Kanpur to Delhi

It was only at 7 in the morning that we could manage to start for the journey which seemed so long. We took the Barra bypass which goes from pretty near my place – Naubasta. Even before we reached NH 2, the bypass was well made, but the crossings in between surely demanded caution. We reached Sachendi after travelling around 18 km. The road was well made but an occasional vehicle on the wrong side of the huge divider was not a rarity. It was around 8:15 am when we reached Auriya, an industrial area, driving 94 km till then. The road was great. We had clocked a good 74 km in the first hour of driving – cool indeed. We reached Etawah at 9:00 am, travelling over 155 km. This time we clocked 80 km in an hour. The road allowed us to reamin good and keep bettering at that. Everything that goes up has to come down ! And so did our reading. We stopped for breakfast at a roadside dhaba at around 9:40 am, and had some nice, hot, spicy aloo paranthas. These dhabawalas sure know some great tricks of their trade. After savouring the taste for 40 minutes, we started again at 10:40 am.

Very soon we were in Ferozabad – got into a busy road for the first time, rather welcome. Bangles laden on pushcarts and bangle industries by the roadside were an interesting watch. I’d suggest all guys to make their ladies have a super heavy breakfast before Ferozabad – and let the ladies sleep or they’d haggle over for loads of stuff. By 11:05 am we were at Tundla travelling 250 km. The roads were great. At Etmadpur, a small place within Tundla I suppose, a couple of hundred metres of road was not one way due to a over-bridge over a railway line being constructed. We had the pleasure to enjoy a one way ever before and ever after. At 11:30 am we reached Agra travelling around 272 km. A distant view of the Taj from the Yamuna bridge is pleasing. We decided to de-route a bit to get to ‘Hari ka Parvat’, where we get the famous ‘Panchchi ka Petha’, a speciality of Agra – a sweet made from the fruit ‘Petha’. We were back on the highway at only about 12:20 pm.

A ‘Panchchi Ka Petha’ store is now on the highway itself, so you can save your time and still relish the flavour. Sikandara offers a respite in the journey, situated on NH2 itself just outside Agra, if you wish to explore tourist spots. We were in Mathura at 1:10 pm having driven 324 km. Again great road. Once we entered Faridabad, the traffic grew heavy and we could no more get great speeds. A word of advice- there are few dhabas and restaurants once you enter Faridabad, so better have something to eat beforehand. A McDonalds between Mathura and Agra is pretty famous. Finally, after reaching Badarpur border, which comes right after crossing Faridabad, we took the Mehrauli Badarpur road and reached Mehrauli at 4:30 pm driving 471 km in all.

The car, a 2002 Santro gave a mileage of 16-17 kmpl, good indeed. Within Delhi, the traffic was as bad as always! The highway was a tremendous experience – road are much more safe and comfortable now. It was a nice journey which took us 9:30 hours. We could have easily managed in 8:00 if we were more frugal. So guys n gals, happy journey! Do remember that this is the BEST route for a to Delhi from any place on or near NH2.