Trip date: 1st July to 3rd July
We had been planning to take the bike out during the onset of the first monsoons, for the longest time this year. It finally happened in the first week of July – aptly called “laundagiri”, Deelux, Samarth and I sped off chasing rain clouds on our bikes on a Mumbai to Indore road trip! And boy (launda!), it was an epic road trip from Mumbai to Indore by bike!
The original plan to Saputara and Daman was soon scrapped because we wanted to get some highway miles under our belt! Samarth also had ridden through nonexistent roads from Pune and was keen to push the speedo all the way to its limit. The final nail in the coffin was the candid admission from Mak, the moderator of Crusing Godz – the bullet club of Nashik, that there was a huge crackdown on alcohol in that belt of the highway.
So instead of Gujarat, we were off from Mumbai to Indore on bike!
This puncture before entering MP cost us an hour or more
We were on the road for three days and stayed in two different states over one long weekend. We covered more or less 1200 kms; that’s an average of 400 kms a day. It more than quite makes up for 200 km return trips over the weekend I usually did back in the day. Like I said, it was an epic Mumbai to Indore road trip!
On NH3 before Nashik
We aimed for Indore, hoping to catch dinner in Saraffa bazaar but as much as we tried we couldn’t. Mainly because we left from Nashik very late – around 12:30 p.m. Had we left a couple of hours earlier, we would’ve been licking our fingers to the delights of Indore street food. The rain gods also decided to bless us with proper thunderstorms and we could see lightning bolts strike pretty close to us while riding. So we finally landed up in Khalgat, which is 100 kms before Indore. While we were kicking ourselves for not making it to the night market, our hopes sprang back up when we checked into the room and then the fully stocked bar! The MP Tourism Board resort was literally an oasis in the desert!
Chaubeyji behind the bar and man Friday in the bar was a man on fire. Extremely prompt and courteous enough to put most hospitality chain servers to shame.
We left the next day for Indore and went to Chappan market for street food by day, only to realize Jimmy’s hotdogs served meat only after 1PM. Bam! So with just eggs on my plate, we rode back hungry all the way to Dhule. The ride back on our Mumbai to Indore on bike road trip was uneventful with rains catching up with us every given chance.
Chappan Bazaar in Indore
Bikes parked at Chappan Bazaar
Why they would make a non-vegetarian looking snack from vegetarian ingredients is beyond me
Not so happy with just an egg instead of mutton
Deelux happy, me sad and Samarth close to pouting for a selfie!
Dhule was the surprise package. We checked into Hotel Rasraj and it wasn’t anywhere on the hotel booking websites. We were guided to this place by a local; and boy it was a launda paradise! Even the walls had sketches of semi-clad women! Ignoring the obvious love for the fairer sex this establishment had; we checked into a clean room and neat linen and headed for the attached bar. I’ve always maintained – a place like this in Maharashtra never disappoints. The food was great and booze was cheap! We rode back unwillingly the next day back knowing this little escapade from the city (and our wives) was going to be over. But laundagiri will live forever, and so will the memories of Mumbai to Indore on the bike and back!
Wall paintings at Hotel Rasraj, Dhule.
Wall paintings at Hotel Rasraj, Dhule
At this point I don’t care, if you get this joke but this is for every bhai out there.
Ride safe, and see you guys soon! Have you read about our Mumbai to Aurangabad road trip? One thing we did miss was a good road trip playlist for our Mumbai to Indore on bike road trip! The other thing we missed was of course Roadmatix, but we didn’t know much about road trip with dogs either!
If you’re keen on having an adventurous trip like we did, simply Hire a scout as they will ensure that you enjoy a local experience such as this one.