[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by sanjayc

...did a solo drive last month CHN-KOL-CHN (3800 kms roundtrip) in a brand new month old Fiesta 1.6 SXi.

A 3800-km roundtrip without a travelogue to back it up? Sacrilege!! Prayoschitto chaai! (you've got to make amends...)

[Captdey]

Kalinga ,

Nice to hear that we found somebody from Balasore area as TBHP
Members . Now the million dollar question is can you throw some light
or investigate about the unlawful extortion by Orissa border PVD
official from Hapless motorists at Jaleswar , nowhere in India such
a extortion exists on National Highway by Uniformed goverment official.

Your cooperation in this regard will be helpful .

Cheers

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by souravdebiswas

The best part was the Kanpur bypass and the Allahabad bypass. They were amazing.

You can say that again mate! These are dream stretches in way of their own..

I did Gurgaon-Varanasi-Gurgaon in Dec '09 and with a stop over at Kanpur (being my native city it was but natural) and trust me, beyond Agra, the drive was probably the best I have had on any of the Indian highways!

For those who haven't had an opportunity to travel this part of country -

Between Agra and Kanpur, highway is elevated at almost 95% of the villages enroute to ensure the village traffic does not disrupt the highway traffic and vice versa! Some planning and foresight of NHAI on this stretch! Wish we had similar planning on other NHs..

Kanpur by-pass is elevated 4 tracked road with continous (well, almost) central median, has only one entry and exit, is about 28-30 kms long and saves you an amazing amount of time if you intend to bypass the city traffic. It is indeed a by-pass to the letter T.

Allahabad bypas is about 100 km stretch which is 6-laned toll road (not sure if they have started collecting toll fee now or not, road was functional without toll fee till Dec at least) and on this road, you can literally cruise at 145 kmph! Dream run!! One has to experience this road to believe it! miles and miles of great view of the road and no/minimal traffic. Wish I can drive on this stretch again in future..

[sanjayc]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

A 3800-km roundtrip without a travelogue to back it up? Sacrilege!! Prayoschitto chaai! (you've got to make amends...)

Dada..hobe..hobe..Being a solo drive, not much snaps avlbl, but from CHN-VIZ, had my camcorder fitted and video is avlbl. Need some time to review the full video, edit and post. Meantime you can refer to some tidbits here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post1700474

Originally Posted by Captdey

Kalinga ,

Nice to hear that we found somebody from Balasore area as TBHP
Members . Now the million dollar question is can you throw some light
or investigate about the unlawful extortion by Orissa border PVD
official from Hapless motorists at Jaleswar , nowhere in India such
a extortion exists on National Highway by Uniformed goverment official.

Your cooperation in this regard will be helpful .

Cheers

I had heard/read similar horror stories in this forum, but fortunately, did not encounter any such incident during my trip..normal toll tax was only paid.

@Kalinga, I am just trying to state some facts..please do not take it personally. In fact, in my short travelogue (link above), I have mentioned that wherever the GQ is completed in Orissa, it is a pleasure to drive becos the roads are dead straight unlike say in NH5 thru AP, where lot of turns/bends are there. During the entire Orissa stretch, there are scores of diversions, as a result quite a bit of the entire stretch becomes practically single lane. While you may be able to pile up 80 avg, since you may know the route well, outsiders who are passing by cannot afford to do so.

[Captdey]

Sanjay C,

You are right , most of the GQ stretches in Orissa are in Incomplete /
Broken phase , sadly its been lying since last 5 years or so in same state.
there are numerous diversion between baleswar and bhadrak .

Cheers

[Shantanu Sarkar]

Excellent reporting, will wait for more.

[souravdebiswas]

Well, I finally got sometime to tell you all about my solo drive to Kolkata from Delhi last weekend. Apologies for my style of writing below since am not a very good writer. I was unable to attach the pictures immediately after the relevant paragraphs. The 'insert picture' link asks for an http link to attach a picture. However, all my pictures are on the hard drive. So I had to attach the files normally and they all came one after the other. I just wrote from whatever came to my mind, whatever I could remember and whatever small notes I had made while traveling.


I had a long time plan of driving long distance on a highway. Had attempted it a couple of times before, but somehow the plans had to be cancelled for some reason or the other. This time I just thought of going ahead with the plan without informing anyone in my family. Took a 10 day break from office well in advance.

Finally it was February 12, 2010 (Friday). Woke up at 4am and wanted to leave by 5 in the morning. But I am not the early riser kind of guy. So got late in freshening up and doing the last minute packing (including the pepper spray which I bought the night before). Finally left at 5:30am when it was pitch dark (pic attached).

