[Sujoy76]

“The old ones are still the best. Old jeans, old boots, old friends, old tunes and old times!”



#PROLOGUE#
#The Air Force Connection#

This is my second travelogue after the Bhutan trip. I would like to call this one a Photologue rather than travelogue as this trip was made for a special purpose, after retiring from Air Force in 2015 there was hardly any occasion or rather chance to meet my Air Force friends. I being a table tennis player since childhood days was also part of the Air Force Table Tennis team since 1998. We fondly called ourselves the “Blue Warriors.” Once I was informed that this year the Air Force Table Tennis Championship would be conducted at Agra, the decision to make a road trip to Agra to meet old pals was made in seconds. To my surprise my better half Sharmila was rather more interested to do the road trip. The Championship was scheduled from 10 Feb to 14 Feb and we didn’t have much time to plan for the trip. So first thing first. I applied for leave and leave was sanctioned. During my Air Force days I had spent almost 10 years in Gwalior. So visiting Agra was not new to me but this was the first time I would be making a road trip from Kolkata with my reliable buddy “Falcon.”

FEW SNAPS TO START WITH


Watching the Sun bidding adieu, from Lucknow Agra Expressway


The freedom of the open road is seductive, serendipitous and absolutely liberating!


Life is getting up an hour early to live and hour more @ Assi Ghat, Varanasi.


Nostalgic!! Took me back to my childhood days.



The travel itinerary

Day 1 (08.02.2020): Kolkata to Varanasi (Stay at Hotel City Inn)
Day 2 (09.02.2020): Varanasi to Agra (Stay at Hotel Taj Resorts)
Day3, 4, 5 (10, 11, & 12.02.2020): Stay at Agra , meeting old friends and a bit of sightseeing
Day6 (13.02.2020): Agra to Varanasi (Stay at Hotel Buddha)
Day7 (14.02.2020): Stay at Varanasi
Day8 (15.02.2020): Varanasi to Kolkata

KOLKATA TO VARANASI




According to Google Aunty it was going to be a long day on road. So catering for the time, it was decided to leave early by 4 A.M from home and try to reach Varanasi as early as possible. It was even planned to visit the Ghats to witness Ganga Arti which eventually proved to be a bad planning. I was a bit worried about the route around the broken Karmanasha Bridge around U.P and Bihar Border and readily contacted one of my friend from our group called “The Nexon Tribe” and he instantly updated me about the current situation.


Tribe of WANDERERS

As planned we started our journey at 4 A.M Sharp from Kolkata and took the Nivedita Setu route to join NH 19. Had to encounter huge traffic at Rajchandrapur and Dankuni Toll Plazas due to huge number of trucks blocking all the toll gates. Complete transition to Fastag would still need some time to normalize it seems. Beyond Dankuni journey was very smooth. We had our first stop at Shaktigarh and finished breakfast with some hot Kachori, Dal, Langcha and Chai.


A family that travels together stays together.


Couldn’t find a TBHP hoodie for my Kiddo.


Lip smacking Jhal moori!!

We didn’t stop for lunch in between as Sharmila had prepared Lemon Rice for the road and that served us well during the journey and saved some precious time. Road widening is going on throughout NH 19 and uncountable diversions have been created to ease the traffic congestion.



Making memories at a time.

Now I realized why Google Aunty as showing 14 Hrs to cover 690 KMs. Any way I was thoroughly enjoying the drive and occasionally pushing Falcon beyond 100 KMs mark. Gulped couple of Red Bull cans in between to keep the energy level high.




The road is there and it’ll always be there. You just have to decide when to take it.

By the time we reached Dehri-on-Sone, Mr. Sun was preparing to take leave for the day and I was preparing to cover the rest of the journey with my Headlights on, which I wanted to avoid but that’s the beauty of a road trip. You just can’t expect everything to go according to plan and need to be ready for the unexpected twists and turns.




The youngest member of the trio. Born to fly.


The journey till the hotel was uneventful barring huge traffic congestion at Chandauli. We reached hotel City Inn around 9 P.M. So what was to be a journey of 14 Hrs, took me 17 Hrs to cover. The hotel is conveniently located just opposite to the Varanasi Cantt. Railway Station and having been stayed here before, I had chosen this property to avoid traffic congestion of Varanasi for my next day’s journey towards Agra. As it was already late and there was no point of venturing out, we decided to finish dinner and sleep early and start afresh for the next day.


Varanasi to Agra via Lucknow Agra Expressway


@ Hotel City Inn Varanasi before resuming our journey for Agra.


