Road trip to Bhutan (29.05.2018 – 08.06.2018)

Road trip to Bhutan from Agra and back from 29.05.2018 to 08.06.2018.

Narrated by IndianRoadie Ghanshyam Gandhar, Chief Engineer in Merchant Navy by profession and a resident of Agra.

Our Group: 10 people  inclusive of 7 adults & 3 kids (1.5, 2.5 and 6.5 and years). All are family member.
Vehicles used: Nissan Sunny (Petrol) & Hyundai i20 (Diesel).

Initial Plan for trip:
29.05.2018: Start from Agra at 03:30 Hrs. and to reach Muzaffarpur around 18:00 Hrs. (with breakfast and lunch stops).
Route planned:  Agra - Lucknow (via Agra- Lucknow Expressway) -Faizabad - Gorakhpur bypass - Muzaffarpur
30.05.2018: Start from Muzaffarpur 06:00Hrs. and to reach Jaigaon (via Lataguri as suggested by Srijan Roy Chodhury) around 18:30 Hrs.
Route planned:  Muzaffarpur - Forbesganj - Araria - Purnea - Kishanganj - Islampur - Ghospukur Bypass - Lataguri - Nagrakata - Birpara- Jaigaon.
Hotel bookings done in advance for Muzaffarpur and Jaigaon.

