Wander through India : NORTHERN EXPEDITION 2014 : DAY I

#Day 1: Mumbai – Udaipur sector

#1. For me Ladakh could not begin from Day 1 , Ladakh would come when I reach up to it but to do that I had to make a separate journey in itself and that journey began from Mumbai on Day 1 . The target was the capital of the Mewar Kings, the Lake City Udaipur. The journey involved close to 800 kms of travelling using the wide array of National Highways including the National Expressway 1 between Vadodra and Ahmedabad. The start from south Mumbai was planned at around 5 in morning as I had a journey time of close to 12 hours however final start time was close to 0700 hrs.

#2. The INDOMITABLE had been loaded up the night before with almost everything that could be thought to have a role to play in the days to come and it indeed was packed to the hilt. Many generally prefer a start up time of night so that they cover a major distance in the night however I believe in starting early and pushing through the afternoon hours through the wide network of the National Highways. The major way points on the way included Vapi , Surat , Ankleswar,Barauch,Vadodra, Ahmedabad,Himmatnagar, Udaipr.The road details included the famed NH 8 right from Mumbai till Ankleswar where I exited the same in order to avoid crossing the Narmada over the congested bridge on NH 8 but rather take the historically significant Golden Gate Bridge built in the year 1881 connecting Ankleswar and Barauch. The bridge has seen numerous floods and earthquakes but has stood his ground even after 132 years.This also was the first view of the grand Narmada , fifth largest in the Indian Subcontinent flowing sedately as she moved on towards the Gulf of Khambhat where she would meet the Arabian Sea.

#3. Off late I have become closely connected with the rivers that run in our country and she is considered to be one of the five holy rivers older than even the Ganga. The Narmada Parikrama undertaken by many is something to think about as one covers close to 2600 kms walking along the banks from the Arabian Sea till Amarkantank; let’s see what the future holds !!!.

#4. Post baruch I rejoined the NH 8 till Vadodra bypass where I entered upon the super fast and super smooth NE 1 expressway right till Ahmedabad . After Ahmedabad we rejoined the meandering NH8 which would then take me right till Udaipur. The entire stretch of road network is rated above average to excellent in portions. The vehicles can cruise consistently at good speeds other than the connecting road near Ahmedabad bypass , a stretch of around 14 kms which is a single road .

#5. The other significant passing note is that one can hold the significance of crossing the Tropic of Cancer near Himmatnagar, for those like me I can now proudly say that I have crossed four of most significant imaginary lines running across the surface of the earth with the other three being the Tropic of Capricorn , the Equator and the Arctic Circle.

#6. Udaipur was reached without much of a fuss by around 2230 hrs and the stay was booked at RTDC Kajri , this was my second time stay and I definitely recommend it to others and by the end of the day the ODO stood at 73074.