The initial exit from Delhi was little time consuming. You can never go over 70-80 km/h. Finally landed on the highway after a short while. Realised after a moment that it was drizzling. On way, faced the first toll at some place called Mahuvan (7:42am – Rs.35). My first stop was at the petrol pump near the refinery at Mathura (2 pics attached).

Roads were good all through out. It was a really nice experience to see the darkness of the night turn into daylight. Forgive me because I did not take much note while driving towards Varanasi on the first day.

The drizzle continued. But since the highway was empty and in good shape, I could maintain a constant speed over 100km/h. Crossed Agra and then my next target was to reach Kanpur. Nothing eventful really happened except the pictures of some accidents on the road (1 pic attached).

The Kanpur bypass was really nice. No entry or exit for quite a long stretch, so you can speed up sufficiently (pic attached). Most cars and trucks entered into Kanpur while I kept going straight. The funny part was that cars and trucks kept coming from the opposite direction into my lane. Especially when the roads are wet and foggy, like it was that day. So you can imagine what long distance these guys travel on the wrong side of the road. God save them and also the cars driving in the right direction.

Although I was confident about the stability of the Fiesta 1.6S, but still ensured to reduce my speed whenever I realized I was about to cross a stretch which had a layer of water. Speeding on such distance can lead to your car slipping.

Again the journey towards Allahabad was quite uneventful. All this time I kept drinking Redbull and munching on chocolates and taking breaks for nature’s call every hour. While approaching Kanpur I realized my fuel level was low. Speedo showed that the DTE was about 190. Allahabad was 170-180km ahead. Pulled into 2 petrol pumps on the way, none had premium petrol. They looked quite shady too. Finally found an IOC pump. This stretch is quite bad in finding good quality petrol pumps. However I did notice a good one about a 100km down the road from Kanpur, which happens to fall on the other side of the highway.

Anyway, as Allahabad approached, I realized the bypass had opened, as other team-bhp members had mentioned. When Allahabad was about 50kms away, suddenly the bypass seemed to be an empty straight road while all cars were turning right towards Allahabad. As soon as I got on to the bypass, realized it was a bridge crossing the Ganges. Could not help but stop on that 2 lane stretch. It was an awesome view of the river from there, not that it was filled with water. Took a few snaps (9 pics attached).

The bypass was truly amazing. It ran for a stretch of about 85kms. There were a few diversions here and there, but the roads were simply amazing. Not a pothole or a bump. And neither were there too many vehicles. Most of the time I could not see any vehicle infront of me as far as I could see. Stopped to take a few pictures when the 100km mark to Varanasi approached (3 pics attached).

After the bypass ended, the road got a little cluttered, with lots of cars and bikes. But still could maintain a decent speed. Finally reached Varanasi by 3:45pm. But took almost another hour to get inside the main town and into the hotel room. The yatri niwas of UP Tourism was completely full. So stayed at the Plaza Inn hotel just a 1min walk away. This place had a secure parking in the basement. Room was Rs. 600 per night. Tried bargaining, but they dint reduce the rate since it was Shivratri. Dint like their service too much. Had asked them to wash my car, they promised to do it, but finally dint. Stupid excuses. The room was also not very nice. A little smelly, carpets torn etc. Dint complain since I was to spend a few hours of the night only.

I wont write much about what I did in Varanasi. I think it would suffice if I say that the place was extremely crowded because of Maha Shivratri, I took a ride on the Ganges, watched the ganga aarti, bought benarasi saree and was back into the hotel by 10:30pm. One interesting thing you might want to note is that Varanasi is also famous for its Kachori and the best place to get it is called Kachori gali. However, you get it only in the morning. So if you land up there in the evening, you will get only get puri bhaji (which I was served with, and then realized that it was not kachori).

The next day I started from Varanasi at 6am. The odo was reading 825kms. There was heavy fog. The exit from Varansi was quite bad, considering it was early morning. There were trucks lined up all across the road, lots potholes until you hit the main NH2, and on top of that the visibility was extremely low due to the fog. There was a bypass road which I noticed, but a policeman asked me not to take that road and instead go straight down the road and join on NH2 (the same road I had entered through). By 6:40am, I had reached the toll. I was traveling on the service lane for quite some distance due to the long line of trucks stuck on the main highway. The fog actually continued till about 8am (pics attached).

At about 7am, the odo read 863 and the distance to kolkata was 655kms. At around 7:25am, I was 895kms from Delhi, and here I had to take a small detour through a village since some flyover construction was going on. I entered Bihar at Durgauti in another 5mins time and there was a small checkpost.

