[lucifer1881]

Note: My dad and I went on this crazy road trip in June 2010. This is a reproduction of the log posted elsewhere.

Day - 1 Hyderabad – Adilabad – Nagpur – Jabalpur (802km; 5:30 am)

Two Biharis – one a through bred A.K.A Dad, and the other a half-breed A.K.A yours truly – decided to go to Bihar the way sensible people don’t. It goes without saying that it was an amazing experience.

As is the norm in this household, the day began at 5:30am. Driving from Hyderabad along NH7 is something that makes any tourer drool. More so now that most of the stretch up to Nagpur is complete.

NH7 - When it is a dream...

NH7 - Even the single carriageway bit is lovely!

It is the work-in-progress bit that seriously tests the suspension of your vehicle. Some potholes are vast, and so sudden in their appearance that you are already over them when your foot hits the brakes.

NH7 - When it is a nightmare...

We reached Nirmal (227km) around 8:20, stopping plenty of times for photo breaks. A hot breakfast of idli, vada and dosa later we were off. At Hinganghat, about 63km before Nagpur we tanked up. Good thing we did because diesel in Nagpur is about Rs. 1.87 per litre dearer.

The level crossing at which there is a 100% chance that a Bolero with registration AP 9 BV 1257 will definitely stop.

The flyover that is supposed to make life easier - been under construction forever.

We stopped at Bishop Cotton School, Nagpur for a photo op. I studied in class II and class III there between 1988 and 1990. The school has not changed much. At least, when compared to whatever memory I have of 20 years ago.

Alma Mater

Then we started to ask directions for Katni. We were only fully satisfied after we asked for it thrice. Tip for a first timer: Stay on NH7. There is no need to make any turns in Nagpur. As long as you drive along NH7, the road will take you all the way to Varanasi.

Post lunch, we continued to Jabalpur. We had to stop at a level crossing in Birga, about 40km before Jabalpur. It was around 6:30 in the evening. For once, I was really glad to stop at a train crossing. MP is one of the very few places where one can still find narrow gauge railway. This is an absolute delight for someone like me who loves relics of the past.

Level Crossing Birga

YouTube - Narrow Gauge Rail Line at a level crossing in Birga, MP, India.

We reached Jabalpur around 7:00pm and decided to halt for the night. An AC room in Hotel Shyama cost us Rs. 700. Adding up the cost of food, the bill came to less than Rs. 900.

[Fordmanchau]

Hey Rohit, now man this is fast!!!
Thanks a ton for starting this travelogue. This would be a delight for me.
Okay so got your Bihari connection now. Your's dad one.
Waiting for more updates.

[hvkumar]

Did you have to go inside Jabalpur town for the hotel? Location and contact details?

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Hey Rohit, now man this is fast!!!
Thanks a ton for starting this travelogue. This would be a delight for me.
Okay so got your Bihari connection now. Your's dad one.
Waiting for more updates.

Well, thanks! Your wish is my command .

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Did you have to go inside Jabalpur town for the hotel? Location and contact details?

Yes, we entered the town. The hotels along the highway are too expensive. Do not have the contact details but I can share the location. It is situated right opposite the main intercity bus stand. There are two main entrances off NH-7 into Jabalpur. When driving from Nagpur, take the second one. The straight road takes you right to the hotel. It took us about 45 minutes to get there, in peak traffic hours.

[lucifer1881]

Day 2 - Jabalpur – Katni – Varanasi – Patna (735km; 5:00 am)

Father and son were woken up by the over-zealous hotel staff at 4:00 am. Since we were up and about, and the sun was already out as early as 5 we decided to make hay while it shined.

Katni is 90km from Jabalpur and we covered that distance in a respectable 90 minutes. We stopped for breakfast a little ahead of Katni. Refuelled the Bolero as well. The road gets slightly bad once you cross Satna, which is about 80km from Katni, and it is bad all the way to Varanasi with intermitent good portions.

Gleaming Bolero at Katni

Spotted somewhere between Katni and Satna: This thing had 16 axles with 8 wheels per axle.Total 128 wheels. It was pulled by a 440hp Volvo head.

