Motorcycles Diaries - Part One

“Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive” 

― Robert M. Pirsig,

The Alarm was at its best when it went on at 4:30 AM on a Saturday Morning. I reluctantly called my friend, Max to give him a wakeup call as decided few hours before. After few thoughts I knew that I am going with the plan on this day. I was greeted by him at around 6:00 and on the Thunderbird 350 cc our Journey to Nimrana Fort begun.

Riding the monster in turns we reached Nimrana Fort at around 1000 hours with lot of little breaks in the highway. There stood a man in mustache in typical Rajasthani attire who welcomed us with not so pleasing words. We were told that the fort is now a hotel and the bookings are done from Delhi. Which also means that we could not enjoy anything there as all were for the guests of Nimrana Fort. Not sure what to do next, quick calls were made to random friends equipped with internet and familiar with the geographical locations of Rajasthan. Suggestions came in from all directions; 'go to Jaipur', 'Ajmer' , ' no... go to Alwar', etc.

We took our time and finally decided to take our chances with Sariska Tiger Reserve as guided by a local cab driver. Little did we know about what's going to unfold ahead, we kept the same enthusiasm of a traveler. We have already crossed Nimrana and the road to Sariska was through Behror and Alwar. The road from Behror to Alwar was a Biker's nightmare. It was broken all along till 7kms before Alwar. The best part in that summer heat was the sound of the monster. Suddenly Life had the background score. The GPS on the phone said follow the road endlessly. Somehow, we still manage to ask the lone locals about the road ahead, and would follow their pointers skeptically. We crossed lot of resorts, which people said would help us getting a jungle safari. We zoomed past them.

We stopped at a roadside cafe to brace ourselves with some chilled liquid drinks and ask about our itinerary. The guy offered tips and suggestions that we can spend the night there and with lots of entertaining things around we were thinking that we might go for it. But there was something that was dragging us to take one more step. And finally we left for greater glory.

Not to mention the road was at its worst and we, trying to ride through the pit holes, finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. We were at the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary. It was almost the closing time and we managed to get a safari ride equipped with a human guide to show us the jungle. They took us to route 3, making it clear that the chance of spotting a tiger is scarce. Nevertheless, we were excited to see the jungle and the antelopes which include Neelgai, Sambar, spotted deer and plenty of birds. Then it rained. The jungle was, all of a sudden, more beautiful. We spotted the Peacocks dancing with their feathers in the air, fully spread. It was majestic. The safari ended in no time with lot of sight-seeing and the guide showing us few of the hunted animals' corpses half-eaten on the cruise. 

After this we decided to ride back to Alwar for the night stay. We rode in the mesmerizing weather and in no time we were there. We asked about a place to stay and finally got ourselves a nice hideout of RTDC. We ordered food in the room and had plenty of discussions on various topics which led us to sleep. Next morning was supposed to take us to Alwar fort and museum and then back to Delhi.

We took off to the Police station to get an approval to visit the fort. The uphill road to the fort was fascinating itself. The curvy roads with valleys around quickly took us to the top. The fort was in jarred condition and repair work was in progress. We entered the fort and looked into every nook and corner of it. Finally when we came to the exit gate a Police officer told us not to go inside the fort as it is prohibited because of the on-going maintenance work. We laughed mildly and descended to the Museum in the city. The museum was nice displaying the literature and weapons. The variety of guns and swords were amazing. The mercury was rising and we decided to leave Alwar. 

We devoured few roadside delicacies and left for Delhi. This time we managed to get another state highway, which was newly constructed. It took us no time to reach the NH8 with few stops in between. Once we were in the highway we stopped for lunch and then reached Gurgaon in good time. The city traffic caught our tired selves and slowly guided us to our homes.

We settled in our adobes thinking about the hell of a ride and made promises to ourselves for forthcoming trips. Many more to come.. stay tuned ..