Day 7: Indore to Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) via Dhule

The morning began with breakfast and getting the car ready for the next long stretch. It was going to be roughly an eight-hour drive to Aurangabad or the new name Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. Before leaving, got the car cleaned and checked. A small broken piece on the dashboard, the only casualty so far on the trip, had started making noise. Stopped at two stores, including a 3M outlet, but nothing useful came out of it. Bought a strip of 3M double-sided tape and tried to fix itmyself. It held for the moment.

Left Indore around 11:30 AM.

The road at the start was not great. Traffic was heavy and wayward driving continued to test patience. The national highway here was nothing like the expressways. It was slower, patchy in places, and not very well maintained. Construction work for new roads was going on among many stretches.

As the drive progressed, traffic began to thin. Stopped once at a roadside restaurant to freshen up and have something small. Crossed Dhule and Pawar House along the way.

At one point, was stopped by a policeman. He seemed more curious about someone driving alone from Delhi than anything else. The number plate gives it away easily. He was cheerful, joked on the free solo drive yet checked the PUC, and waved me on.

As traffic reduced, speed naturally picked up, only to be stopped again at another police check point. This time, just a friendly warning about another checkpoint ahead and to manage speed. Until then, there had been no visible speed limit boards on the national highways since Bharatpur. From that point onward, kept the speed around 80 km per hour for most of the trip as that’s generally the limit on National Highways.

The Tapi river had a beautiful riverfront in Dhule district, adding its own quiet presence to the route. Couldn’t stop there yet if anyone want to enjoy a good view, it does have one.

Reached a crossroad and the road ahead appeared blocked even though Google Maps showed it continuing straight. Stopped to ask an autorickshaw driver for directions to Aurangabad. As he finished explaining, a tall man with a saffron cloth around his neck called out firmly, “It’s Sambhaji Nagar.” A reminder of the city’s new name though the NHAI hoardings still mentioend the same old name just on the opposite side of the road. The correction was sharp, but brief. Directions were clear after that.

Reached Aurangabad around 7:30 PM.

Checked into the hotel, had dinner at the restaurant, and took a stroll in the hotel compound before calling it a day.

Another jyotirlinga awaited exploration here.