[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by vkochar

Arey Rajiv saab - aao to sahi !! Will take good care of your SX4

acha acha, you mean its ok if we just send our SX4, sahi hae, sahi hae

Originally Posted by gd1418

Wah, Kochar saab ka offer mujhe mila. And others are reaping the benefit...

apko mila par apne liya kahan

[krazydriver84]

Kochar saab

Seems like I am coming over this weekend.
Plans:
Starting Friday Evening. Reaching Mathura and staying overnight.
Reaching AGRA next day morning.

Hope to have a warm reception

[vkochar]

@krazydriver - No Problems - I am here

Let me know when you come here. You are coming on Saturday Morning ?

Give me a call on 9319103575 ... Cheers !!! Let me know what your plans are.

[krazydriver84]

Originally Posted by vkochar

@krazydriver - No Problems - I am here

Let me know when you come here. You are coming on Saturday Morning ?

Give me a call on 9319103575 ... Cheers !!! Let me know what your plans are.

Yes Sir, will be there on Saturday morning.

Will give you a tring tring.

[mayankk]

dont want to start a new thread, so will bump this one only.
Guys, im heading to agra thursday morn.
how are the roads now, circa 2011...

Is it a safe drive, as its just the missus and I.

planning to leave at 430-5, is that okay?

[black_rider]

Originally Posted by mayankk

dont want to start a new thread, so will bump this one only.
Guys, im heading to agra thursday morn.
how are the roads now, circa 2011...

Is it a safe drive, as its just the missus and I.

planning to leave at 430-5, is that okay?

Last I had used that road was in July. Surface was good.

Just lookout for police barricades after Ballabhgarh. These come up normally during weekends to make some quick buck.

5 should be fine. Crossing Faridabad before the morning rush starts was my preferred way.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by black_rider

Last I had used that road was in July. Surface was good.

Just lookout for police barricades after Ballabhgarh. These come up normally during weekends to make some quick buck.

5 should be fine. Crossing Faridabad before the morning rush starts was my preferred way.

it is a holiday, plus at 5-530, it oughta be clearer, no?
leave delhi on mathura road, thats the route?

oughta bewhat, 4-5 hours, with a stopover?

[black_rider]

Originally Posted by mayankk

it is a holiday, plus at 5-530, it oughta be clearer, no?
leave delhi on mathura road, thats the route?

oughta bewhat, 4-5 hours, with a stopover?

yes holiday should mean less traffic in faridabad. and if you are crossing it before 6, there should be no problems.

mathura road is the route, just stay on it and you should reach agra in 4 hours with a stopover. traffic is light in the mornings on this road. some traffic at mathura if you reach there after 8.

there is a mcdonald's on the left side of the road opposite to mathura refinery, if you do not prefer stopovers at dhabas.

coming back on sunday evenings is a pain with all that traffic.

[onlinestuffa]

Just to tag on to this thread as well - is the Yamuna Expressway functional, i.e. does it make sense to use it at any point and if/where does it rejoin NH2?

Am heading to Agra on Monday with some relatives from abroad - want to make the experience as smooth as possible. If we leave at 7 am would we be risking a lot of traffic, esp. Faridabad, and is there any way around it?

What's the best way of reaching the Taj East Gate Road?

We are planning to stay in Agra for one night (Monday) and go to Fatehpur Sikri next day, spend the night at Bharatpur (Birders Inn) and then back to Delhi via Deeg.

Any suggestions reg. the route?

OS

[ampere]

Originally Posted by onlinestuffa

Just to tag on to this thread as well - is the Yamuna Expressway functional, i.e. does it make sense to use it at any point and if/where does it rejoin NH2?

Not much that I know about the Expressway status, but on seeing wikimapia,
I gather that it cuts the Agra-Aligarh road (NH93) some 11km away from Water-Works/Rambagh.


So even if you are able to driven on the expressway, you need take this one back to the city and go through Rambagh traffic.

[gd1418]

From Gurgaon via the Gurgaon-Faridabad road will in itself take about 40 odd minutes before you hit NH2. Expect moderate to very heavy traffic right till Ballbgarh. Ideally by 7 am you should be near Mathura. The city just wakes up around that time. If your ETD is 7 am then expect to reach Agra by 10:30. Taj best seen either at sunrise or sunset.

