Tour of Nagaland 2022 | Day 2 | Nagpur to Ambikapur | 627 kms

Today was a big day like yesterday. I’d planned to reach Ambikapur today, some 600-odd km from Nagpur. I had a good sleep the previous night owing to my tired body.

I woke up around 4 am after my alarm went off. There was nothing much to repack since I had not disturbed much of my luggage. Had a quick shower and in no time, I was scuttling up and down the stairs with my luggage bags. It was still early in the morning and dark. I had to use my headband torch to tie up all my luggage. I feared that something would be left behind but it didn’t happen like that.

I hit the tarmac. The air was sharp and cool with no traffic. I was navigating with the help of my Google Maps till I got out of the city. At the outskirts, after riding for like 20 km, I stopped to put fuel in my tank.

Riding on the highway was pleasant with the morning fog settling low everywhere. Visibility was moderate but the air around was chilly and it really made me shiver. It being a winter season, I had donned all my winter clothing on top of my riding gear. The tarmac was laid well with no damage and it made riding the bike more enjoyable. After, some 50 km of riding, the cold had really seeped through my 2 layers of clothing armor and reached my bones. My teeth were rattling against each other, my chest had become heavy and my fingers were about to go numb. Reacting quickly, I pulled off from the highway for a cup of hot tea at a roadside stall. Looking at my mobile screen, it seemed, I had reached Bhandara city.

The proceedings of the day had just begun as people went on with their activities. The highway side was full of people setting up their businesses for the day. The tea owner was in the process of making tea when I ordered myself a cup. Like me, many were waiting for their cup. There was a fire lit by the side and a group of people were taking the warmth from it. I too joined them so that my body could be thawed which seemed frozen at the moment. After having 2 cups of steaming hot tea, the body was restored to normal following which I proceeded further. I was on the NH247 highway which runs to Kolkata.

By now, the sun had come up and it dispersed the morning fog whatever was left. It provided me with additional warmth which was much needed. My main source of heat came from my OXFORD heated handlebar grips.

I had a new destination put up on my Google Maps now. It was Raipur, the capital city of the state of Chattisgarh which was roughly 220 km from my current position. I hit the tarmac again at around 7 am.

The roads continued to be good with moderate to light traffic. I was totally enjoying the moment being on the road for the very reason that I was going to enter a totally new state which I hadn’t entered since I started to travel. The bike was running well which further added to my level of happiness. The scenery was devoid of any hills or forest as the roads mostly passed through flatland. Soon, I crossed into Chattisgarh after crossing Deori which I didn’t notice nor there were signboards saying ‘Welcome to Chattisgarh’.

Chattisgarh has somehow got a wrong notion attached to it. Mainly, people think of it as a troubled state due to a lot of insurgent and Maoist activities. Not many people travel here but I’d read on the net that it indeed has a lot of good places to offer. The insurgent activities are limited only to a cornered-off zone in the state. I was totally unaware of both things, the condition of roads as well as the location of Maoist concentrated areas. As a result, I vowed to reach early to my destination and avoid riding in the dark.

At around 9:30 am, traveling for 160 km, I decided to stop for breakfast at a roadside dhaba. I ordered a Paratha which they served me along with chutney. The whole thing was then washed down with a hot cup of tea. As I was trying to leave, some people who were also on the move approached me and entered into a casual conversation with me. They were equally excited about my trip like me. They were heading towards Raipur and were locals. They were suggesting that I take a different route when I told them that tomorrow I would be halting at Ranchi, where I would be meeting my friend. But, I had already made my plan of reaching Ranchi tomorrow and not today. Reaching today meant stressing myself on the road more which I wanted to avoid totally. I thanked them for their suggestion and care and kick-started the bike. The time was around 10:30 am.

Soon, I approached the city of Bhilai, and the traffic got worse as I passed through its city center. The area seemed dusty and devoid of any vegetation. Regularly stopping at the traffic lights made me start to sweat. Luckily, there was a bypass for Raipur which came immediately after Bhillai and I was saved for the traffic. I took a northerly route from Raipur. I was on NH130 now, riding on the Raipur-Bialspur highway. The roads were good which kept my speed up. As per my plan, it looked like I would not have a problem reaching my destination. Riding along, I noticed a large of amount loose dust-covered vegetation by the sides of the road. Mainly due to the dust blown away from the regularly passing vehicles. I wondered whether this part received any kind of annual rain or not. The whole surroundings seemed out of place.

