By : RACHNA TYAGI
KANDLA :
Having worked non-stop, every single day of the week, for the last two and a half years, I was burnt-out and the Pandemic had only made matters worse by forcing us to remain cooped up indoors for the most part. While a few work-related trips were a welcome relief, they did little for the enthusiastic driver in me. A few weeks back, I woke up early one Monday morning with an irresistible urge to sip Champagne at breakfast time. That’s when I knew – it was time to get away – far from the madding crowd. A drive out of town would be the perfect panacea to cure my exhaustion, rejuvenate me, and put the spring back in my step. It was dark outside and I was still in bed, when I reached for my cell phone, and sent out a text to my friend, J. A few minutes later the warm glow on my cell phone’s screen indicated that J had accepted my invitation for the driving trip. For the kind of driving trip that I had in mind, I wanted a mile muncher that was distinct, powerful and sophisticated and I knew exactly what I wanted. In fact, ever since I had set my eyes on it, I had fallen for it, hook, line and sinker. A few hours later, a phone call was made, and by the end of the day, the vehicle had been organized. The next morning, around 6:30 am, J and I, were zipping through NH48 in what can easily be described as the most comfortable SUV out there – the Citroen C5 Aircross. With our luggage placed in its cavernous 580-litre boot, and having settled down comfortably with thermos flasks of steaming hot tea and coffee along with neatly packed fruits, biscotti, and sandwiches, we were headed to Gandhidham, Gujarat. Our final destination – Rann of Kutch or White Desert, as it is popularly known.
The route was charted. We would drive from Thane to Gandhidham, where we would break our journey for the night, before driving to Rann of Kutch, the next day. Our driving route would involve approximately 800 kms of driving (one way), via Navsari – Surat – Bharuch – Vadodara and Ahmedabad before finally arriving in Gandhidham. When we set out, Google Maps, showed us that our drive would take us 14 hours and 30 minutes to get to Gandhidham, probably because of the weekday rush, but we were in no hurry. J applied some sunscreen lotion, brought out his sunglasses and got comfortable in the passenger seat of the C5 Aircross, taking over as the in-house DJ playing an assortment of music genres from Rap to Retro from his Playlist which he had compiled for this roadtrip. As for me, I began to concentrate on steering clear of the pockmarked surfaces on the national highway, which frankly, turned out to be a breeze on the beautiful, C5 Aircross, thanks to its “Magic Carpet” ride which just gobbled up the worst of potholes in the most incredulous manner. I must also admit that the C5 Aircross’ steering which is ever-so-slightly flat at the top and at the bottom offers the most fantastic grip especially when twirling the wheel is required and when the steering is positioned with the flat sides in the East-West direction, it is then that you realize what a real difference design can make in terms of enhancing your driving by providing not just superior grip but by also inspiring so much confidence, thereby making maneuvering the C5 Aircross truly remarkable. After what seemed like an eternity of never-ending toll booths, we finally entered Gujarat, and from here onwards, the roads just kept getting better and better and we just seemed to be flying low.
By 10:00, we had polished off the sandwiches and the biscotti and washed it down with cups of sweet tea and coffee. Around 2:15 pm, when J noticed that it looked like I had no plans of slowing down, while driving through Makarpura, Vadodara, he gently suggested we pull into Satluj Punjab, just off the highway, for a spot of lunch. Soon enough, we were enjoying a hot, delicious, lip-smacking Punjabi lunch as the C5 Aircross was cooling its heels in the parking where it seemed to be attracting quite a bit of attention from other guests who had also stopped to lunch at the restaurant. Our lunch break lasted a little under an hour but it did us some good and soon, refreshed and revitalized I started driving again. Our next destination was Ahmedabad, which was around 125 kms and we aimed to get there soon because by now, I realized that I just wanted to cover as much distance as possible before sunset. Being an early riser and being someone who doesn’t enjoy night driving much, I figured that only if we got to Gandhidham on time and called it a day, at what wasn’t an unearthly hour, would we be able to get to Rann of Kutch early enough to enjoy the White Desert in all its glory, before the scathing sun burned us to a cinder. So, I began flooring the C5 Aircross which to its credit and thanks to its 2.0-litre diesel engine, was game for all kinds of driving and received every throttle input beautifully, thereby becoming an even more lovable touring companion in my eyes.
Around 5:00 pm, we entered Ahmedabad and as a flyover ended bringing us down into the city limits, the Gujarat cops who had barricaded the entry asked us to pull over for a car check. Since, alcohol is prohibited in Gujarat, we assumed they wanted to check our car for illicit hooch! After a few preliminary questions about where we were headed and the purpose of our visit, we were waived through. Next, we pulled up at a gas station in Shahwadi, and though we spent around INR 5000 to top up, thanks to diesel prices being around INR 105.70 kmpl, around that time, we’re happy to report that the C5 Aircross is not a gas guzzler and in fact, driving it in the Eco mode, for the most part, (Also because of speed monitors) even allowed us to remain well within our budget during this road trip.
