More Driving Holidays in India

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More Driving Holidays in India is a tribute to the original. It's completely new and provides a wondrous window to India. It is based on the firsthand experiences of its author, who has driven well over a million kilometers in India. This book is a must for every traveller and driving enthusiast. It provides everything you need to see the best of India and inside you find:
1. 35 distinctive easy to use driving routes and itineraries covering the length and breadth of India
2. Useful information and visually appealing photographs of all destinations, places to see, what to do, where to stay, what to eat, etc.
3. Meticulous schematic road maps, detailed directions, distances, driving time, and practical tips.
4. Delicious 'Dhaba Dining'.
5. An unmatched collection of funny signboards from all across India.

Narayan Rupani, now better known as Bob, was born in Bombay/Mumbai, and belongs to the pioneering lot of Indian automotive journalists starting with the Indian auto Journal in 1986. He is one of India's most senior and respected auto journalists and over the years he has been the executive editor of magazines such as Car & Bike International, auto motor & sport (India), BBC Top Gear (India) and Auto India.

His love for cars and is passion for long distance driving have taken him to far-flung parts of Indoa, and he has authored the critically acclaimed bestseller'Driving Holidays in India'. It was a pioneering book that resulted in the creation of a whole new segment of books.

He was also written the much acclaimed coffee table book 'India 10 Best Destination'. Bob was also asked by Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, the Maharana of Udaipur, to write a book titled 'The Royal Udaipur RR GLK 21' on a historic Rolls-Royce 20 HP owned by his family. Bob has co-edited another book with Gautam Sen, on Mercedes-Benz, called 'Story of the Star in India'.

Bob's articled regularly appear in well known Indian and international publications and he has worked with highly respected media houses like the BBC Times of India and the Business India Group.

He has drived over a million Kilometeres all over India and is well aware kof the difference between a sunset seen through an office windo and one enjoyed in the solitude of the wilderness. he is a keen photographer and many of the pictures published in this book have been taken by him.

Bob has successfully participated in several races and rallies. he has been leader of the obnly Indian team ever to have participated in the isuzu Challenge Expedition (recognized as one of the world's taughest off-road events). he was also the only Indian invited to participate in land Rover's Silk Road 2013 Expedition, from Berlin to Bombay.

Bob is a Founder Jury Member of the prestigious ICOTY (Indian Car of the Year) awards and was Chairman of the Jury in 2008 and 2012 and Jury Member of 'Product of the Year Awards 2011'.

In addition, Bob has helped design routes for many motoring events and expedition and helped organized the first International vintage and classic car rally held in India. he is happiest on the open road and at peace in the wilderness.

"India is the cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition." Mark Twain.

India is a land with a 5000-year-old history and the greatest galaxy of monuments. Few places on our planet can offer the variety that India does. We have an enviable coastline washed by two seas and one ocean. Great rivers flow down from mighty mountains. Fertile deltas and dry deserts, thick jungles and sandy beaches, the diversity is amazing. Add to this the rich cultures and traditions and you have an incredible and unmatchable combination.

India is truly a place of infinite variety where no two sights or- experiences are alike and it's my belief, that a "Driving Holiday" is the best way to see our incredible country. A road trip holds the promise of adventure. Just around the next bend, over the next hill, past the next town is another discovery. Every path leads you to something different and just as you start thinking that you know India intimately, it springs a new surprise. A "Driving Holiday" not only allows you to see things seldom seen by ordinary tourists, but it also gives you the freedom to travel as and when you wish. You don't have go through the tedious exercise of making reservations and booking tickets. A "Driving Holiday" actually allows you to say goodbye to schedules and you have the freedom to stop when you want and where you want. When the scenery is too spectacular to drive by, or when the desire to lie back and relax overcomes you, all you need do is turn off the ignition key.

If you really want to experience India, then there is nothing like getting into a car and going on a "Driving Holiday". This book hopes to make your road holiday across India more interesting, easier and educative. It is divided into 35 'Great Drives', which start and finish in major cities or well connected towns. Each great drive has details of the total distance, road journey, destinations, accommodation, and places of interest en route. The data page has route directions and distances and an easy to use schematic tour map. This book is based on my firsthand experiences and is born out of my passion for driving to different places. I hope it will show you the way and help you discover and lose you herself in the wonder that is India.

