s chinky-eyes squinted even further on having the shot. Ankit was off his seat after having the shot. We all were so taken in by the raisins that it was decided to ration it out for the next couple of days. No one would get an unfair share.

As the dinner arrived, we were the only guests remaining at the rooftop. The Laal Maas was again made like Mutton masala. We had been getting such unfair treatment of Laal Maas during our past few Rajasthan rides. The taste of Bikaner Laal Maas was still eluding us. The Chicken Rajputana was also somewhat sweet in taste. The tiredness of the journey had its effect on our alcohol intake. Also following the spell of Raisin shots, we could not manage to empty even half the bottle of Monk. All drifted down to a well-deserved sleep.

16^th Aug 2013:

(Udaipur sight-seeing)

No wake-up time was decided. But as it happens when you do plan to drift into an unending sleep, you always wake up earlier than usual. Vikas was the first, at 5 AM. He roamed around the ghats surrounding the lake trying to kill the time. Even the tea stalls were not open at that time.

I woke up at 7 AM and went to check up on Gyan and Ankit. They had also woken up. Our agenda of the day was to visit the largest fort in India, Kumbhalgarh. Stories of this fort were also heard at Chittorgarh. First we needed breakfast. There were two options given by our guide, Vikas who had been here just recently. One was the German café the other a small tea shop besides Jagdish temple. We opted for the latter, and it turned out to be the right decision. We gulped on the delicious poha, samosas and bread pakodas. Unfortunately, the kachoris eluded us. Our stomachs were thankful in providing them the early snack. Vikas’s stomach was even more thankful. He received a phone call while we were eating. Noting the calling number, he planned to hang up the call and slide his hand across the screen exclaiming, “I do not want to pick up this number”. A second later, we pointed out to him that he had in fact slide his hand in the other direction and the call was in progress. A rare achievement as Vikas bhai rarely gives us such moments.

We reached back to the hotel and got ready to ride to Kumbhalgarh. The first breakdown of the ride occurred then. Ankit’s Classic refused to start. Initial diagnosis showed that the battery was completely discharged. It was strange because the motorcycle had travelled from Delhi without a hitch. Searching for a mechanic, we reached the workshops near the centrepoint of the city, Chetak circle. The mechanic told us that there was no liquid within it and it would take 2 hours for the battery to charge after refill.

The day’s agenda was now changed. We dropped the idea of going to Kumbhalgarh and decided to explore the local surroundings instead. While this discussion was going on, Gyan did not waste any time and joined in with 4 pints of Carlsberg from the nearby theka. Today was 16^th Aug. It was no longer a dry day, a cause for celebration. This led to faster decision making and we moved on towards Sajjangarh.

As is pointed out in several travelogues, the path to the fort is grander than the fort itself. It is a steep rise up the slopes amidst lush, green vegetation. The accompanying drizzle added to the thrill of the moment. When we reached the top to where the fort was located, we found ourselves in the midst of clouds. Such kind of weather is found only within high mountains and we were blessed by it in Rajasthan. Ankit badly missed bringing his Bullet up this fantastic route.

The fort is located at a hill top away from the city and we could see the entire old city of Udaipur from that point. Most prominent structures were Jag Mandir, Taj Hotel, Oberoi Hotel and Leela. Extravagant luxury situated in the middle of Lake Pichola.

We searched for a spot where we could have the raisin shots. The suitable spot was discovered outside the fort at an abandoned structure. It required some planning to have the shots without a spoon so that the raisins did not dry up and there was still rum left soaking it. As we had the shots, the same squinty-eyed, head-shaking, throat-burning effect of the previous night returned. If it was possible, there was even more flavour now. It became a challenge to have the shot without closing one’s eyes, but everyone failed miserably.

The next spot on the agenda was Fateh Sagar lake. It is debatable as to which of the two lakes is larger. But when in the city of lakes, it is pointless. On reaching the lake, we opted for a speed boat ride at Rs 200 a 

head. We were indulging ourselves on this trip and rightly so. The ride was great fun and although 3 mins passed very quickly, we enjoyed every bit of it. We remembered our scraping-guru, Nilu as the speedboat took sharp turns.

