Five reason why I adore road journeys

That was clicked on the way to Goa

It was only some years back that I discovered the pleasure of road journeys and in these years I've done quite a few. Here are my five reasons to go on one if you've never done it. And if you have.. well then you know what I'm talking about.. Read on.

1. It's such an adventure..
There’s something so relaxed yet adventurous and spontaneous about picking up your car and driving off without the hassle of ticket bookings and reservations and catching the flight or train. A few times we’ve even hired a bus or a Tempo Traveller packing in aunts and uncles and grandparents and kids .. oh it’s been a riot.


2. You don’t need to be too meticulous a packer 
There always is that last minute stuff that is simply dumped into plastic bags and loaded on. And then there are the kids.. I mean it would be a tad odd to carry a hula hoop and a football while boarding a flight. But in the car.. everything goes. On our last trip to Goa this is how the kids made an entry…

That's my son with the 'essentials' and my daughter's hula hoop

3. You get amazing glimpses of the countryside
I must have gone on the Pune Mumbai expressway countless times and am yet to tire of the scenery. Try Pune - Goa.. the hills, the windmills, the coconut trees... beautiful. Back home in UP.. you get to see fields stretching on both sides. The highways there, are dotted with villages. Watching people going to work in the fields or feeding cattle or women and children sitting outside their huts is so enchanting. Then, there’s always the road. There is something completely mesmerising about the unending road stretching ahead of you.

Check out this man repairing his roof..


.. or my absolute favourite .. the brick kilns in UP. 
4. There's the food
If you travel enough times you get to discover the most mindblowing food joints along the roadside. There’s this place called Maigalganj (Not Michaelganj!) between Lucknow and Sitapur on the way to Nainital that offers amazing gulabjamuns. When I first heard of it I was certain it was overrated. I mean no matter how great a gulabjamun is, it still is just that – a gulabjamun, right? Wrong.. these are truly bliss.. melt in your mouth soft without being overly sweet. Then there are the sabudana vadas on Mumbai-Pune Highway and the dhabas between Delhi and Haryana (I was travelling to Kurukshetra) have wonderful paranthas with butter melting on them and lassi glasses as tall as the cows themselves. (Okay I got carried away.. but you do get the idea, right?)

The famous gulabjamuns

5. It’s a perfect opportunity to bond with family
Do you ever remember spending four or five or more uninterrupted hours with your family at home? With no TV and no computer games… oh it’s fun. And if The Husband is at the wheels he doesn’t even get to open his laptop. Hah! The only catch is that phone. Do a ZNMD and dunk it out of the car if you can and life will be perfect. Umm ...well maybe not.. okay keep the phone but still it’s just one spoiler you have to tackle.

The journey is often as much fun as the destination itself when you're on the road. Here's Ernest Hemingway agreeing with me..
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.. 
So there!

It's Day 5 at the Write Tribe Festival of Words. The prompt for today is 'Travel'. For some great takes from Write Tribers go here..


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