From Jabalpur to the UP border the highway is literally strewn with kilns, cement factories and marble quarries. The MP ghats lose their foresty character and become very stony indeed. And hot. We stopped at a couple of places to get a view of the villages below. The heat got to us before we could focus our binoculars.

The truck with the orange tarp in the far corner spilled its coconuts on these ghats.

Then we got into UP. The moment we crossed the border, we were stopped at a police check post. He wanted to check all the relevant papers. But UP being UP, the policeman wanted the original RC of the car. Now, seriously, who carries original? For some reason, he did not harass us. He let us go without any bribe money.

We had lunch at Chunar, approximately 40km before Varanasi. At Varanasi, we got on the beautifully built NH2. We had to cover 60km or so upto Mohaniya and get on NH 30. I thought we could do that distance in under 40 minutes. I thought too soon. We encountered a logjam 16km before Mohaniya that lasted for 9km. Guess what it took us to cover those 9km? Two and a half hours! We were stuck in it from 3:30pm to 6:00pm. Had it not been for the jam, we would be in Patna by 7:00pm.

The Mohaniya logjam

Anyway. Once we crossed the Mohaniya fly over we took the right to get on NH 30. It is a single carriageway but it is beautifully constructed. The Bolero could manage speeds of over a 100kmph for considerably long stretches of time. Then we got held up at a level crossing in Aara (60km before Patna). Three trains passed before the gate was opened!

Our last hurdle was the Koilvar bridge on the river Sone. It is a very narrow bridge with a span of 2km or so. It carries only one-way traffic. We reached home in Patna past 10pm.

The Bridge on the River Sone

[bblost]

I like your style of presenting this Travelogue. Very refreshing and very very interesting.

[anujmishra]

Hey lucifer, it was nice short and crisp presentation of your travelogue. I am also contemplating to do Bihar - Jharkhand trip within a year from Bangalore.

I would like to know more about post Varanasi roads till Patna.

[Fordmanchau]

Ok, so Mohania can be a pain. 9kms jam is long.
The roads looks like 4 laned and it seems all the four lanes are occupied by trucks going towards Patna.
How would you rate the road conditions overall and from Arrah to Patna?
Don't think there would be any safety issues, but anything to be careful about?
From Jabalpur till Patna looks like there would be too much of truck traffic?
I hope private car traffic would be decent on this stretch.
And lastly,
where do you stay in Patna?(you can skip this)
Need more pics.

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

Hey lucifer, it was nice short and crisp presentation of your travelogue...

Ah, the travelogue is not yet complete. It was a 10-day trip.

The roads in Bihar are very good, better even than those in the state of AP. It is a pleasure driving.

Fordmanchau, lots of questions! Here are my answers .

Ok, so Mohania can be a pain. 9kms jam is long.
The roads looks like 4 laned and it seems all the four lanes are occupied by trucks going towards Patna.
This jam was due to an accident a couple of days ago. Most of the highway upto Mohaniya is a dual-carriageway except for a bridge on which traffic flows both ways. It was on this bridge that the accident took place and it held up vehicles for days.
How would you rate the road conditions overall and from Arrah to Patna?
Don't think there would be any safety issues, but anything to be careful about?
Roads are very good in Bihar. On this Bihar visit, I could sense things had changed. People were living a life without fear. In Patna, streets would be deserted after dark. Today there is life till midnight. On my earlier visits, I never felt completely at ease. I was very comfortable this time around.
From Jabalpur till Patna looks like there would be too much of truck traffic?
I hope private car traffic would be decent on this stretch.
There are enough private cars on this stretch. The truck traffic starts with gusto when you get on GT Road to get to Mohaniya from Varanasi.
And lastly,
where do you stay in Patna?(you can skip this)
Ah, I am from Patna. My chacha and his family still live there. We live in Daryapur, right behind the Birla Temple.

[Speed Pujari]

Great and inspiring travelogue. I too am contemplating to do a saddle sore from bangalore to ranchi on my T-Jet. Though my roots are from Patna,I have never ever driven a car there :-( ..

Maybe a short ride from Ranchi to Patna is also on plates.

Have heard Bihar got roads meant for driving T-Jets and also my close family friend got a T-jet 'imported' to Patna.


BTW guys, please get out of that old mode, Patna is no Taliban ! It is very much a developed/educated/civilized city like any other city in India.. Go there and witness.

