Day 2 - Reaching Jaipur

 Dear Wanderers,

After an eventful Day 1, i felt well rested and was ready to take on the roads again. I knew i had a long ride ahead of me. Who would complain if you woke up to a view like this!

The Route

Trip km count: 544 (From previous day)
Route: Kapadvanj - Modasa Road

From the Hotel to a Pitstop - Quite an adventure. Meet Vaishali

As i started my day, i was cruising at a decent 80-90 kmph & everything seemed like it was going well. Then suddenly i saw two transgenders on the middle of the road stopping every car, truck and bike asking for money. Since i was at a cruising speed, i gestured them to move aside. Guess what.. they didn't! I applied emergency breaks, smiled and told them that they could have hurt themselves. Just then, my gear shifted and the bike abruptly jerked making me off-balance. Since Himalayan is a heavy bike.. i was going down and before i knew it i was flat on the middle of the road with my bike lying next to me. Both of these angels helped me pick my bike, profusely apologised for stopping me and help me park on the side. Vaishali introduced herself & placed her hands on my head, prayed & blessed me for my journey ahead. It was such a sweet gesture on her part, so i called her back and gave her some money. She then waited till I loaded again and when i was finally ready.. she flew a flying kiss towards me! That gesture of care and affection was enough to keep me in a good mood throughout the day.

As I continued my journey, I joined the NH-8 after a few kms. The ride after that was brisk. The four-lane highways were legendary. While on the road, my phone prompted a meeting notification. I thought it would be better if i fuel up first and then find a suitable place for a meeting. After crossing Shamlaji, I found a fuel pump that had a highway exit.

Fuel up 3 - Dhuleta, Gujarat, NH-8

Trip km count - 600.10

Fuel Price - 97.40

Daily team meeting at Shri Maruti Nandan Resort

My team eagerly waits to see which new place am I at. So the zoom call was more of a show around call for my team. This was a restaurant which was a part of a resort. It was extremely hot (about 42 degrees) so i filled myself with 3-4 glasses of buttermilk. The call lasted for about an hour. This meant i had to cover a lot of ground to reach Jaipur on time. 

Crossing Udaipur city

It can be overwhelming to see signboards with big & famous city names come and go. You are tempted to halt for a little while and cherish the moment. Having said that, you are also racing against time. The roads on this route were fabulous as expected. I especially liked crossing the Udaipur city. You could feel the vibe. Some open-air jeeps, the local accent, the fruit stalls, etc. It was super hot though, which prompted me to take a breather, hydrate myself and then move on...

Lunch at a highway hotel

I have been to Udaipur before, so knew for a fact that there are lots of places there that serve Paan (beetle leaf with raw refreshments & condiments). I was tempted to stop at a place, but then I changed my mind and followed my timelines. I had to make up for the time i had lost in meetings. The majestic National highway continued for another 70 kms where i finally decided to halt for Lunch.  This place was a small but decent restaurant called Hotel Harsh Pawan. You can check out the place here. If you are riding & the weather is hot, i recommend following a liquid diet. If that's not how you like it, then try something light like sandwiches or khichdi. My pick was Khichdi and a couple of glasses of buttermilk. This place has a shed to park your vehicle, so thankfully my bike was not heated up as much. After about 40 minutes, it was time to load up & get started again.

Trip km count - 783.67

As I kept cruising ahead, the roads got fiercer, faster and the weather began to cool down. It became easier to ride. I did take a short break after about 50 kms.

This break was basically to gather and realign my energy to ride longer. It worked, after this break I was able to ride non-stop for about 147kms without feeling any pain in the the tail bone or arms. My next break was only for a Fuel up.

Fuel up 4 - Jaipur-Jodhpur Road

Trip km count - 935.11

Fuel Price - 107.90

Crossing Ajmer & halting for the sunset view & tea

The highway can be a funny place, while the sun was going down, i could feel a wave of chilly air hit me from time to time. I could see sign boards of cities like Ajmer go by and the landscape change in response. At one point, I could see the moon on top of a mountain and the sun through my rear view mirror. The sun, the moon and my bike were in a straight line.. that made up for a magical moment. I found a perfect place on the highway for my sunset chai! The place is called Wasim Chai wala, he serves tea in a earthen cup (Kulhad)

This also lead me to spend some time enjoying the sunset while I sat on my bike.

When you have a bike like the Himalayan, you are bound to get noticed. People get curious and ask questions. They want to know everything about you. I had a fun time chatting up with these lads. These men worked in a wood mill. They would cut wood as per size and give it to factories for shaping. Quite interesting.

The sunset break went very well. It was time to hit the road again. So I loaded up again and set my map to the ultimate destination. Jaipur! My location was still about 125 kms away. So again, time was of essence.

Trip km count - 999.74

Reaching GoStops Jaipur

Once you start riding on the highways, you get used to the rhythm of the roads and the roads look easy. You gain a lot more control on your bike. It was pleasant to see a few drivers wave to you and asking you to take over just because you are on the bike. Its such a good feeling! Then the city roads start merging with the highways. The landscape changes too.Your riding style changes along with that. Meandering through the city traffic, I could finally see the map showing my destination only 2 minutes away. As soon as I entered the lane of the hostel.. i found that the road was entirely dug up :(. This meant that I would have to wait till they open one section of that road for bikes... So after 20 minutes, they started letting bikes go through that lane. And i was finally there!

Trip km count - 1125

Parking my bike there was a difficult thing since everything was already dug up. However i did find a secluded corner to park opposite the hostel and helped myself with the luggage. 

My checking process was smooth since i had already booked a few weeks in advance. The staff helped me to my dorm. I will do a detailed review on this place before i leave Jaipur. This will be uploaded on my official Wanderers on Wheels Youtube channel. 

I hope you enjoyed today's story. Feel free to get in touch with me on your thoughts and ideas. Wait up for the story of Day 3!

Stay safe. Take care. See you soon.

Mitul