DAY 3 - 16th December (Santalpur to Dholavira)
I was now finally riding with a 'big' group after a long time. Yes, any number more than 2 constitutes a 'big' group for me, as I have been riding solo or with 1-2 people for the past few years. On the topic of groups, something that never escaped me till the last day of my ride was news of a bunch of Harleys. Numerous Harley groups had crossed me by now and I heard of them from everyone on the roads - dhaba people, chai stall owners, city dwellers, etc. A 750-strong contingent of Harley Owners Group (HOG) was featuring in the Rann Utsav and consequently, we kept getting confused for being part of the same group throughout the ride. Indeed, at one point, someone actually tried to tell me that I had missed the group by over a day and I might want to ride faster! Guess the stories of my slow riding have spread far and wide.
This day's destination was Rapar. We started out from Santalpur and stopped at the Forest Department guesthouse to get more details on the Wild Ass Sanctuary. We wanted to camp there. Dips, Rajaji and Ankit went to talk inside while I lounged under a tree. Once again, I caught the curiosity of a bunch of village kids, all thanks to my gear. Frankly, I have gotten more attention due to my gear during this ride that I ever have in my lifetime!
The others returned and filled me in - at the next village, Piprali, we can enter the Rann! This was really exciting and I was looking forward to some tough off-roading, even if it scared me a bit. Localites in Piprali tried to warn us away from the Rann but we were very confident we could manage. You have to cross a lot of slush, vegetation and sand to get to the hard-packed soil of the desert. We were all up for the challenge. There were a series of narrow, sandy embankments we had to negotiate. Ankit decided to cut the Gordian knot and rode down a steep, dangerous slope to reach a convenient spot. We chose to bypass that slope. In the process, I got stuck in deep sand and had a minor fall. While the fall itself was harmless, I was now stuck - here was a Bullet on its side, fully loaded with luggage. I honked a few times but the rest had gone ahead and I wasn't sure if anyone heard me. I took a deep breath and lifted the entire monster in one go. I suffered a minor muscle pull in my bicep due to this though.
Soon, we reached the desert and now there was no stopping us. Ankit tried his best to rally us together for a video but we were in no mood to listen. We city kids are used to paths. There always is a path, visible or partially visible. A road, a track, a 'kaccha rasta', something which has a form and direction. In the desert though, there actually isn't any path. You can ride anywhere with no restrictions! We zig-zagged our way to a random spot and established 'camp'. We maneuvered the four bikes to serve as 'pillars' and spread the tarpaulin over them. Our picnic consisted of carrots, Parle-G biscuits and water. Rajaji was convinced that there was water at the horizon and left with Ankit to explore. The vast, empty desert was, to me, as terrifying and humbling as the ocean or the hills. I went into musing mode for a bit here.
Once the others returned, we packed up and started for Rapar. Barring a 10-kms misnavigation by Ankit the Leader, we had a smooth, albeit hot ride till Rapar. It was past lunch time though and we had to make do with some snacks in the town. There were also no decent places to stay here, so we rode on towards Dholavira. We then reached the Kutch Lake, a dried lake bed that covers both sides of the road. All you see is an endless expanse of white salt in both directions - this was our first and best view (as we would later realize) of the famed White Desert. We reached this spot just in time for the sunset, a truly magnificent sight.
Riding further, we chanced upon the Flamingo Resort. It seemed to be newly constructed. As we rode inside and parked, I was approached by a Kannadiga family who saw my KA number-plate. What followed was a very typical conversation, that would repeat itself throughout the ride and has repeated itself for many years for me. Because I have stayed in different places all my life, I attract such conversations. They go thus -
"Ah, you are all riding from Karnataka?"
"No, from Pune. They are coming from Delhi"
"Oh, so you're Marathi?"
"No, I grew up in Delhi."
"Then the KA bike....?"
"I was in Bangalore for sometime, so I bought the bike there"
"OK, so Delhiite"
"No, I'm actually an Andhraite, I was born and brought up in Delhi..."
"But you're now in...?"
"Pune"
"......"
In the past 5-6 years, I have been part of umpteen variations of this conversation. I realized that mono-syllabic answers do not turn away anyone. So if I'm in a hurry, I just list out the entire lot in one go - "Originally Andhraite, in Delhi all my life, in Bangalore for 5 years, now presently in Pune". It is usually a lot of fun for me and everyone around though!
The night's stay was fixed in Flamingo Resort. Once again, we managed to procure the essentials from a localite. Ankit and I went to get it this time. On the way back, we witnessed the magnificent spectacle that I have only seen in photos till now - a sky clear enough for the Milky Way to be visible. Once we returned, we started our BBB in earnest. The last highlight of this very eventful day was witnessing the almost-full moon reflecting on the White Desert. We rode the short distance to the spot we had chanced up earlier in the evening and soaked in the cold air and sheer whiteness of the environment. It is a different matter that my shoes were simultaneously soaking in the muck-encrusted-with-salt.....