With the C5 Aircross topped up, we started driving again and after about an hour of driving, around 6:00pm, as the sun was setting, we stopped at a pretty place along the highway for some pics with the sun throwing beautiful light on the SUV, making it glisten in a beautiful evening light. Soon, we jumped back in and were on our way again. About two hours later, after dark, I realized that the SUV’s windscreen needed a splash of water as a lot of debris from the entire day’s driving had accumulated on it and was hampering visibility especially on some parts of the badly lit highways. Soon enough, I pulled into one of the many gas stations along the way and asked if they had a cleaning service. A worker there replied in the negative but pointed to a hosepipe lying on the ground at the deep end of the gas station and said I could use it. As I drove the C5 Aircross there, the worker changed his mind, dropped whatever it was that he was doing and came to help us. He yanked the long hosepipe and let forth a stream of gushing fresh water on our windshield and within seconds, he began spraying the entire C5 Aircross with it. Seated inside, J and I felt as if we were in some automatic carwash as the car’s windscreen became crystal clear again. “Yeh Narmada ka paani hai, Madam, ekdum fresh” (This is Narmada river’s water, Ma’am, extremely fresh), he said, and refused to accept any payment for his service. I was flabbergasted. “Heck, if this is the quality of water with which cars get washed here every single day, I am definitely moving to Gujarat,” I said to J.
Another 90 kms later, I noticed that the tyre pressure indication came on and soon enough we pulled into a tyre repair shop, waited for the tyres to cool down for a bit and then checked the air pressure, knowing fully well that it wouldn’t display the pressure accurately. We were right. However, since I had been driving since morning, by now, a torn tendon in my right shoulder from a scooter accident in my 20s was suddenly acting up and so, I decided to just carry-on driving, get to our hotel which on Google Maps was showing as being 65 kms away, and examine the tyre pressure indication issue the next day. I continued driving through the vastly unlit highways of Kandla, thanking Citroen, with a small prayer, every now and then, for handing me their Pearl White coloured car which could be easily spotted by other drivers on such unlit highways from a distance. The 65 km drive to the hotel was made worse by truck traffic at night and for the most part we were just crawling very slowly. However, amidst this insane truck traffic, I was thankful for the fantastic throw of light of the C5 Aircross’ headlamps, which greatly assisted in our night-time driving. Finally, we managed to wriggle out of the traffic snarl and got back onto the main road again. From there on it was full throttle again but not before one wrong detour on a circular network of unlit roads which set us off in a completely different direction, J, our brilliant navigator, came to our rescue and within a minute brought us back on the right track, and soon we were headed in the right direction again. It was almost 11:00 pm by now and having been behind the wheel since 6:30 am, it was surprising that neither J nor I felt any real fatigue, the kind that one is prone to on long drives – all thanks to the C5 Aircross’ superior ride quality and its air purifying system which kept us fatigue free even at the fag end of the day. After entering a locality which seemed to have some form of habitation, suddenly, Google Maps announced that our destination was on the right and we entered through a gate where the security checked our car and let us in. I cannot even begin to describe the relief I felt as I pulled into the driveway of Radisson Kandla. I’ll confess that wrong detour on that pitch black highway which was beginning to take us in a completely different direction, some time back, had unnerved me a bit, infact, for a few seconds, it seemed like a scene right out of Imtiaz Ali’s movie, Highway. But now, I couldn’t believe that in the middle of nowhere stood this magnificent property, so beautifully illuminated, with one of the most amazing driveways I have ever seen. This is exactly what Roald Dahl’s infamous character, Oswald Hendryks Cornelius must have felt on seeing Abdul Aziz’s five-mile-long private driveway in the middle of nowhere, in his short story, The Visitor. (If you haven’t read it, you must, especially if you’re the type who enjoys short stories with a twist in the tale.) I parked the C5 Aircross in the hotel’s parking area, checked in, and after discussing the time of next morning’s departure for Rann of Kutch, with J, retired for the night. I don’t think I have experienced such sound sleep in a long time the way I did that night at Radisson Kandla, after a particularly long day of driving. Next morning, I woke up fresh as a daisy, when my 5:00 am alarm went off.
At 6:00 am, when I came downstairs, J had already had the C5 Aircross cleaned and readied for our trip to Rann of Kutch. However, in my mind, I had decided that we were not proceeding further until the tyre pressure indication issue was sorted. We got in, and I started the SUV, and voila – the tyre pressure indication had disappeared. I tried starting the SUV a couple of times and it seemed like It indeed had gone away. What more could I have asked for? Despite that, we decided to have the tyre pressure checked, when the tyres were cold, and also top up and so we pulled into a neighbourhood gas station. Everything seemed fine there after all the employees of the gas station were done fawning over the C5 Aircross, we made our way towards the next landmark, Nalka Circle, which would lead us to the White Desert almost 140 kms away. Driving time: Three hours. (One way).
