I have been driving bike and car, for more than a decade, still I prefer someone else to drive vehicle so that I can sit next to them. My friends were always against this habit of mine but would always give up, the fight with me and take the driving seat. I enjoy sitting next to my friends but if situation arise, I will drive but it has to be the last resort.
Some of my friends had warned me
that if there’s situation, when I have to go for long drive, what will I do
then? My response was, I will hire a driver. But never in my weirdest dream did
I think, I will counter a situation, when I will be forced to undertake a road
trip due to family emergency. I was petrified with fear the moment I learned about
the road trip and I didn’t have any other option other than the road trip. So
with a mixed baggage of emotion, I decided to go ahead with the road trip.
When I started my journey from
Bangalore, my legs were trembling with fear and I wanted to go back to my room.
Even the roads which I took on daily basis were no less than highways for me
but I was determined to reach my first destination, my friend’s house in Salem.
That was my only motivating power which kept me going.
I was little nostalgic when I crossed
Karnataka border and entered Tamil Nadu, as I was leaving the city after an
year’s gap, due to pandemic. Since it was my first road trip, my friends hap
kept few systems in place to track my location and also for distress help. So
in a way I was not alone in my journey, all my friends were travelling with me,
love you guys for your unconditional support and always be the way how you are.
I was under stressful driving
till I reached my first stopover in krishnagiri, I got out of the car there,
swapped my shoes to slippers (was finding it difficult to drive), drank some
water, informed my friends about my stopover and enjoyed the beauty of the
place for some time. (My friends had done some research about such stopovers
and informed me, so it was easy for me to stop, there for some time and relax).
My journey after this stopover
was little smooth as the initial fear had vanished by now and I was confident
about my drive forward. My other accomplice during my long and monotonous
journey was my pen drive which had few songs, since it was an unplanned
journey, I didn’t get time to add songs. I had few songs handy in my laptop
which I transferred them promptly to my pen drive. I felt music was therapeutic
as it kept me calm and composed while driving, without diverting my
attention.
Every kilometer covered by me
brought little smile on my face as the distance was reducing and it instilled
little more confidence in me, that I can do it. My joy had no bounds when I
reached my friend’s house at Salem, I was much behind schedule but he was happy
to see me. I could clearly see a sense of pride in his eyes on my achievement.
Then we had lunch together after a long time and spent rest of the day in
planning my journey for the next day, as I had to cover around 450 kms in a
single day.
My friend suggested the best
route for me, after analyzing multiple options Google and said that I should begin
my day at 6 am nest day, so that I can reach home at least by 6 pm (inclusive
of all breaks). Full 12 hour’s drive, had send shivers down my spine but my
friends were confident that I will achieve this rare mile stone like a cake
walk. God knows from where they so get much confidence about me, when I was
doubtful about myself.
Next day, I left my friend’s
house exactly at 6 am and got glued to my phone screen for the location ahead.
By 10 am I entered Kerala border through Walayar check post but I still had, a
long distance to cover as per Google maps. I had my breakfast there.
Kerala has many single lane roads
so I had to be cautious while driving, as I am accustomed to driving on two or
three lane roads. This in turn reduced my driving speed and increased travel
time. By 2 pm I reached Cochin and was starving too. So had my lunch at a
restaurant in Cochin, food was good. I still had four more hour’s drive left to
reach home.
Again I started my drive through
the roads of kerala to reach Konni, my hometown. At one place, nearly 30 kms
away from Konni, I got confused with maps, fortunately I found police patrol
vehicle there. I went to them and asked the way to Konni and they guided me the
route. After that I didn’t stop anywhere
till I reached my destination..
Finally by 6 pm, I drove the car into my house and got out of it, to end the road trip journey and begin quarantine journey for next 7 days.
