Scooter modified for carrying goods and passengers in Varanasi

A scooter modified in Varanasi by cutting it into half for pulling a cycle rickshaw van which can haul goods and passengers. 

Fun for them was being uncivilized inside Atal Tunnel Rohtang on 2020-12-24

If this was the definition of fun for these youngsters to celebrate Christmas Eve on 2020-12-24 inside Atal Tunnel Rohtang, they need to be taught what's acceptable and what's not acceptable in a civilized society. 

They were rightfully arrested/ punished by Himachal Police. 

Drag race with Auto Rickshaws

Drag race with Auto Rickshaws possibly in Sri Lanka. 

Royal Parantha Junction, Rohtak - Indian Roadie Preferred Cafe

Indian Roadie Preferred Cafe - Royal Parantha Junction, Rohtak. 

Stuffed vegetables parantha of 30" diameter. 

Pre-owned Tempo Traveller van conversion for vanlife by Vimal Geethanandan

Pre-owned Tempo Traveller van conversion for vanlife by Vimal Geethanandan. 

A lot of you wanted to know my journey of building Maaya, my self converted van home and things related to that. 

As I mentioned earlier, it is a dream of more than 3 years; more than 2 years of working various things for it and more than 1 year of working in it. 

The basic idea of Maaya started when I realised how much people are giving to me and how much I wanted to give back in one way or the other. But I can't stay at a single place. That's when I thought, why can't I take my home to the road and that is where this dream started. 

After all the dreaming and drooling, I started with a food truck. I thought that would be a logical step, then I sold it. After that, I did crowdfunding, then I sold tea on the road, I sold toys on the road, I worked various things including as a freelance content writer, as a delivery boy, as an interior designing intern, helping my mom setup AirBnB at her place and managing it etc. 

Finally, with the help of so many people including my mom, I got to buy the van I have dreamt off. 

Then started the struggle of converting that into a private registration vehicle as I bought it as a commercially registered vehicle. 

Funnily enough, I thought I can get it done in 4 days, in reality, it took me 4 months. I used to go to the RTO, which is like 25 kilometres from the place I was staying at that time, every day, to convince them that there exists a provision in the Government, which is being mentioned in their own website. I went to their head office to get permission from them. Literally, I tried everything I can. I used to stand before the office from morning to evening, to not miss the chance. 

After 4 months, I got the registration as Camper Van/Trailer (Private Use). 

My happiness knew no bounds. 

In the meantime, I went to Maharashtra, with just the inspector's order copy of conversion, without RC, in the hope that I'll get the RC immediately. But after that also it took me another two months. 

After the whole saga, I started the conversion. I learnt everything and I did everything by myself. One of my juniors from school, joined me and stayed with me for the whole year to help me out without expecting anything. 

Every single day, it was a struggle, it was a trail and error process. I lost some money. As I did everything myself, I saved some money, this is the exact reason, it is very difficult to share the exact amount I spent. 

But my friends who helped me in the building process at various times, started a van building company. If you need a professional help, I can help you send a quotation. 

If you are doing it yourself, I'm dropping in few important things to remember via the process I built Maaya.

Process of building: 

1. Design and Planning: 

This is most important part. Based on the size of your vehicle and your requirements, plan your layout. 

Van is an extremely small space, so you need to be very frugal and very attentive to every single space available. 

And note down your needs prior to designing. For example, I needed a full bed rather than a bed that converts into a sofa, a living room rather than a full time shower etc. 

2. Welding and Tinkering

If you are buying a second hand vehicle, there can be places which need some tinkering work. Fortunately, I got a pretty good vehicle. But it is important to get it done. 

Then, if you need to build anything which needs strength, get it done with iron. I did it for my bed frame. Because mine is a full bed. 

3. Insulation: 

Insulating your van is the most important and the very first logical step of building your home in the van. Choosing right kind of insulation matters. After a lot of research I went with PIR insulation boards. These are effective and does the job pretty well. 

Note: Always remember, van is a pretty hot place, no matter how much you insulate, there's some heat you have to bear. But insulating definetly helps to some extent. Without that, it is very hard to live in it. 

4. Plumbing: 

Depending on your layout, you can go with an over head tank or a DC motor which pumps water. 

Most importantly, don't forget any connections and make sure all the connections are tight enough to avoid lekages. 

With experience, I'm saying, leakages can be frustrating, too much frustrating. 

I have a 220 litre water tank underneath my bed and a DC pump. All my grey water goes to the tanks underneath my van, which I can dump responsibily at places I want. 

I chose to have hot water at all places there's a water connection. Now, though, my gas geyser is not working, will get it repaired some place. 

