My cousin had to get back to Delhi after a very long covid stay at home and he had to take back his car. The problem is he was not very confident of such a long drive. So I decided to accompany him and also take this opportunity to visit places on the way. While we had originally planned to start on a Saturday morning, the evening before we thought..."Kyun na aaj hi shuru kiya jaye ?".
Eventually after much deliberation, we left for ....well wherever we reach by 11pm. Last time when we can on this road (read my NE trip posts), we stopped at a dhaba near on NH27 and had 'Champaran Chicken'. Back in home we had praised it so much that my Dad (who was accompanying us) for the road trip, had decided to have it. That resulted in a one hour long search for the dhaba at night 10 on NH27. Eventually when we found it, the wait was worth it. If you ever some to this part of India, try this out -
Maa Tara line hotel
Baba enjoying the much awaited 'Champaran Chicken'
By the time we finished out dinner it was already midnight and getting a hotel on this road was out of question. We slept in the car though it was a uncomfortable for Baba, for sure.
Next morning we woke up by 5, had a cup of tea from the same dhaba, packed 2 parathas each and started for our journey. Driving early morning is always a fun. Not just because you get to drive fast on a traffic free road, but also because mornings in the Countryside are usually surreal.
Our target for the day was Lucknow by afternoon and then spend the rest of the day site seeing Lucknow. We reached Gorakhpur bypass by 12:30 and decided to take a ride through the city. We did not realize that this detour would cost us another 1.3 hour stuck in traffic. But at least we got to see Gorakhpur Dhaam. What was interesting was I could observe many Napali tourists in Gorakhpur Dhaam. Obviously Nepal is very close to this place.
We eventually reached Lucknow by 4.