[robimahanta]

Day 1 was really tiring today..horrible roads in Bengal with heavy rains during most part of the drive
The attached pic of the gps reflects the turmoil

[robimahanta]

Day 2
Got valuable tips from mr hvkumar
Wasted precious time at the skoda dealership
Started from siliguri at 11am..great roads till dhalkola then the lunar surface starts
Now in Raiganj

[robimahanta]

Another gruelling day on non-existent roads and torrential rain
Halt at durgapur

[robimahanta]

Time to get a good wash after the rally experience across west bengal

[LongDrive lover]

Robin,

Nice to know about your trip. Its really a long and passionate drive. Laura is looking beautiful in snaps.

Looks like you will be taking NH2-NH11-NH79-NH76-NH8 combination to reach Ahmadabad from Varansi! Passing through Allahabad-kanpur-Agra-Jaipur!! Am I right?

I was wondering if taking NH7 from Varansi would be a shorter and reasonably good route to take Ahmadabad? It could be like this:

Varansi - Rewa- Satna- Chhatarpur- Jhansi- Shivpuri- Chittorgarg- Kota- Udaipur- A'bad.

Till Jhansi (good 2 lane road, off course, post-monsoon may find few potholes). Jhansi onwards superb 4 lane roads of East-west corridor.

Though NH2 and NH11 are superb, BUT, above route would help you avoid going through Agra and Jaipur cities. Jhansi - Udaipur is a runway, extremely sparse traffic, butter-smooth and desolate road. I think with two drivers in a Laura, you can target Udaipur from Varansi in a day.

Just check if it sounds feasible.

On bypassing Mumbai, well with HVK sir's 'patented' route, it'll be a cakewalk. With his live guidance over phone, we didn't feel any trouble in getting on to Ghodbunder road from Pune E-way last year during our long south trip.

happy journey.....

[robimahanta]

Awesome info longdrive...even i was planning to skip jaipur
Just wasnt sure abt the road condition to jhansi but after being on the bengal roads maybe it will be a cakewalk
Right now near Aurangabad...its pouring cats n dogs
Shall keep you guys posted

[LongDrive lover]

Here is the distance comparison of the two routes for you:

Route A. 1. Varansi -Satna - 283 kms; 4 hrs
2. Satna - Jhansi - 272 kms. 4 hrs
3. Jhansi - Udaipur - 615 kms; 7-8 hrs

NH75 between Satna - Chhatarpur approx 100 kms or so is 2 lane but little narrow then NH7 or other NH, lot of trucks ply but they are long distance bound, traffic is well disciplined, no jams.

B. 1. Varansi - Agra - 600 kms; 7.5 hrs
2. Agra - Udaipur - 651 kms; 9-10 hrs

All good roads.........

Take your pick.....

[Sutripta]

@robimahanta: Will you be returning with the car, or is it a one way trip?

Regards
Sutripta

[robimahanta]

LongDrive I ve decided to do Agra then Udaipur
Sutripta its a one way drive
Day 3 was a relaxing drive after what we had been through for the last 2 days
Reached varanasi at around 5..went for the Ganga aarti
The gps picture for the day

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

I would love to meet tbhpians along the way if possible.

Dunno how I missed this.

You would be staying put at Bangalore it seems.

And yes, did you text me yesterday?

@Sumit - Thanks But I don't think I did anything extra ordinary. We are one big family and that's it

[robimahanta]

Left varanasi at 830..shall be spending the night in Agra
The allahabad bypass was one hell of a drive. Now near Etawah

Varanasi from the hotel window

[robimahanta]

Any recent updates on the Agra-Udaipur route?
Which one has the best roads?

[robimahanta]

The day comes to a close with an amazing drive on NH2

[hvkumar]

How bad was the route from Guwahati to Siliguri via Bongaigaon?

[robimahanta]

@hvkumar
From bongaigaon to a few kms past srirampur roads are ok..except for a few patches of bad surface in kokrajhar
Beyond srirampur..almost the entire stretch is horrible