I have two showers, one indoor shower, which I can setup whenever I want and one outdoor shower. I have a commode inside for emergency purposes which also has water connection. 

I have a water filter which filters water for me. 

Know basics of plumbing, basic things you need, like Teflon Tape, Mseal, Clamps, T connectors etc. 

5. Electricals: 

I went with a 350 watt solar panel, two 120 Ah Batteries, one 2200 VA solar inverter. 

I can choose to connect it to any power source in a home and directly draw power without involving the inverter. 

You can also choose to go with increasing the size of your Dynamo, so that driving will also charge your batteries. 

I chose to go with all AC appliances and get all the power from the inverter. The primary reason is DC appliances are costly and there's not much difference in power loss. 

Know basics of electricals before starting, use right kind of sq mm wires as it can cause a little power loss. 

You can watch YouTube videos to understand connections and they explain it pretty well. 

6. Wood work: 

I chose wood for building everything because wood acts as a secondary insulator. It is also easily available and available at cheaper rates. I chose plywood because of my budget constraints. 

I took the machines for rent. But I'll suggest you to buy them because you never know how much time it'll take to build yours and you can save a lot of money. You can also, sell them on OLX/QUIKR after you are done. 

7. Painting: 

Initially I thought I'll use laminates but then I realised lamintaes can come off with time, so I went with wood painting. It came out well. 

8. Arrangements: 

According to the layout you chose, you must have already bought the required appliances just place it accordingly and your van home is ready to move. 

Lockdown, lack of money at times took me an year long to build it. Everyday, I used to think, another two days, another week etc. 

But, like it happens to me always, universe has always been kind. 

From making me meet a completely random stranger in the head iffice whi turned out to be my cousin's senior to complete strangers sending me money randomly when my bank balance became zero. 

Will always be grateful. 

PS: My inbox is always open, you can always DM me and I'll always reply.

PS2: For those who don't know me, I'm a nomad and travelling in India for more than 4 years now in various capacities. I live in my self converted van home Maaya. ❤️

I have uploaded most of my building process almost daily through stories on Instagram. Get on to my Instagram and check the story highlights 'Maaya - Our Van' (instagram.com/inspiringwanderer) 

Courtesy: Vimal Geethanandan. 

Facebook profile link: 

https://www.facebook.com/vimalgeethanandan 

Post link on BBTI: 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/backpackingIndia/permalink/1773694456137754/  dated 2021-01-07. 

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* vanlife, 

* vanlife stories worldwide, 

* Conversion for vanlife, 

Road trip to দাদনপাত্রবাড় (Dadanpatrabar Sea Beach) by Kousik Sen in early January 2021

Road trip to দাদনপাত্রবাড় (Dadanpatrabar Sea Beach), East Midnapore district, West Bengal by Kousik Sen in early January 2021. 

দীঘার ভীড় পছন্দ নয়? মন্দারমণিও এখন বড্ড ইঁট, কাঠ পাথরের জঙ্গলে কুমারীত্ব হারাচ্ছে মনে হচ্ছে? এই করোনা আবহে ঘুরতে যেতে চান কিন্ত মানুষের থিকথিকে ভীড় দেখলেই কিরকম একটা আতঙ্কিত লাগছে? 

চলুন যাই Dadanpatrabar। 

একেবারে সমুদ্রতীরে Swapan Pradhan বাবুর Nirala Hotel (9933064420, 8972341152)। মন্দারমণিরই একটা অংশ। আর একটু এগোলেই দক্ষিণ পুরুষোত্তমপুর।

             মন্দারমণি মোড় থেকে ডানদিকে সারিসারি হোটেলের দিকে না গিয়ে বাঁ দিকে গাড়ি ঘোরান। কিলোমিটার দুয়েক এগিয়ে চলুন। চোখজুড়ানো গ্রামের পথ। ডাইনে শুুঁটকি মাছের সারিসারি প্রসেসিং সেন্টার, এক মিনিট নাকে রুমাল দিন গন্ধ লাগলে। আর বাঁদিকে টম‍্যাটো আর বাঁধাকপির ক্ষেত।

আর একটু এগিয়ে বাঁদিকে গেলেই কাঁচা রাস্তা, একটুখানি, এই ১০০ মিটার মতো। 

           একমাত্র হোটেল স্বপনবাবুর। সামনে বিস্তীর্ণ সমুদ্র, অসাধারণ বেলাভুমি, সেই স্মৃতিতে থাকা ঝাউবন। উফ্ Tranquility prevails all around. জনমানবশুন‍্য। জোয়ারের জলে সমুদ্রতট যখন ছোট হয়ে আসে ঝাঁকে ঝাঁকে লাল কাঁকড়া বেড়িয়ে পড়ে। 

