DAY 4 - Riding through windmill country of Porbandar-Dwarka to the edge of Gujarat
Route: Mangrol - Porbandar - Dwarka - Jamnagar
Distance: 353 km
Trip: 1594 km
Night: Gurudwara, Jamnagar Our day of riding started at 7 am in the morning. The previous night, we had gone to see a bit of the Mangrol town after dinner and were astounded by what we stumbled upon. The town's main artery was a wide road and had several glimpses of magnificent havelis with intricate balconies and gigantic doorways. The colonies off the road had planned orthogonal streets that housed four and five storey buildings, all about 100 years old. Now a bit in state of decay, Mangrol made a very interesting town. Not lavish enought to make it to the Lonely Planet's India guide. Not drab enough to make it just another dusty Indian town. Who were these people? What was the industry in Mangrol that supported it? What changed in the last half century? When Shashi Tharoor says India is not an under-developed country but a one in advanced state of decay, this is perhaps what he means. Intrigue is travel. So we rolled out of Mangrol to hit possibly the best stretch of ride so far. We were riding north to Porbandar and beyond to Dwarka. The weather was perfect, just a hint of cold. Blue blue sky and a smooth tar road. And then came along the ocean on the west and wind mills on both sides of the road. I was glad I have the riders seat. I would have been very jealous if I was pillion on this stretch. We stopped for breakfast at Porbandar. The windmills continued on both sides of the road .. gigantic 3 blade fans slowly rotating atop a massive tower. The landscape was getting more remote with every kilometer. There is not much between Porbandar and Dwarka. The arid land won't grow much except windfarms. Waterholes attracted tonnes of birds. This was as remote as it could get for good birding habitats. The bird watchers would be thrilled on this stretch. Train tracks ran alongside the highway. Chasing a train as we cut through a desert like terrain, we rolled into Dwarka for lunch. The lord himself was (or at least his caretakers were) busy in his siesta but his spectacular temple was there to see. The present day temple was built in 6th and 7th century (Hello! Taj Mahal was built ten centuries later in 17th!) and it has stood there on the edge of the sea for about 1400 years. A great Gujarati thali later, we went to the bund. A blue sea flickered back at us in the afternoon soon. A white lighthouse stood off the shore. Somewhere in the range of its lights must be the submerged city of Krishna's Dwarka. I am guessing this was the western most point I would experience in India for a while. From Dwarka, we rode east in the late afternoon till we reached Jamnagar. As we entered Jamnagar, a guy in blue overalls rode alongside on a Yamaha and gave our Royal Enfield a thumbs up. "Where are you guys coming from?" he asked. "Bombay," Jassi replied. "Woah!" "You are a pilot," Jassi pointed to his badge on the overalls. Jamnagar had an Airforce station. "Yes," he answerered reluctantly. "What plane do you fly?" "MiG-29," he replied and went his way. "Woah!" Our stay for night was in a Gurudwara in Jamnagar. Great, the roadtrip just got better! Donation to the Gurudwara: Rs. 200. We stepped out for dinner and tried the anda roti off the street carts and topped it up with ice cream from Shree Ram Dairy.
Home · Day 5
Tags: India, Ride, Royal Enfield, Wildlife
Distance: 353 km
Trip: 1594 km
Night: Gurudwara, Jamnagar Our day of riding started at 7 am in the morning. The previous night, we had gone to see a bit of the Mangrol town after dinner and were astounded by what we stumbled upon. The town's main artery was a wide road and had several glimpses of magnificent havelis with intricate balconies and gigantic doorways. The colonies off the road had planned orthogonal streets that housed four and five storey buildings, all about 100 years old. Now a bit in state of decay, Mangrol made a very interesting town. Not lavish enought to make it to the Lonely Planet's India guide. Not drab enough to make it just another dusty Indian town. Who were these people? What was the industry in Mangrol that supported it? What changed in the last half century? When Shashi Tharoor says India is not an under-developed country but a one in advanced state of decay, this is perhaps what he means. Intrigue is travel. So we rolled out of Mangrol to hit possibly the best stretch of ride so far. We were riding north to Porbandar and beyond to Dwarka. The weather was perfect, just a hint of cold. Blue blue sky and a smooth tar road. And then came along the ocean on the west and wind mills on both sides of the road. I was glad I have the riders seat. I would have been very jealous if I was pillion on this stretch. We stopped for breakfast at Porbandar. The windmills continued on both sides of the road .. gigantic 3 blade fans slowly rotating atop a massive tower. The landscape was getting more remote with every kilometer. There is not much between Porbandar and Dwarka. The arid land won't grow much except windfarms. Waterholes attracted tonnes of birds. This was as remote as it could get for good birding habitats. The bird watchers would be thrilled on this stretch. Train tracks ran alongside the highway. Chasing a train as we cut through a desert like terrain, we rolled into Dwarka for lunch. The lord himself was (or at least his caretakers were) busy in his siesta but his spectacular temple was there to see. The present day temple was built in 6th and 7th century (Hello! Taj Mahal was built ten centuries later in 17th!) and it has stood there on the edge of the sea for about 1400 years. A great Gujarati thali later, we went to the bund. A blue sea flickered back at us in the afternoon soon. A white lighthouse stood off the shore. Somewhere in the range of its lights must be the submerged city of Krishna's Dwarka. I am guessing this was the western most point I would experience in India for a while. From Dwarka, we rode east in the late afternoon till we reached Jamnagar. As we entered Jamnagar, a guy in blue overalls rode alongside on a Yamaha and gave our Royal Enfield a thumbs up. "Where are you guys coming from?" he asked. "Bombay," Jassi replied. "Woah!" "You are a pilot," Jassi pointed to his badge on the overalls. Jamnagar had an Airforce station. "Yes," he answerered reluctantly. "What plane do you fly?" "MiG-29," he replied and went his way. "Woah!" Our stay for night was in a Gurudwara in Jamnagar. Great, the roadtrip just got better! Donation to the Gurudwara: Rs. 200. We stepped out for dinner and tried the anda roti off the street carts and topped it up with ice cream from Shree Ram Dairy.
Home · Day 5
Tags: India, Ride, Royal Enfield, Wildlife