Day 2: Renault India Diamond Trail – Traversing Rajasthan – Great roads, not-so-great weather and the Kwid soldiers on
Our day started in Ajmer, and we spent some time exploring the history of the town. All of us bundled into the Renault Kwid and visited the sprawling Mayo College campus — a residential school with the most amazing architecture and facilities in the middle of a desert! It was founded way back in 1875 by Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo. It was conceived as a school for princes from different states, to allow the British to build goodwill with the noble Indians, and possibly avoid conflict with them and the Empire in the future.
The Renault drew a fair amount of attention from the boys on campus, but we had to leave soon enough to continue our journey to the westernmost point of India. The drive through Rajasthan was fabulous. The roads through this state always seem to be in a good condition, and today was no different. We drove in the direction of Mount Abu, crossing the border to Gujarat and halting in Palanpur for the night.
The Renault Kwid, despite being a bonafide city car, showed that the open road could be taken on with equal ease. The AMT on the Kwid Climber meant I didn’t have to bother with a clutch pedal and it was smooth sailing. The spanking new Ceat tyres we were running had some proper dry roads today after the storms they got us through yesterday, and proved to be worthy companions. Everything was smooth sailing despite it being supremely dry and the mercury soaring way past 45 degrees in places.
Now, we drive deeper in to Gujarat with Bhuj being our last destination before we make our way to Koteshwar.
