Best Drives in India....1

India offers a wide range of driving conditions and surrounding natural beauty. You can zip through the desert in Rajasthan, or navigate the winding turns in Sikkim, coast the plains in MP or feel the rugged terrain in Leh... never a dull moment!

I would recommend the following 5 best rides (in no particular order):

1. Gangtok to Lachung : Its a 120 km ride of breathtaking scenic beauty and takes about 5-6 hours. The road, like most roads in North Sikkim, is constructed and maintained by the Border Roads Organisation - which does a great job given the rugged terrain and difficult weather conditions.

The route goes via Mangan (65 km) and Chungthang (95 km). From here the road bifurcates. The road to the left goes to Lachen and the road to the right reaches Lachung.

On the way there are lots of waterfalls, lush green forests and beautiful views of the Teesta river. Notable among these are the 'Seven sister waterfalls' (32 km from Gangtok). Also visible are quaint houses (shown here) which look straight from toy models. The view of the mountain tops on a clear day is just fantastic. The picture shown here was taken at 5.15 am in May.

Lachung (height of 8000 ft) is the entry point for the Yumthang valley (25km from Lachung). You find strawberries growing by the side of the road in the right season! (Road maps at http://sikkim-roadsandbridges.gov.in/). The picture in the background of the title 'Roads and Rides' is also from Lachung.

The other great journeys are :
2. Munnar to Thekady
3. Manali to Rohtang Pass
4. Bhandardara Lake
5. Almora to Kausani
(More on these in the next post)

How to drive in the city without losing your sanity!

It is not uncommon to have a conversation about the traffic in the city and more so the outrage over the frustrating driving experience. By the time, you are through with the week, the combination of bad roads, errant taxi drivers, long traffic jams, jay walking pedestrians, morchas and processions, prove to be a lethal cocktail which knocks you out for the weekend. Is there a way to combat all this and yet keep your cool? Can you drive in the city without driving yourself insane? Probably....

I wish I could say that the God of driving revealed to me the five magical solutions in a resonant, well-modulated voice! No, its not that dramatic. These are five ways that have worked for me. Here are the first two (in no specific order) :

1. Have faith in Darwin : Have you ever noticed how incensed we get when some other driver cuts our lane? We just want to overtake the driver and 'teach him/her a lesson'. Do we now? Are we really interested in teaching that errant driver? why take all that trouble and improve his driving? (especially if he has cut your lane!). Nah! Just let them be. I believe in Darwin's Law of Natural Selection..... people unfit to drive, will wind up losing their right to drive one way or another. So just smile and wish him good luck. Don't interfere with that process and try to upgrade their skills.

2. Select your Music : If you love music, your problem is half-solved. If you don't have an ear for music - develop one! Music has the power to influence one's mood - so selecting the right music is also important. The best option is to burn a CD or make an appropriate playlist on your iPod/MP3 player. FM stations tend to have a lot of chatter and less music.... some attempts at humour are actually counter-productive (observe the shenanigans of Ghanta Singh). Keep two playlists - one for easy listening (for tight traffic conditions) and other for when your mood is upbeat and you are on a clear road maintaining a good speed. I have a list of recommended songs for both lists for listeners preferring Indian and Western music. (Surprise find : AIR FM 107.1 has less chatter and more music - its just that the selection can be rather erratic)

Next 3 Tips follow soon......