Kolkata - Bodh Gaya - Varanasi - Allahabad: The Xylo on a Spiritual Spin


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Religion and spirituality have more often been seen as two sides of the same coin, but personally I have always seen myself as a spiritual person inspired by beliefs not by superstition, motivated by spirituality more than religion.

A year back around Diwali had driven to Puri from Kolkata with my then 1 year old son and entire family and then had thought of this idea of visiting Lord Bishwanath in Varanasi in a years time by driving from Kolkata. The time arrived silently and even before I could realise it was upon me to ready myself and my family to be part of this silk smooth drive on NH2.

My initial plan was up to Lucknow, which had always been a dream and nostalgic city for me, but time constraints made me rework on my strategy and restrict the travel up to Allahabad.

The Highway (NH 2) is now so good that driving the 700 odd km from Kolkata to Varanasi is easily a one day option, but the age group of the passengers varied from almost 80 (my father) to 2 (my son) which made me take an overnight halt .
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And what better location than getting into Bodh Gaya which was in between and only 20 km detour from the main highway each way. Bodh Gaya was where the Buddha had got enlightened and is regarded as the sacred most pilgrim sites of Buddhism. The temple fascinated me..
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Varanasi had all along captured my mind. It is said that Varanasi where History and spirituality mix with each other. Visiting one of the 2 Oldest living cities in the World was no less captivating.
109.JPG ..

Allahabad was also an important site. Ganga and Yamuna two of the most important rivers of India merge together and Yamuna looses its existence at the Sangam..
165.JPG


As usual the most trusted one who carried us through the entire trip..
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Total distance covered for round trip = 1800 km.
Max speed = 120kphr
Ave Fuel efficiency = 12.29kph
 
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Re: Kolkata-Bodh Gaya-Varanasi-Allahabad: The Xylo on a Spiritual Spin

Excellent pictures buddy. I loved the second last one. BTW your thread made me realise that i am yet to complete my Varanasi travelogue[surprise]. Will do it ASAP.
 
Thread Starter #3
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Re: Kolkata-Bodh Gaya-Varanasi-Allahabad: The Xylo on a Spiritual Spin

Excellent pictures buddy. I loved the second last one. BTW your thread made me realise that i am yet to complete my Varanasi travelogue[surprise]. Will do it ASAP.
Thanks Akash,

yes I was waiting for your story to end before I started my trip on 6th Nov.

But got some useful info from Anis Ghosh, Samarjit Dhar and Rahul 4640 on the route and it helped a lot.
 
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Re: Kolkata-Bodh Gaya-Varanasi-Allahabad: The Xylo on a Spiritual Spin

Hi Chandranath, some more pictures and a general travelogue are requested. A little more details on the road conditions and the stop overs you made.
I am also interested (like many others) and the above info would definitely help.
 
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Re: Kolkata-Bodh Gaya-Varanasi-Allahabad: The Xylo on a Spiritual Spin

Hi Chandranath, some more pictures and a general travelogue are requested. A little more details on the road conditions and the stop overs you made.
I am also interested (like many others) and the above info would definitely help.
Hi Chayan,

What I posted was the intro / teaser. Will surely post the full story with more pictures.
 
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Great narration and very nice pictures Chandranath. Did you get an opportunity to take pictures of the sangam in allahabad? Waiting for more superb pictures.
 
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Excellent Narration & Pics Buddy,

Even my parents also palnning to Varanasi from a very long, will plan soon to visit those areas.
 
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@Chandranath:Your kid looks so sweet[:)]

The pics of birds flying is simply amazing.

Do update more on road conditions, and the stay where you made, so that others can benefit a lot.
 
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Dear Chandranath, Surely you stayed at Allahabad too? Please tell me about the accommodation there. And please post more pictures for us to enjoy.
Regards,
Rahulda
 
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Great narration and very nice pictures Chandranath. Did you get an opportunity to take pictures of the sangam in allahabad? Waiting for more superb pictures.
Excellent Narration & Pics Buddy,

Even my parents also palnning to Varanasi from a very long, will plan soon to visit those areas.
@Chandranath:Your kid looks so sweet[:)]

The pics of birds flying is simply amazing.

Do update more on road conditions, and the stay where you made, so that others can benefit a lot.
Thanks Anish, Apu & Mukesh. The Bplace you see the birds flying is where the Prayag Sangam is, where Yamuna falls into the Ganga.

Dear Chandranath, Surely you stayed at Allahabad too? Please tell me about the accommodation there. And please post more pictures for us to enjoy.
Regards,
Rahulda
Rahul, my initial plan was to stay in Allahabad when Lucknow was part of my itinerary. But with Lucknow being phased out I stayed back in Varanasi and made a day trip to Allahabad. But what I understand is the Rahi tourist bunglow of UP tourism near the Sangam is a good option. You get AC rooms for Rs 1000/- and is very near to the action place of Yamuna meeting the Ganga.
 
