Photo Travelogue :
Read first part - Here
1ST TRIP
It was still dark when I got up. I started driving immediately. After couple of kilometers, something told me I was on the wrong road ( a nagging feeling of doubt at the back of my mind ). Luckily, I found an old man loitering ( my luck ) and he told me that the road went to Kota. I had to turn back in the cold dark foggy night. After reaching the right road i made a mental note to look at the signboards properly henceforth, because, I had gone on wrong routes several times now, geez! Slowly, day light came but the fog grew thicker. I had to follow other trucks all the way till Guna, when it cleared a bit. Another horror happened after there was proper day light, stray catte too had come in their bulk to enjoy the sun in middle of the highways. It was a nightmare driving through groups of cattle who decided to relax in middle of the road. MP has most number of stray cattle let loose on roads. My eyes had to be literally stuck in my windscreen lest I encountered any. The MP roads compared to UP were poor, with lots of craters and potholes, except certain portions. After Biora the roads became better. I had some of the food I carried and had lunch near Shajapur.
toll pe toll, toll pe toll, toll pe toll...rah gaya bas is jeevan mei..toll hi toll, toll hi toll...
bambai mi aali...thamba zara...
enjoying dhaba food as always...it was delicious...
Around 3pm I reached Indore and halted in its outskirts, before driving again. After I crossed Mhow, the dreaded Chambal section began. It is said, in early times dacoits used to pop from the rocky hills around ( the ghats ), stop vehicles and loot the caravans. Would I encounter any? The sun was going down that time and it made the scenery perfect for a scary dacoit movie. I clicked few pictures here with my heart in my mouth. Its a steep decline and one comes through various warnings to drive carefully down the slopes - never drive in neutral gear while decending hills.
sunset@chambal...gabbar, phoolan devi...where art thou?
It was 7pm evening and dark when I reached Shendhwa toll plaza and decided to stop for the day. The terrain had freaked me out a bit as I was still in Chambal area. I didn't want to take risk and drive further alone at night. Also, I'd heard that Dhule/Malegaon area had miscreants at night, that bikers would follow and try to loot. So, I thought it much safer to stay in the toll plaza where there were trucks passing every minute and also toll officials, guards and CCTV. I'd navigate rest of the journey in day time. I slept quite good. I found out, police don't disturb if you are parked at the toll plazas, so, thats what I continued - park the nights near toll plazas.
Address : Guna, Biora, Shajapur, Dewas, Indore, Shendhwa...
Read next part - Here! Stay tuned for all my road, rail, flight, cruise & walk trips.
( Images - ©Mine. All rights reserved. )
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