Why Driving in India is a Challenge I Like to Take

A few things about India are so delightful that they keep pulling me back. Even though I am an Indian, I feel like a foreigner whenever I travel to some other corner of the country. That is why; every day of the vacation becomes an adventurous one, no matter where I am. However, driving on the Indian roads is something that keeps me on my toes every moment. I cannot afford to blink my eyes even for a second because of the challenges looming forever on the roads. As they say, you must not use a mobile phone while driving as it can be dangerous; it can be fatal in India. If you are not vigilant enough, it will take just a second to lose your life. Thankfully, I have never been involved in any serious injury, but a few minor accidents have taught me the value of keeping a watchful eye each second on the road.

The users of the road

I had always heard that the roads in Singapore speak volumes about cleanliness, and it is true. I have been to Singapore and they have impeccably clean roads. You may invite a huge fine if you break the traffic rules. On the other hand, we have barely any traffic rules; we don’t follow them even if we have. The roads in India are meant for everyone without any specific lanes for heavy and light vehicles.

It is a common sight to find cars, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws, manual rickshaws, buses in all sizes, and trucks on just one road. No one is bothered to follow the lanes and hence, we have the great Indian traffic jam. To worsen the situation, we have cattle on the road along with dogs, cats, elephants, and horses. Yes, the generous Indian public never minds the animals on the roads. In fact, we try to save the animals whenever they cross the road even if it means losing a human life. This is not something to be proud of, yet, I cannot help it but manage with the situation.

Driving sense

It is again a sorry fact to admit but Indians have poor traffic sense. It is fun for them to jump the traffic lights, cross the road with oncoming vehicles, cause obstructions by changing lanes without notice, and abuse others if they overtake. In a country where everything can be done with bribe, most people get their licenses made without even giving a driving test. They learn driving just when they come on the road with their car or bike and a family member or a friend to teach them. It implies that people do not prefer to learn from the driving instructors, but from already underqualified drivers. Hence, the outcome is unqualified drivers who would do anything to get their way on the road.

It is a serious task to reach your destination safely, but by the virtue of being an Indian, I have got used to driving in India. In fact, I love the challenge. I like to book Self Driven Car in Mumbai and drive when the roads are relatively empty at night; it is the best time of the day.

How I Escape Clashes Over Money While Traveling

Yes, there have been a few incidences when I had indulged in stupid fights with friends over money. However, those were the times when we barely had money since we were in college and everyone was quite clingy about the meager cash they had. We could not help but accept the fact that we all were short of cash at all times, so we had to demarcate the lines about how we would split the expenses anyone made in the group. Splitting the costs were the early lessons in life that I was lucky to have in life.

Traveling with friends

There was one road trip to Coorg when I traveled with three other friends. We often had clashes about who would spend for what, the members of the group would look here and there whenever it came to paying the bills, and the fuel for the car was often a bone of contention among us. When we returned, we all had bitter memories to share. The next time, I decided that I would travel with friends who were of one mind about spending money at least; we could deal with other things easily.

We planned for a road trip to Mahableshwar, for which we had to book Self Driven Car in Mumbai, and I had made it clear that I would pay only if everyone will not behave miserly later. When my friends laughed about it, I got the signals that I would not face any problem with budgeting with these guys. I paid for the car rental, someone else paid for the hotel booking, etc. and we all divided the costs later.

Petty cash  

I like to convey it to my friends every time on a road trip that we should contribute a couple of thousands, which one person will handle. And this cashier deals with all the expenses that we have to make. He pays the food bills, toll taxes, and all other small expenses. We all just chill and have fun on the road trips, without thinking about who will pay this bill and that one.

Using mobile apps

Since the day I have been using Splitwise, the finances with my friends have been sorted like never before. This simple mobile application lets me divide the expenses with my roommates, friends, and even family. Whenever I have to go for a weekend getaway, we mention our expenses in the common mobile app, which is Splitwise in our case. When we return from the trip, it shows the net balance that each member has to pay to each other. Sorted!

Just by being clear and careful about money matters, I have organized the finances well with everyone who is in my closed circles. It certainly adds more value to any relationship when you don’t have to worry about something as significant as money, which of course gains more importance when you don’t pay heed to it. After having some of the most amazing road trips, I look forward to many more of them.

