We have always been keen road travellers ever since we bought a Maruti car in 1991 and have travelled all over North India, where the road conditions were not bad at that time. In the absence of internet and other information facilities, we often relied on road maps and information from bus operators or other driving enthusiasts. Information gathering has now become so much easier. Having read such reports, I joined various web sites and read the travelogues of enthusiasts who seem to have made travelling by road their pastime. Good for all of us.
After reading such reassuring reports, I showed them to my wife who too found the idea of a long road journey exciting. We planned a long trip from Durgapur to Delhi, Delhi to Pune and back to Durgapur in the months of July and August. Our apprehensions of the journey through Jharkhand, Bihar and UP were allayed after reading these reports. My wife took on the additional task of record keeping apart from driving on the highways. As part of the preparation, we went over various reports on the journeys on these roads and the preparation made by others. We got the car (Ford Fiesta, Diesel) serviced and bought a tubeless tyre puncture spray and a fire extinguisher from Kolkata. Since we are music enthusiasts, we also got a sub woofer fitted from Asansol. Nylon ropes, torch, first aid kit firmly in place we were ready for the adventure.
DAY 1
We started for Varanasi (500 kms) on the first day of our trip early in the morning at 5 AM. Driving in the early mornings is always better, since we are early risers, we always follow this routine. There is lesser traffic, in case of towns/cities the hustle and bustle of the schools and school buses/pooled vehicles is avoided and even the animals on the roads are not a hindrance since they too are either sleeping or too lazy to go and sleep in the centre of the road. Our drive through Jharkhand was uneventful. We had packed some sandwiches which we had while travelling. On to Bihar, the apprehensions of bad roads/safety were proved wrong, the journey was smooth. The road from Sasaram to Aurangabad was rather bad and slowed us down quite a bit. Enroute we had one halt for some tea and pakoras , more so to stretch the legs. At about 12.30 PM we were at the outskirts of Varanasi. Getting in to the city is always the tricky part, luckily we were guided well and entered Varanasi immediately after crossing Chandauli. Going through Mughalsarai was a bit of an adventure but we managed it. We reached our place of stay and after a light lunch took a well deserved rest for some time. Some of the pictures taken during the drive are given below, the drive was very enjoyable especially in view of the greenery and wide and separate roads for fro and to
Traffic
In the evening we took an auto rickshaw, the safest mode of transport there by all accounts and went on a guided tour including the Vishweshwar temple and the Ganga Arti. Getting a darshan was cumbersome more so because of the Kawadias who in spite of the long pilgrimages undertaken by them were in excellent spirits. The darshan don, after a rather long wait amidst heavy police presence, we proceeded to the Ganga Arti ghat. However, due to heavy rains, we could not go on a boat, even then, the Ganga arti was a delight. After a nice vegetarian meal and a benarasi paan we called it a day.
DAY 2
Continuing our stay in Varanasi, on day 2 we went to Sarnath and saw the lovely Budhdhist temples there, including the Mahabodhi temple. The temples are well kept although the road to Sarnath is not very well maintained. A tip for those interested in shopping, good Benarasi items are available in Sarnath where the car parking facilities are surprisingly good.
85 feet tall statue, quite majestic
DAY 3
Although we were to proceed to Delhi, we had no deadline to meet. Sightseeing and enjoying the drive was our main purpose. With this in view, we had consulted many people in Varanasi on the condition of the direct route to Lucknow as well as to Kanpur and thereafter to Lucknow from Varanasi, apart from reading the reports. Since we had never been to Lucknow, we decided to take a two day halt in Lucknow again for sightseeing and shopping. We started at 6 AM and took the NH to Lucknow instead of going via Kanpur by NH2. This proved to be good decision since the road to Lucknow is fairly good although nowhere near the NH2. The journey was uneventful except for a scene straight out of a movie when a convoy of 4 Scorpios all white in colour and with similar number plates flying the party flags zoomed past us. We got behind the convoy for some distance till a railway crossing forced us to stop when out came a lot of security personnel from the vehicles in no particular uniform. Reminded me of a scene straight out of the movie Omkara. We managed to go past the railway crossing after it opened, tagging behind the Scorpios but soon lost them since they seemed to be in a hurry. Another incident was when two persons on a bike who were coming in the opposite direction, made a U turn after going past our car after about 100 meters and I thought, followed us for some time. After some time, they seemed to lose interest and went about their way, may be the ARMY sticker on my rear glass dissuaded them although I am not sure what their intent was. Anyway, there was traffic all over the NH and nowhere did one feel lonely. We reached Lucknow at about 12.30 PM. After settling down and a little rest, we again hired an auto who took us around Lucknow, statues of Dr Ambedkar and others and of course the shopping. In the evening, had a yummy meal with Galauti kebab and Chicken Lagaan.
DAY 4
The day was spent in Lucknow, where we hired a cab, for sightseeing. Went around to the Bara Imambara, Bhulbhulaiya, Residency, and the Art Gallery, the time was well spent. Had a nice meal with Tunde Kebabs and went around for the mandatory shopping. A word of advice, there are a number of outlets of so called Sewa organisation all specialising in chikan work, it is better to carry out some research on the genuine one before shopping.
Day 5
We were back on the road at 5.30 AM heading towards Kanpur to get on to NH 2 again. The road from Lucknow to Kanpur was good, although we had to face a little bit of rain, for the first time on this drive. At Kanpur, it took us quite a while to get onto the NH 2, the sign posting could have been better. Once on the NH, the road journey was good, although the condition of the road was noticeably inferior to the stretch up to Varanasi. Gradually, the traffic also was heavier. We reached Mathura at about noon and kept an eye for the Mcdonald’s outlet since the place was mentioned in many write ups. We enjoyed a nice meal although, it may be of interest that there are a number of such eating joints around the same place. As we entered the NCR, traffic and the road conditions became a nightmare, especially Faridabad. After a long drive, the actual entrance in to a city is usually the terrible part and it was no different in Delhi.
We managed to reach Greater Noida at 4 PM and landed up at our daughter’s place unannounced thus giving a pleasant surprise to her after a long and wonderful journey.
