Showing posts with label Agra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agra. Show all posts

Sunday, 1 December 2019

Indore to Agra via Gwalior - Best Route For Road Trip, Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route

Best Route For Road Trip, Indian Roadie Preferred Route, Motoring Route, Driving Route from 

Indore to Gwalior 
(Indore_Gwalior), 
Indore to Agra 
(Indore_Agra), 
Ujjain to Agra 
(Ujjain_Agra): 

Option 1: 
Indore to Agra (via Dewas) 
Indore ---- Dewas ---- Maksi ---- Biaroa ---- Guna ---- Shivpuri ---- Gwalior ---- Morena ---- Agra.

Distances: 
Indore to Gwalior = 500 kms/ 10 hrs.
Gwalior to Agra = 122 kms.

Indore to Dewas = 38 kms. 
Dewas to Maksi = 35 kms. 
Maksi to Biaora = 113 kms. 
Biaora to Guna = 91 kms. 
Guna to Shivpuri = 102 kms. 
Shivpuri to Gwalior = 112 kms. 
Gwalior to Agra = 120 kms. 

Option 2: 
Indore to Agra (via Ujjain) 
Indore ---- Ujjain ---- Maksi ---- Biaora ---- Guna ---- Shivpuri ---- Gwalior ---- Morena ---- Agra .... i.e. Bombay-Agra Road.

Distance From To:
Indore to Ujjain = 50 kms.
Ujjain to Maksi  = 40 kms.
Maksi to Biaora = 113 kms/ 2 hrs 15 mins.
Biaora to Guna = 91 kms/ 1 hr 45 mins.
Guna to Shivpuri = 102 kms/ 2 hrs.
Shivpuri to Gwalior = 112 kms/ 2 hrs 10 mins.
Gwalior to Agra = 120 kms/ 3 hrs.

Note: These are user generated best routes. 

Abbreviation used:  
RA = Road Ahead.
ROR = Road on Right.
ROL = Road on Left.
NH = National Highway.
SH = State Highway.
NE = National Expressway.  

P.S: 
- Offline Driving Routes In One Page 
- Best Intercity Driving Routes 
- Skip Online Navigation Maps 
- User Generated Best Routes 



* Motoring Routes of India, Best Route For Road Trip are initiatives by Indian Roadie (India's most admired road travel and automotive forum for matured roadies) and Marketingpundit. 

P.S: Search thousands of accurate and best route options for road trips throughout India, Nepal, Bhutan in: 

Saturday, 5 January 2019

Raipur (CG) to Agra (UP) - Indian Roadie Preferred Route

Raipur (5am on 2/1/2019) - Bhilai - Durg - Bhandara - Mauda - Nagpur Outer Ring Road - Mansar - Pench - Seoni - Sagar (12-30pm on 2/1/2019) - Jhansi (4-30pm on 2/1/2019) - Gwalior - Agra (8-30pm on 2/1/2019).

Thursday, 3 January 2019

Delhi to Mumbai to Delhi - road trip in Dec 2018/ Jan 2019

Delhi-Agra-Jaipir-Beawar-Sirohi-Palanpur-Ahmedabad-Vadodra-Surat-Mumbai.

Total Kms driven: 1719 kms.
Car: Maruti S-Cross.

Route Update:

Day 1: Delhi-Agra: Took YEW to NH-19, towards tansport nagar. Speed limit on the YEW has been revised to 75 kmph for couple of months due to the fog. On Nh-19 crossing Yamuna is still a pain as one flyover is yet to complete construction. Total travel time - 3 hours.

Day 2: Agra-Jaipur: Took NH-21, the road is just superb. 4 lane throughout. So much better than Delhi-Jaipur. Encountered very thick fog, started at 5:45am, reached Jaipur at 10:30am. Crossed Jaipur and had breakfast at Hotel Highway King on Ajmer-Jaipur Higahway.

Day 3: Jaipur-Beawar-Sirohi-Palanpur-Ahmedabad: Tried the Palanpur route for the first time. Our planned halt was at Udaipur. Drove from Agra to Ahmedabad with 2 breaks. The other break was at Midway Namaste before Sirohi. The roads are excellent till you enter Gujarat. The roads ahead are good but too much local traffic. Too many trucks on this route. We made good progress till Palanpur, post that, it was a pain till Ahmedabad. Will not take this route unless i have to visit Ahmedabad. Total time taken - 16 hours for 930 kms.

