Road Trip from Dholero to Indo-Pak Border
The lure of road trip is insurmountable; many of us have aspired for one; many of us have taken one willingly or unwillingly; many of us are still dreaming about it; many of us had given up on road trip, like me, but that was not to be. Given the avid travelers that we are, we love adventures and whenever we have aspired for a peaceful trip, adventure rather misadventure has followed us. Given the ‘Bollywood” buff that I am, I had seen road trips in movies and admittedly have been quite fascinated by them particularly the one in Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
Road trip sounds exciting but are actually taxing and painful at the same time for people like me who love to travel by train and plane! In my weirdest dream I had not imagined that Road trip would become a reality for me, though it was thrust upon us by circumstances. Howsoever exciting it may sound: Road Trip, it gets excruciatingly painful, if not planned well. ‘Planning’ plays paramount role in venturing out for a road trip. First and foremost, roads should be in great condition to drive on, amenities to be bankable, service centers, petrol pumps, eating joints, toilets etc. enroute so that we have a pleasant drive and we happily reach our destination.
We planned to embark on one such road – trip in December 2012, when we visited scenic and serene Rann of Kutch and were camping at ‘Bhungas’ (Mud Houses) in Dholero Village near Rann. It was then we were told that Pakistan Border was few 100 Kms away and it made a great sight. I, in particular became very keen to visit the border as I wanted to visit that place, which nobody had visited in my khandan or even in my friends circle. I want to boast: I have been to India – Pakistan Border. Whole night I did not sleep in excitement but to my great disappointment, driver took to illness and did not turn up.
My husband, me and my daughter decided to venture out on our own and took upon driving on us to the border. Resort owner was kind enough and noticing our disappointment, he offered his one of his staff to accompany us. Now we were to embark into a new territory, new area, new car and new destination. My husband took onus of driving on him and person accompanying him sat next to him for guidance. With lot of apprehensions in heart, we started on our road trip on chilly, breezy, wintry morning from Dholero Village to India – Pakistan Border. But not before checking the condition of the car we would be driving to border and bring us back. I was particularly more worried as our daughter was with us. But she was quite gung-ho about it. We stocked enough food & beverages in the car which was quite spacious and commodious to accommodate four of us comfortably. Then we went to nearby garage to get the report of condition of car, breaks, clutch, accelerator and last but not the least tyres. The Car’s condition was good and above all, tyres were in excellent condition which took good amount of worry off our shoulders. For worry-free road – trip, you can bank on most bankable CEAT Tyres, like we did.
Packed with sufficient fuel, we embarked on the journey.
To our delight, roads were in excellent condition with proper signage’s all over which made the drive very pleasant and provided quite an experience. Moreover, bright sunny but breezy / windy day made the driving slightly more challenging. The remarkable part of the way to border was that it had deep marshlands on both sides. We saw many cars stranded in the marshland which looked like mirage. To describe it better, there are vast marshlands on both sides of the road when you approach border. After this adventurous but exciting drive which changed three hands, we reached Indo-Pak border which was heavily guarded by BSF Personnel who asked us to keep our cameras and mobiles in the car and then step out. The sight was so exciting, I saluted the Jawans guarding the borders and for the first time I realized under which conditions they guard our borders so that we civilians sleep peacefully. All in all our maiden trip turned out to be quite a satisfying experience. Special Thanks to my husband Mukund, our companion for the drive and taking us through Mukesh and my daughter Tanya for making my dream realize. Though we did not anticipate any trouble spots during the journey, and did not find any but yes checking at various check posts provided breaks to the drive. But these were important for country’s safety.
Special Thanks to Blogadda and CEAT tyres to make me relive the experience. Indeed I had to stress my mind to recollect the road trip which I undertook in completely unknown terrain – The Rann of Kutch to Indo-Pak border in Gujarat – JAI HIND.
Road Safety Norms:
Everyday as soon as we open Newspaper, we get to read about atleast 2 road accidents particularly on Highways or long drive-ways people undertake. Most of these are owing to negligence about following the Road Safety trips. It is important not only for drivers but also for pedestrians so that no untoward accidents happen.
Everyone should learn the following road safety rules preferably from an early age:
- Everyone going on the road (especially drivers) must be to the left and let other vehicles pass on the opposite direction to pass.
- Drivers should be in slow speed while bending or turning on the roads.
- Take extra precaution while going on the over-crowded roads and road junctions.
- Bikers or people using two wheel vehicles must wear helmets of superior quality otherwise they should never go on the road without helmet.
- Speeds of the vehicles should be within the speed limit and slow especially in the areas of school, hospital, colony, etc.
- Every vehicle on the road should maintain the right distance among them to avoid collisions and accidents.
- Everyone using road should be well aware of the road signs and must follow rules.
- All the road safety rules and regulations must be in mind while traveling.
Following the above rules, you are not only ensuring your safety, but others too and following duties of a Good Citizen. And…and don’t forget to have Ceat Tyres in your dream machine!!
‘I’m chronicling my road trip adventure for CEAT Tyres in association with BlogAdda.’
Travel-Knots 