We started the drive to Rann of Kutch. That’s what I was here for. The sole reason that I drove down 800 kms from Thane to Gandhidham yesterday was to be able to come here and take in the resplendent beauty of the Kutch Salt Flats. This happens to be the actual drive where beautiful long and wide roads fulfill your intrinsic desire to really drive, like few places in India do, sans any traffic. This is where you can see how the roads and the topography of the place starts changing and if like me, you love the beauty of the desert or of the parched, barren stretches of land where nothingness greets you, the White Desert is something that you are definitely going to appreciate. Combine that with a brilliant Citroen C5 Aircross SUV that is able to handle anything that the road throws at it and great company, what more could you ask for on a driving trip, right? Kavita Seth’s rendition of Chaap Tilak played on loop via the C5 Aircross’ speakers as we ripped through the road to the White Desert. However, do bear in mind that Rann of Kutch is not for everybody. It was not my first time here either. I had been to Rann of Kutch before, but that was with a bunch of people and we were driving a bunch of cars and generally making a lot of noise as big groups usually do. This time around, I was here with a friend, J, who I felt would enjoy the solitude of this place, much like me.
At the gate leading to the final point of the White Desert where the viewing tower stands, the security guards let us through without too many questions and we finally made it there by 9:00 am before the sun’s rays got unbearable. We parked the C5 Aircross below the viewing tower and climbed up where we were greeted by the most mesmerizing beauty along with a calm sense of serenity! We got to see what the White Desert looked like at this time of the year, with parts of it white and other parts of it, where the water had not yet evaporated – a gorgeous blue. This was truly spectacular; unlike anything I had seen before. It was such a breathtaking mix of the white salts, the somewhat semi-parched land, along with a mix of blue. Who would have even imagined that we would get to see such different hues on this trip? Standing there atop the viewing tower, I couldn’t stop smiling. This was why people bitten by the travel bug undertake such long journeys to see one particular thing that brings them such immense joy. I, for my part, had seen more than I had bargained for and more importantly, also discovered a spot of my own to drive down to everytime I wanted to really get away – far from the madding crowd! Seeing the beauty at Rann of Kutch or the White Desert made this drive doubly worth it.
The sun was beginning to get unbearable and we decided to head back to our hotel. The drive back was again spectacular! Back in the hotel, since we had opted for a late check out, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at their restaurant because we weren’t heading straight back home but had decided to break our journey in Ahmedabad and start again the next morning. Soon enough we were on the road again, headed to Ahmedabad. We reached Ahmedabad around 7:00 pm. The entire city seemed to be decked up in lights for the festive season and the city seemed to have quite a pulsating vibe of its own. The only downside was the unruly traffic but we didn’t mind it much because frankly, our C5 Aircross seemed to take everything in its stride. After finding a great parking spot in the hotel, I requested the gardener who was watering the plants to have our C5 Aircross cleaned the next morning for our return journey. He gladly obliged. After the long drive to Ahmedabad, it was almost dinner time and though I was not particularly hungry, J insisted that we check out a popular local eatery, which had come highly recommended, that served a mean Gujarati Thali. I was planning to listen to some music and curl up with a novel in my room but since J would end up dining alone, I decided to accompany him to what appeared to be a hole in the wall kind of restaurant at first glance, called Sasuji, but clearly was not. Within minutes of us being seated, our orders were taken, and soon enough the food began to arrive. Waiter after waiter appeared waltzed in and out of their kitchens carrying with them the most delectable Gujarati dishes and serving us a hot and sumptuous Gujarati meal thereafter, and it just didn’t seem like it was going to end any time soon. The burst of sweet flavours in my mouth – typical of Gujarati cuisine – was enough to tell me that I would have been a fool to return home without even trying out these mouth-watering Gujarati dishes. J seemed to really relish the Sitaphal Baasundi whereas I just couldn’t have enough of their fritters. After we had our fill, we walked back to our hotel and decided to head out early the next day.
Next morning, we were off to an early start and as the sun rose we were zipping down the beautiful Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway happy and content with our trip to the Rann of Kutch. The only stop we made was for breakfast, and at toll booths, of course, after which the C5 Aircross brought us straight home just in time for a late lunch. That’s how our Rann of Kutch trip drew to a close. We sure had a blast with the mighty and able companion, the Citroen C5 Aircross SUV – easily one of the finest offerings in the country today. Would I want to go on another memorable road trip in the stunning Citroen C5 Aircross? Oui.