Day 4: Ahmedabad-Vadodra-Surat-Mumbai: Took NE-1 to Vadodra. Gujurat drivers are the worst drivers I came across in this drive. The shoulder lane is the overtaking lane for them!! So many cars overtaking from shoulder lane. The drive was very smooth till Vasai bridge. Stopped at Food hub in Manor for lunch. From Vadai bridge to Dahisar took 1 hour 30 mins! Pathetic traffic. Time taken 8 hours.

Avg money spent on toll: 1-1.25/- per km. 


Return drive from Mumbai to Delhi starting on Saturday, 2019-01-05 via Godhra - Shamlaji -Udaipur.  

(Road trip in a Maruti S-Cross in December 2018/ January 2019 described by Rishi Sinha)

Tuesday, 4 December 2018

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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#BhutanConquered 
#RoadtripToBhutan 
#Bhutan

Sunday, 2 December 2018

Agra - list of must do, see, visit, eat

When in Agra, the places for a must visit are:

Taj Mahal,
Agra Fort,
Fatehpur Sikri,
Dayal Bagh,
Mehtab Bagh during sunset,
Sadar Bazaar,
Sikandra Tomb,
Mariam Tomb,
Keetham Lake,
Taj Shilpagram Area.

Sweet shop 'Panchhi' near the Taj Mahal gates is famous for pethas.


If time permits, also visit:
Mathura,
Vrindavan,
Gwalior Fort.

Sunday, 12 August 2018

Nagpur - Noida road trip of 1100 kms in 15 hrs in November 2016 by Hyundai i20 petrol

Roadie Shekhar Patil drove Nagpur to Noida (Nagpur-Noida) on the first Sunday of November 2016 in 15 hours in his Hyundai i20 petrol.
Total distance: 1100 kms.
Route: Nagpur - Chindwara - Sagar - Jhaá¹…si - Gwalior - Morena - Agra - Delhi.
Took off from Nagpur - Betul road at Saoner.
Great road except Jhansi - Gwalior section which NHAI has possibly forgotten if it exists.
Nagpur - Betul toll road, according to him is one of the best stretches built by NHAI so far. He found it better then Yamuna Expressway.
Apparently this route has least facilities for highway users. One has to find a neat and clean dhaba for food with some difficulty. For restrooms, gas stations are the best bet.
However, there were good decent restaurants on Sagar Bypass and Lalitpur Bypass.

Monday, 25 April 2016

Complete list of pre-2010 National Highways in India (old numbers)

List of National Highways in India (old numbers) 
______________________________________