Journey as happened
29.05.2018  @ Agra: Started at 03:30 Hrs., but after couple of KM's from home one fuse blown of my car and I didn’t have spare for that fuse so resulted in delay. After getting things done we finally started from our home at 10:30Hrs. Driving on Agra-Lucknow expressway was awesome like always. (Best part of this road is that we don't feel any jerks while passing over any underpass or bridge which is common on other highways including Yamuna Expressway, it’s just smoooooth). Entered Lucknow around 13:20 Hrs. It took little more than 1 hour to cross Lucknow. After crossing Raunahi Toll Plaza, stopped for first refuelling at Abhay Fuel station (BP) before Faizabad and a tea/snacks break. As per our position at this time, ETA of Muzaffarpur was around Midnight. Our next day departure was around 06:00 hrs. and rest period would be max. 4 hrs., so it was decided to cancel night halt at Muzaffarpur and continue directly to Jaigaon. Our group had total 4 drivers so rest was not the issue. (This we discussed with one of my friend's friend posted in Katihar for safety and assistance confirmation.) This Lucknow –Gorakhpur stretch is also famous for mango plantations and this being the peak season, tress were fully laden with mangoes and their branches were touching the ground. On this stretch, NHAI has provided washroom facility on every toll plaza, which I look forward to be implemented on all highways.
We continued with our journey via Gorakhpur bypass (4 Lane Toll road), it looks newly built. Our next stop was after Gorakhpur, 5KM before UP- Bihar border, for dinner (1930 -2040). It was a small but clean, pure veg.  dhabha, food was good.  After an hour, we continued our journey with change of drivers in i20.
On the Lucknow –Muzaffarpur stretch , many vehicles drive on wrong side  so need to be more cautious between Lucknow-Muzaffarpur stretch.
Our next refuelling was at Ambay Filling station (BP) approx. 50 KM before Muzaffarpur. In the Lucknow - Muzaffarpur stretch, fuel stations are not available at regular intervals as elsewhere, so it’s better to refuel the vehicle with keeping 80-100KM reserve fuel. After entering in Bihar and till Muzaffarpur, there are two ROB’s under construction and temporary road are in poor condition.
We reached NH 27 T-point outside Muzaffarpur@ 23:40. From this point, NH 27 is also known as E-W expressway/corridor and here we stopped for driver-change in both vehicles and to have a quick tea (10 min.)  at our supposed to be 1st day stoppage. Now my wife was commanding our Sunny. Around 1:30 we encountered heavy rains, so I was back on driving seat and we had to take shelter on very next filling station with several other vehicles. While waiting for rains to slow down we chatted with other people there and the staff. After discussion, decided to change route from Araria and go through Bhadurganj-Thakurganj instead of Purnea-Islampur. This route is approx. 70KM shorter than the original route.
This Araria-Thakurganj-Siliguri route was shown as SH 63 on Google maps, so avoided it due to previous experiences of state highways. But after suggestion from people(during last stoppage) decided to follow the same as it saved approx. 50 min. Once the rain slowed down, we started again but with speed   under limits.
Driving on E-W expressway was a delight. Only intercity buses and fewer trucks and all driving safely, not what we encounter in our side. Even after such a heavy rain there was no water accumulation on the road. All of the towns/villages enroute are passed by flyovers so no issue of crossing traffic. Rain gave us company till Thakurganj with intermittent stops.
We started on SH63 at 04:30Hrs. SH 63 is approx. 92 km long and out of this around 25 km(in parts) is not in good condition, two bridges have collapsed and road approaching to them is closed temporarily by just putting some sand on half width of road and no warning notices. On the first collapsed bridge we almost crossed that sand as Google maps was showing straight way and due to rain we missed the temporary way constructed. Same was the condition with very next bridge. Other bridges on SH 63 are also under renovation by closing half width, but their approach have potholes so automatically reduced our speed. This total 25 km poor patch has some potholes and bad road surface, otherwise remaining 67 km is in very good condition. In whole 92 km stretch traffic was less. Reason may be the rains and the time we were driving. While driving on SH 63 we were face to face with the unspoiled beauty of rural West Bengal
SH 63 meets Rishi road at Khoribari which further meets  Ghospukur Fulbari bypass. 1Km after Fulbari Haat crossing we stopped for breakfast and the much needed rest at J.K. Family restaurant on Fulbari Ghospukur Bypass/Canal road @ 0715 Hrs.  It had well maintained and hygienic washrooms. Their tea and mix veg pakodas were really good. We stayed 30-40 min. extra to recharge our tired body. Their air-conditioned dining area and makeshift bed of chairs provided the much needed rest to the drivers, while lady gang was happy to have another round of tea and chit-chat with lady at reception and kids were playing around in the restaurant with the friendly staff (mostly female), Actually kids were enjoying at that place, like a person who got free from captivity.
After 1.5 hr. we started for LATAGURI (52 Km) as suggested by Srijan Roy Choudhary (Indian Roadie member) and we drove as per Google Maps and inputs provided by restaurant staff. We followed Ambari Canal road with few diversions on that, After Gajaldoba market canal road passes through tea gardens on either side so no traffic at all, road was also not in good condition for approx. 15 KM. Canal road meets Highway 717 (coming from NH 27) around 4 KM before Lataguri.
As Lataguri is surrounded with Gormura National park, there are many resorts for a laid back holiday. Highway 717 passes through Gormura National Park and drive is beautiful. 2 Lane road without any median, well maintained and the greenery adds charm to the drive.  We stopped at the entry gate of the national park, for some pics and to absorb the ambience. Thanks Srijan Roy Choudhary for adding Lataguri to our trip. This stop lasted for 30 min.
We resumed our drive on 717 and met the NH 17 at Chalsa. Here we refuelled  our vehicles at Chalsa Petrol pump. (300 mtr. from  junction of 717 & 17).  Now its straight road to Jaigaon but the higway number changes from 17 to 317 at Birpara. NH 317 passes through Jaldapara National park, so drive is beautiful all the way to Jaigaon. Just before  Jaldapara National Park, at Madarihat we got stuck (approx. 40 min.) in Road block, set up by locals as a kid was hit by Bolero Pickup. Luckily he was not at fault and 2 traffic police guys saved him from angry locals. Road was cleared only when  kid was declared safe in hospital and its already 1300 hrs.  By this time I was desperate to reach our hotel in Jaigaon, and sleep.
At Hasimara, a road on left cuts for jaigaon  and takes us straight to Jaigaon. Hasimara also serves as nearest railway station for Jaigaon. When we reached Jaigaon,  our phones stopped working as no network for Jio, Idea, BSNL, Vodafone. Airtel had network but not working.  Jaigaon does not look like a tourist place, very poorly maintained. In Jaigaon I felt why we need Swachta Mission.
Finally we reached our hotel (Hotel Satyam)  in Jaigaon @1400 Hrs. Hotels in Jaigaon don’t have dedicated parking so vehicles are parked on road and its chargeable 100Rs/day. Bhutan Gate was in front of our hotel.  Hotel was nice with good food.  In evening we went out for some snacks as Bengal is famous for its street food. We were hoping to get the same taste as of Kolkata but it was nowhere near to that. Same was the story with sweets.

