Road Trips in India - Dangers & Rewards

chillibreeze writer — Priyali Chauhan

Great holidays come from adventurous and exciting road trips, and every road trip can become a holiday in itself! India is a fusion of modern and ethnic cultures and the cities and villages have a distinct charm of their own.

The natural beauty of the local terrain as well as the lifestyle of rural and urban Indians can be best experienced through road trips, as it allows one to better appreciate the beauty and diversity of each place.

Provided that one plans in advance and acts with a little care and caution, a road trip with family and friends can be a very pleasant experience. The most rewarding part of a road trip is the close contact with places and people. These can be captured on camera and you can get a real feel of the place by interacting with the locals. You can also visit the local temples or heritage sites, which are an integral part of most towns and villages that fall on the way.

However, it is also important to be wary of strangers and it can be quite dangerous to confide in them. Some of the locals try to take advantage of foreigners by charging too much for goods purchased or by giving wrong information.

You should always research or carry a good travel handbook, map etc. for guidance and avoid getting overfriendly with strangers. You can also buy artifacts, handicrafts and other specialties of the place at much lower costs than the emporiums.

Every region in India has its own unique culture, language, dress and cuisine, and a road trip is a very good means of experiencing all these facets of different places.

The food is the most important part of any culture, and in India, each region has its own distinct cuisine and flavour. On a road trip, one can enjoy eating at all types of eateries.

The best way to experience the local food is to dine at small eateries called “Dhabas”. Here, one can enjoy freshly made local curries with hot oven (Tandoor) baked breads. However, do choose dhabas with care, as not all are hygienic. Some places serve stale and contaminated food and it would be wise to look out for reputed restaurants or clean dhabas that make fresh food on demand.

Indian roads are quite temperamental—being wide and smooth in some stretches, while being very narrow and bumpy in others! The golden quadrilateral that connects the metro cities of India, offers the best of roads on which one can achieve good speeds. This is also the case with the North-South corridor. These roads are wide and have 6 lanes at most places, allowing all vehicles to maintain their own optimum speed.

A ride on any of these roads is very thrilling. On the other hand, there are still a few state roads which do not offer the luxury of the highways. An important part of planning the road adventure is to choose the route in such a way that one encounters the best of roads for most part of the journey.

It is a good idea to avoid traveling at night, as everything— the petrol pumps, hotels and hospitals shut down in most of the small cities and towns, and in case of an emergency, you may find little or no help. Anti-social elements and criminals are also most active at this time and there are many cases of road robberies.

So, do plan your trip in such a way that you make a halt at night. However, you may have to plan well in advance and book accommodation accordingly, as most small towns and villages only have ‘lodges’, which offer very basic boarding and lodging and are sometimes dirty and unsafe.

The road traffic in India is also unruly at times, so you have to be really cautious while driving. If you keep safety in mind and plan the trip carefully, a road trip can prove to be a very gratifying experience and the lovely memories will be etched in your mind forever!

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—About our writer:

Priyali says, "After having experienced the corporate way of life, I am now enjoying bringing up my two children. I love to read, cook and travel with my family. I also have a flair for writing and feel that its the best way to express my views".

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