[Vipin Kumar]

Sagar – Lucknow (via Lalitpur, Jhansi and Kanpur)

Hotel Deepali Residency was the same. The hospitality, comfort and food maintained the same standards; one can always think of this as a fine option while in Sagar. Next day morning, by 10.20, we were ready to leave Deepali:



This was the last section as well as the last day for the drive. I wanted lunch at Jhansi, inside the city, near the Elite Junction. You have good restaurants around there. I expected an afternoon/evening drive from Jhansi to Kanpur and Lucknow, the way I had an afternoon/evening drive from Mysore to Payyanur. Jhansi – Kanpur is not an easy section: though the highway (now the West-East corridor) is broad and four-lane, it is also uneven, and maintaining any speed above 85 km/ph can be achieved only by unsettling the passengers in the vehicle. Plus, you have a bad section of two kms at Kalpi, before the Yamuna bridge.

Reaching Jhansi by 1.00 pm should not be difficult, since the road is familiar to be fine. The main headache was the section from Babina to Jhansi Cantonment. Yet once we hit the highway, it was smooth, fast and empty; the ride took its tempo straight to Lalitpur, crossing many small places en route:





In less than one and half hours I crossed Lalitpur, crossed Bansi and approached Betwa. On the Betwa bridge:



I saw Dhisauli dhaba where we had eaten while going southward and decided that we would not stop there again. At the point where I had to leave the four-lane highway for reaching Babina, I stopped and asked a person sitting in the booth there. He advised me to continue on the highway if I wanted to go to Jhansi. Hence I continued, but soon the road was seen to be under construction:





This is how the Babina bypass is, at present. You have got to be very careful:







It is quite slippery too:



For some distance, it was almost another rare "off-roading" for me. But once that was done, I was again on an expansive section before reaching Jhansi, with a view of a hill ahead, the last of the many hills that I would see when I head towards Lucknow from south, or when one heads particularly towards the Gangetic plains:



The highway of this kind comes to an abrupt end, and you have to take a short-cut to reach the Jhansi Cantonment. I had my food at Prakash Regency in Jhansi, and at 2.30 I proceeded through Jhansi city towards Kanpur. The drive was decent though the road was a little unsettling. I had to keep the speed below 85. It was also becoming darker and colder by every kilometer that I left behind. I was near Kalpi very soon, and these were the final shots I could get before it was night, and before I reached Lucknow:





I had to encounter a small-scale traffic jam in Kalpi, and many between the point I touched the Delhi-Kolkata GT Road (NH 2) and Rama Devi in Kanpur. I got delayed. By the time I was in Kalpi, I was confident that I would be in Lucknow by 9.20 pm, which the delay had eventually made 10.20 pm.

The total run on the trip was 5283 kms which used 289.39 liters of diesel...

This was the last lap of an unforgettable travelling for which I was indeed my own driver: I began to feel that it had really turned out to be an incredible and trustworthy feat on the steering that I had handled alone all the way, so much so that my elder daughter and wife initiated a discussion between themselves suggesting to me that our next trip should be to Jaipur - Ajmer and Pushkar, and that it should not be too late... as though such trips were to become a natural cycle in everyday life!
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Vipin Kumar

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

Very interesting narration and beautiful photographs too. You have mentioned the need to check air pressure several times during the trip; any particular reason?
In another trip from Lucknow to Payannur, you could try the Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Bangalore (or Goa) route. It may take you less time.
Saji

No reason other than that of negotiating bad sections in between. It is better to have a mental note of the pressure before you start your day's drive; you are correct. I seem to depend more on the machine than on my mind!

I have already mentioned the possibility of taking NH 4 via Pune - Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Udaipur route. I know it would be an altogether different and fantastic option. I particularly want to do a day's drive from Pune to Bangalore (the 845 kms section on NH 4). It has been there in my scheme of drives for long. My longest drive on any day so far is the Kurukshetra - Lucknow one that covers a remarkable 748 kms via Panipat, New Delhi, Agra and Kanpur, which I successfully did in October 2013.

Thanks,
Vipin.

[pareshraheja]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

I particularly want to do a day's drive from Pune to Bangalore (the 845 kms section on NH 4). It has been there in my scheme of drives for long.

It's in a way fun and boring at the same time. Fun coz the road surface is great. The view is scenic and you can do 110/120 without even breaking a sweat. The road for most part is now 6 lane. Boring coz there is just no adventure and you can get bored because of the uniformity of the highway.

Have done the same distance in 11 hours (solo) including 3 breaks of 20 minutes each. This was in 2010 wherein some sections still didn't have the ROB's opened and the road was 4 lane.

My in-laws live in Sagar (Makronia) and I suppose, I will re-visit your thread in detail later in the year to get a hang of the drive from Hyd to Sagar.