All this while I really wanted to get my car cleaned since it was looking quite pathetic from outside, due to the previous day’s rain and the dirty road in Varanasi. I saw some petrol pump where a guy was cleaning two cars. Without a second thought I just entered into the pump, got down from the car, called the guy and asked him to clean my car also. That’s when he told me that he was not a cleaner, the cars he was washing belonged to his owner. I felt like jumping into the car and running away from the spot. Finally I managed to ask the guy to handover the water pipe to me for 5 mins so that I can clean my car myself. He was kind enough to oblige and washed my car himself. I only had to do the wiping.

...continued on next post

[souravdebiswas]

At around 8:45am (odo – 991kms), I crossed some kind of a lay bridge crossing a river, but which hardly had any water in it. There was a lot of dry vegetation on the river bed. Don’t know what river this was. At about 9:30 I reached some place close to Sherghati (19 kms away) and stopped to take some snaps (2 pics attached).

At about 9:55am, filled up the petrol tank at this place called Dobhi. Seemed like a decent petrol pump. Please note there are very few decent petrol pumps in Bihar and JHK, so fill up tank before you hit this stretch. At around 1100kms odo reading, I was driving through this very beautiful stretch of zig zag roads with shrubs all around, mountains close by, and some kind of a forest. This was some place right after crossing Dobhi. I had reached Barhi at about 10:40am.

At about 11:30am, I had reached 1215kms. At this spot, the NH2 was closed as construction work was going on. The road then turned to the left and I realized I had reached Isri Bazaar. Right at the turning, there was this beggar sitting in the middle of the road whom I was almost about to run over. I remember seeing his snap put up on team-bhp earlier. He’s a lucky guy that he is still alive. The road through the town was quite bad. Lots of slow moving traffice, bikes, cycles, long trucks etc. I think this was a 10km stretch. I realized that a railway crossing was up ahead, so I took the extreme right lane and drove up all the way to the level crossing. I was so lucky that by the time I reached the crossing, the gate was just being opened, and therefore was the first one to cross the railway line. If I would have stood right at the end of the line, I am sure I would have had to stop another time before reaching the railway crossing.

By 12:40pm, I was crossing the Maithon Bridge, crossed Durgapur by 1:30pm (filled up tank here), crossed Burdwan at 2:25pm (1443kms) and at exactly 3:36pm I was on the Vidyasagar Setu.

Right from the moment I noticed that kolkata was just another 200kms, I was just too eager to reach home. I just wanted to finish this last stretch as soon as possible. Guess this is a usual thing for everyone after taking a long drive like this.

Overall, it has been an amazing experience. Saw and learnt so many new things. This is a trip I am going to remember for a long long time.

Anyway, I will be leaving for Delhi tomorrow morning once again. This time my cousin brother is accompanying me. I intend to reach on Sunday since I want to stop at 3-4 places while going back (Maithon Dam, Sasaraam etc). Wish me luck again. Summary of time, cost and fuel is given below. By the way, my car did not give me a very good mileage. That was quite obvious considering I was maintaining a speed of almost 120-130kmph most of the time. Also, one thing is that the trip was not very tiring for me. Even after reaching Kolkata I was so full of energy. I even partied late into the night with my friends the very same day. I think my age, driving posture and the short breaks in between mattered a lot in making sure I was not drained out.

Total trip time:

Delhi to Varanasi – 10hrs 15 mins
Varanasi to Kolkata – 9hrs 30 mins

Total driving time – 19 hours 45 mins.

Fuel (petrol) (speed/extra premium) – approx 137.42 lts

Total Fuel Cost – Approx Rs.7160

Number of toll collection points – 15
Total toll tax – Rs.520

Hotel cost at Varanasi – Rs.600 per night.

[SS-Traveller]

Hey Sourav, wishing you good luck for your return trip tomorrow.

[souravdebiswas]

This is an update of my return trip from Kolkata to Delhi. My cousin brother agreed to accompany me.

Started off from Kolkata at 6:30am (Deshapriya Park). Our first halt was at Shaktigarh for breakfast. Had luchi, cholar daal and the famous lengcha.

Next stop was at the Maithon Dam. Its an 8-12 km detour from NH 2 on the right. Beautiful scenery. Snaps not allowed so no pics here. But took a walk on the Dam.

The next stop was at the Khalsa Hotel at 11:30am. Finally located it. Had missed it last time. I remember everyone appreciated the food, and so did I. It was awesome. We had chicken kosha and roti. Also packed some chicken fry for the road. Really tasty. I would definetely recommend this hotel to everyone.

Left Khalsa hotel by 12:15. After this we reached Isri Bazaar. Got stuck for almost an hour. First it was the railway crossing. And then on the main road. There was a truck which got stranded in the middle of the road. So traffic from each direction was being released one at a time. Very slow. Was stuck behind a long line of trucks.

Anyway, we also stopped at Bodh Gaya. It was a 32km detour off the NH2 on the right. State roads, so condition was bad. Really nice place. Took lots of snaps which I will post later. The Bodhi tree was serene.

