My Travel Diaries

The grind of having to read this post has been on for you guys for the last month or so. So, combining two days into one, to minimise pain. Have taken no pictures in the last two days.  Got into Nagpur yesterday pre lunch, much before schedule. We were terrified that the place was dry as the elections are around the corner.  Only difference in the drive to Nagpur was that I had a large presence sitting next to me. He had been nice enough to fly in to Bhopal to spend the evening with me in Ratapani. And, drive the stretch to Nagpur and fly out to Chennai.   For the first time drove with both front windows open. There was a head wind, great weather. Thin rain almost all the way thru.  Stopped at a dhaba halfway. Had some aloo parotha and eggs. Place was owned by this ancient sardar, who insisted on wanting to show me his dog. Went along to see this massive fellow lying on a khatiya. The dog was covering the cot. The story I got was that he had been ordered online, and then b

Had a good breakfast and left the resort at 0800. Woke up much earlier and went down to the dam to see if anything was peeping. This is the picture I got. So shifted attention. Had decided to do two locations today - Goringarh Fort and Bhimbetka. Did both, but in the reverse order. Had planned to do Gornigarh Fort first, as it required a drive thru the Ratapani National Park. The park boasts of Tigers, Leopards, Dhol and all types of deer. Thought if I got in by 0900, maybe, just maybe, I would get some sighting. But, could not locate the Girongarh Fort access . Kept going to Bhimbetka. The write-ups are a bit misleading, as they confuse issues.  First, the place has evidence of Human existence for the last 100000 years - in the form of animal bones and tools. These items have been removed to the museum in Bhopal. Second, the pictorial depictions on the rocks have been aged from the existence of pictorials drawn by human beings - 35000 years back.

Diary for 17th October Drove first light into a bad stretch of Madhya Pradesh highways. Lasted about 10 kilometres of bone shaking shit. Then, brilliant. Cruised along, till google sent me of this lovely highway onto a narrow state highway. Not too bad, Just that there were more bad parts. It took me thru the heart of a small town and then turned me under a flyover. Wanted me to cross a railway track, without road assist !!!! The Thar could have done it, but saw no reason to test the Thar for google. So, asked and got directions to get on the flyover. Thereafter, after driving a multitude of narrow roads, finally was on the last stretch towards the resort. Reached the place well in time. Huge establishment on the banks of the Kolar Dam, in this place called Ratapani. The swimming pool infested !! Lovely sit out over looking the dam Sun in the eyes. Pointless waiting for anything on the other bank. Tomorrow, I explore.

Diary for 16th October 2019 Left Vrindavan when it was still dark. First light came as I drove towards my destination for the night, Guna. With packed breakfast - cheese and vegetable sandwiches plus two packets of cream biscuits !!! Would not have known anymore of the place than I already knew, which was nothing, except for the fact that somehow I had goofed up distance to travel for the day. Gwalior was just a couple of hundred kilometres away from Vrindavan. Not far enough. Infact, passed Gwalior by 0830. Looked at doing the run to Ratapani in one go, a bit too far. Google set it at 13 hours. And, given the sate of roads in Madhya Pradesh - brilliant at times, just to set you up for some deep holes. Having the possibility of doing it in headlight hours morning and evening was not worth the effort. So, Guna. Halfway between Vrindavan and Ratapani. Made it my 1100. Had to go off the highway towards town. No big deal. Hotels, a series of them, were on the road leading

Departed as planned. The resort guys came up to my room to collect the luggage on call, at 0515. Very impressed. The drive down to Vrindavan had distinct stages. Mussoorie to Dehra Doon, the roads were empty. Double lane, great surface. Drove thru Dehra Doon from one end of the city to another. Long drive. Wide roads. Branded shops and inviting eateries. Much nicer than Mussoorie. Mussoorie has tiny eateries, road side stalls, nothing outside the hotels where you can have a decent meal. Aging hill station. Crossed and headed to Roorkee. Roads deteriorated. Traffic became a mess. Roorkee is a poor third cousin to Dehra Doon. During my college days, had always associated one with the other. Now, I see no reason why. Except, Roorkee is on the way to  Doon from Dehli, could be. Then came the serious traffic for the next stage - about 130 kilometres to the the Eastern Bypass was miserable. Road was under construction. Autos were on the road. And, google kept trying

Well, last day in the hills.  Back to the plains and some hot(ter) weather !! And, the rains are coming in, says the weather man. Since this was a recovery stop, considering when I planned the trip I thought I would need recovery, I recovered. No clue from what, but took only 18 pictures today. Did nothing but eat, well. Had breakfast and lunch at the resort. Must say that food here is good. As is the housekeeping staff. The front desk is loaded with typical brats, but one supposes that in sales you need to be thick skinned !! Good place to come to, as long as you do not want to explore anything else. Eat, drink and sleep. Come to Mussoorie. Morning pictures Evening Pictures, same sky. And, a little earlier in the afternoon, just to show that I was not asleep. It just clouds up, visibility down to less that 50 meters. Leave early for the plains tomorrow. Will sleep early ( perspective please ) !!