Time log – 29.05.2018 & 30.05.2018 (Agra to Jaigaon)
10:30 – Started from Agra.
13:20 – Entered Lucknow.
16:00 – Crossed Faizabad .
18:10 – Crossed Gorakhpur.
19:30 – 20:40 – Dinner, 5 KM before UP – Bihar border
23:40 – Crossed Muzaffarpur
01:42 – 02:25 – Took shelter from heavy rains.
04:30 – Crossed Araria  and Started on SH 63
07:00 – Crossed Ghospukur on the outskirts of Siliguri.
07:15 – 08:20 – Breakfast, near Fulbari haat crossing.
10:05 – 10:30 – Lataguri / Gormura National Park.
14:00 – Jaigaon

Refuelling.
Started with topped up tank from Agra.
1st Refueling : Abhay Fuel station (BP) before Faizabad.
2nd Refueling : Ambay Filling station (BP) approx. 50 KM before Muzaffarpur.
3rd Refuelling : Chalsa Petrol pump. (300 mtr. from  junction of 717 & 17).

Distance covered : 1412KM.

31.05.2018
Day reserved for permits and Phuntesholing.
To move beyond Phunetsholing (entry point to Bhutan) we need entry permits and driving permits for our vehicles. Only private vehicles areallowed.
Entry gate for vehicles and pedestrians are separate. So we walked through the gate behind the SSB check-post. Immigration building is next to the BPCL filling station and was just a 5 minute walk. We reached immigration office at 10:30 and our permits were ready by 12:10. Next thing was to get the local sim cards as our phones were not working.  Tourist sim cards are pre activated, they come with some balance for calling but need to be recharged with net pack. Mobile internet is slow in Bhutan or may be JIO has spoiled us with 4G.
It was our first day in Bhutan so had lunch in a Bhutanese restaurant. For vegetarians there are not much options in Bhutanese cuisine. So we restricted ourselves to Indian food and for our surprise it was quite good.  After lunch dropped everybody in market and we(2 of us) reached RSTA office for vehicle permits, We got our vehicle permits before 15:00. Now the remaining day was to chill out in Phunetsholing and do some shopping. Shopping is a lot cheaper in Phunetsholing compared to Thimpu and Paro.
Note for tea lovers: The chaiwaala outside Hotel Satyam makes superb tea.
The difference between India and Bhutan is clearly visible. In Jaigaon roads were filled with garbage but it was perfectly clean. Bhutanese are very particular about cleanliness  and their culture.
Traffic rules are strict with no leniency even for pedestrians. Honking and overtaking is not allowed in city limits. Speed is limited at 50KM/Hr. Pedestrians have the first right to cross the road but road crossing is allowed only from zebra crossings. There are no traffic lights in Bhutan and traffic is managed by traffic constables. Overtake the vehicles only if cleared by the vehicle ahead. This is  indicated by the left indicator light and right indicator light is used for “Don’t Overtake”.  In Thimpu and Phunetsholing most of the road are “One Way”.
Immigration office working hours: 0900Hrs. to 1500Hrs.  Lunch time: 1300 Hrs. to 1400Hrs. Immigration office is closed on weekends and govt. holidays.                                                       Document required for entry permits:
Passport / Voter I card + Hotel booking confirmation for Bhutan stay +Itinerary.
If carrying any other ID, then no worry, just go to Indian embassy, give any two ID and address proof (e.g. Aadhar and College ID) and get the ID certificate issued for the purpose of entry permit. Indian embassy charge Rs.135/- fees for this certificate and it takes only 5 minutes. We did same as one of our group member was not having Passport or Voter ID.
Entry Permit is issued free of cost. Fill the form, attach itinerary, Xerox of ID/address proof and give them to the official at the desk for checking. Photographs and fingerprints will be captured at the counters located at 1st floor and in 15 minutes entry permits are issued. Permits are valid only for Paro and Thimphu and for 7 days max., if want to travel further and extend the permit, then it can be done at Immigration office in Thimpu, which is approx. 1.5KM from clock tower  on the same road. After extension of entry permit, vehicle permit also need to be extended and is done at RSTA base office located at ground floor of Thimpu bus station.
Vehicle permit is issued by RSTA base office located at 1st floor of Phunetsholing bus station. Form is available at the Xerox shop on the same floor. Attach Xerox of Vehicle RC, Insurance, Pollution certificate, Driving Licence and the entry permits issued by immigration office. Base office closes at 1500 Hrs. (Bhutan Time), and whole procedure takes approx. 30-45 minutes, so reach there by 1400Hrs. For vehicle permit fees is Rs.100/day.
Indian Currency above Rs.100 denomination is not accepted in . offices but shops usually accept upto Rs.500/- denomination and sometime Rs.2000/- too.
To avoid any issues we changed our larger denomination at the hotel and kept fewer higher denomination.