Left Bodh Gaya at around 4:30pm. We thought of stopping at Sasaram after this. But by the time we reached the point where we had to take the right turn for Sasaram, it was turning dark. So dropped plans to visit the tomb out there. Headed straight for Varanasi.

One thing I did not like on this entire stretch was the traffic coming from the opposite direction. Shameless drivers. I almost avoided a head on collision. There was a truck coming from the opposite direction which I did not notice since there was a truck right ahead of me. Suddenly the truck ahead of me moved to the left. I thought it was giving me space to overtake. I immediately noticed the oncoming truck with its high beam on. I swerved to the left to avoid a colliion. It was quite horrible. Similar incidents happened all throughout the trip, its just that it was not such a close shave.

Just after crossing the toll (before Varanasi), I notice a signboard which showed Varanasi towards the right under a flyover. I thought it was the same crossing where I had taken a left turn while coming from Delhi. But it was not the case. This road was different. It was filled with potholes, lots of traffic and lots of turns. It took me almost 45mins to reach the railway station. It seemed as if I took a tour of the entire Varanasi town.

Finally checked into the UP Toursim Yatri Niwas opposite the railway station. As usual, the guy at the reception said there was no room available. Finally after a lot of coaxing, he gave me a decent room.
Its been about one and half hours since I checked in (checked in at about 9pm). Will have dinner now and off to sleep.

Plan to start at 6:30am tommorrow for Delhi. Will halt at Agra for a couple of hours before reaching Delhi. My cousin has not seen the Taj Mahal for a long long time, so will visit that. Should reach Delhi by midnight.

VKochar, if you are reading this, would love to meet up with you at Agra.

Signing off for tonight.

Regards,

Sourav

[Roy.S]

Good one! Would love to see more pics. Most of my long distance drives have been in the south but I'd love to do the Del - Kol sector sometime. How about safety? Is it ok to drive late in the night?

[akp]

I was waiting for your account of the journey in the other thread that you created, not aware that you have opened another. I think same is the case with many others. You should perhaps ask the moderators to merge the two threads.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your adventure. Would be nice if you could elaborate a little more on the route you took from Varanasi till you entered WB. Wishing you all the best for the last leg of your trip tomorrow.
Cheers,
akp

[Rudra Sen]

Mods note: Thread merged.

[ghpk]

Sourav, Hope you liked your Del-Kol Drive, and yes the Best Part of Drive is Certainly Agra- knp-Alld

I didn't noticed this thread earlier, else there would have been Delicious chaat in Allahabad.
Allahabad also has sangam, a few more attraction which would have been a delight for you.

Anyway next time plan to make a Halt at Allahabad and let me know.

Hope you would have reached by now safely.

[souravdebiswas]

I reached Delhi last night at around 11pm.

Started off from Varanasi at 7am to cover the remaining 830kms.

After about 60-70kms, there was an accident. Some maruti car had run over two people crossing the road about 5mins before we reached. A huge crowd had gathered and they wre pelting stones at a bus which was trying to pass through. Somehow the bus managed to escape but all other cars ahead were reversing and taking u turns. So did I. After going back about 2-3kms, we took the opposite lane and sped away. Thank god the crowd dint block the other lan.

Took lots of break in the journey. Special mention would be of some Dhaba (about 50kms before Kanpur) where we had some paneer paratha and sahi paneer. The worst dhaba food i ever had. The paratha was so thick that I could hardly find any paneer inside it. And guess the price? Rs. 170 for two parathas, one sahi paneer and two cups of tea. They just fleeced us since we dint ask the price before ordering.

We also stopped right after the bridge across the Ganges on the Allahabad bypass. There is a small service lane on the left side right after the bridge, which leads to a dead end. It runs parallel to the river. It was a beautiful location to take lots of snaps. I dint miss the opportunity either. Attaching some pictures here.

Thereafter the next halt was at Agra. Reached there by 4pm. Visited the Taj and some local hotel for food. Decent quality. Left Agra at 7pm. But the exit roads were so crowded that it took us almost 45mins to get on to the highway. Again on the highway there were lots of traffic jams. It took us another 30mins of 1st gear driving to find some empty roads.

Entered Delhi quite fast. But again there was a huge traffic at the Badarpur crossing. A flyover was being constructed so all traffic was passing below it. Roads were horrible. And due to some toll collection (for truckes and buses) at the end of the road, the traffic moved extremely slow. Wasted about 30-45mins in the traffic. Finally reached home by about 11:10pm.

Anyway, posting some pictures of Bodh Gaya (the Bodhi temple and the tree), the maithon dam (2 pics), and at the Allahabad bypass section. By the way, the guy with the french cut (thin guy), is not me, its my cousin brother.