      এবার একটু হোটেলের ব‍্যাপারে বলি। ঘরে বসেই উপভোগ করুন সমুদ্র। সামনেই ঝাউবন, হ‍্যামক আছে। ঝাউবনের ভীতর দিয়ে লম্বা হাঁটা মারুন বা ঢাকা মাচায় বসে বন্ধু বা আত্মীয় স্বজনের সঙ্গে লম্বা আড্ডা চলুক।

ঘরভাড়া ১২০০ নন এসি, এসি ২০০০। মোট ৬ টি ঘর। কি খাবেন? যা বলবেন রান্না করে দেবে। আর আপনি চাইলে নিজেরাই একটু হেঁটে বাজার করে রান্না করে নিন। আপনার জন‍্য রান্নার সব সরঞ্জামও মজুত। 

ড্রাইভারের থাকার জায়গা আছে। 

একটু কুয়াশাই ছিলো। ছবিগুলো খুব একটা হয়তো ভালো ওঠেনি।

Kolkata to Darjeeling road trip by Debashis Saha in Maruti Brezza in December 2020

Road trip from Kolkata to Darjeeling and back. 

It was the 2nd car drive for IndianRoadie Debashis Saha to Darjeeling .

Day 1 - 22nd Dec 2020: 

Started late at 12 noon after his son’s Classes were over.

Route: Kolkata (Dumdum) - Barasat - Borojaguli - Chakdaha (fueled up at Reliance Petrol Pump) - Krishnanagar - Berhampur - Malda . 

Day 2- 23rd Dec 2020: 

Route: Malda - Raiganj - Dalkhola - Islampur - Siliguri. 

Stayed at Mainak Tourist Lodge.

Day 3 - 24th Dec 2020: 

Started at 11am

Route: Siliguri - Sukma - Rohini - Kurseong 

(Lunch at Margaret’s Deck, nice food and ambience) - Darjeeling .

Traffic was less as compared to season time.

It was chilling at night and Mall area was more or less deserted. He felt happy having chosen Darjeeling as destination considering the COVID situation. Stayed at Darjeeling Tourist Lodge. Although room was not good at all, the view of Kanchenjunga from the lawn was great. 

Day 4 - 25 th Dec 2020:  

Relaxed at Darjeeling only. 

It was the extremely crowded on Christmas evening . It was crowded as Kolkata. People maintained no social distancing.

Day 5 - 26th Dec 2020: 

Started at 7.30 am from Darjeeling for the return drive back to Kolkata. 

Had to start early due to planned procession of political parties. Debashis has warned fellow roadies that anybody planning to go to the Darjeeling hills should keep in mind that there will be more political rallies and processions in the hills during the next few months in 2021 till the WB assembly polls. 

Route: Darjeeling - Ghoom - Lepchajagat - Mirik - Garidhura ( Lunch at hotel) - Islampur - Dalkhola - Raiganj - Stay at Malda. 

Day 6 - 27th Dec 2020:  

Malda to Kolkata. 

Route: Malda - Farakka - Moregram - SH7 Kuli - Bardhaman - Kolkata (Dumdum). 

Road condition of WB State Highway 7 is pathetic. Debashis Saha has advised roadies to ideally avoid that.

Car Driven: Maruti Suzuki Brezza. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/indianroadie/permalink/1735992539892183/ 

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* Kolkata to Siliguri via Krishnanagar, Baharampur and back via Kuli, Burdwan. 

* Kolkata to Darjeeling and back.  trip from Kolkata to Darjeeling and back. 

Gurgaon to Amritsar - Indian Roadie Preferred Route

Indian Roadie Preferred Route/ Motoring Route for 

Gurgaon to Amritsar 
(Gurgaon_Amritsar). 

Option 1: 
Gurgaon - Rohtak - Jind - Sangrur - Moga - Amritsar. 

Travel time for Option 1 is horter by 15 to 20 minutes. Distance wise the route is longer by 10 odd kilometres vis-a-vis other options. 
Lovely divided toll highway roads with much lower traffic volumes. 
Short patch between Rohtak and Jind is under road widening. 
Almost all major towns have clear bypass.
Traveling time 7 hours for 500 kilometres home to home in early January 2020. 

Drive for food to Karwar - Indian Roadie Preferred Cafe

Indian Roadie Preferred Cafe - Karwar and surroundings. 

