Beautiful, stylish, comfortable, ever dependable, secure, our home-away-from-home. Just getting into the car relaxed us. The familiar smells of wax and faint lime fragrance were always soothing. She was raring to go. Once on the open road she leaped with eagerness.
In the Mahabharata, Arjuna worships his chariot before setting out to the battlefield in the war with the Kauravas. He circumambulates it with folded hands. My daughter and I do the same before setting out on any road-trip. We circumambulate our Altis three times with folded hands and pray she takes care of herself and us throughout the long journey. And our earthly chariot has never let us down.
Thank you Toyota for our beloved car.
Our road trips could not have been planned successfully without immense help by way of data and information from the internet. I have read through hundreds of posts on hotels, food, petrol pumps, washrooms, routes, road conditions, by-passes, weather, places of interest, history, car servicing, distances, hours of travel, overnight stays, opening and closing timings of monuments / temples, conveniences for senior citizens and many more. A lot of my planning was based on inputs from people who have generously shared their experiences. I hope to give back with gratitude in these blog posts.
Thank you Team BHP for your website. Road trips were new to me initially, but reading your posts gave me the confidence we could do it too.
Road trips with 2 senior citizens and a child With parents in their 70s and 80s, self in my 50s and my daughter, moving annually from 8 to her teens, we were quite a motley group age-wise. The key to a successful road trip, for us, has been good planning. The proposal for the next road trip is made to the team at least 6 months in advance. Amma’s first reaction is usually skeptical (can we do this?) and rightly so, being a cancer survivor and in her 70s. Appa, from whom we imbibed the love of travel, would ask for a plan. So I would pull out road maps (the ones from TTK are superb), draw up an Excel sheet and plan our route. The detailed schedule included names of hotels we would stay in during our trip. The four of us stayed in 2 rooms adjacent to each other, which later became 1 when Amma succumbed to the Big C at 78, after having done 6 trips together. She is still with us of course, in spirit and in frame, smiling from the desk of every hotel room we visit. I would draw out the route on the map and once the plan was ready, give a presentation to the family seated around our dining table. Their questions included number of hours of travel at a stretch, nature breaks, food breaks, hotel convenience and comfort, clothing, number of tolls, road condition etc. for all of which I had to have suitable answers. Amma managed the expenses at home so her main concern was affordability. They would also recommend places to see additionally (as in this case, Amma suggested Aurangabad). Once given the Go Ahead, I proceeded with hotel bookings, which were in place at least 2-3 months prior our date of departure. For some, this may seem too much in advance, but with aged parents and a young child, I could take no chances. Early bookings ensured we got the best places and most suitable rooms for stay, closest to the places we wished to visit. And from then on, for Amma and Appa, the daily walks, regular rest and simple diet took on a new meaning to ensure they were fit and ready for the two-week haul. My daughter, always happy to be traveling, loved her annual birthday gift. She and her grandmother celebrated their birthdays in the same month with a road trip in December.
Travel in comfort during those long hours Appa always sat in the front with the driver. We placed a cushion for his back, and he would recline in his seat, stretch his legs and nod off to sleep. He would wear a light sweater and spread his jacket over his legs for warmth, as the air conditioner was always on. Amma sat behind with us, two cushions in a line, one above the other, for the whole length of her back. She would cover herself with her saree pallu and sometimes a shawl. My daughter’s favourite position was with her head on her grandmother’s lap and her feet on mine. As she grew taller, she would lie with her head on the arm rest between the two front seats and stretch herself across between Amma and I with her crossed feet sticking out above our heads. She always carried a Turkish towel bathrobe that served as blanket for her. I was seated near the left window, as was Amma near the right. There were adequate sun screens for the windows, that were put up when required and kept the vehicle cool. Plenty of leg room, comfortable seats – all very cozy indeed.