Ienvy my long-time friend, Bob Rupani. He loves his work. ay, he is passionate about it. Not many of us can say as much. Most of us have to work for a living, even if we may not enjoy it. Bob's work - and his passion - is all about motoring and driving and testing new cars. He not only drives all over the country but writes on his travels and experiences, while taking superb photographs. I was privileged to write the foreword to his pioneering book "Driving Holidays in India", and am only too happy to have the same privilege for this sequel, "More Driving Holidays in India".

The first book came out in 2005 and was a deserved bestseller. It had to be, because it was the first of its kind, describing in detail various car journeys, criss-crossing our marvellous, colourful, often frustrating yet fascinating country. What made Bob's book novel and handy was the firsthand information it provided on places to stay, the condition of the roads, the landscapes and scenery en route and the time it took to drive from place to place. There were very well illustrated schematic maps and route information compiled by Bob himself and there were write-ups with the history and highlights of all the places featured in the book. In effect, Bob had written a kind of "Lonely Planet's Guide to Motoring Holidays in India".

Eight years is long enough to bring out a revised and enlarged edition, with many more routes and many more destinations. One of the most changing scenarios in India is its infrastructure, particularly roads and highways. When Atal Behari Vajpayee was the prime minister, an ambitious "Golden Quadrilateral" programme of linking all the major Indian cities with broad and well surfaced highways was announced. Except for a small section, that programme has been achieved, which is good news for motorists. At the same time, during the past decade, the number and variety of cars have also grown exponentially. In fact, the expansion of roads and highways has not kept pace with the number of cars on the roads, especially in the cities.

When the country embarked on its economic liberalisation reforms, a little over two decades ago, our planners realised that one of the major factors holding up progress was the lamentable condition and paucity of roads. I can personally vouch for this. In 1970, I drove with an English lady companion from Bombay, as it was then called, to the far- south, and then back, in a second-hand Standard Herald, at that time one of only three major types of cars available, the other two being the Fiat and the Ambassador. Worse than the obsolete cars, were the pitiable roads one had to drive on. The combination of bad roads and an unreliable car meant constant breakdowns on that trip. Fortunately, mechanics were usually available, even in remote villages. I did much the same trip by car, three years ago, in a Mercedes-Benz, no less, and the same journey was a dream, over much broader roads and new highways. I have also been doing the Bombay- Goa and Delhi-Kasauli (in Himachal Pradesh) route regularly for several decades. Again, there is a vast improvement in roads and the cars that ply on them. Many major bottlenecks on the way have also been removed, thanks to flyovers and bypasses. I now happily do the approximately 250 km drive from Delhi to Kasauli comfortably in five hours in my Hyundai Eon. The Mumbai-Goa road has also been improved and there is an alternative route via Pune which, though slightly longer, has less traffic and which I would strongly recommend. Finally, only a year ago, I drove from Delhi to Goa, via Mumbai, with a friend in a 10-year-old Maruti 800. We went to Pushkar in Rajasthan, skirting Jaipur and Ajmer, and then on to Udaipur, Ranakpur (with its marvellous Jain temple), Eklingji, Nathdwara and Champaner (a marvelously and newly restored historical and archaeological site in Gujarat), We made a driving holiday out of the journey, taking five days, and did not have a single breakdown, thanks mainly to the transformation of the main highways in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. My only criticism is that some of the smaller roads connecting the towns and highways were often in very poor shape. However, I am hopeful that the next time I do the same trip, this, too, will be rectified. Enjoyable and safe driving holidays al-e at last becoming a reality in India, and I am sure Bob's new book "MOI-e Driving Holidays in India" will be the ideal guide, friend and companion for any journey or road holiday.

RAHULSINGH

Rahul Singh, is a History Honours graduate from Cambridge University, UK. He has been editor of the "Reader's Digest", "Indian Express", and "Khaleej Times" (Dubai). He has also been a Consultant with the United Nations for whom he wrote a book on population, "Family Planning Success Stories", which took him to several countries around the world. He has written [or leading publications in India and abroad, such as the "International Herald Tribune", "Newsweek" and "Dawn" (Pakistan). At present he is a freelance columnist and writer, commissioned by Penguin Publishers to write a biography of India's former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He divides his time between Mumbai and Delhi, with occasional forays to AJibag, Kasauli and Goa.