SHWETHA LUNCH HOME, Karwar, KA is just off NH66 (erstwhile, NH17), inside Karwar. https://goo.gl/maps/c527ZHFuDhv6A1EV9

AMRUTH HOTEL, Karwar, KA might score more with its ambience and environment. 
They are famous for their crab masala preparation. 

FISHLAND RESTAURANT
(https://goo.gl/maps/t5dSrH6mBYZYF7AG7). 
Fishland Restaurant is about 12-15 kms from Karwar towards Goa.
While driving from Karwar to Goa, drive past both state check posts and after some distance past the defunct Entry Tax toll now in ruins). Thereafter, there's a right curve (famous for accidents). From there drive another 1 - 2 kms. Fishland Restaurant is on the left. 
It's not a great place to sit, but definitely the best joint to satisfy the appetite of travellers. 

Note: Be there at Karwar by 10 am for breakfast, 1 pm for lunch, 7.30 pm for dinner. 

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* FoodieRoadieIndia 

* Foodie Roadie 

* Road trip to Karnataka 

* Indian Roadie Drive For Food 

Hotel S.K (restaurant), NH65, Mohol - Indian Roadie Preferred Cafe for fish

If you love fish try a road side place on NH65 between Pune and Solapur near Mohol about 35 kms prior to reaching Solapur and approximately 220 kms from Pune. It's pretty basic and frequented by locals. It's known for Yermala Macchi.

HOTEL S.K.

Pune-Solapur Highway, Opp: Chandra mauli Midc, Mohio, Kolegaon, Pune, Maharashtra 413213

https://maps.app.goo.gl/LPGvT8rsqShqrJjU9

Made in India i20 cars will roll all over the world

Made in India Hyundai i20 cars will now roll on roads of various countries across the world.

Awesome 👌
That's the India that true Indians have dreamt of for nearly 7 decades.
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#ModiHaiTohMumkinHai

Sri Motel Highway Jain's, Near Poonamalee Check Post, Thirumazhisai, TN - Indian Roadie Preferred Cafe

Raise your hands if anyone in Indian Roadie and associated forums has had a chance to visit Sri Motel Highway Jain's, 89/3A, Bangalore Trunk Road, Near Poonamalee Check Post, Thirumazhisai, Tamil Nadu 600124 for its ubiquitous Butter Masala Dosa and Coffee or Tea. 

The 'Indian Roadie Preferred Cafe' will be on the route for a drive from Chennai to Tirupati or vice versa. 

IndianRoadie veteran Sajjan Tailor recalled his stopover for refreshment in early January 2018 during his regular drives to and from Tirupati via that route.

Indian Roadie (and associated forums) founder Deep Banerjee wishes all a hopefully happy 2021

A 'hopefully' happy New Year's video message from Deep Banerjee, founder of Indian Roadie )and associated forums) to all IndianRoadie and associated forum members and followers on 2021-01-02. 

The dreadful year 2020 has left us. However, Corona has not yet left us. It's still a reality. 

Friends, please don't be reckless. 

Be careful, be responsible, be safe and enjoy life. 

Whenever on road, lap up the beauty of every km of the journey. 

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* Happy New Year 2021

Kolkata to North Bengal and Sikkim road trip with family and dogs by Vikram Sur in November 2020

Road trip up the mountains of North Bengal and Sikkim from Kolkata and back with family by Vikram Sur, his wife Swati Sur and 3 yrs old son and two dogs.

Duration of trip: 2020-11-08 to 2020-11-21.
Vehicle driven: Ford Endeavour.
Responsibilities for Vikram were more but he claims that it was fun.
2020-11-08: After leaving Kolkata (Prince Anwar Shah Road) at 7 am, the family reached Siliguri at 2.30 am via Ranaghat, Krishnagar, Baharampur, Malda, Raniganj, Botolbari, Dhantola route. The average road condition was bad.
2020-11-09: They drove to Khushi Farms, Mirik, amids tea estates. 
After two days of stay in Mirik, they reached Sittong from where they got a clear view of Kanchenjungha.
After a days stay in Sittong, they moved to Kalimpong, Chibbo.
From Chibbo after a days stay to another lovely resort in Kalimpong.
Lastly they drove to Kaluk in Sikkim where they stayed in Mandarin Village Resort for 3 days. While in Kaluk, they drove around nearby places enjoying nature and keeping safe distance from crowd and conventional tourists with fear of contracting Covid always in mind.
2020-11-19: Started the return journey from Kaluk back home to Kolkata. Night halt in Siliguri.
2020-11-20: Night halt in Malda at a badly maintained OYO Room property.
2020-11-21: Malda to Kolkata via NH12 (erstwhile, NH34).
12 days spent with great fun and they returned home safely avoiding Covid threats all around.
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#Kolkata_Siliguri,
#Kolkata_Darjeeling Hills,
#Kolkata_Sikkim.