Packing for a road trip Our road-trip luggage consisted of 2 suit cases with clothes for the 4 of us, a large duffel bag with night suits, toilet-kits, medicines, tissues, toilet rolls and other essentials. The duffel bag was almost empty during departure but packed with gifts, mementos and clothes on the return journey. We also carried a small suitcase for overnight halts, so we did not have to unload all our luggage at the hotel for a single night. All this luggage was in the boot, along with the driver’s bag. Appa sat ahead, next to the driver, his small tote bag with the day’s medicines, eye drops, paper napkins etc. nearby. The 3 of us sat in the back with our individual sling bags or handbags. Amma’s large, open, carry bag with wooden handles that she filled with fruits and home-made snacks like thengozal, thattai and ribbon pakoda for our journey was always near her feet. We also carried dry-fruits to keep hunger at bay in case we could not find a restaurant in time for a meal. Another small faux-leather bag contained warm clothing like shawls and jackets that we spread over ourselves when it got chilly in the car, as our road trips were usually in December. We carried plenty of water bottles that were replaced as they got empty. And not to forget junk food like chips, wafers and fruit drinks that my daughter sometimes consumed during travel. A must-have was adequate tissue-rolls and sanitizer bottles that came in handy during nature breaks. There were also plastic covers for collection of rubbish like fruit peels, empty water bottles and used tissue that were deposited in garbage bins enroute.
Restaurants and washrooms enroute We always looked for restaurants that had many vehicles parked outside. This assured us the food would be fresh and hot. We adhered to this rule so strictly that there have been many occasions when we have had lunch at 3pm or 4pm or missed it altogether. It is also wise to have simple food like dal, rice, roti and bhaji, khichdi for meals while travelling. Well- balanced meals like the local thalis are great too. We usually had South Indian breakfasts like idli, medu wada, dosa or upma as they were light and nourishing. The more elaborate, exotic meals were reserved for during hotel stays. Amma and Appa had coffees and teas always taken with less or no sugar. We kept to a maximum of 3 meals a day with dinner being early and light. Most of the junk food and fruit drinks we carried with us like chips, wafers and biscuits usually came back home, unopened. Even my daughter avoided them after a point, brought up as she was on her grandmother’s home-cooked meals. Amma’s thenkuzals and thattais of course, were devoured enthusiastically, along with the dry fruits.
As we drank plenty of water to remain hydrated, visiting washrooms at least 3 to 4 times during an 8-hour drive was a must. While in the hotel, we would all have a glass of warm water the first thing every morning followed by a cup of hot coffee to ensure smooth bowel movement along with our bath. While on the road, other than highway restaurants with attached washrooms, we discovered that petrol pumps also offered washroom service. They were usually clean and sometimes locked from the outside and one could request the obliging attendants to open them. Thus, we managed to avoid both: stopping on the roadside as well as holding back. There were exceptions of course, especially when entering crowded cities after sunset and when locating the hotel took time.
I would have loved to have been the driver for our road trips, but Amma was very clear that we would not travel if we did not have a driver. Our sarathi was from Tirunellveli, working in Mumbai. He was middle-aged and most enthusiastic about our trips, ready to come any time of year. He was well-informed, reading tamil newspapers and magazines wherever available. Most importantly, he was a very competent driver and took good care of our car.
We spent the hours in the car talking briefly, dozing, checking road signs, following our road maps. My daughter had her head phones and her music, but was allowed to use them only in short bursts. We also carried portable games like knots & crosses, snakes and ladders. Amma would update the expenses whenever we stopped for petrol, toll or food. Appa would give us interesting facts and tell stories off and on. Time passed very quickly.
We chose hotels based on their quality of service, comfort and proximity to the places we were visiting. For overnight stays enroute, we chose the best available hotels closest to the National Highways so we could exit quickly the next morning, without passing through the city. I have found that some of the most memorable places we have stayed in were government owned. Their location was on prime land with the finest views, their rooms, simple and functional. Our choice was very clear: why stay in a hotel with a swimming pool when the Ganges was at your doorstep?