Cheers

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

I began to feel that it had really turned out to be an incredible and trustworthy feat on the steering that I had handled alone all the way, so much so that my elder daughter and wife initiated a discussion between themselves suggesting to me that our next trip should be to Jaipur - Ajmer and Pushkar, and that it should not be too late... as though such trips were to become a natural cycle in everyday life!
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Vipin Kumar

- thats what these trips are really about, the experience, the shared sense of fulfillment, the yearning for more of such trips & the confidence to do so.

aashaney, kalakki tto !

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

The total run on the trip was 5283 kms which used 289.39 liters of diesel...

This was indeed an incredible feat on your part and a great round of applause to you for completing the journey successfully. A great round of applause for your family members also for showing immense patience throughout this long journey and without their support it would never be possible.

Most of the members in the forum would have opted for the easy option of taking the GQ down to Bangalore, while very few (like you) do show the courage of taking the roads less travelled through Central India, that too when you have your family with you. This thread is of special interest to me for I would like to do a Agra-Delhi-Jaipur trip via this route from Nagpur sometime in the near future and you've shared a lot of information on the route that would be of great help to me.

Thanks for all the information and hope to see more such TL in the future.

[Night_Hawk]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

The total run on the trip was 5283 kms which used 289.39 liters of diesel...

I began to feel that it had really turned out to be an incredible and trustworthy feat on the steering that I had handled alone all the way, so much so that my elder daughter and wife initiated a discussion between themselves suggesting to me that our next trip should be to Jaipur - Ajmer and Pushkar, and that it should not be too late... as though such trips were to become a natural cycle in everyday life!

Great Report Vipin. Has off to you for venturing into such a long road trip,

Last week I had done Hyderabad - Nagpur - Kanha - Hyderabad. Unfortunately I missed to see your travelogue before my trip. It would have been of immense help to me. Nevertheless, the drive through Pench WLS and Bison valley is no doubt extremely beautiful; and yah ! the food and location of Bison Treat Restaurant at Rukhad with gangs of Monkeys is unforgettable too.
After reading your report , I am too hatching in my mind ideas of a similar long trip in winter.. probably to Rajasthan !!! Lets see how things work out .

[alphadog]

Fantastic travelogue and kudos to you for having undertaken this trip with two small kids in tow. I can see that you had planned this trip very well. I suppose its always good to have a spouse who shares your sense of adventure.
Well done and do post more of your travelogues in the future.

[Vipin Kumar]

A Drive Again: This is just an update. Once again, in a quicker decision, I have driven from Lucknow to Bangalore. This time, I had fewer days and therefore planned to take only one stoppage between Lucknow and Hyderabad. And that was thought to be Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh. But I could drive from Lucknow to Seoni on the same day, a run of 792.7 kms taking 14 hours that included breaks for breakfast, lunch and diesel refueling. I started at 5.30 am from Lucknow and reached Hotel Rajwada in Seoni town exactly at 7.30 pm. The next day I started from Seoni at 7.40 am and reached Hyderabad (where I had to stay near the Osmania area) at 9.40 pm.

Drove from Hyderabad to Bangalore yesterday -- one of the great drives with a great highway.

Rest of the details later.

Vipin.

[Vipin Kumar]

Lucknow to Mysore once more within six months

As I have already posted a few days ago, I had to undertake another quick highway sojourn from Lucknow all the way to Mysore in this hot month of June. A trip of such a long distance should be anytime an exciting thing to do for a team-bhpian. You only need reasons. And I had many this time.

Originally I was supposed to go a little early, that is, in the last week of May. An unavoidable trip to Delhi had however delayed it. Then I was only looking for reasons to take the car. So, like any other bhpian, I too did not get railway reservation, and did not want to take flight tickets since it would be too much for four of us...

So by 31 May, the decision was taken. I quickly took the Ford to Narain Ford workshop. Since the next service was only 1400 kms away and since I told them about my imminent 4500 kms run, they suggested I get the servicing done right then. Though Saturdays are usually busy in the Ford workshops, my service advisor was cooperative enough. The only issue was that the diesel filter sensor had a crack and was to be replaced which he did after consulting me.

Once the vehicle was ready, the schedule was to be thought of. I was not ready to waste three days to drive the 1440 kms to Hyderabad. This time I wanted to do it in two days. So where to stay on the way? Narsinghpur in MP was my first choice. Let me see, I thought, though the “Bison Highway Treat” (MPTDC) in Rukhar forest had come to my mind as a preferred place of stay. My family was against a stay in a forest location somehow. So Seoni was the alternative then. That is, around 26 kms before Rukhar. Lucknow to Seoni, 792 kms! I had never driven that distance in a day.