For Agra Google suggested two routes, one is via Prayagraj Bypass – Kanpur –Etawah and Lucknow Agra Expressway and the other one suggested a route via Raebareli – Lucknow then taking the Lucknow Agra Bypass till Taj Inner Ring Road. I Planned to take the second route as I was very excited to drive through the Lucknow Agra Expressway for the first time. Till now I had watched many videos about the expressway and wanted to experience the thrill of driving through the expressway as early as possible.





After leaving Varanasi Cantonment area and driving for couple of hours, joined NH 31 and driven on that road till Raebareli. We didn’t enter the Raebareli city and instead took NH 30 which led us till Lucknow. In between stopped at a roadside dhaba and finished Lunch.





Android Auto worked flawlessly and I kept on checking the remaining distance and time to join the Expressway. After crisscrossing the Lucknow traffic now it was time to get on to much awaited Lucknow Agra Expressway. By the time we joined the expressway, the sun again was all set to bid adieu for the day. Just stopped by the designated lane and did some photo shoot to make this moment a memorable one.

















The drive experience was awesome. All the lanes were designated for particular class of vehicles and particular purpose. The left lane was designated for heavy vehicles like Trucks and Buses and the middle one for light vehicles. The right most is only for overtaking and it was really satisfying to see that all vehicles were driving through their respective lanes. Once people start following a rule, gradually it becomes a habit. In between noticed something which I think can lead to a safety hazard on this high speed road. At some points I found people crossing the road by walk and shocked to see the road side barrier at that point is broken. Not a good sight to expect while driving at high speed. The drive till the Agra exit was very enjoyable and uneventful. Total toll paid through Fastag was Rs.585/-. It took me around 4 hrs to cover the entire stretch of Lucknow Agra Express way and we arrived at our Hotel at 9.30 P.M. I had booked this hotel through Makemytrip. The property is located at Shilpgram Road and barely 500 meters from the Taj Mahal East gate. 9th Feb being the full moon night we had a chance to visit the Taj Mahal at night till 11th Feb and immediately after check-in I informed the reception guy to book our tickets for Taj Nigh View for 11th Feb as booking has to be done one day prior to the visit. Again as there was nothing to do at night so we ordered for the dinner. After dinner Sharmila and my kiddo ‘Aditri” got busy watching TV at the hotel room so I thought of checking the Taj View point of the Hotel and later took a walk on the Shilpgram Road.



Me: Let me sleep. Brain: LOL No let’s stay awake.



Shilpgram Road at night.

to be continued...

[Samba]

Beautiful travelogue! Waiting for the rest of it to come up! Your blue Nexon is a looker!

I stayed at the same hotel in Agra, back in 2017, during my return journey from Rajasthan. We booked this same hotel just because, it's very near to Taj and we also planned to visit moonlit Taj. Your post made me nostalgic.



Here is the link of the post on Agra & moonlit Taj from my Rajasthan travelogue.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post4168621 (History, Sand, Hills & Forests - Our Rajasthan chapter from Kolkata in a Toyota Etios)

[Sujoy76]

Continued...
Day 1 of Agra Trip (10.02.2020)


Agra is waking up. Greeting the sun with a good morning shot.

We had visited Agra couple of times before and as the main purpose of this trip was to meet old friends, our plan for these three days at Agra was to visit Taj Mahal during day as well as at night. Explore the Taj Nature Walk, Meena Bazar, Sadar Bazar and spend maximum time at Agra Air Force Station, the venue for the Air Force Table Tennis Championship. We decided not to visit Fatehpur Sikri and other places as we had already seen them before and we have plans to visit Agra again in future.



First view of Taj Mahal from Hotel’s Taj view point.

The view of Taj from hotel’s view was a magnificent one and it set the tone for the whole day. The hotel served some sumptuous breakfast. We thoroughly enjoyed the foods keeping aside the concern about calorie intake.








Every time I visited Taj Mahal I found something new. This time the I found out that the whole Shilpgram road has been beautified. Entry point for Taj has been changed and security has been enhanced manifold. The ticket counter, which was located at the Shilpgram Complex before has been shifted near to Taj East Gate just beside Hotel Taj Khema.










After crossing the security points now it was our turn to witness the magnificent Taj. Now let me have the privilege to share my experience through some stunning photographs. Words are not enough to pen down the feeling that an individual goes through while visiting this beautiful monument.








A relationship is like Taj Mahal. Everybody wonders how beautiful it is! But no one understands how difficult it was to build!!

[Sujoy76]

Post Taj visit it was time to have lunch. It was already late and we all were feeling super hungry. So found a beautiful food joint on the road and had some beautiful hot Tawa Rotis along with sumptuous Dal Tadka and Paneer. Now it was time to get ready and leave for Agra Air Force Station to meet old friends after a long gap of 5 years. The excitement level was going up gradually as I was approaching the Idgah bus stand. Formalities were already done and one of my friend was waiting at the main gate to receive us. Soon I was inside the Air Force station and I was trying to figure out how things have changed over the year. Being in service I had visited Agra Air Force many times and it was time to recollect all memories now.