DAY 4 - 17th December (Dholavira, Rapar and Bhuj)
The first task of the morning was to pull out my Swiss knife and clean my shoes. Apparently, the salt-mud mixture can eat away into your shoe lining. After a good 20 minute scraping session, I had gotten rid of the worst of the muck. After freshening up, we had a breakfast of poha and chai at the resort, while chatting with the caretakers. One of them started assigning names of politicians to us based on his impression of us (I was Manmohan Singh, because I talked less).
We then set off towards the ancient Harappan site of Dholavira. The place is beautifully maintained, albeit quite empty. It reminded me of Hampi, actually, even if they are both from completely different eras. We hired a guide who took us around, explaining the sites. These ancient city-builders can teach a thing or two to us nowadays. Along with the guide's comments, I actually learnt quite a bit from Ankit (an architect by profession) about the ingenuity of their construction methods. All those pics in history books now came to life. We next went to museum which housed the artifacts unearthed from these sites. This is something I love about BoP. Visiting museums on fun trips is usually frowned upon and I have been made fun of for my 'nerdy' inclinations by other friends' groups. Here, however, walking into the museum is as natural as walking into a seedy bar!
Next destination was the Fossil Park. This was not part of our original itinerary, but the Flamingo Resort owner told us about it. The Fossil Park consists of petrified wood (as in 'fossilized', not as in 'scared') that is enclosed in fences to prevent people from spoiling it. Here, we found a naturally carved ass-stone, as identified by Rajaji. We also tried our hand at
archaeology by picking up random stones and trying to identify if it was petrified wood or a simple stone.
This Fossil Park is at the edge of one end of the White Desert. We lounged around on the salt for sometime, getting pics clicked. The salt was firmer here, but it might have been because it was afternoon. We then went back past the Harappan site and stopped at a small resort for a delicious lunch. This entire ride was a vegetarian's delight. I was actually having fun at the behest of my fellow riders, because during the WCR ride, I was the only vegetarian in the entire gang and we were riding through a predominantly fish-and-beef-obsessed region (Kerala). Here in Gujarat, I was completely at home and was enjoying the culinary delights to the fullest.
Post lunch, we went back to Flamingo, packed up and left for Rapar. Now our previous touch-n-go experience in Rapar was pretty sad and the experience continued this time too. We wanted to ride towards Bhuj, but stop somewhere in the middle. After a short distance, we stopped for a discussion - whether to continue the next 120-odd kms to Bhuj or stop somewhere else. Ankit and Dips were keen on riding to Bhuj, Zaheer didn't seem too keen and I was dead against it. I have instinctively avoided night riding for a long time. After some cajoling however, I realized that I wasn't sleepy and could easily ride the entire distance, albeit with a dinner break. A deal was struck - we stop for dinner on the way and we ride till Bhuj for the night.
We soon turned off the main highway and the next 30-35 kms were hell for me. When you have spectacles on, riding in the night on an unlit, single-lane highway with high-beamed oncoming traffic becomes doubly difficult. If you randomly drop me on those roads today, I wouldn't be able to recognize anything because I was riding blind for the most part. The dinner dhaba was a welcome break for me. Soon, though, the roads became better and we reached Bhuj late in the night. It took us quite some roaming around to find a hotel, but we found a decent one inside the city. The agenda was simple - finish the remaining 'supplies' and go to sleep!
I was now finally riding with a 'big' group after a long time. Yes, any number more than 2 constitutes a 'big' group for me, as I have been riding solo or with 1-2 people for the past few years. On the topic of groups, something that never escaped me till the last day of my ride was news of a bunch of Harleys. Numerous Harley groups had crossed me by now and I heard of them from everyone on the roads - dhaba people, chai stall owners, city dwellers, etc. A 750-strong contingent of Harley Owners Group (HOG) was featuring in the Rann Utsav and consequently, we kept getting confused for being part of the same group throughout the ride. Indeed, at one point, someone actually tried to tell me that I had missed the group by over a day and I might want to ride faster! Guess the stories of my slow riding have spread far and wide.
This day's destination was Rapar. We started out from Santalpur and stopped at the Forest Department guesthouse to get more details on the Wild Ass Sanctuary. We wanted to camp there. Dips, Rajaji and Ankit went to talk inside while I lounged under a tree. Once again, I caught the curiosity of a bunch of village kids, all thanks to my gear. Frankly, I have gotten more attention due to my gear during this ride that I ever have in my lifetime!