NH1 (km. 456) – Delhi to Amritsar and Indo-Pak Border
NH1A (km. 663) – Jalandhar to Uri
NH1B (km. 274) – Batote to Khanbal
NH1C (km. 8) – Domel to Katra
NH1D (km. 422) – Srinagar to Kargil to Leh
NH2 (km. 1,465) – Delhi to Dankuni
NH2A (km. 25) – Sikandra to Bhognipur
NH2B (km. 52) – Bardhaman to Bolpur
NH3 (km. 1,161) – Agra to Mumbai
NH4 (km. 1,235) – Junction With NH3 near Thane to Chennai
NH4A (km. 153) – Belgaum to Panaji
NH4B (km. 27) – Nhava Sheva to Palaspe
NH5 (km. 1,533) – Junction with NH 6 near Baharagora to Chennai
NH5A (km. 77) – Junction with NH5 near Haridaspur to Paradip Port
NH6 (km. 1,949) – Hazira to Kolkata
NH7 (km. 2,369) – Varanasi to Kanyakumari
NH7A (km. 51) – Palayamkottai to Tuticorin Port
NH8 (km. 1,428) – Delhi to Mumbai
NH8A (km. 473) – Ahmedabad to Mandvi
NH8B (km. 206) – Bamanbore to porbunder
NH8C (km. 46) – Childo to Sarkhej
NH8D (km. 127) – Jetpur to Somnath
NH8E (km. 220) – Somnath to Bhavnagar
NH NE1 (km. 93) – Ahmedabad to Vadodara Expressway
NH9 (km. 841) – Pune to Machillipatnam
NH 10 (km. 403) – Delhi to Fazilka and Indo-Pak Border
NH11 (km. 582) – Agra to Bikaner
NH11A (km. 145) – Manoharpur to Kothum
NH11B (km. 180) – Lalsot to Dholpur
NH12 (km. 890) – Jabalpur to Jaipur
NH12A (km. 333) – Jabalpur to Jhansi
NH13 (km. 691) – Solapur to Mangalore
NH14 (km. 450) – Beawar to Radhanpur
NH15 (km. 1,526) – Pathankot to Samakhiali
NH16 (km. 460) – Nizamabad to Jagdalpur
NH17 (km. 1,269) – Panvel to Chavakkad and North Paravur Junction with NH47 near Edapally at Kochi
NH17A (km. 19) – Junction with NH17 near Cortalim to Murmugao
NH17B (km. 40) – Ponda Verna to Vasco
NH18 (km. 369) – Junction with NH7 near Kurnool and Nandyal to Cuddapah and Junction with NH 4 near Chittoor
NH18A (km. 50) – Puthalapattu to Tirupati
NH19 (km. 240) – Ghazipur to Patna
NH20 (km. 220) – Pathankot to Mandi
NH21 (km. 323) – Junction with NH 22 near Chandigarh to Manali
NH21A (km. 65) – Pinjore to Swarghat
NH22 (km. 459) – Ambala to Indo China Border near Shipkila
NH23 (km. 459) – Chas to Talcher and Junction with NH 42
NH24 (km. 438) – Delhi to Lucknow
NH24A (km. 17) – Bakshi Ka Talab to Chenhat (NH 28)
NH25 (km. 352) – Lucknow to Shivpuri
NH25A (km. 31) – 19 (NH 25) to Bakshi Ka Talab
NH26 (km. 396) – Jhansi to Lakhnadon
NH27 (km. 93) – Allahabad to Mangawan
NH28 (km. 570) – Junction with NH 31 Near Barauni and Muzaffarpur to Lucknow
NH28A (km. 68) – Junction With NH 28 near Pipra to Indo and Nepal Border
NH28B (km. 121) – Chhapra to Bagaha and Junction with 28A at Chapwa
NH28C (km. 184) – Barabanki to Indo and Nepal Border
NH29 (km. 196) – Gorakhpur to Varanasi
NH30 (km. 230) – Junction with NH 2 near Mohania and Patna to Bakhtiarpur
NH30A (km. 65) – Fatuha to Barh
NH31 (km. 1,125) – Junction with NH 2 near Barhi & Bakhtiarpur to Charali & Amingaon Junction with NH 37
NH31A (km. 92) – Sevok to Gangtok
NH31B (km. 19) – North Salmara to Junction with NH 37 near Jogighopa
NH31C (km. 235) – Near Galgalia to Sidili and Junction with NH 31 near Bijni
NH32 (km. 179) – Junction with NH 2 near Gobindpur and Dhanbad to Jamshedpur
NH33 (km. 352) – Junction with NH 2 near Barhi to Jamshedpur Junction with NH 6 near Baharagora
NH34 (km. 443) – Junction with NH 31 near Dalkhola and Baharampur to Dum Dum
NH35 (km. 61) – Barasat to Petrapole on India and Bangladesh border
NH36 (km. 170) – Nowgong to Dimapur (Manipur Road)
NH37 (km. 680) – Junction with NH 1B near Goalpara and Guwahati to Saikhoaghat
NH37A (km. 23) – Kuarital to Junction with NH52 near Tezpur
