Day Five
Kanpur to Barhapur – 51 km | Ryan Lee
They say the early bird catches the worm. I woke up a little early, got ready and enthroned myself behind the wheel so that I would be the one to start the day. As luck would have it, though, we got stuck in a bad traffic jam. I had to get out to help Aninda and Sanjay with traffic control, which meant the end of my driving stint.
Barhapur to Agra – 240 km | Ravi Chandnani
Having fallen prey to food poisoning on day four, I tried to get back into the driver seat on day five. Honestly, I wasn’t able to concentrate hard and the bad roads only added to my misery. Nevertheless, I drove for a good 240 km before handing the car over to Aninda for a quick dash to Jaipur to catch a flight back home and make way for Harket.
Agra to Kishangarh – 360 km | Aninda Sardar
The narrow and bustling exit from Agra gives way to the fabulous six-lane Agra-Jaipur highway. The 250 km went by in a blur of non-stop speed punctuated by jaywalking cows, slow-moving bikes and murderous lorries coming down the wrong side of the road. By the time we neared Kishangarh, as also my driving stint, the desert sun was low on the horizon, tinting the sky with a gorgeous pink-orange hue.
Kishangarh to Chittorgarh – 201 km | Ryan Lee
Since I did not get to drive in the morning, I kept pestering my team-mates to let me drive. Fed up with my persistent demand, Aninda gave me the car to drive for a bit in Rajasthan before Sanjay took over.
Chittorgarh to Udaipur – 115 km | Sanjay Raikar
We were now in Rajasthan and the roads were excellent, much better than those we had encountered in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Here I let the CLA loose on the smooth highway. Its performance was simply amazing. Even though I was driving in the night, the bright headlamps illuminated the road very well. I could see for quite some distance ahead. We finally made it to Udaipur for some much-needed rest.
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Day Six
Udaipur to Ajmer – 300 km | Harket Suchde
First day (for me) and my first stint – awesome! Wow, that CLA is quick and oh-so-easy-to-drive too. The Rajasthan roads are the stuff of legends, of course, and I had a blast hurling the Merc down the highway, dodging the odd stray animal or human along the way, a pity the otherwise excellent GPS doesn’t have animal warnings too.
Ajmer to Khari Khurd – 300 km | Ryan Lee
Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong … Ajmer. Well, as luck would have it, we crossed Ajmer yet again, and this time I made sure I was driving. Driving on the smooth but dusty roads of the Rajasthan countryside was deja-vu and I enjoyed every bit of it. I used the cruise-control to my advantage and just sat back and relaxed.
Khari Khurd to Bikaner – 269 km | Piyush Sonsale
After leaving Jodhpur, the plan was to reach Bikaner via Nagaur but the broken road was treacherous for driving after dark. So we took the link road that leads to the Bikaner-Jaisalmer road and turned right at the Phalodi junction. The road was smooth and straight most of the way but there were intermittent showers and I had to keep my eyes wide open in anticipation of the frequent instances of cows crossing the road.