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

The roads in Bihar are very good, better even than those in the state of AP. It is a pleasure driving.

yup!! look at the bailey road and all the newly constructed highways and bridges. But I would say it's at par. Roads in AP are equally good.

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

Fordmanchau, lots of questions! Here are my answers .

Yeah!!sorry for troubling you man but am excited, this is the first specific Patna travelogue , i am witnessing. Hope you will post pics of in and around Patna too

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

On this Bihar visit, I could sense things had changed. People were living a life without fear. In Patna, streets would be deserted after dark. Today there is life till midnight. On my earlier visits, I never felt completely at ease. I was very comfortable this time around.

I know, I have last been to Patna in Dec 2009. Couldn't go last year but have to some extent witnessed the change and feel good about it.Planning to go this year around Chhatt!!

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

Ah, I am from Patna. My chacha and his family still live there. We live in Daryapur, right behind the Birla Temple.

Okay, not so far. I stay at Rajendra Nagar.

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

Great and inspiring travelogue. I too am contemplating to do a saddle sore from bangalore to ranchi on my T-Jet. Though my roots are from Patna,I have never ever driven a car there :-( ..

Hey speed, that would be a great trip. I have also not driven much in Bihar but then have taken our Omni to Rajgir, Bodhgaya and Pawapuri and many a times to our ancestral village.

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

Have heard Bihar got roads meant for driving T-Jets and also my close family friend got a T-jet 'imported' to Patna.

That's great. But the traffic has risen so much these days. To cross the exhibiton road junction you atleast need 10 mins these days. And you must be wary of the Rickshaws and Thela's and also cyclists. They will somehow put a dent or a scratch on your car.

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

BTW guys, please get out of that old mode, Patna is no Taliban ! It is very much a developed/educated/civilized city like any other city in India.. Go there and witness.

I know, I was born and brought up there. My parents still stay there. It is not what it is make out to be.

[lucifer1881]

Day 3 - Patna

This was a day of relaxation in the ancestral family home at Patna. I spent some time with chacha, chachi and my two cousins. Later in the day, I took the car out for a wash. That is when I realized it is easier to find leechies in the month of December in Siberia than it is to find a car wash place in the city. Eventually, I found a two-wheeler service centre. The man there agreed to wash the car.

Car Wash at Patna

Rajendra Nagar, Patna

Day 4 - Patna – Vaishali – Patna (130km; 10:00 am)

Vaishali is a place of importance for both Buddhism and Jainism. Mahavir was born here, and Buddha visited the place. It is a little surprising that the two never met, despite being contemporaries. Perhaps we were not destined to have so much greatness together.

Birth Place of Mahavir, Vaishali

We set off around 10 in the morning with a good aloo-puri breakfast. This time we were accompanied by my two cousins. It took us about two hours to reach Vaishali (about 53km away), courtesy yours truly who forgot to take a turn when he had to.

Tip for a first timer: To get to Vaishali, cross the Mahatma Gandhi Setu. At Hajipur, take the flyover. On reaching the first intersection, turn right and get on SH74. It is a beautiful piece of road criss-crossing through the many villages of Bihar.

The glorious State Highway 74

The village of Vaishali

As is wont in Bihar, a city of such importance had never been developed by the tourism department. Things are changing now, with quite a few of Jain and Buddhist organisations building their temples and stupas as the case may be. Even the Archaeological Survey of India has evinced interest in the site recently.

Archaeological Museum, Vaishali

Shanti Stupa, Vaishali

Vietnamese Monastery, Vaishali

Remains of Ancient Vaishali built by Ashoka

On our way back, we stopped on the Mahatma Gandhi Setu (the longest river bridge in India and the longest single river bridge anywhere in the world with a length of 5.5km). Of course, stopping on a bridge is illegal. But this is Bihar. As they say, when in Rome do as Romans do.

The Setu is a sight to behold. It affords a view of the Ganges like nothing else can. The Ganga gets very wide in Patna, at some places the banks are more than 10km apart.

The expanse of the Ganga viewed from atop the Setu

But Bihar being what Bihar is it is saddening that the bridge is in such a sorry state. It is frightening when you cross it for the entire bridge shakes violently.