Mi-17 adorning the view at Children's Park.

The exitement of meeting old and close friends after 5 long years was awesome which can’t be expressed in words. We used to be closely knit family and felt the same warmth after long time. Next few hours and two days were spent enjoying each other’s company and recollecting old memories. The atmosphere was such that in between I had even forgotten that I’ve already retired from Air Force.



Mission accomplished. Framed the moment forever.




Standing at the same place where i've spent many hours before.

The evening was well spent among friends and realized that the sudden decision to undertake the road trip from Kolkata just to meet them was a correct one.

Taj Night View

Our tickets were already reserved for Taj Night view on 11th Feb during the time slot from 10 P.M to 10.30 P.M. As required we reported to the designated place at 9.30 P.M. Only Still cameras and mobile cameras are allowed to be carried. After checking of all required documents along with booking tickets we proceeded towards Taj along with security personnel in battery operated carts. Enjoyed the view of Taj under the moonlight and tried to capture it through the lenses. It was very difficult to have a perfect shot due to low light. Still managed some after toiling hard with the camera settings.


Taj under natural moon light. The best shot I could manage.


Taj under artificial light as seen from the entrance.


The courtyard at night.


Shilpgram road as seen from the cart.


The Shilpgram Complex at night.

Taj Nature Walk

It’s a beautiful natural forest cover spread over 70 hectares just 500 meters away from the eastern gate of Taj Mahal. Visitors can have an excellent view of the Taj from different mounds in the park. The forest abounds in a variety of flora and fauna. We had already made our plan of exploring this place. I hoped to click some photos inside the park but to my utter disappointment found out that cameras are not allowed inside the park and one need to obtain permission from the DFO to enter the park with cameras. So had to get back to hotel and keep the camera and then entered the park. One need to pay Rs.40 for entry ticket and every single buck is worth spending.

























Once you come to Agra and don’t buy local articrafts and try the Panchi Petha then somehow the trip will remain incomplete. There are many shops alongside the road that leads to Taj Mahal from the Shilpgram Complex. Bargaining is must as this place is visited by many foreign tourists and the shop owners would try to inflate prices. We purchased some beautiful articrafts. These are purely handmade.







After spending three days among old friends, recollecting old memories it was time to say good bye to Agra on 13th morning. A nice get together was planned on 12th night at a food joint called Highway Hut on the Agra –Jaipur Highway. This was the final opportunity to enjoy with old friends and all of us made the most out of it.

[Sujoy76]

Time to return back . Agra to Varanasi (13.02.2020)

After spending awesome time with friends and exploring Taj Mahal, now it was time to say good bye to Agra for now as we have plans to visit this awesome place again and again in future.

















After completing all formalities, we checked out of Hotel Taj Resorts around 9.30 A.M and headed straight to Agra Bah Highway, which lead us to Agra Inner Ring Road and eventually to Agra Lucknow Expressway. The return journey was planned through Agra-Etawah-Kanpur-Prayagraj instead the route via Lucknow. As usual the journey through the Expressway was mind-blowing, took the Etawah exit at 76 KMs and joined NH-19/NH-2 for the onward journey towards Kanpur via Etawah .





This stretch of the road is good and I could maintain a steady speed of 80-90 kmph throughout the stretch. After crossing Kanpur encountered many traffic congestions due to the ongoing road widening work on Nh-19. By this time I had learnt the art of bypassing long queue of trucks and driving through left hand side of the congestion. A bit of off-roading though. I found this to be a normal practice on Highway to bypasses the traffic congestion created by trucks. Found it to be useful and time saving. The Prayagraj bypass stretch was very smooth. Faced rough roads after completing the bypass section as construction work of flyovers are at full swing at Handia section of the highway. This section will become very smooth once the flyovers are completed. I was a bit skeptical about the Varanasi traffic but didn’t face any as it was already night time and reached Hotel Buddha at 9 P.M sharp. Booking again was done through Make my trip. The hotel has a secured parking place and near to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. We all were feeling a bit tired and ordered dinner at the room and called it a day thereafter.

Varanasi Local Trip

Today our plan was to visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Annapurna Temple in the morning and later in the evening witness Ganga Arti at Dashashwamedh Ghat. Lot has changed at the area adjoining the Kashi Vishwanath temple since my last visit to this place in 2015. The first thing that struck my attention was the broken houses which are being raged to construct the corridor which would directly link the temple complex with Lalitha Ghat. Security arrangements have also been enhanced. Spoke to some local people and came to know that the corridor would be completed within next couple of years and the place would also be beautified.







