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Saturday 30 August 2014

Long drive to Delhi - 2

Preparations:
Now that Bangaluru - Kanyakumari - Delhi journey has been decided, preparations are on.

The Buggy - Lord Ganesha uses a mouse to ride around the universe, Goddess Laxmi uses an owl to fly around but we heathens shall be using Maruti Alto 800 for the journey. This Buggy has been got serviced, a kit to repair punctures, a tool kit supplied by manufacturer, a spare tyre, a litre of coolant, perfume for a/c are on board. Music system is there to listen to ghazals in the evening & puzzles in the morning.

Herbals & non-herbals - As is customary home remedies are must which include honey, pudin hara,  लौंग-cloves, इलायची-cardamom,  गुड़-jaggery, अजवाइन, इसबगोल, हल्दी-turmeric and mustard oil which shall be used by travellers to massage each other! Besides my समधी Dr Anil Taneja has given a long list of prescriptions for common cold, body ache, vomiting, fever, stomach upsets, for loose motions & for no motion!

Clothesline - Weather for Sept & Oct should have cool mornings & evenings all over India. Ocassional shower could greet us which is welcome. Jeans & T's suit well in this weather & there is no need of woollens. I guess Lungi would be a better option than jeans in Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka & white Dhoti for Maharashtra, Gujrat & Rajasthan. 

Misc items - Yoga mats, mobiles with GPS & an iPad to write daily blogs on. Shoes, chappals & caps. There is always a problem of carrying a camera. In some temples they allow camera on a fee some do not permit camera at all. Visit to monuments is also on payment of fee + camera fee + parking fee. Com'on have mercy on Sr Citizens!

Tolls - In our 2011 road trip of Delhi - Ahmedabad - Somnath - Dwarka - Diu and road trip of 2013 within Karnataka - Mysore, Manglore, Badami, Chitradurga, Hassan & Pondicherry shortage of coins & small currency notes was irritant. On many toll booths we ended up paying more than required. This is being kept in mind this time.

Besides toll for the bad roads, there were many tolls for bridges & sometimes even for entering the municipal limits! We argued in Hindi & they would reply in local language & only solution was to pay. 
द होल थिंग इज़ दैट की भैया सबसे बड़ा रूपैय्या । 

We never understood as to how they calculate the tolls & for what distance. Their calculations are similar to hidden charges levied by Firangi banks!

The Buggy with KA & MA 







2 comments:

Unknown said...

I liked it very much. Eager to learn more. Also want to accompany with you in your next tour.

Harsh Wardhan Jog said...

Thank you. Due to Corona not going anywhere. Take care & stay safe.