NH38 (km. 54) – Makum to Lekhapani
NH39 (km. 436) – Numaligarh to Palel and Indo Burma Border
NH40 (km. 216) – Jorabat to Indo-Bangladesh Border near Dawki and Jowai
NH41 (km. 51) – Junction with NH 6 near Kolaghat to Haldia Port
NH42 (km. 261) – Junction with NH 6 Sambalpur to Junction with NH5 at Manguli near Cuttack via Angul, Dhenkanal
NH43 (km. 551) – Raipur to Jagdalpur and Vizianagaram Junction with NH 5 near Natavalasa
NH44 (km. 630) – Shillong to Sabroom
NH44A (km. 230) – Aizawl to Manu
NH45 (km. 387) – Chennai to Theni
NH45A (km. 190) – Villupuram to Nagapattinam
NH45B (km. 257) – Trichy to Tuticorin
NH45C (km. 159) – The highway starting from its junction with NH 67 near Thanjavur and connecting Kumbakonam to Panruti and terminates near Vikravandi on NH 45
NH46 (km. 132) – Krishnagiri to Ranipet
NH47 (km. 640) – Salem to Kanyakumari
NH 47A (km. 6) – Junction with NH 47 at Kundanoor to Willington Island in Kochi
NH47C (km. 17) – Junction with NH 47 at Kalamassery to Vallarpadom ICTT in Kochi
NH48 (km. 328) – Bangalore to Mangalore
NH49 (km. 440) – Kochi to Dhanushkodi
NH50 (km. 192) – Nasik to Junction with NH 4 near Pune
NH51 (km. 149) – Paikan to Dalu
NH52 (km. 850) – Baihata to Tezu and Sitapani Junction with NH 37 near Saikhoaghat
NH52A (km. 57) – Banderdewa to Gohpur
NH52B (km. 31) – Kulajan to Dibrugarh
NH53 (km. 320) – Junction with NH 44 near Badarpur and Jirighat to Imphal
NH54 (km. 850) – Dabaka to Tuipang
NH54A (km. 9) – Theriat to Lunglei
NH54B (km. 27) – Venus Saddle to Saiha
NH55 (km. 77) – Siliguri to Darjeeling
NH56 (km. 285) – Lucknow to Varanasi
NH56A (km. 13) – Chenhat (NH 28) to 16 (NH 56)
NH56B (km. 19) – 15 (NH 56) to 6 (NH 25)
NH57 (km. 310) – Muzaffarpur to Purnea
NH57A (km. 15) – Junction of NH 57 near Forbesganj to Jogbani
NH58 (km. 538) – Delhi to Mana Pass
NH59 (km. 350) – Ahmedabad to Indore
NH
59A (km. 264) – Indore to Betul 
NH60 (km. 446) – Balasore to Moregram (Junction at NH 34)
NH61 (km. 240) – Kohima to Jhanji
NH62 (km. 195) – Damra to Dalu
NH63 (km. 432) – Ankola to Gooty
NH64 (km. 256) – Chandigarh to Dabwali
NH65 (km. 690) – Ambala to Pali
NH66 (km. 214) – Pondy to Krishnagiri
NH67 (km. 555) – Nagapattinam to Gundlupet
NH68 (km. 134) – Ulundrupet to Salem
NH69 (km. 350) – Nagpur to Obedullaganj
NH70 (km. 170) – Jalandhar to Mandi
NH71 (km. 307) – Jalandhar to Bawal
NH71A (km. 72) – Rohtak to Panipat
NH71B (km. 74) – Rewari to Palwal
NH72 (km. 200) – Ambala to Haridwar
NH72A (km. 45) – Chhutmalpur to
NH73 (km. 188) – Roorkee to Panchkula
NH74 (km. 300) – Haridwar to Bareilly
NH75 (km. 955) – Gwalior to Ranchi
NH76 (km. 1,007) – Pindwara to Allahabad
NH77 (km. 142) – Hajipur Sonbarsa
NH78 (km. 559) – Katni to Gumla
NH79 (km. 500) – Ajmer to Indore
NH79A (km. 35) – Kishangarh (NH 8) to Nasirbad (NH 79)
NH80 (km. 310) – Mokameh to Farrakka
NH81 (km. 100) – Kora to Malda
NH82 (km. 130) – Gaya to Mokameh
NH83 (km. 130) – Patna to Dhobi
NH84 (km. 60) – Arrah to Buxar
NH85 (km. 95) – Chhapra to Gopalganj
NH86 (km. 674) – Kanpur to Dewas
NH87 (km. 83) – Rampur to Nainital
NH88 (km. 115) – Shimla to Bhawan and NH 20
NH90 (km. 100) – Baran to Aklera
NH91 (km. 405) – Ghaziabad to Kanpur
NH92 (km. 171) – Bhongaon to Gwalior
NH93 (km. 220) – Agra to Moradabad
NH94 (km. 160) – Hrishikesh to Yamunotri
NH95 (km. 225) – Kharar (Chandigarh) to Ferozepur
NH96 (km. 160) – Faizabad to Allahabad
NH97 (km. 45) – Ghazipur to Saiyedraja
NH98 (km. 207) – Patna to Rajhara
NH99 (km. 110) – Dobhi to Chandwa
NH100 (km. 118) – Chatra to Bagodar
