Delhi to Pune with Apple: A 1,700 Kilometer Road Trip Through Rajasthan and Gujarat

Some trips you plan for months. This one we mostly just did. July 2021, a black Jaguar XF, a boot full of bags, and Apple curled up on the back seat like he already knew this was going to be his job for years to come. Delhi to Pune, the long way, by road, with a golden retriever who was still working out that a car ride could last longer than the trip to the park.

Day One: Delhi to Udaipur

We left Delhi before the city was properly awake, and the first stretch disappeared the way early drives always do, half asleep, radio low, Apple pressed against the window watching Haryana turn into Rajasthan. Fuel outside Jaipur, coffee at Stepout Cafe in C Scheme, and by afternoon we were climbing into the Aravalli hills toward Udaipur.

Somewhere on that winding stretch, hairpin turns and hills going gold in the evening light, we pulled over so Apple could stretch his legs. He took his time about it, nose down in the roadside grass, completely unbothered that the sun was setting behind him and we still had a couple of hours left to drive. That photograph, Apple mid-sniff with the Jaguar parked on the shoulder, is still the one we come back to.

The Morning After: A Lawn, a Lake, and a Very Happy Dog

Mornings at TatSaraasa are the kind you don't rush. We let Apple off toward the edge of the lawn while the groundskeepers worked the far side of the field, and he did what golden retrievers do best, put his nose to the ground and refused to hurry for anything. Palm trees, a still lake, hills in the distance, and a dog who had clearly decided this was the best morning of his life so far. We didn't leave until past noon, and nobody minded.

Day Two: The Long Haul Through Gujarat

The second day is where the trip turns into real road-trip territory. Udaipur to Ahmedabad to Vadodara, dhaba stops, mall stops, fuel stops, the kilometers piling up faster than the scenery could keep up. We took turns for a quick dinner at Hotel Supreme in Vanakpur, a pure-veg thali stop, while Apple held the fort in the car with the windows cracked and water in his bowl, before we pushed on toward Surat as the light faded.

Day Three: Through the Night to Pune

We were back on the road before dawn, out of Surat and onto the long stretch toward the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Fuel, a short break at Somatane Phata, and then the final climb up the expressway into Pune, arriving a little after 7am with three days of driving behind us and a very well-travelled dog asleep in the back seat.

What Stayed With Us

This was long before Captain and Kimchi joined the family, back when it was just the three of us figuring out, trip by trip, what pet-friendly travel in India actually looks like in practice rather than in a listing description. TatSaraasa's lakeside lawn and Pankaj's easy welcome in Surat are still two of the places we describe when people ask why we started doing this at all.