From Bhilai, I rode for another 100 km before taking a quick pit stop to fuel myself. This 100 km range was a good marker to stop every time I hit that mark. It’s the perfect balance between stopping too early and vice versa. This is basically the strategy I follow when I want to cover a large distance in a day. After that 10-minute break, you are relaxed and your energy levels are back to 100 percent. Even your body gets properly hydrated especially if it’s a hot day. I munched on my Energy Bars and drank close to a liter of water before pushing forward.

I took a bypass for Bilaspur as per Google Maps and as I moved ahead the road conditions deteriorated. From the city the Bilaspur at around 110km, lies the place called “Amarkantak” which is where the Narmada River originates. I see the direction board to it as I push forward. The highway work is not completely done and as a result, I am forced to take frequent diversions which slows me down. I am the sole 2-wheeler on the road with 90% of it being shared by fast-moving empty as well as laden earth-moving trucks. They blast off right beside me kicking up a dust could which makes me choke. Adding oil to fire, the road surface is like craters on the moon which are so big that my bike bobs up and down on them just like a ship sailing over waves in the sea. Within moments, I as well as my bike are covered fully in the dust which makes an eerie appearance. I curse a lot a the road development authorities as I slowly chug forward.

After some point, the slow riding in 1st and 2nd gear wears on me and I forcefully stop to get my bearings straight at a roadside stall offering tea and snacks. I am totally frustrated by this leg of the journey and at the back of my mind recalculate the arrival time at my destination owing to reduced speed. More than 20 trucks zoom past me till I finish my tea! The time is around 3 pm and I still have 170 km to go.

Luck comes to my rescue as I get a good road ahead after some km and I enter a dense forest area. I am supposed to drive through it for a considerable distance as per the map. I am the lone person traversing this road with occasional glimpses of local people on their 2 wheelers or walking. At the back of my mind, I wonder what kind of wildlife this area is holding or maybe even some Maoists! There is a complete silence around and only noises from the forest can be heard, mainly birds. The air is cool and smells heavy of jungle trees.

Riding towards the east, I came to know that I would be having less daytime as the sun dropped early into the horizon and I definitely do not want to ride through this part in the dark. The thoughts of the bike breaking down in this part hit me constantly like waves crashing on shore. I continue to steer my mind to other things. It’s hard! Just as the sun is about to go down, I stop quickly and pull up my tripod stand taking a photo of me along with the bike with the sun in the background. I see monkeys bouncing from branch to branch at the tree behind my bike. Finally, I have contact with wildlife.

Just before dusk hits, I manage to get out of the jungle cover securely and travel almost non-stop till I reach a place on the highway where I need to fill up my fuel tank. The clock reads 5:45 pm and it’s pitch dark. It’s so dark that for a moment I am forced to find a hotel then and there as it feels like midnight. After I filled up the tank, some kind enough people suggested that I reach Ambikapur which is more than 30 km ahead as I won’t get any accomodation here. In the dark, I am not able to make out properly but it seems that I have reached some kind of small village called Lakhanpur and the city is still far.

Wasting no further time, I push along with my energy levels rapidly dropping down. Everything takes a U-turn when you are driving at night. It’s very hard to focus on the road with light rays hitting your cornea like missiles and you are dead tired by riding on bad roads.

Finally, having arrived in the city at around 7 p.m. in full darkness, I take my bike to the side of the road at one of the signal junctions. I enquire with some people who are standing beside a tea stall about a place to stay in the city. They help me with 2-3 options which I happily mark on the map. Like the fellow people who met me during breakfast time, these lads are also excited about the trip and we get along nicely and have a cup of tea together! It is through them that I came to know that the patch which I traveled on today was Maoist and they are located somewhere in the north-west corner of the state. Another relief came when they assured me that tomorrow’s journey would also be safe like today’s. After taking a selfie together, I thanked them for their help and moved towards my hotel.

The 1st hotel I visited cost a bomb! It’s a newly done hotel and the price for one night is upwards of 3K. I rejected it immediately. When I entered the 2nd one, there was no one at the front reception to answer my inquiry but I happened to use their charging point since I was low on battery. The 3rd and the last hotel came to my rescue. It was located on the same lane as the 2nd one and I was happily given a room for 500 bucks after the owner listened to my story sales pitch. The owner seemed a Harley fan and I saw his bike parked inside the reception. I get a parking right outside the main glass door.

The hotel boys helped me with shifting my luggage to my room and after showering I ordered a dinner at their attached restaurant. The dinner was tasty and I went to bed immediately after that. The night was cold and I thought of my tomorrow’s plan as I crashed onto my bed. The 2nd day of the tour was completed safe and sound. I reflected on the day’s ride as I drifted off to sleep.

Tomorrow’s destination was Ranchi which was 300 km and yet again, I was going to enter a new state which was Jharkhand, which had many of my friends living there.