What follows is only an updating of the conditions of travel that can compare with what I experienced in December 13 – January 14. It is an updating to the conditions of which I have written in detail in this thread above, and is only meant to help people who want to drive this way sometime. This time, photos are quite rare and very far between. That is ample apology, I hope.

Let me first furnish the details of the fuel filling:

Lucknow IOC: 16.86 Lts (at starting, in order to ensure that I start with full tank)
Narsinghpur (MP) HP: 37.42 Lts
Hyderabad (Tarnaka) Bharat: 42.31 Lts
Mysore (Bangalore Road) Bharat: 43 Lts
Hyderabad (Tarnaka ) Bharat: 46.65 Lts
Lolari (MP) IOC: 10.96 Lts
Sagar (MP) HP: 33.98 Lts
Lucknow IOC: 31.24 Lts

Total diesel burned for the trip: 245.56 Lts
Total toll paid for the trip: Rs. 3980/-

Day 1: Lucknow – Seoni (792.7 kms)

Let me go by the actual running schedule:

Dep – Lucknow: 5.30 – From home, this was the time. But in a km distance, there is IOC, and I wanted full-tank diesel. So left the point at 5.40, entered the Shaheed Path and moved towards Kanpur.

Rama Devi Junction, Kanpur: 7.15 – Somehow, I managed to reach Kanpur uninterrupted. There was no block post Ganges bridge too.

Diversion to Jhansi from NH 2: 8.07 – The usual crowd was not creating difficulties. The six-laning is on everywhere on the Kolkata – New Delhi GT road (or NH 2).

Enter Jhansi: 11.04 – This was the best ever performance for me in any of my drives to Jhansi. I always took around 6 hours 30 mins to reach Jhansi, and this time it was just 5 hours 30 mins. I was faster than the Udyog Nagari Superfast Express that leaves Lucknow at 5.50 am and reaches Jhansi at 11.40 am. The road was quite clear and I kept the vehicle consistently above 100 kmph, assisted by the torquy diesel with zero turbo lag.

Dep. Jhansi: 11.40 – I took a coffee break soon after moving out of Jhansi Cantonment. My wife carried good coffee in a flask and I am very fond of coffee, as coffee was the only thing I used to take since I reached Lucknow in 2001. The shift to tea was really difficult. Just outside the Cantt, there is a point where there is a milestone showing “Lakhnadon” for the first time on NH 26. There, Lakhnadon is an enormous 401 kms away! Via Sagar, Kareli, Narsinghpur. And I had already covered 335 kms by the time I reached there. This time I was careful too. I did not want to experiment with Babina town. So soon after the North South corridor bypass flyover under construction, I knew I had to take a left turn. So anybody going this way, listen: take the worst road that you see on your left as soon as you go underneath the only flyover after Jhansi Cantt. It will hardly look any road, but take it. And you will be in the four lane highway within 500 mtrs. It is a breeze then via Babina bypass, Lalitpur and Sagar all the way up to the point you cross the Narmada river.

Lalitpur: 13.00 – There was no doubt on the way, no hesitation in accelerating, and no pothole on the pathway. The pace maintained in a smooth and at once untiring manner.

Sagar: 14.20 – This was an achievement for me. I had taken full 12 hours to reach Sagar last time in the winter. I cruised through the Sagar bypass, proceeded further and stopped in a village called Guruchopra. This time, it was for lunch. The time was 14.55. The food was packed and carried from home itself. That saved my time, although once I mentioned that otherwise I would have stopped at Hotel Deepali in Sagar for lunch. But that would have consumed a hell lot of time. The highway at Guruchopra:



There was some shade too, near a small temple, to park the Fiesta:



I left Guruchopra at 15.35.

Kareli town: 16.45 – This time I had no time to have fun. So the town was the route. And it was pretty easy with the railway gate open.

Narsinghpur: 17.20 – The same fuel station from where I had filled diesel last time also. Seeing the reg. number and recognising me as a long distance runner, they gave me a shaded place for parking the car and asked me whether we required washroom facilities, etc. I wanted to get the tyre pressure checked once, apart from filling fuel. So all done, I left the pump exactly at 5.30 in the evening. Proceeding further, from what was expected. It was already 673 kms by then! Towards Lakhnadon... Now on, I reduced the pace to under 80 kmph, and began to enjoy my fourth gear enhanced grip... all the way through the little zig-zags to Lakhnadon.

Lakhnadon: 18.30 – This was impossible for anyone a little ago, before the road was made good. What is the importance of Lakhnadon? Only for the road geography. This is the point the north-south corridor joins the famous NH 7 that would take me all the way to Bangalore. So I was at the T-point without a tea-stall for once more! I continued, again in the same pace, and in the same gear. I had no doubt that I had to take a sharp left turn at Chapara, towards Seoni. Soon you cross Wainganga.