01.07.18 : Phunetsholing to Thimpu
Phunetsholing –Thimpu is 165 Kms.and takes approx. 6 Hrs. so it’s better to leave early and reach Thimpu by 17:30 as sun sets earlier here.
As mobile network is always an issue in hills, I use SYGIC offline maps and it worked perfectly in Bhutan also. Our first stop was just 10 minutes from Phunetsholing at a store. This place gives marvellous view of  Torsa river and Jaigaon.  There are 2 immigration checkpost between Phunetsholing and Thimpu where we need to register our entry permits and vehicle permits. First checkpost is about 5-6 km after Phunetsholing.
In Phuntesholing – Thimpu  section, approx. 40-45 kms is single lane, where 2 vehicles cannot cross each other while remaining on road and sometime we have to stop before at suitable place to pass an upcoming vehicle. Rest all part is well maintained and 2 lane higway without median. At present an alternate route for the single lane portion is under construction, and expected to complete by Dec.’18.
We checked out of our hotel (@ Jaigaon) at 10:30 and started for Thimpu. Immediately after entering in Phunetsholing, we refulled/topped up our vehicles at B.P. filling station next to immigration office. Fuel is cheaper in Bhutan by around Rs.15/litre. Petrol and diesel are priced at almost same rate. Our main stop was at DANTAK canteen (run by Indian Army) for lunch. We reached Thimpu around 19:00. Its more quieter than Phunetsholing. Every circle on road is adorned with beautiful statues.  A big gate welcomes you to Thimpu. Big pictures of the King, Queen and their son can be seen at several places in Thimpu. Nearly all establishments have their pictures in their premises. Although Bhutan is now a democracy but people still love the royal family and always shows their gratitude towards them.
We have booked our stay in Thimpu for whole trip as all places are within 2-2.5 hr. drive from Thimpu. We booked JIGME SUITES through Expedia. It’s basically an apartment type hotel and located in TASHU LAM. Hotel is managed by all female staff.
We kept 3 days for Thimpu excrusions. (02.06.18/04.06.18/06.06.18)

02.06.18 – Thimpu – 1st day
Buddha Doderma: Huge Buddha statue (golden colour) sits on top of a hill in Mediatation pose. Below the statue there is a temple. As found in all Buddha temples, here also it’s a soothing feeling inside.
Clock Tower Square: It’s in the main market area, surrounded by hotels, coffee houses. Locals come here to enjoy their evenings. While we were here some festival was going on so every day there were live music and cultural shows. Sitting arrangement is just like open theatre.
Weekend Market: Little ahead (north side) of the football stadium is the location of weekend market (Friday – Sunday). Beside other things (dried meat, incence etc.) it is the ideal place to buy clothes and handicrafts. Bargaining is quite welcome here unlike other markets in Thimpu.  But for people (especially vegetarians) who have problem with smell of fish and meat, better to avoid this. Only four from our group of 10 went to this market.

03.06.18 – Thimpu – Paro – Chele La - Paro – Thimpu.
Left Thimpu at 09:30 for Paro. Roads here are good and can touch easily at 70Km/Hr., but being in hills it’s better to remain below limit of 50km/hr. The road to Paro goes along Paro – Chhu river.
Paro Airport is approx. 6 KM before Paro. Airport building is built beautifully. It’s the only point of entry in Bhutan by Air. Paro is a small but beautiful town, 2 parallel roads running along the length of city.
The main attractions in Paro are: Paro Dzong, National Museum, Tiger Nest Monastery, Bondey Lhakang and Chele la pass.
Paro dzong: Its known as Bhutan’s most impressive Dzong. Perfect example of Bhutanese architecture. Its built on the foundation of monastery built by Guru Rinpoche. This Dzong is just 2KM before Paro.
National Museum : Its located at the top of hill above Paro dzong. Its at walkable distance from Paro Dzong so no need to take a drive of approx. 30 min. It was initially housed in a clock tower on top of the hill but due to damage suffered to the clock tower, another small building was constructed on side of clock tower to house the national museum. It has an impressive collection of thangkas, dance form and details of wildlife.
Chele la pass : It’s the highest point on Paro – Haa road, at the height of 3988mts. (approx. 10 mtr. higher than Rohtang Pass near Manali). Chele la is approx. 38 KM from Paro and 34 Km from Bondey. Chele la is famous for the magnificient view of Paro and Haa valley. Here, it was quite cold and windy. Our saviour in that cold were 2 food vans serving hot masala tea and noodles.
We skipped Tiger nest monastery and Bondey Lakhang because of rain.
By the time we returned to Paro from Chele la, it was already 19:30hrs.We had Dinner at Hotel Seasons, All diner here were Indians. Food was pure veg. and tasty. This hotel is near BP fuel station on the south end of Paro city. We reached our hotel in Thimpu at 22:40hrs.

