NH2 - The road of Hell!

We took rickshaws to the railway station in Varanasi however on arrival we found we only had 4 seats reserved for the trip to Agra, Ruby the tour leader was unable to obtain any others from the guard so she oped for Plan B – this involved cancelling all the train tickets and getting a car for the journey. Initially this sounded ok but on arrival the vehicle could only take bags for 4 people and just seat 7 so we insisted on a second one and we ended up 4 in one and 3 in the other. All seemed ok at this point as we set off into the night for the 12hr drive. The National Highway 2 connects Varanasi and Agra and is for the most part a well made dual carriageway road. However Indian driving standards are somewhat crap not to put a too finer point on it. I think the final count was over 350miles was at least 8 crashed lorries (one of which still had bodies in), 4 over-turned trailers, 1 burnt out rickshaw, 1 car on its roof (lights still on and the wheels spinning – but we didn't see it go over) and for the last 100 miles or so, thick fog with 50yds visibility; not that that stopped our driver tailgating the one in front by about 10ft at 50mph.I had to keep talking at him to keep him awake. I spoke at him 'cos he didn't speak English apart from 'Okay' and a thumbs up. I'll swear he fell asleep at the wheel a couple of times – I think I dozed for about 1 hour. Finally we arrived in Agra and even though the ladies in the front car had a map with the location of the hotel the driver refused to listen to them and drove around and around the town until he found the hotel. Once here we're having breakfast and re-living the journey and counting our blessings. If you ever come to India avoid at all costs a night road trip on NH2 – The road of Hell!!!

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