Mandarmani in the western Bengal district of Medinipur is one of those beaches that have been on my bucket list for years. I had heard tales of fellow travelers about the refreshing salty morning breeze bristling through their hair and the mellow evenings lost in biker tales. But riding from Delhi to Mandarmani was a 1660kms ride that I anticipated would take me about a week’s time to complete and more expensive than all the trips I had done thus far. This was one of those special journeys that taught me a lot about managing expenses. Here are a few things that I wanted to share with you.
- Plan your stays
The biggest money trap on any tour, either short or long, by a car or bike, is the hotel expenses. Most people end up spending the biggest chunk of their travel budgets on hotel expenses. This is unavoidable if you have your family along with you, but when you are alone there isn’t any reason why you cannot save tons of money on expensive hotels. Dormitories and student hostels are great ways to spend the night without incurring huge expenses. Many of these places offer online booking facilities, which means you can book your slot online in advance because these affordable places get booked out very fast. If you are not averse to the idea of spending the night under the stars, you can also consider camping outdoors. There is however the issue of getting the permission of landowners where you intend to set up camp. If you are traveling in a group, the best idea is to set up your camping gear at dhabas (roadside eateries) where truck drivers usually sleep. You might want to reconsider this option if you’re riding solo because of the obvious security concerns. I made the best of religious guesthouses all the way, halting at Kanpur, Varanasi and Dhanbad all of which are approximately 450km stretches, give or take a little. These places usually do not expect you to ‘book’, and the accommodation is more of a first-come, first-served basis. I always had a back-up plan booked online, but never ended up staying in any. These allow for paying at the time of check-in, so you don’t have to worry about wasting any money in cancellation fees. Mandarmani was a different case. Camping on the shore all night isn’t a safe option simply because of the threat of theft and drunken nuisance. Before visiting such kind of places keep your belongings safe on the motorcycle side luggage box. There are cheap places that are great for spending the night. You can eat outside at any place of your choosing, or better still, cook yourself. We will come to that in a little while, but you might want to know that I spent a total of Rs1200 ($16-$17) on religious guesthouses and Rs2000 ($27.9) on the hotel at Mandarmani, which took the total ‘stay expenses’ to Rs3200 ($43.5).
- Learn minor repair skills
A good way to cut down on maintenance expenses is to learn the simple tricks of the trade yourself. This won’t just save you a lot of money on mechanical upkeep on the road but there will be times when you won’t find a mechanic even if you are prepared to spend money. Simple things like adjusting the preload of the suspension and changing the tires in a pinch are very important skills that can make the difference between being stranded in an unknown location and getting out without breaking a sweat! Simple things such as cleaning spark plugs, changing the coolant and adjusting the chain do not need a lot of expertise and you can learn it from a trusted mechanic. I woke up to a nasty surprise in Varanasi. I had made the mistake of parking the bike on soft soil and it tipped over, flooding the engine with petrol. Thankfully, the steps were pretty simple. I took out the spark plug, wiped off the excess overflow with rags and replaced the old plug with a new one. This was necessary because the electrode had gotten wet and it won’t create a spark no matter how much I tried.
From previous experience, I know that the same would have cost me at least Rs2000 if I took the motorcycle to a mechanic. But since I knew how to do the minor repair myself, I paid only Rs750 ($10) for the iridium spark plug for my Royal Enfield Himalayan!
- Cook your own meals
Back in 2018, I became a vegetarian and that made things a little more challenging for me as a wayfarer. Although I am completely cool with the idea of eating a vegetarian meal at a non-vegetarian establishment, but I am not okay with the idea of spending a ton of money on meals of dubious nutrition value. That is why I prefer to prepare my own meals. I had an old Coleman Butane Stove lying around in the house. All I needed was the gas cylinders. I got a pack of 6 at a bargain deal and depended on local grocery stores for cooking supplies such as rice, veggies, and noodles. There was no point in carrying these in my bags because stores are abundant along the way. It takes 45 minutes to prepare a nice and nutritious meal on the butane stove. By cooking my own meals not only did I manage to stay well-fed for 8 days on the road, but I completely circumvented the risk of food poisoning and gastric distress. And, I managed to do all of that within just Rs2500 ($16-$17). That’s Rs208 ($2.82) per day for two self-cooked meals and another Rs1200 for 6 lunches that I ate at restaurants, bringing the total expenses to Rs3700 ($50) for the entire trip.
- Save on water
Water is another big expense that can quickly eat away at your travel budget. An average bottle of 1 lt. packaged water stands at about Rs12, and considering an average need of 6–10 liters of water per day (including drinking & cooking), you will spending Rs72 to Rs100 ($1.36) on water per day, or more depending on the weather. A good way to cut down expense here is to invest a 2 lt. metal water bottle and refill it at petrol pumps. If you are wary of pathogens in your water, you can add an iodine tablet inside the water bottle after filling it up. I did not use them, and I already had a large thermally insulated bottle, so basically I spend nothing on water.
- Get the cheapest postpaid calling and data plan
If you do not have a GPS device, you will need an active data connection on your mobile phone (for Google Maps) to stay on track. Prepaid plans can get very expensive very quick and the data plans usually have a cap of 1 or 2GB per day which isn’t going to help you on the highway where you will need at least 10GB or more per day. Go for a post-paid plan instead. Paper maps are completely free, and I am a sucker for thrifty decisions, but this is one aspect that I would not advise you to compromise upon. My postpaid plan costs me approximately Rs600 ($8.84) per month and comes with unlimited data usage.
- Invest in an insurance plan
While it pays to know how to take care of simple things on the motorcycle, it is always important to have a comprehensive insurance coverage plan that takes care of all repairs and other loses. Major repairs on an adventure motorcycle can go upwards of Rs25000 ($340) and you don’t want to pay it out of your pocket!
- Ride economically
Last but not the least, you need to be mindful of fuel expenses. While the allure of talking to the wind at high speeds always remains strong, and it’s fine to indulge your throttle hand once in a while, make sure that you stay within an economic RPM range throughout the ride. For any motorcycle with an engine capacity of 200cc or larger, 80kmph (49mph) is fine for cruising on Indian roads. I ended up spending the highest amount on fuel. The RE Himalayan returns a mileage of 32 kmpl (75mpg), the distance between Delhi and Mandarmani is 1622 kms, not counting detours or in-location riding. At Rs82 per liter, the total fuel expense comes to Rs8300 ($112.82). If I include other in-location rides, the overall fuel expenses would come to Rs10,000 ($136) which covers everything.
So, to add everything up, the total cost comes to Rs18,250 ($248) which isn’t a lot considering the priceless experiences I gathered!
My gears at a glance
- Motorcycle: Royal Enfield Himalayan BS5
- Tires: Michelin MT60 (as they came from showroom)
- Camera: Hero Black 7, Fujifilm X100F
- Safety helmet: Premium full face motorcycle helmet
- Saddlebags: Studds Mobike Luggage
- Fuel Bag: Rynox
- Top Box: Studds Mobike Top Case
- Stove: Coleman Butane Stove (6 butane cylinders
SMK Helmets 