04.06.18 – Thimpu – 2nd Day
Memorial Chorten: It was built as a memorial to the 3rd King and is the most frequented religious place in Thimpu by locals as part of their daily worship. Locals be it elderly, middle aged or young, all were busy with their prayers, whirling the prayer wheels,  kids going to schools were also paying homage. None of them were bothered with the presence of tourists clicking photographs, or the kids running around. 
Postal Museum: After spending approx. 2 hour in Memorial Chorten, our next stop was at Postal museum located at the ground floor of Thimpu Post office.  It has Bhutan’s eclectic philatelic collection. History of Bhutan post and developments. Here we got clicked our photo stamps, the real ones and used them on a postcard to India.
Entry Permit Extension: Our next day plan was for Dochula pass and Punakha. So we needed extension of our entry and vehicle permits. Entry permit extension was done at Thimpu immigration office located on the clock tower square road, approx. 1 KM from the clock tower. For extension Xerox of all entry permits are to be submitted along with the extension application form. We got our extension entry permit  in 2 hrs. and then we proceded to Thimpu RSTA base office located at the ground floor of Thimpu bus station. For extension of vehicle permits we submitted Xerox of extension entry permit and vehicle permits. Extension is granted in 2 minutes by putting a stamp and putting a remark on Original vehicle permit. So job done and we were ready for Punakha. Parking for vehicles is in front of Main RSTA office located at top of  Bus station. While coming from Immigration office, take the bridge  and right turn after it.
Just above RSTA base office, there is a canteen. It serves delicious noodles, momos, thupka and tea.

05.06.18 – Thimpu – Dochula pass – Punakha – Dochula Pass – Thimpu
Dochula Pass:  It’s the highest point on Thimpu – Punakha road, at the height of 3150mtrs. Here 108 chortens were built to honour the soldiers who attained martyrdom in war (2003) against assamese insurgents/rebels who had set up camps in Bhutan and were fighting with forces in Assam.  Opposite to chortens, there is a temple known as Druk Wangyel Lhakhng built to celebrate 100 years of monarchy.
Royal Botanical Parl: It  is about 10 KM from Dochula pass. It’s a mini version of Botanical garden in Howrah, but still it is worth visiting.
Punakha Dzong : It was the second Dzong built in Bhutan.  This dzong is located at the junction of river Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu. It’s said that Punakha Dzong is most beautiful dzong in Bhutan. It was the capital and seat of power before Thimpu was given the honour of the Bhutan’s capital. It houses the massive gold statues of Lord Buddha and Guru Rinpoche. Guru Rinpoche was an Indian Buddhist master who came to Bhutan from Tibet. He is also worshipped as second Buddha.