The next noticeable change was that the web of overhead cables was all vanished. All the cables have been routed through underground and thus it gave a very clear view of the streets of Varanasi. We completed darshan and offered Puja at Kashi Vishwanath and Annapurna temple and returned back to the hotel. Next plan was to visit Dashashwamedh Ghat and witness the mesmerizing Ganga Arti. Ganga Arti is conducted simultaneously at Dashashwamedh Ghat and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Ghat. We hired a boat and placed ourselves to a point from where both the Arti could be witnessed. The experience once again was mesmerizing.
































So many people's livelihood depend on this place.

Once in Varanasi you can’t afford to miss trying the Paan and other stuffs. We tried the Paan, Thandai and purchased some Paan Masala, Peda and the most important Banarasi Saree.




Thandai being prepared.

[Sujoy76]

After exploring the streets of Varanasi for some time we returned back to the hotel. Next day my plan was to get up early and visit Assi Ghat to witness Subah-e-Banaras and sunrise from there. As decided I alone left the hotel at 5 A.M sharp and took an auto to Assi Ghat. The distance between my hotel at Ramkatora and Assi Ghat was almost 10 Kms which didn’t take much time to cover as streets were empty in the early hours. Stayed at Assi Ghat for almost 2 hours and enjoyed every bit of it and returned back to the hotel as a rejuvenated soul.


























Returned back to the hotel and prepared to leave for Kolkata.





Few snaps of the hotel at Varanasi.

Here we modified our plan and decided to have a stop at Asansol instead of driving all the way to Kolkata as we were very sure it won’t be possible to reach home before midnight and we would have to encounter long queue of trucks at Dankuni. Surely that would complicate the matter. We didn’t want to face this situation at night and hence decided to stay at Asansol and start for Kolkata the next day. Reserved a room at Hotel Hindustan Residency through Go-Ibibo and left our hotel at 10 A.M and followed the route through Mughalsarai and joined NH 19. Soon after we crossed Karmanasha River and located the broken part of the Karmanasha Bridge which we couldn’t see while coming from Kolkata as it was dark. NHAI authority has very efficiently constructed a two way bypass around the broken bridge and flow of traffic is very smooth.









Newly laid surface of the bypass around Broken Karmanasha Bridge.

Again driven through many diversions and gradually kept on proceeding towards Kolkata. In between had lunch at Chouparan and had a brief halt at Shaktigarh before reaching our hotel at Asansol.









Sunset on the go. Captured on NH 19 somewhere after Chouparan.




Next day started around 1 P.M from Asansol and reached home by 5 P.M.

[Sujoy76]

Originally Posted by Samba

Beautiful travelogue! Waiting for the rest of it to come up! Your blue Nexon is a looker!

I stayed at the same hotel in Agra, back in 2017, during my return journey from Rajasthan. We booked this same hotel just because, it's very near to Taj and we also planned to visit moonlit Taj. Your post made me nostalgic.

Thank you . I too booked this hotel due to it's proximity to Taj. Enjoyed every moment of the trip with my car. I've already completed the travelogue and it's in the assembly line, waiting for all the threads to be merged and moved to the main section . One question. How did you manage to click the picture of Taj with absolutely no visitors in the frame? Awesome click.

[vb-saan]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thank you for sharing!

[Sujoy76]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thank you for sharing!

Not being able to see it on the main page under travelogue.

[Sukanta73]

Last year October I also did the route. But missed Varanasi due to the shortage of time. Nice memories.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ahal-agra.html (Drive from Chittaranjan, West Bengal to see the Taj Mahal, Agra)

[Enobarbus]

Very nice travelogue; and beautiful pictures too!
Reading this made me nostalgic too. I served at AF station Agra from Sep 2000 until my retirement in April 2004. I can see a lot of changes in the few pictures you posted. I don't remember the indoor stadium in which the TT championships were held. Probably built after my time there. There were a lot of Sal trees all over the place. Sad to see that those are gone now.

Thanks for sharing.

[SJQIL87]

Nice travelogue. Enjoyed reading it.
Pictures are beautiful

[Mile_Breaker]

Wonderful travelogue with beautiful photos and very informative. I have been planning for this route recently and your travelogue surely comes as a handy reference.

[SJM1214]

Thanks, Sujoy76, for a nice travelogue with amazing pictures.
All the pics of the Taj are amazing. Varanasi ghat pictures are also amazing.

[Fordlover88]

Nice crisp travelogue with beautiful pictures. Thank's a lot for sharing.