A memorable road trip - Part 3

Our brief sojourn in the salubrious environs of OYO rooms Hotel in Kathmandu came to an end and now it was time to return to Delhi via Gorakhpur and Agra. Fortunately for us the OYO rooms staff had gone that proverbial mile ahead and found out for us that we would face no road closure when we leave and hence be spared the off roading that we had to do during our incoming drive. They also packed some delicious sandwiches and French fries for us to have on the way to ensure we have breakfast on the go.

A slight drizzle kept us company till we left Kathmandu and soon we were on the Highway to Gorakhpur. This time on, we got on to the highway that had eluded on our drive in to Kathmandu. We

were singing till we reached the patch of 23kms which was under repair. It took us 3 hours to cross

that ‘patch’ of bad roads. But the advantage this time around was we were prepared for the bad roads 

and were comparatively fresh as it was in the first half of the day of our drive unlike the last time

when the bad roads and closed roads were thrown at us without any warning and in the second half of

the day when we were already looking forward to a lovely cup of evening tea in the hotel.

We had lunch in a Nepali dhaba at at the point where the good roads were in sight and started thinking back on the wonderful time we had during our drive to Nepal, in Nepal and now getting out 

of Nepal. But the sight of the arch ‘Welcome to India’ at the border did light up all our faces with joy! After the Immigration and Customs formalities we cheered as we drove into India, onwards to Gorakhpur. We had a comfortable overnight stay at the same OYO rooms Hotel that we had stayed earlier and left early next morning for Agra.

A couple of bloggers who were keen on visiting the Red Fort in Agra were dropped off at the fort 

gates and the rest of proceeded to check in OYO rooms Home stay. After the check in formalities and

refreshing ourselves with some tea, two of us decided to visit the Mehtab Bagh which is behind the Taj Mahal, on the other side of the Yamuna river. It was very peaceful out there with no teeming 

crowds and almost no noise pollution. Got some rare views (for me) of the Taj Mahal and was glad we went there. Within half an hour, the security started whistling and driving out all visitors. Anyway we had our fill of the Taj beauty and made our way to Sadar Bazaar where Team ScoutMyTrip would 

meet and check out the Agra chaat and kulfi delicacies followed by ‘Mama Chicken’ and ‘Mama Franky’.

For me the mango kulfi was the hero of the evening.

Next morning after a delicious in house breakfast of parathas we set out on the home run to Delhi. The drive was concluded in the OYO office premises with a lot of ‘Thank you’ and ‘Great meeting with you’, all around, with all of us having forged new friendships and promises to keep in touch.

Thank you ScoutMyTrip and OYOrooms for this wonderful 2500kms, 2 nations, roadtrip! Travel is such a bonding catalyst!