The time was 3 pm when we returned to our hotel and searched for a place to eat. A good place was found next door with a garden restaurant, The Food Club. As usual, Laal Maas was the order of the day. But first, Gyan was quick to order beer. We had planned to have only two before lunch but Gyan beat us by using his sign language with the waiter and two more arrived. It was the result of absolutely comfortable seating on mattresses with the Lake right besides us. 

Our waiter was informative also as he narrated the story of a structure located right in the middle of the lake. It is said that the structure is a tomb dedicated to a tight-rope walker who died in the lake. Prior to this event, the city of Udaipur could not be built and every structure that was raised came crashing down in the night due to a curse.

We spent a leisurely hour at that place deciding on the next place to go. We took an auto this time upto Ropeway point. A cable car carried us to the top of another fort-wall. It is one of the few places in India where you can find a temple built right next to a mosque. The way forward leads to another section of the fort, but it was locked. So we just hung around near the mosque waiting for the sun to set. The wall of the Fort divides the old city of Udaipur from the new. On the older side, one could see narrow bylanes, close-lying structures as well as luxury hotels, while on the other side there are high rises and lots of traffic. We were right in the middle. Another sight we were waiting for was the bat swarms that happened after sunset. It is reported that a huge number of bats make their way across the sky at twilight.

As the daylight faded, our architect friend, Vikas pointed out the sights to look for. The lights of Taj hotel are noteworthy in this respect. They are situated underwater and as they came on one by one and it grew darker, the ripples of the lake played graphic on the walls of the hotel. The Oberoi maybe the most luxurious hotel in the city but to see the light effect, increased the visual value of the Taj hotel. Many other structures also came alive in the dark. Another noticeable one was the distant Fatehgarh palace. The colour of lights displayed indicated a full-blown nightclub. Although we missed visiting that palace, I am sure it would be worth a visit.

Darkness fell and still no sign of the bat swarms. Finally, we could not wait any longer and descended the ropeway to return to our hotel. This time we occupied the jharokha at the rooftop restaurant. Raisins were again rationed around taking care of the amount and saving some for the Kumbhalgarh fort. The joys of a four day ride include one night of rest with moderate drinks, one night of leisure with heavy drinks and one early night with light drinks. Tonight was the no-holds barred night. Such was the fascination with the raisins that we started to look for mistakes of others that would cut their rations as penalty. Ankit had his ration cut to half using this strategy. Legs were pulled left, right and centre. Once again when it was time for dinner to be served, we were the only ones left at the rooftop. Other tourists simply did not take enough time-off.  We also noticed that our waiter from previous night was missing. Maybe he was reluctant to serve us given that we had kept him awake longer the previous night.

17^th Aug 2013:

(Udaipur – Kumbhalgarh – Udaipur)

Today, we would check the biggest fort in India off our checklist. Excitement was paramount as we got ready and set off at around 10 AM armed with two rockets of rum. But first, we stopped for breakfast at HOMP’s recommended Jayesh Mishthan Bhandar at Chetak Circle. As told by Rocky and Mayur, the pyaz kachoris were truly the best we had tasted. The chutney given along with it adds a tangy and sweet taste at the same time. We devoured more kachori, samosa, mirchi pakoda and malpuaa till we got stuffed. The management must have been impressed by our appetite as he encouraged us to try out the freshly made imarti right out of the kadhai. Although our stomachs were full, the mind encouraged us to have a taste. 

The halwai was admiring our courage to travel from Delhi to Udaipur in one day. Hell, we ourselves were admiring the fact that a bunch of 30 year olds (except Ankit) had managed to travel the distance in a day that too not having ridden in the past 10 months, longer for some.

We set off for Kumbhalgarh. After crossing a few state roads, we touched the highway that led to Mount Abu. I would remember that stretch of highway as the place where I took Nilu’s fiery Fiesta close to 160 kph. It still retains the smooth, curvy surface. Why can’t other highways be this properly built? But it was only for a short stint as we turned off the highway soon. Milestones of Haldighati began to appear as a nice surprise. As we reached a fork in the road that split ways to Haldighati and Kumbhalgarh, we decided on the way to go. Noticing that Haldighati was only 12 kms from this point and we would rarely get the chance to visit this place again, we made off towards Haldighati.

