Travelogue: Road Trippin' Rajasthan 'Accord' ingly

Vikram Gour

A quick weekend getaway is a great way to recharge yourself and sometimes it is easy to forget just what a pleasure driving can be, especially when you escape from the crowded city and head out to open roads towards the vast landscaped beauty of the Indian countryside.

Related Links

Honda Accord V6 road test   Honda Accord V6 Launch Special!

With summers kicking in, Rajasthan might not be the most suitable place for such a jaunt however I was adamant on heading to the desert state for one pure reason-the roads. Rajasthan as a state has got my vote as the best roads in the country. Extremely well paved and not very busy at this time of the year, thanks to the fact that most tourists stay away in the summers, the entire situation worked in my advantage as I was able to drive the Honda Accord in a manner that she has been designed to be driven.

Before I indulge you with tales of my journey, let me just do a bit of a flashback here and get down to what a road trip is all about. A road trip, even a weekend getaway, has one main priority-fun. Everything else is secondary. It's a chance to break away from it all and head out on a journey with all the time in the world. My vehicle of choice for this particular journey happened to be the new Honda Accord 2.4 i-VTEC Automatic. Why the Accord you might ask? Well, it's comfortable, got great drivability, decent mileage for a car its size, as I learned on my trip it's got a great air conditioner unit, and the best part is that an Accord is just sheer joy to drive on the open roads in Rajasthan.

I intended on driving the Accord from Delhi to Jaipur (258 km) and then on to Bhilwara (267 km from Jaipur) and Chittorgarh (55 km from Bhilwara), from where I would return back to Jaipur (322 km) and then head towards Sariska (110 km from Jaipur) and finally back to Delhi (216km from Sariska) . I figured that the total road trip would take approximately three and a half days and I would cover a total of 1250 kilometers, give or take 200 kilometers more for driving around and sightseeing at different locations. Not bad for a weekend getaway.

So, with a small bag packed and the car all ready to go, I was set to hit the highway. Now a road trip also offers a great bonding experience and considering that my father and a friend of his were in town, I decided to take them along as well. Now when everything is going like clockwork something always crops up, straight out of left field to cause delays in the plan. This was no different, for the first change in my trip took place in Delhi itself. Due to some unforeseen circumstances I managed to depart from Delhi only late in the evening, therefore losing almost an entire driving day. I ended up making it only to Jaipur by night, where I decided that it is better that we find a hotel room and sleep and make an early start in the morning for some sightseeing and then proceed onto Bhilwara. Hotel Highway King proved to have half decent rooms, where a single occupancy room which is extremely neat and tidy is available for just Rs 1800/- for a night. Since it was located right on NH 8 it made all the more sense to stop here.

Check out : Fashion on Wheelz