Mumbai to Delhi and back: Tales of the Toyota Fortuner to the Auto Expo 2020

To the roads less travelled

As the rest of Mumbai was nestled cozy in their sleep on a Sunday morning, the editorial team at CarWale began the journey to what was going to be an epic road trip. Mumbai weather is fairly cool, I say to myself, as I day-dream of the colder weather that I would be facing later through the week as we head towards the northern part of our country. I continue to be lost in my thoughts as I hear a car approaching me, the LED projector headlamps tearing through the fog (rather smog). There she was, in all her glory, the mighty Toyota Fortuner. We quickly stuffed our bags in the boot and began our journey.

The first pit stop was for breakfast at a local joint in Charoti for some authentic Parsi cuisine. With all the fuel tanks and tummies full, we were off to our destination for the day, Udaipur. I decided to catch a quick nap as the Fortuner gobbled up a considerate number of miles in the state of Gujarat. I woke up to realize I had slept over two bio-breaks and a fuel stop, and lunch time wasn’t far away either. Post a swift lunch, we exchanged places and I swapped to sit ahead as the co-passenger. Bluetooth paired and playlist ready, I played the songs from different genres, uplifting the slightly drowsy mood post a heavy lunch. The sun was about to set as we stopped for a quick tea break. After a small interaction with some four-legged friends, we started for our final stop of the day, err, night, Udaipur. Tired as we were, we called it a day as soon as we reached the hotel, for the second day of our journey to Delhi was about to commence in the next few hours.

Day two began with us moving out of the hotel in a jiffy, only to be stopped for the want of some hot tea, which was accompanied by some freshly cooked piping-hot Poha dressed with the local variety of sev. A few lip-smacking moments later, we set off for the national capital. We reached Delhi by early evening and tried out some traditional Bengali cuisine at a local joint suggested by one of our fellow members. The day wasn’t uneventful as you must be thinking by now since we spent about half an hour searching for our hotel, bang in the middle of nowhere, albeit just walking distance from the India Expo Mart.

The next three days of the Auto Expo 2020 and its coverage are already visible on the website so I don’t think we need more details on that front, at least when we’re talking about this amazing trip. The return leg began on a Friday morning as we bid adieu to Delhi and began our return leg to the financial capital. The Fortuner kept us entertained, courtesy of the music system, although we were missing the navigation bit from the touchscreen unit. 

Post the blessings of the food gods in the afternoon, the Fortuner faced a puncture though the local puncture shop was able to fix the issue that would make a fairly knowledgeable person fall behind in terms of time. Seats rotated again and I’m at the steering wheel, living the moment, driving the car that I dreamt of for oh so long, on an empty highway, cruising away to glory. Well, that’s where the problem began you see, as I was cruising a bit too comfortably, only to switch places a bit later. And in order to save time and get adequate rest before the final day of our road trip, I happily agreed. Seats changed, but not before I pull out the laptop from my bag to complete a few stories to keep all of you hooked to our website even during the weekends.

Departing with a bag full of memories

The final day of the trip, I wake up with the thought of getting home to my bed. It’s probably now that I understand what it means to have a good night’s sleep in the comfort of your own bed after what had been a hectic, fun and extremely memorable journey. No, it wasn’t my first road trip, and it definitely won’t be the last. But each road trip has those few memories that flash in the back of your mind every time someone speaks about anything relevant, or in my case, the 2020 Auto Expo.

Fact file:

Total kms travelled: 3000kms+

Total number of states covered: Six

Total number of food stops: We’d rather not say