NH101 (km. 60) – Chhapra to Mohammadpur
NH102 (km. 80) – Chhapra to Muzaffarpur
NH103 (km. 55) – Hajipur to Mushrigharari
NH104 (km. 160) – Chakia to Narahai
NH105 (km. 66) – Darbhanga to Jaynagar
NH106 (km. 130) – Birpur to Bihpur
NH107 (km. 145) – Maheshkhunt to Purnea
NH108 (km. 127) – Dharasu to Gangotri Dham
NH109 (km. 76) – Rudraprayag to kedarnath Dham
NH110 (km. 89) – Junction with NH 98 and Arwal to Ekangarsarai Bihar Sharif and Junction with NH 31
NH111 (km. 200) – Bilaspur to Katghora and Ambikapur on NH78
NH112 (km. 343) – Bar Jaitaran to Barmer
NH113 (km. 240) – Nimbahera to Dahod
NH114 (km. 180) – Jodhpur to Pokaran
NH116 (km. 80) – Tonk to Sawai Madhopur
NH117 (km. 119) – Haora to Bakkhali
NH119 (km. 260) – Pauri to Meerut
NH121 (km. 252) – Kashipur to Bubakhal
NH123 (km. 95) – Barkot to Vikasnagar
NH125 (km. 201) – Sitarganj to Pithorgarh
NH150 (km. 700) – Aizwal to Kohima
NH151 (km. 14) – Karimganj to Indo and Bangladesh border
NH152 (km. 40) – Patacharkuchi to Indo and Bhutan Border
NH153 (km. 60) – Ldo to Indo and Myanmar Border
NH154 (km. 180) – Dhaleswar to Kanpui
NH155 (km. 342) – Tuensang to Pfutsero
NH200 (km. 740) – Raipur to Chandikhole
NH201 (km. 310) – Borigumma to Bargarh
NH202 (km. 280) – Hyderabad to Bhopalpatnam
NH203 (km. 59) – Bhubaneswar to Puri
NH204 (km. 974) – Ratnigiri to Nagpur
NH205 (km. 442) – Anantpur to Chennai
NH206 (km. 363) – Tumkur to Honnavar
NH207 (km. 155) – Hosur to Nelamangala
NH208 (km. 206) – Kollam to Thirumangalam (Madurai)
NH209 (km. 456) – Dindigul to Bangalore
NH210 (km. 160) – Trichy to Ramanathapuram
NH211 (km. 400) – Solapur to Dhule
NH212 (km. 250) – Kozhikode to Kollegal
NH213 (km. 130) – Palghat to Kozhikode
NH214 (km. 270) – Kathipudi to Pamarru
NH214A (km. 255) – Digamarru to Ongole
NH215 (km. 348) – Panikoili to Rajamunda
NH216 (km. 80) – Raigarh to Saraipali
NH217 (km. 508) – Raipur to Gopalpur
NH218 (km. 176) – Bijapur to Hubli
NH219 (km. 150) – Madanapalle to Krishnagiri
NH220 (km. 265) – Kollam to Theni
NH221 (km. 329) – Vijaywada to Jagdalpur
NH222 (km. 610) – Kalyan to Nirmal
NH223 (km. 300) – Port Blair to Mayabunder
NH224 (km. 298) – Khordha to Balangir
NH226 (km. 204) – Perambalur to Manamadurai
NH227 (km. 136) – Trichy to Chidambaram
NH228 (km. 374) – Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi
NH229 (km. 1,090) – Tawang to Pasighat
NH230 (km. 82) – Madurai to Thondi
NH231 (km. 169) – Raebareli to Jaunpur
NH 232 (km. 305) – Ambedkarnagar (Tanda) to Banda
NH232A (km. 68) – Unnao to Lalganj (Junction of NH to 32)
NH233 (km. 292) – India to Nepal border and Varanasi
NH234 (km. 780) – Mangalore to Villuppuram
NH235 (km. 66) – Meerut to Bulandshahr

Thursday, 18 September 2014

1969 North India drive in a Standard10 car with Baba Ma

In 1969 (hopefully, I'm getting the year right), when I was barely 7 years old, my parents took me out on a 3000+ kms drive from my hometown Barakar (near Asansol) to Allahabad, Agra, Faridabad, N.Delhi, Haridwar, DehraDun, Mussoorie, Nainital, Lucknow, Varanasi and back to Barakar in September/ October (during the Durga Puja vacation) in this miniature Standard 10 car that you get to see in the pic.
There was no Golden Quadrilateral and NH2 (popularly, known as the GT Road) had more potholes than bitumen on the road surface. I fail to fathom how 5 adults and 2 kids including my younger brother and me fitted into this matchbox
Thank you baba and ma for making me the Indian Roadie that I am today and for whatever professional success I've achieved in life.