Has the coronavirus pandemic disrupted your plan to take that long trip? Is the ongoing lockdown making you crave going off-road? Fret not. If you can’t go to the highway, Rocky, Mayur, Prashant, and Abhinandan — the team behind shows like Highway On My Plate, Vital Stats of India, Jai Hind, and Rocky and Mayur's Food Xpress — will bring the highway to you!

So, here goes the newest offering from Newslaundry: Highway On My Podcast. The creators of the much loved TV travel show revisit their travels across India, sharing stories, anecdotes, trivia, and — for when the roads are open and inviting again — recommendations on food, culture, people, and much more.

In this episode, Rocky, Mayur, Abhinandan and Prashant take a swift trip across multiple locations. But this time, they take their cues from some of our wonderful listeners, who have written in with their travel experiences.

Starting off, Abhinandan reads an email from Atharva, who recommends visiting the Irani restaurants in Mumbai and trying a wide variety of dishes. Atharva says the podcast helps him get through daily chores during the lockdown.

Picking up from Atharva’s city of residence, Abhinandan describes a visit to INS Hamla in Mumbai, which is the Logistics Training Institute for the Navy. Rocky remembers how the people at INS Hamla prepare an “electric” lemonade. Abhinandan and Prashant reiterate that the Army, Navy and Air Force know how to look after their own, though Prashant thinks the Navy has an edge over the others.

Next up is an email from Ashok, who says the podcast has become a staple while he jogs. Ashok details a trip to Sikkim, replete with photographs. Prashant points out how it’s interesting that we often remember things that go wrong during our travels — they make up some of our strongest memories from trips. Rocky adds his two cents on what he loves about Sikkim, and why we need to respect the diversity that India has to offer. The gang reads an email from Prabhjot, who also talks about a Sikkim trip, and discusses a local favourite along the Northeast, Thongba, which is a drink made from fermented rice.

Abhinav writes in to offer his patronage to his “food gods”, as he puts it, and why he loves Rocky and Mayur, with their show and now podcast being his steady companion through the years. Abhinav is from a fauji background, so Abhinandan and Prashant take listeners to Bengaluru, where the army’s chefs are trained, and the knife skills they witnessed.

Rocky brings up the Floating Islands (an egg white preparation) and cold coffee from the NDA and IMA that he loves. Prashant talks about jelly custard, another standard dessert that he associates with the Army. Rocky jumps back in to salute yet another dessert that the forces make like no one else: the tipsy pudding.

The gang wraps up with emails from Shashank, Rohit, and a few others, and what they’d like their last meals to be.

All this and more, only on Highway On My Podcast.

For more trivia and behind the scenes moments from Rocky and Mayur’s travels across India, sign up for the HOMP newsletter.

You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | Pocket Casts | TuneIn | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Hubhopper | Overcast | JioSaavn | Podcast Addict | Headfone