What Motivates Me to Travel Every Month

For me, travel does not necessarily mean that I should go out of the city every time. I live in Mumbai and I love to explore every corner of it, which might take a year or more. Even then, I feel I would not be able to grasp everything in the city owing to the versatility of the city. Nevertheless, I want to share how I find the motivation to leave the house every weekend and explore a new place or even a new café.

Tiredness from work

Exhaustion from the routine of weekdays is the first thing that bores many people. Still, they keep slugging for weeks and months to go for just one vacation. However, I don’t like to sit at home on Saturdays and Sundays. I make sure that I have my plans ready before Friday strikes so that I do not feel too confused to decide upon the destination. I plan my weekend for a new meet-up, visit to a historical monument, or eating at a new place. If I cannot find anything, I make sure that I meet someone from office, college, or school. I just cannot spend time sleeping at home throughout the weekend.

Curiosity to explore

This reason may or may not work for others, but it does wonderfully work for me. I love to learn about new places, especially the historical monuments. I have deep interest in history and politics, so I love to explore more and more places as soon as I can. I have been to several museums and monuments to learn about the culture and history of India. 

Meeting people

When I know that I have to meet an interesting person, my heart comes abound with joy. Talking to a new person gives me a reason to get dressed and find topics to talk to him or her. This trait of being so communicative came in me from my husband. I used to be a little reserved whenever I would meet someone. However, as soon as I observed him after marriage, I noticed him talking to everyone he met. He is not an MBA graduate or a marketing executive who knows how to strike a conversation with people. Still, he is a pro at making people comfortable with him and he can extract a lot of positive information out of anyone.

I and my husband often take Car rental Mumbai to go to places that we can visit together, based on our personal interests. Nevertheless, it is completely my choice to be out of the house every weekend while he prefers to relax on both days. During my journey of so many weekends in and around Mumbai, I can proudly say that I love the way I live. Life would not have been better than it is today. Although I have seen people talking about travel a lot, but when it comes to actually doing it, they have broader plans than they can accomplish. Nevertheless, I would keep doing what I am pursuing at present.

A Night Well Spent Wandering on the Outskirts of Mumbai

Sometimes, you don't feel like doing anything at all. Everything you can think of seems to bore you to death. Boredom strikes you even more when you do not live with anyone, and you are an extrovert. The problem with me is that I cannot find a suitable person to share my apartment, which has many side-effects including boredom. I was getting this feeling one Saturday evening in my home in the Andheri region of Mumbai. I just could not stop my mind from racing, and thinking about things I did not want to think about. I had to do something to get my mind at peace, but everything seemed humdrum.

After calling a couple of friends to have a party, and failing at it, I decided to go for a drive. Did I tell you that I do not have a car? My bad! I don't have a car! So how could I possibly go for a solo drive without a car? Not-so-thankfully, people in Mumbai do not like to share their cars with anyone, so there was no chance of borrowing a car from someone. Without thinking for a second, I decided to rent a car for the night. The car arrived in two hours, and since it was off-season going on, I got the car at a heavy discount. Nonetheless, that is a different matter.

I took the car keys from the company representative, locked the doors, and set off for a solo drive for the night. Before I get into the details, I must tell you that it was one of the most amazing times I had spent with myself. I have been on solo trips to the mountains and beaches, but never for a drive before that night. Drinking alone while driving was out of the question, so I decided to drive sober.

The chai-break

After driving on the outskirts of Mumbai for more than two hours, the first break I took was at a roadside chai-vendor. I asked him to give a masala chai with a rusk as I sat down on a big stone beside he was standing. The best thing about Mumbai is the safety and peace of mind this city gives to females. The chai-wala had his wife and daughter with him. The daughter was studying under the traffic light as her mother prepared food for her family. I asked the man about his hometown; he told me that his name was Bhola and he belonged to Agra. He had come to Mumbai with big dreams for his family as his hometown had nothing to give to them. They were very generous people; as I sat there for an hour or so, they even offered me food. I did take a bite of the delicious lauki ki sabzi that the lady had prepared, but it was now time for me to depart from there and let the family have their alone time. 