As we arrived at the Maharana Pratap museum, we ascended the road towards the top where a memorial has been built to honour one of the greatest warriors of this country. The site offered a panoramic view of the surrounding fields. This was where the historic battle had taken place and Maharana Pratap redefined valour. It served us with a sense of pride standing there underneath the huge statue of the warrior astride his trusted steed, Chetak. We brought in our "Chetaks" alongside to mark the occasion with a group picture.

We set off for Kumbhalgarh now. The road onwards connected the Nathdwara – Kumbhalgarh route. Never had I seen such wonderful village roads. Our riding pleasure grew manifold on this route. As we took a break amidst lush green meadows, surprisingly Vikas was the one who asked for rum. We obliged. The way forwards was marked with densely foliaged hills. The 30 kms to Kumbhalgarh was very scenic. It appeared odd as the actual fort could not be seen until the last 0.5 kms. Reasons were explained by our guide later that this was a backup fort and was never attacked.

One immediately notices the huge number of temples inside the walls, more than 300. The structures close to the front wall were well maintained. As we ascended, many people could be seen exhausted from the climb. When we reached the highest point, it was a letdown. Our tour had ended. Only a small section of the fort has been kept open to visitors. We came expecting to see the biggest fort of our country. It turned out that this was the biggest walled enclosure, second only to the Great Wall of China. The perimeter covered 36 kms. I had heard of some tourists taking a two day trek to cover the entire perimeter. This fort did not contain any structures that could stand up to the ones at Chittorgarh. However, when it comes to forts, none is more majestic than the Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur. 

To calm our disappointment, we just sat down at the topmost point and brought out raisins. A cool breeze and cloudy weather accompanied us. We all agreed that the ride to the fort was more impressive than the fort itself. Our stock of  raisins was dwindling. There would be bloodbath in the night.

The return to the City of Lakes was quick till we reached the outskirts. Traffic started piling. Unusual is the number of cattle on the roads in these parts. Near the Chetak circle, we were stuck in a long queue due to cows lounging on the roads. No number of horns could budge them from their spots. Gyan tried his luck at moving one of the cows by revving his CBR and charging at them. This kept us entertained. But the cow just sat there unaffected. It seemed as if it realized that Gyan was an outsider. This was their territory. A couple of local shopkeepers came around and pushed and heaved the cow to move. It finally relented and the traffic was cleared.

We had to retire early today as tomorrow would be the return leg. The return had been a major concern since the planning of the trip started. It bothered everyone so much that even the raisins were left untouched after one round. Luckily, Vikas had mentioned earlier that he would not be taking the jar of raisins back. This was my cue. I was in no mood to let go and when everyone had retired, I had the whole jar to myself. I took the jar along with me down besides the Lake Pichola for some peaceful time. This area of the hotel was ill managed but could be used wonderfully. After a brief thoughtful period I also retired.

18^th Aug:

(Udaipur – Gurgaon)

Today was the return leg. We were dreading this part as due to the end of the long weekend, the Jaipur - Gurgaon section would be terrible to navigate. We were ready and besides our motorcycles at 5 AM. But fate had other plans. Ankit’s Bullet refused to start. The electricals were not working. It was odd seeing that the Bullet had worked fine the day before. We tried push starting for half an hour. The next hour was spent in trying to charge the battery by connecting the terminals with the other motorcycle’s battery. The lights worked but it wouldn’t start.