YouTube - Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Patna, Bihar

How the Setu shakes!

We got back home at 4:00pm.

PS: In response to Fordmanchau's post above on traffic conditions, I found it was much more pleasurable to drive in Patna than it is to drive in Hyderabad. Initially, I drove in the typical aggressive fashion that us Hyderabadis are accustomed to. In a short while, I felt a little embarassed about it. Everyone else on the road drove patiently - gave way to oncoming vehicle, overtook from the correct side, etc. This was super bliss.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

I found it was much more pleasurable to drive in Patna than it is to drive in Hyderabad. Initially, I drove in the typical aggressive fashion that us Hyderabadis are accustomed to. In a short while, I felt a little embarassed about it. Everyone else on the road drove patiently - gave way to oncoming vehicle, overtook from the correct side, etc. This was super bliss.

Dunno mate, but I always found driving in Patna very stressful & chaotic. Bhagalpur is the same, you would be kissed umpteen times in your commute.

Autos are a menace, with the iron bars projected outside, you better keep an arm's length away. Its different if we are on the Pajero or at least on the Safari.

North Bihar is much more green & cooler wrt to Central & South Bihar.

Please carry on with the rest (have read elsewhere, but its a pleasure to read nevertheless)

P.S : Never knew there are members from Bihar. May be we can have a G2G

[Fordmanchau]

Your car wash area looks like area II on the map and 2nd pic of your post looks like Area I marked on map. May be I am wrong but looks like that. you were in my backyard. hehe!!
[ok i am super excited].

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

PS: In response to Fordmanchau's post above on traffic conditions, I found it was much more pleasurable to drive in Patna than it is to drive in Hyderabad.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Dunno mate, but I always found driving in Patna very stressful & chaotic.

May be Rohit , that you were driving a Bolero, it was easier for you.
I meant that the traffic condition in areas like Nala road, Macchuatoli, Bari path, Kadamkuan,Hathwa market, khazanchi road and many more areas are such that there are high chances to get some dent or scratch.
As Sheel has described above, it is chaotic and to some extent stressful too.
Super pics!! Good to see Vaishali getting some attention.

[lucifer1881]

Day 5 - Patna Sightseeing

The day began with a visit to the world-famous-in-Patna Golghar. It was designed to be a granary. But they screwed up a bit. For some reason, the doors to the structure open towards the inside. This means that once the granary is full there is no means to take the grain out of it.

The Golghar

My cousin and I climbed up all the 170 or steps to the top of the building in what must be plus 40 degrees Celsius temperatures in the infamous humidity of Patna that always stays above the 80% mark. It was worth it. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

YouTube - View from Golghar, Patna

Panoramic View of Patna from the top of Golghar

Patna Museum is located in a magnificent building constructed in 1928. The exhibits are truly a sight to behold. Photography is not allowed inside the museum. Hence there are no pictures of it. But we did get a few pictures of the museum building itself. And I am not exaggerating when I say that the building rivals the artifacts inside it in terms of grandeur and beauty.

Patna Museum

Situated opposite the museum is Patna’s tallest residential building. At 14 floors, it almost looks like a Singapore sprouting out of the ground.

Singapore, Patna

Bihar Tourism has started a floating restaurant on the Ganges. The restaurant opens around 5:30 in the evening and is located at Gandhi Ghat. The rates are quite reasonable.

Floating Restaurant, Patna

Patna Engineering College established in the year 1900 is now NIT, Patna. Like all buildings of the era, it is a beautiful structure.

NIT, Patna

The Gandhi Maidan of Patna needs special mentioning. No where else in the world have I ever seen a round-about bigger than this. The ground bore witness to the launch of Gandhij’s first experiment at Champaran and the Quit India Movement in 1942. JP Narayan launced his JP movement from this very location. The sheer expanse of the grounds has to be seen to be believed. No pictures can ever do it justice.

Gandhi Maidan, Patna

Biscoman Bhavan is Patna’s tallest structure. There is a revolving restaurant coming up on its top floor. It is located long the circle of the Gandhi Maidan along with Kargil Chowk, an important memorial to all those who lost their lives in the historic war.

Biscoman Bhavan, Patna

Kargil Chowk, Patna

Patna Market Old Building