The drive

For some weird reason, I did not feel tired driving the car rentals Mumbai for another three hours. I must have driven for more than 200-300 kilometers that night, but I did not feel tired at all. Just one more cup of chai at another vendor kept me going. I was just listening to music, looking at the sceneries around me, the trees and animals on the hills, and just driving at my own pace. Spending alone time sometimes feels so peaceful that you do not want to do anything else on earth. My friends still call me a weirdo for doing something as crazy as that, but I can always call that night as one of the best in my entire lifetime.

The Only Disadvantage of Traveling By Car

Much has been written about the pros of traveling by car and extended road trips, but hardly anyone talks about the cons of it. Every coin has two sides, and the road trips also have their benefits and detriments. Since I am talking about the negative sides of road trips, it does not mean that I do not like them. I am an ardent lover of traveling by car, but I felt like writing about the flip side of it. At least a decade ago, road trips used to be cheaper and much more fun than today. Let me take my heart out as I talk about the disadvantages of traveling by car.

Traffic jam

Earlier when I had started going for road trips during my college time, there used to be hardly any cars on the road. However, nowadays the immense traffic on the road irritates me every time I go out on the road, especially during office hours. Passing through the small cities is one hell of a task because the vehicles are not regulated at all, and I am sorry to say, but people do not have any civic sense to be on the road. The animals, children, pedestrians, and bikes are all on the same street where the high-speed vehicles should be. All this chaos causes traffic jam even in metropolitans, forget the Tier-II cities of India, which are in massive bedlam.

Time consumption

 I have to be honest here; road trips do take a lot of time and effort. If the distance is more than 100 kilometers, I have to do a lot of mental preparation to be there in the car for hours at a stretch. With the growing age after forty, being in the car for more than three hours definitely seems painful. If I leave for Goa from Mumbai, it takes me more than 11-12 hours to be there, which is a long time of course. Although extended hours of journey do not seem much painful when I have someone to talk to in the car. Being alone for such a long journey is undeniably awful.

Hidden costs

Being on a road trip does involve a few hidden costs, which may sometimes shoot up the budget by a great deal. If the car breaks down, the prices of the motels are great than I expected, the food is expensive, and the toll taxes there at every hundred kilometers; I have to bear the costs of every such expense. All these expenses are really agonizing, mainly because I am habitual of going for a road trip when these expenses used to be much lower than the current times.

Bad weather

Although the bad weather can impact traveling in all modes of transport, sometimes it becomes especially challenging to deal with it when it is raining or snowing heavily. Driving on the wet roads is highly risky since the visibility is too low and the roads become slippery. Secondly, if the snowfall occurs on the hilly areas, it becomes equally disturbing to drive the car in a zero-visibility environment because of snow.

I do love going on the road trips despite all these disadvantages because of the peace of mind that I get on the roads. Someone has rightly said that the roads are an answer to all problems. Whenever I feel lost or confused, I rent Self Drive Cars in Mumbai and hit the road with my friends or even alone. Just after a few hours, I feel my nerves calming down, and I can find answers to all my problems.

How I Realized Not to Ride an Elephant Anywhere in the World

Asia is a famous part of the world where the elephants are a common sight. Whether it is India, Thailand, or Sri Lanka, one can easily spot an elephant and take a ride on its back for fun and frolic. Whenever I would see an elephant earlier, I would ask my friends to join me for a fun trip. However, it was not too late when I realized that I should not do it. I still remember my first giant ride in Delhi when I was there with a friend who had come from Mumbai. It was around eight at night when I was there in Connaught Place, and we spotted an elephant with its mahout, the master of the animal. The man seemed to have a good reputation with the giant being, and as soon as he gestured, the elephant bowed to its front knees to let us sit on it.  

Our joy could see no bounds when we realized that we were going to ride an elephant in reality. The mahout let us sit on the square seat that he had created on the back of his tamed creature. As soon as the elephant got up, we had to grip the bars of the seating tightly to avoid falling from the top of a huge animal that we had even touched for the first time. Just in the flash of a second, I could imagine myself being trampled under the foot of the elephant if he got angry. Nevertheless, it was too much to think of when all we had to do was to hold the iron bars tightly. 

