The next day we got up late, and made a two hour visit to the City Palace. The Massive palace is the residence of Arvind Singh, the Maharaja of Udaipur. A part of the palace has been converted into a luxury hotel, while the rest of it has been opened for public and houses a museum with a collection of arms, paintings, musical instruments and a whole plethora of articles from the olden times.
We planned to make Ajmer our next stop, where I wished to see my sister and get the Rakhi tied. The festival was just days away, and I wouldn’t be seeing her anytime soon after this instance, or so I thought. The road from Udaipur to Ajmer was well laid out, just like the rest of the NH8, and we made good time. However, the issue of animals grazing on the medians and loitering generally on the national highways came across as a potentially fatal hazard to me.
Villagers leave their cattle out in the open. These animals, when shooed away by farmers who don’t allow them to enter their fields, veer on to the highway, where the bushes and grass on the wide divider invite them for a feast. These animals cross the roads, sit on the fast lane, and even jump abruptly on to the road – becoming a potentially fatal hazard for the road users. We witnessed many accidents on our way to Delhi caused by these animals. The government needs to form patrol teams which collect these animals from the highways and fine the owners for letting them loose and causing nuisance to the public.
We managed to reach Ajmer by 5:30 in the evening. A generally dry Ajmer was pleasant and wet this time around. Good rains in Rajasthan meant that the Annasagar Lake was spilling over on to the road – a heartening sight.
We spent a few hours in Ajmer with my sister and then left for Jaipur – my hometown. The Superb absolutely murdered the distance between Ajmer and Jaipur via the Jaipur Kishangarh expressway. I spent a day with family in Jaipur, especially my mother. Little did I know at that point that this impromptu trip would turn into an instrument to let me meet my mother, the person I love the most in this world for the last time. The picture of here standing at the house entrance, wearing her magical smile which she adorned even in the toughest of times is the last memory I have of her. Usually reluctant to walk on her artificial knees, she decided to plod all the way to the main entrance of the house to see me off that day. Mothers…
The 250 km drive from Jaipur to Delhi should ideally be a breeze given the fact that the stretch was developed into a proper four lane highway years back. Except that it isn’t. Earlier a four lane highway, this section of the NH8 is now being converted into a six lane highway. Flyovers are being constructed at all the junctions. You are charged a hefty toll for this development, and in return, are given a piece of road which is worse than the erstwhile four lane highway. Work on all the flyovers was started simultaneously. And work on eighty percent of these flyovers has been stopped, simultaneously. What that means is that you have innumerable diversions, unpaved roads, long pothole ridden stretches and unending jams all the way to Delhi. Funnily enough, you pay through your nose for all this. Long live democracy.
It took us about five hours to reach Delhi, thanks to the fact that we were travelling on a Sunday, and traffic was sparse.
We landed up at a friend’s place in Gurgaon, and spent the following day and a good part of the day after enjoying authentic North Indian food in the streets of Old Delhi, visiting fresh beer breweries and mall hopping.
The Skoda Superb, 2.0 TDI DSG, throughout this period was our trusted steed which kept us absolutely comfortable, and helped us cover long distances at great speeds without breaking a sweat. Much has been said about this D-segment leader, and its unmatched qualities as a luxury sedan have set new standards for every carmaker to follow. Over a period of five days, driving close to 1700 km, the Superb proved to us yet again, as to why it’s the most complete value for money family car on sale in India.
You may want to drive faster, more premium and better looking cars. But as we have always maintained, the Superb, as we write this story, is all the car you need in this part of the world. The value it offers for its price is simply unbeatable.
And when your wife, who generally squints at the mention of a 300km road-trip doesn’t complain even once after a 1700km drive, you know you have gotten off from a very special machine – and the Superb, really is one!
Next page for image gallery with all the pictures from the trip>>>