Gurgaon to Kolkata! A Road trip of lifetime

This was on my agenda from June 15 however it took me months to come up with the experience of the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip! Lethargic Debjani with her super lassitude would not be able to post about her all cherished Road trip with Hubby and Baby straight away from the National Capital to the capital of West Bengal! A road trip very special to my heart. The experience of covering 5 states of beautiful India to reach our destination through Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip was one of its kind.

I must mention the movie Piku here! Actually, the movie was the reason we decided to opt for the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip!

However, in our case one extra state added to the itinerary which is Harayana apart from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal since we have started our journey from Gurgaon! Google Map was a real help and we followed it blindly as usual and quite satisfied as always.

As I already mentioned, it's more than a month now! Luckily I have noted down all the details in my small notepad. I know myself well and I was quite sure that It will take me 2-3 months to write about the amazing Journey. One of the funny parts of that trip is we watched Piku just 2 weeks before we started for Kolkata. Though it was a planned tour, however,  that movie supported us morally.

This trip is not only special for covering all those beautiful states but it was special for another reason! With this journey, we left Gurgaon after 5 superb years and changed our base to our original BASE: Kolkata! We took this decision since Mehebub opted for a foreign assignment. I took a job transfer to Kolkata so that we (me and baby) can stay near to the family.

Coming to the Gurgaon to Kolkata trip, after moving all our furniture we took our little Alto and started for Kolkata along with our little one and our house help on 28^th June from Gurgaon. We have shifted from our little apartment to a nearby hotel on 27^th Night after completion of all the formalities and started at around 5 o'clock in the morning.

The 1^st stretch of the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: Gurgaon to Agra:

It took us around 3 hours to reach Agra from Gurgaon and Road condition was nothing but mind-blowing. Even our age-old Alto was quite comfortable with a speed of 115-120! However, around 20 km before Agra we were not comfortable with a weird sound coming from the front tire and naturally we stopped in a nearby service station to check the status of the Tier and found it was in pathetic condition and Service Station representative strongly suggested us to change two front tires immediately!

What a mess it was! Though Husband Man went to service station 2 days before the journey but they didn't inform us about the tier condition and we had no choice left but to change both the tires with a cost of INR 7000. It took us around 1-hour spent in the Service station. We again stopped in a nearby shop to taste famous Bedmi Poori Aur Aloo Ki Sabzi and the again started for the next stretch.

2^nd Stop of the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: Kanpur

Given we took some rest in the Service station and was quite full after having Poori Sabzi, we just stopped in tea shops before Kanpur. Little one cooperated a lot with us. In fact, she was quite excited during the entire trip which was quite unexpected from her. It took us around 6 hours to reach Kanpur. We were in Kanpur at around 2 p.m. We had our lunch there at a Dhaba with Paratha, Paneer Makhani, Lassi and french fries!

3^rd Point of the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: Allahabad

It took us around 4 hours to reach Allahabad from Kanpur and I was quite amazed at the scenic beauty of this stretch! Uttar Pradesh has its own unique charm and moreover, we were covering this route in a very good time of the day and weather was amazing. Finally, we reached the Ganges at around 5:30 p.m. and I was nothing but mesmerized by the beauty!

One thing I have to mention here Road condition was Amazing all through the Uttar Pradesh which we were not expecting initially.

Ohh one thing that should be mentioned. We've purchased 5 kg Lyangra Mangoes from Allahabad!

The final destination of Day 1 of the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: Varanasi:

We already planned to pause the journey of day one in Varanasi and as per the plan room was booked in Hotel Hindustan International. We reached Varanasi at around 8:30 p.m. but somehow was not able to find the right track to reach the city and finally reached the hotel at 9:30 p.m. due to heavy traffic in National Highway.

Hotel Hindustan International is a good property in Varanasi and it was a pleasant stay there especially after covering 850 km. Everybody was dog tired and naturally, we opted for a room service for food and food was delicious especially continental. I was too much pleased with my daughter's level of energy!

Day two of the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: While covering Bihar and Jharkhand:

We have started little late from Varanasi after having a good breakfast at Hotel Hindustan International at around 9:30 a.m. since our plan was to reach my in law's place in Dubrajpur. As per google map, it's only 530 km from Varanasi to Dubrajpur and naturally, we thought we will reach much before time but we were wrong! It took us 12 hours to cross this 530 k.m!

Scenic Beauty was as usual over the top and it was amazing to cover Bihar and Jharkhand. I was enthralled while crossing these two states.

Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: Varanasi to Aurangabad: 1^st stop of Day 2:

The distance of 180 km took us 5 hours thanks to popular road blockage in Bihar! The rain was an added component to the traffic and it was pathetic to cover long line of trucks while crossing Sasaram!

We finally stopped in a roadside Dhaba in Aurangabad. We had a perfect Bihari lunch with rice and Dehati Chicken Curry. There again we purchased 5 kg Mangoes; the famous Malda variety of Bihar!

2^nd Stop on day 2 of the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: Dhanbad

Given it took us extra time to reach Aurangabad, we decided to not to spend much time before reaching Dhanbad as hubby was in a bit worry while crossing Jharkhand for obvious reason. We filled petrol and started for Dhanbad at around 2:30 p.m. and reached Dhanbad at around 6 o'clock. I found Jharkhand beautiful than all the other states. It was quiet, calm and thrilling while driving on the silent roads going through the forest!

The final stretch of Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip: Dhanbad to Dubrajpur:

We took some rest in Dhanbad and finally started for my in law's place at around 6:30 p.m.  We stopped in Durgapur to have some light snack at around 8:30. This stretch was not that good and full of traffic.  Much conjected and polluted as expected. However, we reached Dubrajpur at 9:30 pm.

Dubrajpur to Kolkata: Final destination; where the Gurgaon to Kolkata Road trip completed:

We were in Dubrajpur for 2 days and spend some good time with my in-laws and other relatives. We started finally for Kolkata on 1^st July. It took us 6 hours to reach Kolkata thanks to the pathetic road condition of Panagarh stretch and especially from Barrackpur to Kolkata. Like our every road trip from Dubrajpur to Kolkata we stopped at Shaktigarh for Breakfast. We had Kachuri and Cholar Daal along with Lyangcha, a specialty of Shaktigarh!

Few Important Notes if you are planning for the similar tour!

• Do opt for a proper servicing of the Car starting from Oil to Coolant to Tires. There are few stretches within this 1500 km route where you will not get a proper service station even within 10 km.
• Though We took a small car for the trip. However, it is better to choose a Sedan or big car for this type of long road trips.
• Cards are not accepted in many Petrol pumps in between. Be available with at least INR 5000 for Petrol.
• We filled the tank of our car three times given we were using AC frequently. On the better side Alto is a small car and hence petrol consumption is less.
• We have paid around INR 1700 as road tax. It is better to be prepared with around INR 2000. Try to keep the invoices handy as in many tolls you need to show the invoice that was paid earlier.
• Rule of carrying cash is applicable to Food as well given in Roadside Dhaba no one can't expect Card facility.
• Last but not the least, it is good to share the burden of driving! It is advisable to divide the driving part at least between two persons.

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