As soon as the elephant started moving, we started enjoying the bumpy ride. Although the mahout charged us a hefty amount for a two hundred-meter ride, we did enjoy the trip to the best. We wanted to be there on the back of the elephant for at least a few more minutes, but before we realized, the journey got over. We got the pictures clicked with the adorable living thing, and went ahead to have the dinner with our hearts full of joy. At several other instances, including ones in Mumbai, Ludhiana, and Kerala, I took the pleasure of elephant rides. However, it was when I was there in Mumbai when the realization dawned on me that I was indulging in a cruel act for my sake of fun.

I was there with the same friend in Mumbai who had come to my city, Delhi when we first enjoyed the ride. We had taken a Car Rental Mumbai to explore her city of dreams. While having a great time around the grand town, we spotted an elephant again. As soon as we saw the animal, we giggled and immediately decided to ride it once more and relive our memories of Delhi. We took the trip on the animal as we had resolved, but as soon as we were about to leave the place, we noticed something that changed our perception towards animals forever.  

The mahout of the animal was poking sharp iron rode on its leg when the elephant refused to obey his orders. Maybe the elephant was sick and tired for the night, but his master was not ready to let go of his earning for the day. He wanted to get more out of the elephant, but the beast was adamant not to give in. After the mahout tortured it for a couple of times more, he had no choice but to agree. It was a terrible sight to see, and I could see it in the eyes of the elephant that he would never forget a human being for treating him like this. I recalled my so-called learnings of school when I had gained the knowledge that the lions, rabbits, and elephants are tormented to entertain the humans. I immediately decided not to indulge in this heinous act of riding an elephant again in my life, and so did my friend.

A Superb Visit to Khotachi Wadi Village in Mumbai

After living in Mumbai for a significant part of my life, I have understood one thing that I am not a person who is made for constant commotion of the metropolitans. However, it is also true that I cannot escape this life because I have to sustain a reasonable standard of life, which is possible only in the urban cities. One place where I love going for a weekend getaway is the Khotachi Wadi village in the city; it is a tiny settlement in the Girgaum district of South Mumbai. People know this hamlet mainly because of the Chowpatty beach, but I try to explore things beyond that whenever I go there. I have a coincidental buddy who lives in the houses constructed in Portuguese style. Most of the people here are the original inhabitants of Mumbai, the East Indian Christians who came here more than a hundred years ago.  

The bright colors of the houses and their multi-storied structures are quite rare in the central city where tall skyscrapers are a familiar sight. The high ceilings of the enormous rooms behind the long-standing verandahs are a sigh of relief when you come from the congested apartments. I do not have any choice but to live in a tiny dwelling in the city, which I do not like very much because I come from Punjab where I have been brought up in huge Haveli style houses. The quiet ambiance of this place at my friend, Mahesh's house lets me relax and spend a good time with his family. I always go there early in the morning just to be able to smell the Goan and Konkan cuisines, most of which are made of fish. I never had much of fish during my childhood, but it was a fantastic experience to experiment with various varieties of it and fall in love with it.  

Mahesh's mother and wife, both are fantastic cooks, and they prepare such mouth-watering cuisines that I cannot help but lick every bit of food in my plate. They have even trained the male folk of the house to cook brilliant dishes. So whenever, the females of the house are not in a mood to toil in the kitchen; the men bring the kitchen to the verandah and cooking becomes a household activity. My wife and I enjoy being with these people, who are not indulged in the rat race of existence and triumph like us.

I work for Self-Drive Car Rental Mumbai, and it is easy for me to take a car and reach any corner of the city. It was just by chance that I met Mahesh while walking on the streets of Khotachi Wadi; I was asking for the directions to the chapel in the village. He accompanied me to the place rather than just guiding me with the instructions. I had loved his gesture of hospitality, which is rare in Mumbai. While talking to him for a while on our way, he told me quite a few things about the chapel and showed me the scenes depicting the birth time of Jesus. I found the mural of Virgin Mary with baby Jesus particularly amazing because of its simplicity. Mahesh told me that the villagers had constructed the chapel in 1899 to express gratitude to Jesus after they persisted the plague. 

After a few years of friendship with Mahesh, I realize that even Khotachi Wadi is gradually being converted into an urban town. The springing of high rise buildings poses a threat to the austerity of this place. Anyway, until we have time to enjoy the serenity of this little hamlet, I do not want to waste a minute that I can spend here.