Sensing that the matter was out of our hands, Gyan and Ankit left to find a mechanic near the Chetak circle. The day being Sunday turned our chances even more bleak. But still, after asking around, they did manage to contact a Bullet specialist, Yeshwant who agreed to come to the hotel and have a look. The guys got some breakfast and brought some packed pakodas for Vikas and me back at the hotel while we ordered tea. It was 9 AM when Yeshwant Ji arrived. The Bullet started when he used one of the other motorcycle’s battery. It turned out that we had reversed the terminals when we connected it ourselves and were fooled when the lights worked. We needed a new battery. Yeshwant Ji called up and arranged for a battery and we went to pick it up at his shop. We were lucky to catch Yeshwant Ji on a Sunday because he was going out of town for the day. Such is the courtesy that Bullet specialists provide you further strengthened by the famous Rajasthan hospitality. What a Man!

It was around 10:30 AM that we started our return journey. So much for an early start. Our legendary dialogue came out. “Ab to late ho hi gaye hain”. This statement is surprisingly mood lifting. It encourages you to ride on no matter what the conditions you had faced or you would face. It helps you to keep going and even lifts your spirits. It brings a cheer in times when many would be grieving. A legendary quote.

We now needed to keep our breaks even fewer and shorter. During the incoming journey we had kept 100 kms intervals. This time we would have to make it 150 kms intervals. Any chance of beating the traffic was long gone.

The longer stretches did have their toll early. Bodies started getting beat up sooner. The weather was clear but that meant facing the heat of the sun which tires you even more. The early wake up also meant sleep was catching up with us sooner. We stopped only when it was impossible to go on. The endless drone of the highway continued for a long time. NH 79 seemed much longer than the stretch we came in from. Milestones were frustrating us even more as the distances were incorrectly marked. It was cruel as the distance displayed was shorter and when you covered that distance, there were still kms to go. Slowly painfully, we touched NH-8 at Kishangarh. Gyan and Ankit had stopped at a theka, what else. We were elated on touching NH-8 as if we had reached Delhi. Beer was definitely required and we went into the attached dhaba that had quite a lot of truckers.

Our server was a jolly fellow. He guided us to a suitably located cot which had access to the cool breeze coming in from the farmlands at the back. Service was impromptu, the sort that comes when dealing with hungry truckers rather than choosy car passengers. After we finished the beer, lunch was ordered in the form of traditional Rajasthani dishes, gutta sabzi, sev tamatar and dal. The food was the best we had tasted till now on this ride. Maybe it was the long stretches or the beer. Strangely, the veg food we had on this ride tasted much better than the non-veg. PETA activists would welcome that.

The lunch break had recharged us. We were ready for the onslaught ahead. We decided to stop only after reaching Manoharpur toll plaza. The 110 kms dash to Jaipur was covered in a single stretch. Traffic started piling up now. The broken section of Jaipur bypass on the Ajmer side resulted in long queues of vehicles. 

Nearing Chandwaji, dark clouds appeared on the horizon. The sun had already set. Soon enough, it started to pour, and hard. We stopped for a while to let the rain subside a little but it showed no mercy. After half an hour of wait, we set off again. This was the start of the brutal section of the journey. We were already 10 hours into our riding. We expected to encounter endless jams now and sure enough right after the Manoharpur toll, we got one. We could not circumnavigate much of the jam due to the mud on the side of the road. The going was expected to be like this for the remaining 200 kms. These 200 kms were expected to be even more painful than the 680 kms from Gurgaon to Udaipur.

But they were not. Thankfully, the roads cleared out after the first jam. The roads were pretty much clear after that. Jams were encountered on the highway diversions. Passage through cities was clear. The worst jam was the first one only. It was only our stamina that made us stop. Break intervals shortened from 150 kms to 70 kms then to 50 kms. I had to take the visor off the helmet to be able to see something. That resulted in picking up pollution and dust on the road. Same was with Ankit who had to keep his visor up. Vikas was bravely leading us through. Finally pulling ourselves painfully forward, we reached the Gurgaon Toll plaza at 1:15 AM and homes at 1:30 AM.

We now know that 680 kms is reachable. The only place now remaining to be seen in Rajasthan is Jaisalmer, a distance of 750 kms. I am sure we can make it through the fabulous state highways, but the stretch is just not worth it. It is recommended that any place over 600 kms in the plains and 500 kms in the hills should be covered in two days.

JAI BoP !!!