Thursday, October 12, 2006

11th October : Leg 2 day 8 : Jaipur-Udaipur

My Jupiter kept performing flawlessly, cruising at around the 100km/h mark all the time





Thats me kissing the Golden Quadrilateral... Managed to hit 230km/h on the CBR 1000RR...Awesome roads

Sitting, or rather half lying in the cozy little balcony enclosure overlooking palm trees and a swimming pool with the cute little Daschund and Labrador playing around, I cannot imagine a better place to relax and drink chilled Red Bull after a hard day’s ride from Jaipur to Udaipur, an approximate distance of 425kms, than at the Raj Niwas hotel in Udaipur. Life seems to be quite good on the GIR at times like these! Thank you Sunny! And not to forget the fifteen minute ride on the Blade today when I broke my own record and went past the 230km/h mark. Yuppy!
The day, which had to start at seven, eventually started quite late and the plan was that Sunny and I would head for Udaipur with the back-up pickup while others would stay back in Jaipur. Finally after spending days in Jaipur, we were to make some serious progress. Although the problem in Jaipur hasn’t been solved, but the GIR must continue and hence the decision to proceed to Udaipur. We left the city at fifteen minutes to noon but the awesome highway, which is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral saw us achieving average speeds of over 75 km/h and it includes the 1000cc Fireblade as well as 150cc Jupiter! How I wish all the highways in India are like this but at the back of my mind I do know that as we proceed with the ride, such roads will become a distant dream! Sunny for sure had to keep his cool with the throttle of the Blade because my bike wasn’t topping over 115km/h and we had to stay together. Nevertheless, with our respective IPods blaring and the scenic little hills around our route, we kept going and did tease a lotta vehicles enroute. We took our first major break at a Reliance petrol pump’s A1 restaurant. This is again one thing which really impressed us. Built in the middle of nowhere, such Reliance outlets provide good quality fuel, engine oils and a restaurant which serves tasty food, all built in quite a spacious complex. India for sure is progressing!
The 425 km ride initially seemed long but we did cover it quite fast, only stopping for pictures, fuel and water. Today’s ride was interesting too, like I mentioned above, my 230km/h stint, good scenic roads with a good share of long twisties, little lakes and not to forget the view of the fort on top of the hill when we entered Chittorgarh, which was visible from miles away plus traffic-free highway which allowed us to stretch our machines to the max easily. One more interesting thing we noticed was the presence of sign boards in abundance, which would definitely help people riding at nights. Those looking to visit Udaipur must note that going via Ajmer (if heading from Delhi/Jaipur side) might save you some kilometers, but the road is no where as good as the Kishangarh-Chittorgarh route, which is the actual Golden Quadrilateral route.
Udaipur city at first seemed small and crowded but somehow as we started looking around for a decent hotel, it grew on me. The weather too was coldish and the sight of the lake made things interesting for me! The traffic sense however left a lot to be desired! I have heard a lot about this city and can’t wait to explore it tomorrow, starting with the City Palace. Some books say that Udaipur has to be one of the most romantic places in India! How true that is, we will see tomorrow…

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