Six hacks when you are on a journey… really long!!
Somebody once said that
‘Travelling is itself the Destination’,and I always longed for this! Out of
many road journeys that we have covered, the journey from Kolkata, West Bengal
to Vadodara, Gujarat was the longest (almost 2000kms). We drove for continuous
four days! We had no hurry in reaching our last stop as we believed in the
quote firmly. At the end what we got was an inimitable experience and a memory
of lifetime. Till day when I think about it, I only mutter the lines of
Bollywood song, ‘safar khubsurat hai manzeel se vi’. Here, I am sharing you some
hacks which I think will be of real help if you are planning for long roads in
your four legged vehicle!!
Homework
#1
Prepare your own maps and symbols
Prepare a clear and
hand sketched map of your journey. Try to mark small towns and villages along
with the state name if you are travelling intra-state. Sometimes, a town or a
village which belong to different states hold the same name.Identify schools,
small industries, rivers and other landmarks like post office, police stations,
temples etc. on the map. This eases the possibility of identifying any
connecting roads or main roads.
#2
Get to know about the roads (oops..highways!!)
Clearly mark state
highways and national highways along with their number in your map. Note the
junction where these meet.
#3 The
best PLAN
Plan for an individual
day, when to start in the morning and when and where to stop in the evening. If
possible book your hotels for the stop of the day earlier.
On
the go
#4
Where to peep into
Depend less on Google
and more on your map. Act as per your individual day plan.Don’t hesitate to
communicate with any locals or passer-by in case you are unable to track
locations in your map. Ask them for the
landmarks which you have marked in your map. Sometimes, they beat Google.
#5 Pick-me-up
Carry enough dry food
(which will last long) and water for the trail.Try to have the refreshment
available on roadside ‘dhabas’ instead of finishing your own food reserve.
Safeguard them for emergency period.Avail the wash rooms which are accessible
in the petrol pump stations. These are generally quite clean and safe.
Constant driving
requires concentration and over dose of it may lead to fatigue. Ensure that at
least maximum of your fellow travellers knows driving. This won’t create
constant pressure on a single person.Take small breaks during your journey, may
be a small tea break or a maggi break. This will relax both your muscles and
your vehicle’s.Keep an eye on your vehicle, its fuel, tyre alignment, tyre
pressure everything. Store some fuel in car if possible along with some motor
gadgets in case of minor repair.
Finally, remain alert
on roads. No rash driving! No drinking or blogging while driving! No night
driving especially if you have children on board. And don’t forget to have some
amazing clicks on your journey.
Happy driving!!!
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