The soul of the city, outside the city

DRIVING HONDA CITY TO STORII CASTLE KANOTA, AND NOT MISSING JAIPURAT ALL

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

THE DELHI-MUMBAI Expressway that takes you to Jaipur is one of the smoothest roads in India — to navigate it, you don’t need a rugged SUV, but a car with good handling, and a car that can calm you.

Enter the Honda City. As I steered towards Jaipur, I realised that the Pink City can also be experienced by avoiding the city.

Enter Storii by ITC Castle Kanota — a 19th-century fortress, 20 km east of Jaipur, now a heritage hotel.

The road trip

Even as the world is shifting towards SUVs, driving a sedan has its own charm — there is less wind noise because it’s more aerodynamic, there is less body roll because you sit low, and on surfaces where SUVs bounce, a sedan simply glides.

The castle