‘We Feared the Drive, She Loved It’: Delhi Mom Shares ‘Surprises’ From 800-Km Road Trip With Toddler

Somewhere between Delhi and Kashmir, a two-and-a-half-year-old found herself waiting for tunnels to appear, pointing out sheep and monkeys by the road, and watching mountains, rivers and rain unfold outside the car window. For her parents, it was an 800-km road trip. For her, it was a moving picture book she couldn’t stop asking questions about.

For Akanksha Khullar, the journey had begun with a very different feeling: apprehension. Could they really drive all the way to Kashmir with a toddler? Would she manage the long hours in the car? Would the carefully planned itinerary hold up once they were on the road?

Reflecting on that initial fear, Akanksha says, “It’s important to show your child the possibilities that exist. And your fear is the key one.”

As it turned out, the daughter, whom they had worried about keeping entertained, was often the most curious traveller in the car.

“She was so curious about what she was seeing and experiencing,” Akanksha recalls. “There was so much greenery, so many animals just out there. She would ask, ‘Which animal is this?’ and then create a story around it.”

For Akanksha, a writer and storyteller who works as an advisor at the Royal Norwegian Embassy, those little questions became some of the most memorable parts of the trip. They were also what she had hoped for when the family decided to travel by road: a chance for her daughter to experience travel differently.

Why they chose an 800-km drive over another flight 

Travel has always been a part of Akanksha and her husband’s life. Their daughter had already travelled internationally, including her second international trip when she was six months old.

But as Akanksha’s daughter grew older and started going to day school, the family found themselves thinking differently about summer holidays.

“We realised that we’ve only given her that international exposure,” she says. “We have family throughout North India, but somehow our international trips had been more than our domestic ones.”

The summer holidays presented another challenge. Much of North India was hot, while popular hill stations were crowded.

The couple began researching possible destinations.

They considered several destinations, including Shimla and other hill stations, but Akanksha and her husband wanted to explore somewhere different this time.

“We were very sure that this time we didn’t want to do a flight thing with her because we’ve been doing that a lot,” she says. “For us, it was almost like making her relearn what travel is.”

That meant getting into the car and driving, maybe all the way to Kashmir.

Planning the road around a toddler

An 800-km road trip is a considerable journey for anyone. With a toddler, Akanksha knew they couldn’t simply plan the route around distance and sightseeing.

Her daughter’s meals, breaks and comfort had to be part of the itinerary too.

“There was a lot of strategic planning that went into the whole process,” she says.

They carried snacks, planned activities and thought carefully about when to start driving and where to stop. The journey was broken up according to their daughter’s schedule rather than simply trying to cover as many kilometres as possible.

The family was also travelling in an electric vehicle, which added another layer to the planning. Charging stops had to be factored into the journey, but some of them became enjoyable breaks for their daughter too.

Akanksha’s husband enjoys studying cars and planning routes, so they mapped their charging stops carefully. As it turned out, several of the places where they stopped for charging also worked well for their daughter.

“Having an EV and a super high-tech car is a blessing,” Akanksha says. “We knew the journey was going to be very smooth.”

At one stop in Karnal, her daughter watched ducks. Along the route to Srinagar, the mountains, rivers and tunnels gave her plenty more to look at.

Even the charging stations became memorable. On the trip, Akanksha says, her husband ended up helping other EV owners charge their cars.

The biggest surprise? Their daughter loved the long drive 

Before leaving, one of Akanksha’s biggest concerns was the car journey itself.

“How is a two-and-a-half-year-old going to manage such a long journey?” was the worry.

But once they were on the road, something surprising happened.

“The car journey was the smoothest,” she says. Her daughter was fascinated by the changing scenery. She watched the tunnels, noticed when the road went “up” and “down”, looked at the rain, and kept asking questions.

The journey also gave Akanksha and her husband something they don’t always get on an ordinary day: uninterrupted one-on-one time with their daughter.

Both parents drove, so they could split the driving. When one parent was behind the wheel, the other could sit with their daughter.

“She would just come up with something,” Akanksha recalls. “These tiny moments that you would not get on a regular day. It was so precious.”

There were also moments when their daughter wanted some time with one parent. Sometimes it was “Dad, let’s do this” and sometimes she would just lie down and enjoy the ride.

For Akanksha, these small, unscripted moments became some of the most memorable parts of the trip.

When food and motion sickness tested their plans

The car journey had gone better than expected, but the trip still had its messy moments.

Food, in particular, turned out to be more challenging than Akanksha had anticipated, especially in Kashmir.

And on the return journey, her daughter experienced motion sickness. Thankfully, Akanksha had packed extra clothes, newspapers and bags after someone had warned her it might happen.

It did.

More than once.

“It happened once; I changed her clothes, and then it happened again and again,” she laughs, remembering the episode.

By the fourth time, the parents had adapted. “We were like, okay, now we’re going to sit with a flip-flop in our hand,” she recalls.

For Akanksha, that was another lesson in travelling with a young child: preparation matters, but so does the ability to adapt when the plan falls apart.

“You learn and you adapt,” she says. “It’s all patience. A lot of patience. You have to centre yourself again and again.”

Keeping Kashmir slow

Once they reached Kashmir, the family chose to keep their holiday relaxed.

They kept their itinerary limited to Srinagar and Pahalgam. After all the planning and driving, Akanksha and her husband wanted a slower trip for themselves too.

This gave them time to enjoy Kashmir at their own pace, with room for the little things: playing football together on a lawn, spending time as a family, and simply being present.

‘You don’t realise how solid a team you are as parents’

Looking back, Akanksha remembers the joy alongside the challenges. She also recognises that an 800-km road trip with a toddler may not suit every family.

She believes parents can sometimes underestimate what their children are capable of experiencing.

“I don’t know if I would advise it to anybody,” she says, acknowledging that their experience was possible in part because she had a supportive partner who was completely on board. “But the point is that it’s important to show your child the possibility that exists.”

For Akanksha, the biggest hurdle was her own fear. “I was very jittery. I couldn’t believe that we were doing this,” she says.

And yet they did.

The journey also gave the couple a new understanding of themselves as parents. In the busyness of everyday life, they hadn’t necessarily stopped to notice how well they functioned as a team.

“This whole thing gave us a lot of confidence in our journey of being parents also,” she says. “You don’t realise how solid a team you are as parents.”

Her daughter may not remember every kilometre of that 800-km journey. She may not remember the charging stations or the exact roads they took.

But she saw mountains, rivers, animals and tunnels. She asked questions. She watched the world change outside the window. She spent time with both her parents.

For Akanksha, those are memories she will carry with her for years.

“Twenty years down the line, when I look back, I would just be like, damn. This was one good trip.”

All images courtesy Akanksha Khullar

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