06.06.18 – Thimpu – 3rd Day
Textile Museum: It was set up to introduce the Bhutan’s national art of weaving to the tourists and young Bhutanese. It showcases the types of textiles, style of local dresses, weaving techniques. It features the weaving patters associated with all regions of Bhutan.  On the ground floor, opp. to reception , there is a souvenir shop where textile products and other souvenir are on sale.
National Library: It’s approx. 1.5 KM (north side) from textile museum. World’s largest published book (Guinness world record, 2003) is kept here.  It has 114 pages. It opens to 5x7 feet.  This book was designed by Michael Hawley of MIT, Boston, USA. Every month one page of this book is turned. Library is a fine example of Bhutan’s traditional architecture. This library was established to preserve traditional books and historical manuscripts. Most of the books are written on long strips of handmade paper stacked between pieces of wood and wrapped in silken cloth. There is a photo of our first P.M. Jawahar Lal Nehru and young Indira Gandhi with Bhutan royal family, taken on their first visit to Bhutan.
Trashi  Chhoe Dzong view point: The view point is at the trisection, couple of KM’s ahead of National Library. From here the  view of the Dzong with river wang and farm fields in backdrop is magnificient.
Trashi  Chhoe Dzong : This Dzong is on the northern side of Thimpu. It’s a massive building. The coronation of present king took place here. It houses secretariat, Kings office and ministries of home affairs and finance. Other miniestries are in small separate complexes (better to call set of rooms) on both sides of the Dzong parking Area.. On weekdays visiting hours are 1700 – 1800 hrs. and on weekends 0800 – 1800 hrs.
Changlimithang Stadium  & Archery Ground: Regular football matches are there in the stadium between local teams. On the south of Football stadium, there is archery ground, where archers are practising every day. When we reached there, a competition between teams of Paro, Thimpu and Punakha was in progress. Archers were aiming at a target 150mtr. away. I was not able to see the target even, but they were hitting the target with quite ease. It was amazing.
As we were leaving next morning so we topped our fuel tanks.

07.06.18 – Thimpu –Jaigaon – Siliguri
So it’s time to say bye to Thimpu. Checked out our hotel at 08:30 and started for Phunetsholing. Again stopped at Dantak Canteen for a quick Tea. Reached Phuntesholing  at 14:00. Stopped here for lunch, refuelling and some souvenir shopping. At 16:15 left Phunetsholing with beautiful memories of Bhutan – The Happy Nation. Approx. 10 – 12Km after Jaigaon, our mobiles started working. We reached Siliguri at 21:30 hrs. Hotel was booked through OYO rooms.  It was OK for a night stay.  Luckily linen was clean. In house restaurant served hot and good dinner. Next day plan was to leave early around 04:00 so refuelled our vehicles.
Distance Covered : 338KM

08.06.18 – Siliguri – Agra
We started from Siliguri at 04:30hrs. Route decided for return was exactly same that we followed while coming. As its early morning, so there was hardly any traffic on SH63. At Araria, joined NH 27. First stop was approx. 25 KM before Muzaffarpur T point, for refuelling.
At  10:30, we stopped for brunch at Vishwakarma Family restaurant, 40 km after Muzaffarpur. I recommend this restaurant for vegetarian food. It’s really good. Started from here at 12:10 hrs. Till Gorakhpur traffic was not much. But immediately after Gorakhpur it increased suddenly. Next refuelling was just  before Lucknow at Chinhat. We entered Lucknow at 18:05 Hrs. As it was peak rush hour so it took almost 1.5 hour to cross lucknow. We reached Agra –Lucknow expressway at 19:30 Hrs. Had a quick tea break at the starting of expressway. We reached  our home at 22:30hrs, little before our estimated time.

Time log :
04:30 – Started from Siliguri.
06:30 – Crossed Araria.
10:00 – Crossed Muzaffarpur.
10:30-12:10 – Break for brunch.
03:10 – Crossed Gorakhpur.
18:05 – Entered Lucknow.
19:30 – Exited Lucknow.
22:30 – Reached Agra.

Distance Covered :  1251 KM

Refuelling ---
1st Refuelling –  Indian oil Petrol pump, 25Km before Muzaffarpur T point.
2nd Refuelling –  HP petrol pump Chinhat, before lucknow.

Trip figures :
Toll Tax : 6600/- for both vehicles.
Fuel cost : 20,055/- (Petrol) + 15,920/- (Diesel) = 35,975/-
Total Distance covered : 3687KM

While driving on Agra Lucknow expressway , need to take some precautions.
During night lot of insects strike the vehicle, had to clean the glass after stopping. Stop only at places where Police vehicles are standby or the junctions.
During Night long route buses stop on the expressway for small breaks for passengers or for some minor issues. Passengers usually come to the middle of road for selfies or just for a walk. Several accidents have occurred in last 2 months due to this. So need to be extra cautious. 
Before getting on Lucknow expressway, fuel tank must be topped up as no filling station on it (still under construction) and it’s hard to avoid temptation to go at 130-140 km/hr. 
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