Seoni: 19.30 – It had just become dark. I had deviated from the NH, towards the town. Five kms on the way to the town, on the old, original NH 7, we came across Hotel Grand Rejwada. Good rooms. Settled for it, had tea, and of course, tasty dinner.

__________________________________________________

Day 2: Seoni – Hyderabad (641.4 kms)

Dep – Seoni: 7.40 – I had a clear plan: come straight to the NH bypass, in the same way I had taken it to the hotel. You can alternatively also go ahead into the Seoni town and emerge on the southern end of the bypass. I did not really have an idea whether the Bison Valley and Pench Tiger Reserve areas had got better roads. But last time when I had returned, I saw a little patch work done.

The highway soon became a two-lane one. Now and then the four-lane gives way to a two-lane old style highway. Yet it remained smooth and nice to drive. Careful, certainly, you have to be in the Bison valley. It is enjoyable too. I soon crossed the Bison Highway Treat and Deolapar small town, and the MP/MH check post, and reached the Paoni Gate of the Pench Reserve through the forest region. There stands “Tadka” for my breakfast, 84 kms from Seoni:



Expensive place, though with no comfort inside. At 9.00, I was here. Departure at 9.40. It is also a place where jungle camp is facilitated. There are offices around:



What is impressive here is that the NH 7 is in "good" condition, compared to what it was a little while ago:



Enter Nagpur bypass: 10.15 – It was via Mansar. Nagpur bypass is a breeze, and you emerge on the other end in 40 to 45 mins. I was in Buti Bori itself at 11.15. All my worry throughout was nevertheless about Pandharkhwada areas (the condition of the highway there) in the MH/Telangana border. I also had “the honour” of driving in the infant state of Telangana on the second day of its birth.

As expected, the region in the Yeotmal district there waits for the saviour. It remains with little respite, and one has to wait and observe before deciding which way to go:



It is highly dusty too, unless it rains:



But I thought if it rained when I return, it would be all the more difficult. I struggled here for around 3 hours, just in order to cover 50 kms! I had tea 5 kms after Wadki, at a small place that I saw becoming a standard stop for tea for me during this struggle. You have a 20 kms stretch through Wadki first, and you reach Karanji with a 30 kms fine line, and again fight with the next 20 kms, before you climb on to Pipparwada and to Adilabad district in Telangana.

Enter Pipparwada/Adilabad: 15.10 – The next task was to locate a place for lunch. The difficulty of the task in the dry summer region is compounded by the need for shade to park the vehicle too. Yet I stopped for lunch at the first petrol filling station to which a dhaba was attached. It was hot like anything in that afternoon. Even water was impossible to touch – I mean water to wash your hands. But I could keep the vehicle under a tree close to the building. But it should be admitted that they served excellent food. I left the place at 15.50, since there was no point in waiting in that heat. Taking rest seemed to be the most meaningless idea there.


I crossed Adilabad via the NH bypass. You can see the entire district headquarters of Adilabad on your left side. I also covered Ichoda by 16.25, where I had stopped at the Annapurna Family dhaba last time. More dangerous, the heavy lunch was by then making me feel sleepy. I stopped the car near a bus shelter, washed my face, walked there for a little while, and again came back to the wheel. I decided not to slot it beyond the fourth gear, and not to accelerate it beyond 70 kmph. That way I continued till I reached Toopran in the Medak district for around 300 kms, where I stopped for tea. Toopran is only about 20 kms away from the outskirts of Hyderabad. My daughter and wife were wondering at my remarkably slow pace there, and even said that I was having some deliberate aim to delay the arrival in Hyderabad. I said that it was not so, that I was instead consistent and doing even speed driving, without much effort, and also that it was consecutively the second day of doing long distance. The fundamental rule that it was better to reduce speed considerably when you are about to approach the place where you take a break of three or four days, in a way your temporary destination. On the other hand I was also enjoying the smooth surface, after all that chaos in Pandharkhawada. Observing the ease with which I was doing so, driving seems to be the easiest work. Should be yes for me, but only with a weighing steering.

Toopran: 19.55 - For coffee; got excellent one there, so I took two cups. Left the place after washing the windscreen quickly at 20.15.

Hyderabad: 21.40 – I was pretty slow, and steered it via Medchal, Bowenpally, Sangeet and Tarnaka to my friend’s flat where I decided to stay for three days. Altogether by then I had done 1434.1 kms. I tell people that the road distance to Hyderabad from Lucknow is more than 100 kms less than the rail distance. Even if I take direct train from Lucknow, I have to start from home by 10 am and I reach Hyderabad the next day at around 2 pm only. When you reach where you want to go, it can be 3 also. Effectively, you cannot perform any duty, official or so, on either of the two days. This is also a justification!

(to continue)

Vipin.