Once the others returned, we packed up and started for Rapar. Barring a 10-kms misnavigation by Ankit the Leader, we had a smooth, albeit hot ride till Rapar. It was past lunch time though and we had to make do with some snacks in the town. There were also no decent places to stay here, so we rode on towards Dholavira. We then reached the Kutch Lake, a dried lake bed that covers both sides of the road. All you see is an endless expanse of white salt in both directions - this was our first and best view (as we would later realize) of the famed White Desert. We reached this spot just in time for the sunset, a truly magnificent sight.
Riding further, we chanced upon the Flamingo Resort. It seemed to be newly constructed. As we rode inside and parked, I was approached by a Kannadiga family who saw my KA number-plate. What followed was a very typical conversation, that would repeat itself throughout the ride and has repeated itself for many years for me. Because I have stayed in different places all my life, I attract such conversations. They go thus -
"Ah, you are all riding from Karnataka?"
"No, from Pune. They are coming from Delhi"
"Oh, so you're Marathi?"
"No, I grew up in Delhi."
"Then the KA bike....?"
"I was in Bangalore for sometime, so I bought the bike there"
"OK, so Delhiite"
"No, I'm actually an Andhraite, I was born and brought up in Delhi..."
"But you're now in...?"
"Pune"
"......"
In the past 5-6 years, I have been part of umpteen variations of this conversation. I realized that mono-syllabic answers do not turn away anyone. So if I'm in a hurry, I just list out the entire lot in one go - "Originally Andhraite, in Delhi all my life, in Bangalore for 5 years, now presently in Pune". It is usually a lot of fun for me and everyone around though!
The night's stay was fixed in Flamingo Resort. Once again, we managed to procure the essentials from a localite. Ankit and I went to get it this time. On the way back, we witnessed the magnificent spectacle that I have only seen in photos till now - a sky clear enough for the Milky Way to be visible. Once we returned, we started our BBB in earnest. The last highlight of this very eventful day was witnessing the almost-full moon reflecting on the White Desert. We rode the short distance to the spot we had chanced up earlier in the evening and soaked in the cold air and sheer whiteness of the environment. It is a different matter that my shoes were simultaneously soaking in the muck-encrusted-with-salt.....
DAY 4 - 17th December (Dholavira, Rapar and Bhuj)
The first task of the morning was to pull out my Swiss knife and clean my shoes. Apparently, the salt-mud mixture can eat away into your shoe lining. After a good 20 minute scraping session, I had gotten rid of the worst of the muck. After freshening up, we had a breakfast of poha and chai at the resort, while chatting with the caretakers. One of them started assigning names of politicians to us based on his impression of us (I was Manmohan Singh, because I talked less).
Next destination was the Fossil Park. This was not part of our original itinerary, but the Flamingo Resort owner told us about it. The Fossil Park consists of petrified wood (as in 'fossilized', not as in 'scared') that is enclosed in fences to prevent people from spoiling it. Here, we found a naturally carved ass-stone, as identified by Rajaji. We also tried our hand at
Post lunch, we went back to Flamingo, packed up and left for Rapar. Now our previous touch-n-go experience in Rapar was pretty sad and the experience continued this time too. We wanted to ride towards Bhuj, but stop somewhere in the middle. After a short distance, we stopped for a discussion - whether to continue the next 120-odd kms to Bhuj or stop somewhere else. Ankit and Dips were keen on riding to Bhuj, Zaheer didn't seem too keen and I was dead against it. I have instinctively avoided night riding for a long time. After some cajoling however, I realized that I wasn't sleepy and could easily ride the entire distance, albeit with a dinner break. A deal was struck - we stop for dinner on the way and we ride till Bhuj for the night.
We soon turned off the main highway and the next 30-35 kms were hell for me. When you have spectacles on, riding in the night on an unlit, single-lane highway with high-beamed oncoming traffic becomes doubly difficult. If you randomly drop me on those roads today, I wouldn't be able to recognize anything because I was riding blind for the most part. The dinner dhaba was a welcome break for me. Soon, though, the roads became better and we reached Bhuj late in the night. It took us quite some roaming around to find a hotel, but we found a decent one inside the city. The agenda was simple - finish the remaining 'supplies' and go to sleep!
I remember that from here on, you also started saying to enquiries, "sab Delhi se aa rahe hain".
ReplyDeleteYou must have had a blast enjoying those veggie Delights in Gujarat. Poha and Chai are the staple breakfast items here and I had them before my 100k Cycle ride today.
ReplyDeleteI wish to ride on that white expanse road someday. Let's see when I would be able to manage. Just don't wanna ride solo.
Fun reading about a BoP ride in which I wasn't there for a change!
Cheers,
Che
Gujarat and even Maharashtra are veggie heavens for sure. Lovely food. I used to have poha and chai as a standard breakfast item very often in Pune.
ReplyDeleteTumhare liye toh backyard hai yeh sab, KTM ka udhghaatan karna ussi ret pe!
BoP Bangalore blogs bhi toh aise hi the! But I guess you didn't know most of my co-riders there, unlike RoK, so I get it.