Happy New Year 2021

At last 2020 has gone! 

However, Corona has not vanished. The dangers associated with Corona are lurking at every nook and corner. 

Let's welcome a 'hopefully' happy 2021 with fingers crossed!

I, Deep Banerjee, founder of #IndianRoadie (and associated forums), #GlobalRoadie, #BackpackingIndiaOnRoad, #ShetravelsIndia (only for ladies), #MotoringRoutesOfIndia, #Marketingpundit, #MarketingGyanology, #GoodAdBadAd, #KeepStrongStayHappy, #CarrotNStick, #EducationAndCareerPundit, #RottenEnglish, #LaughAloud and more want all of you'll and your dear ones to be safe in the months ahead. 

Take care. 

Drive safe. 

Be careful with your spoken and written words. 

Never sit on social media after a couple of pegs. 

Stay happy. 

Be proactive in the forums. 

Choose your friends wisely. 

Do remember that social media is a reflection of a person's behavior in real life. 

I assure you that there will be no let up in keeping the forums sanitized with respect to quality of content and quality of members. 

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* Happy New Year 2021

Mumbai to South Goa - road trip by Sushil Ayarottil in end December 2020

Mumbai to South Goa - road trip by Sushil Ayarottil in end December 2020. 

Road conditions update from my recent drive from Thane-Goa-Malvan-Thane
Thane - Belgaum: NH4 (Now known as NH48) remains butter smooth throughout with all the toll booths enabled with Fastag. Did not face any issues on any toll booths with Fastag acceptance.
Belgaum - Varca (South Goa): I chose the Anmod route since I had done Chorla in 2018 and wanted to do Anmod for long time. Roads throughout are super narrow as compared to Chorla Ghats and I had a few close calls while overtaking since there hardly any scope of overtaking throughout the stretch. I found Chorla much more scenic as compared to Anmod (personal opinion though). As far as road conditions are concerned, roads are in good condition.
Varca - Chivla Beach (Malvan) : There's 4 lane work going on majority stretches till you exit Goa though I felt diversions were well managed. At places road conditions are bad. Once you exit Goa NH66 has completely transformed into a 4 lane driving bliss. I crossed one toll booth enroute which was yet to start. I took left for Chivla Beach from Oras and Chivla Beach is around 40 odd kms from this point. There are few rough patches enroute but nothing to worry about.
Chivla (Malvan) - Thane : I took the Gaganbawda route after almost 4 years and still its a pleasure to drive on this stretch all the way till Kolhapur. There a few rough patches but nothing to worry for any car. 

Indian Roadie (and associated forums) founder Deep Banerjee wishes all a hopefully happy 2021

A 'hopefully' happy New Year's video message from Deep Banerjee, founder of Indian Roadie )and associated forums) to all IndianRoadie and associated forum members and followers on 2021-01-02. 

The dreadful year 2020 has left us. However, Corona has not yet left us. It's still a reality. 

Friends, please don't be reckless. 

Be careful, be responsible, be safe and enjoy life. 

Whenever on road, lap up the beauty of every km of the journey. 

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* Happy New Year 2021

Khajuraho to Bangalore - Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route, best route for road trip

Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route, best route for road trip from 

Khajuraho to Bangalore (Khajuraho_Bangalore), 

Khajuraho to Hyderabad 

(Khajuraho_Hyderabad), 

Khajuraho to Nagpur 

(Khajuraho_Nagpur) 

Khajuraho to Jabalpur 

(Khajuraho_Jabalpur): 

Khajuraho ---- Panna ---- Amanganj ---- Katni ---- Jabalpur ---- Lakhnadon ---- Seoni ---- Nagpur ---- Adilabad ---- Hyderabad ---- Kurnool ---- Anantapur ---- Bangalore 

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* 'Motoring Routes of India' is an initiative by Indian Roadie, India's most admired road travel and automotive forum for matured roadies.

Delhi to Chopta - Indian Roadie Preferred Route/ Motoring Route

Indian Roadie Preferred Route/ Motoring Route/ route for 

Delhi to Chopta: 

Dehi - Rishikesh - Rudraprayag - Ukhimath - Chopta (Uttarakhand). 

Road condition: 

During the winter months, road from Ukhimath onwards can be snow-bound and are not motorable for cars at times.  

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* 'Motoring Routes of India' is an initiative by Indian Roadie, India's most admired road travel and automotive forum for matured roadies.