What all did I envision the journey to be - what all did I describe the journey as: A 1000 miles in 500 bucks - 4 days-4 sunsets - Hitchhike my way Home- 1545 km on road! Well for all of you heard bits & pieces and did not get a answer to 'Why?' or 'Wow'to the idea - No, am not giving answers or making an attempt at travel writing. Just finding the time to keep my sanity in check through this trip and see if there is a point to it!
25 October 2011 - the first 12 hours:
00:04 hrs - One last email and then Vacation Message 'ON' on the official email id. One last ditch attempt to activate internet settings on the mobile! One last look into the mirror - Are you sure?
00:20 hrs - The ruck-sack is stuffed in - a road-map, journal, sketch-book, spare clothes, mini-laptop, camera, mouth-wash, de-hydrant and deodrant! My flat-mates have gone to sleep and I don't remeber where I put in the house keys, incase I walk down the empty lane 7 past mid-night and decide to come back - didn't want to disturb them!
00:44 hrs - I finally step out and very well knowing am missing the 01:10 train even if am to run to the station! And the 20 minute walk down lane 7 with the dogs and North Main Road seeemed longer.
After some chit-chat with the rickshaw-walas, walked on trying to hitch a ride form motor-cyclists! One good soul, Suhail dropped me till the Pune Station at 01:15. Missed the train - the only 'planned' part of the journey gone wrong!
04:45 hrs - Me boards the train that would get me to where I planned to start hitching rides - Kolhapur! The general compartment of the previous trains as i watched form the platforms were a scary sight! The Diwlai rush and probably the entire migrant population working in Pune making a rush to the train even as it enters the platform.
Surprisingly, got a seat on my train. Families, kids, the grumpy old man, the 'i will yell into my phone' uncle and the 'i will play noisy songs for all of you' youngster - the regular crowd! Window seat.Happy!
After dozing off for a while - wake-up to the cold morning breeze as the orangy sun comes up over lush green-scapes and a few streams/rivers en-route to Satara - Kolhapur!
12:45 hrs - a longer than expected train ride extending well past noon! The 'plan' was to be at NH-4 at Kolhapur before 7:00 am! Not that I had a schedule to catch-up, but the plan was to get a lead into covering the first 500 odd kilometers of the journey before night-fall on day 01!
12 hours into the journey - not able to find the Ctrl+Z option, I keep walking!
