The highways once you enter Gujarat in particular are wide and sparsely populated which meant the Fortuner was unfettered and could be really put through its paces. In fact, the only part of the highway that was disappointing was the Sardar Bridge in the Bharuch-Ankleshwar region. The jam there was massive, and it looked as if we would be stuck there for a while. But less than an hour into the ordeal a local policeman gesticulated wildly for us to a slip road which transformed into a mud track frequented by tractors and led right to the beginning of a parallel bridge which wasn’t clogged up by truck traffic. While other cars of lesser stature struggled or even turned tail at the sight of the trail that had been significantly worsened, we were told, by recent showers, the Fortuner took to this challenge like a duck to (extremely muddy) water and rode it out in style. Soon, highways melded into city streets and we’d arrived in Ahmedabad.
The following day, we set out to explore Gujarat’s capital city and its reputation for being a bridge-besieged one. For added contrast, we checked out both the fairly new Nehru Bridge and the century-old Ellis Bridge, both of which had their erstwhile charm as they formed a conduit across the Sabarmati River that flows through the heart of the city. We also found time to visit the ancient Jama Masjid, standing and stunning since the 1400s, and the historical Teen Darwaza along the way. After a meal of very un-Gujju steak, laal maas and other delicious treats we were off to Udaipur, our rest stop for the night. On the way, we saw a monolithic structure that even dwarfed the Fortuner – the massive cooling towers of a thermal power plant.
