Gujarat Tour Diary: Day 0 | Background and Tour Planning

Give back to the society more than what you have taken

My name is B P Bhat (BPB), aged about 51 years. I live in Bengaluru. Travelling, touring and trekking are my hobbies. Madhu Kiran Reddy (MKR) is one of my friends. We share same hobbies. We just returned from our tour of Gujarat. As the tour is still fresh in my memory, I try to reproduce the same for the readers of GhoomIndiaGhoom (GIG) here.

Why I am writing this travelogue:

Almost all my tours are completely dependent from the details that I get on the internet. Someone, from somewhere, has posted those details; and I got it free of cost. So I think it is my duty to share my experience with other readers, so that it will be helpful to others.

The experience that I have written is ours own. The details of the place that I have given in flower brackets “{}” are taken from Wikipedia and other internet sources. I have reproduced the same in brief, so that you don’t have to search the same in the internet.

Even though I am not new to GIG, I am new to many readers on the internet. If you are only a regular reader, enjoying reading travelogues, you are most welcome to continue reading the same.

In case if you have come to this travelogue while searching for Gujarat’s travel related information, then please keep a few points in mind:-

• This tour is done by us, who are quite experienced in this type of travel.
• I have clocked more than 2 lakh kms on my various bikes and more than 3.5 lakh kms on my various four-wheelers.
• I have traveled in many states and parts of India in this way; – how? You will come to know as we proceed.
• My friend MKR has traveled extensively in the USA.
• We are also hardcore trekkers. We have trekked at many places in the Himalayas as well as Western Ghats.
• Our main objective is to see the places. We enjoy driving, and seeing the places.
• We don’t give too much importance to the Hotel Rooms, the facility offered in the Hotels etc. A room is just a resting place for us, to spend one night.
• We are not very fond of food. We are happy with anything that is hygienic and filling.
• Most important: The journey is also a destination for us.
• While selecting the tourist places to visit, I have omitted few places due to shortage of time. So our list of places may differ with your places, depending on your time, interest, season etc.
• So, while you can take the route and places covered by us, the costing given at the end of this travelogue may not hold good for you. Also you may not cope up with our speed in covering the places.

So while making your own itinerary, keep these points in mind.

Gujarat Tour Planning: How did it all start?
Some more points before I begin:

Sometime in October 2014, I asked MKR –

BPB – Shall we go on a complete tour of Gujarat ?

MKR – How many days it might take ?

BPB – I don’t know. Gujarat Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) people say that it might take around 45 days. Private tour operators told me that I have gone mad to undertake this kind of a tour; because no one else tours this way. I think around three weeks might be good enough to do this.

MKR – Ok, I am for a game. When shall we go?

BPB – I am busy up to Sankranti. So we can start any time after 15th Jan 2015.

MKR – Ok fine with me also. But I may not be able to spare so many days. I may have to return back by beginning of February.

This is how our tour preparation started. I took almost two weeks to prepare the tour route, itinerary, places and other details. I have referred to this as ‘Tour Guide’ in this travelogue. MKR got his Ford Figo Diesel car serviced.

A small note on the photos & videos.

• Unless & otherwise specified, all the photos and videos of this tour are taken by BPB and MKR.
• The cameras used are Samsung Galaxy S2 & Xiaomi MI3 mobiles and Canon 100D.
•  All the old photos (not related to Gujarat tour) are taken by BPB using Nikon P5000

And on 18th January 2015, our Gujarat tour started. So I will take you along with us on our journey. Please follow us:

Click to read Day 01 for my Gujarat Tour Diary- Bengalaru to Satara