This sunday we rode to a man made lake in near Badi, in Dholpur named Talaab-e-Shaahi. Said to have been made by Jehangir, it seems to be the leftover of a halting spot for the emperor and his armies.

As the location was isolated, we thought about cooking our own breakfast. This was the first time we attempted something of this sort(we have been doing cup noodles, which probably doesn’t fall into the cooking category). So, armed with a stove, utensils, vegetables, maggi, upma, bread,jam,butter,biscuits and eggs we head out to our destination.

The road from Gwalior to Dholpur is great and from Dholpur to Talaab-e-Shaahi it was a bit patchy, but there was enough tarmac to keep the speeds at 70kmph. The monuments adjoining the lake are visible from the main road and thus the location is hard to miss.

The lake also seems to be one of the visiting spots for the migratory birds as there were lots of them on the far side of the lake. Being an army camp area, this should be a good and relatively safe spot for visiting bird watchers, although I don’t know much about the bird watching business.

We were 14 people and the food that we packed seemed a bit too much for all us. Plus we also managed to waste time and some unneeded preparations. But this experience will help us get things done faster on the next ride of this sort.

Overall, a good new addition to our riding activities. Being able to cook on the go will help us be happier foodies in aloof destinations (which are usually the best ones)