You can refer to my travelogue - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...gra-delhi.html

Varun Kochchar, come in for this second query...

Originally Posted by onlinestuffa

If we leave at 7 am would we be risking a lot of traffic, esp. Faridabad, and is there any way around it?

What's the best way of reaching the Taj East Gate Road?


OS

[onlinestuffa]

Originally Posted by gd1418

From Gurgaon via the Gurgaon-Faridabad road will in itself take about 40 odd minutes before you hit NH2. Expect moderate to very heavy traffic right till Ballbgarh. Ideally by 7 am you should be near Mathura. The city just wakes up around that time. If your ETD is 7 am then expect to reach Agra by 10:30. Taj best seen either at sunrise or sunset.

Thanks. Will see Taj at sunset on Monday and at sunrise on Tuesday. I believe you can only purchase tickets for sunset after 5 pm but am not sure about this information. Can anyone confirm?

Checked out your trip. Really fantastic photos. Am a keen photographer myself - hats off to you.

Agra traffic sounds very miserable. Hope we will make it without too much anguish. Guests also want to see Itmad-ud-daulah and Agra fort on day 1. I will be driving myself and can visualise that this has the potential of being a bit of a nightmare.

OS

[gd1418]

Last ticket sale for evening at 4 pm. One day before booking for full moon night.

Thank you for liking my travelogue & pictures.

My suggestion:

Taj opens at 6:15 am everyday except Friday. If I were you, then I would
see the Taj at sunrise on day 1 and finish by 8 am. Then proceed to the Fort and spend another two hours. Then go to Itmad - ud- daulah. Come back & have lunch. Then go to Sikandara and Mariam's tomb.

Keep the next whole day for Sikri. On your way back buy Angoori Kesar petha for home..

Originally Posted by onlinestuffa

Thanks. Will see Taj at sunset on Monday and at sunrise on Tuesday. I believe you can only purchase tickets for sunset after 5 pm but am not sure about this information. Can anyone confirm?

Checked out your trip. Really fantastic photos. Am a keen photographer myself - hats off to you.

Agra traffic sounds very miserable. Hope we will make it without too much anguish. Guests also want to see Itmad-ud-daulah and Agra fort on day 1. I will be driving myself and can visualise that this has the potential of being a bit of a nightmare.

OS

[onlinestuffa]

Just wanted to give some feedback on my trip.

Delhi-Agra took us 4.5 hours. We left at 7.30 am and reached Radisson Hotel, Agra at 12 pm with 15 min stop near Kosi at Rajasthan Motel. We got stuck in a jam near Kosi - you know the kind where people start going on the wrong side of the road and nothing moves. Took up about 20-30 mins of our time. On the way back Comfort Inn, also near Kosi, was quite ok.

When entering Agra do not take the first sign that points to the right saying Taj Mahal. There is a bridge being built here and the road is closed. Carry on for another 6 km and follow the sign to Agra Fort / Taj Mahal. The route is a bit circituous, but most cars will be heading that way. At the flyover bridge keep left, i.e. do not go on the bridge and carry on towards the Fort. As you approach the Fort there is a sign for Taj Mahal to the left. Follow that and you will reach the south gate entrance. You have to park 1 km from the Taj.

They have streamlined the ticketing process at this point. Tickets are no longer available at the Taj itself but only at office next to the parking, from where the battery operated vehicles also leave.

We wanted to go to Itmad-ud-Daula / Baby Taj the next day but the traffic at the flyover to cross over to the other side of the river was so dense that after waiting 20 minutes and making no real progress we decided to skip it.

We got some very confusing information on how to get to Fatehpur Sikri, and since the traffic situation was so bad I decided to follow the route signposted from Agra Fort. Following along that road we came to one crossing with a Petha shop on the left where I asked for directions. Got excellent directions and petha. Continued along the road and after 2 crossings took a right on to the main cantt. road. Continued straight till a murti chowk, and took a right. From there follow signs to Delhi/Jaipur hwy and then on to Fatehpur Sikri. This appeared cleaner than the other route through the city that the hotel staff was trying to tell me.

From Fatehpur Sikri it was only a short distance on the Jaipur hwy to Bharatpur. The Agra-Jaipur hwy has become excellent. I travelled on this road years ago when it was best avoided, so was pleasantly surprised.

Hope this info helps
OS