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Good start buddy, waiting for more info and also why not write a ownership report on your Xylo it is one of the most comfortable touring vehicle which you can buy, it's good for prospective buyer's to know the pro's & con's.
 
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Preparations
Really not too much. The Xylo went for regular servicing, changed mobil oil, air filter and diesel filter, topped up coolant, silencer clotting, smart testing (a computerised check up on which I did not have much of an idea). Total Cost Rs 6,747/-

Needed to buy a Bridgestone rubber as one of them had burst earlier. Along with it was wheel balancing and alignment. Total cost Rs 8,000/-
Photo-0064.jpg

Another Rs 1,000/- was spent on polishing the interior and exterior a day before departure.

Before I go into the further details here is the log (in as much details as my father could capture it) upto Varanasi, split into 2 days.
View attachment Varanasi 1.xls

DAY 1 - 6th Nov
Wanted to start at 7 am but mentally was prepared for a half hour delay, and finally left at around 7.40, but not before the Xylo was stashed with loads and loads of luggage of 5 adults and 1 kid (max luggage belonged to my son)
003.JPG

Having started from South Kolkata we chose the exit option via the Vidyasagar Setu, but that turned out to be a disastrous decision as Kona Express from before Santragachi Station right upto Lake Land Country Club was bumper to bumper traffic as a bridge was being repaired and traffic diverted through a single carriageway. It took me 1 hour to cover a distance I normally do in 10 minutes.

From then on to Dankuni Toll Plaza (can anyone tell me why these Tolls have been discontinued and plazas dismantled) and onwards to Singur the Xylo picked up speed but very soon encountered another traffic snarl as a trailer was being lifted from a ditch which held me up for a cool 15 minutes.

So in the very fifty km of the journey the 2 hold ups accounted for almost 1 hour additional driving time which was quite disappointing.
004.JPG
005.JPG
006.JPG

Since then the Xylo flew towards Shaktigarh with a brief toilet break at the HP pump (10 km before the BPCL Azad Hind joint) which houses a vegetarian AC joint, a guest house, a CCD and the stand alone toilet which is comparable with any Domestic Airport wash room in the country. I specifically mention this because each time I travel I get impressed with its cleanliness and get up.

Shaktigarh is the first stop of most of my drives through NH2 and this was no different.
012.JPG

We wanted to do a quick 15 mins pit stop but my son had his own way of delaying things with his breakfast.
011.JPG

From then on to Dhanbad (Govindpur as Dhanbad is 10 km off the Highway) it was a breeze crossing Burdwan, Panagarh (luckily NO traffic), Durgapur, Assansol & Barakar (Bengal / Jharkhand border).

Reached Dhanbad by 1.15pm and we were still not hungry and could have stretched for another hour at least. But had been advised earlier that there is a lack of proper dhabas / eating joints with decent toilet facilities after this, and so decided to stop over at the Khalsa Veggie hotel.

No I am NOT a veggie and on the contrary a strictly Non Vegetarian person but had to settle here as the Non veg joint lacked proper seating arrangements and wash rooms.
013.JPG

The menu card was impressive but food was ordinary. In fact I any day prefer the road side dhabas to these joints but since I was unsure of their existance in the remainder of the journey, had no other option.
014.JPG

An hour's break for lunch and I utilised the time in calling up the Tourist Lodge at Bodh Gaya if they had any vacant room available. Had checked on the net the previous night that they were and so was confirmed by the manager and 2 rooms blocked over telephone.

The road from Dhanbad to Dobhi where the Xylo would exit the NH2 on to the Dobhi Patna route which goes via Bodh Gaya was excellent. It was good from the condition point of view and of course the scenery.

This is the Parashnath Hills just past Topchanchi (which again has a beautiful lake nestled within the Hills). Parashnath hill top houses the famous Jain Mandir and is usually visible form the highway but the clouds engulfed it and the Xylo just sped away as it had a journey on hand.
019.JPG

From then on through Bagodar, Barhi and Champaran the roads mostly could be mistaken for a runway rather than the highway. The hills on either side added the magic. Roads however were not too densely populated and it is advisable NOT to travel in night in this section.
020.JPG

Dobhi was reached by 5 in the evening and even as the Sun went down and twilight took over, the Xylo took its right exit from under a flyover to join the State Highway to Bodh Gaya. The distance from the main highway was 20 odd km but took us half hour to reach the Hotel called Siddhart Vihar (owned by the Bihar Tourism).

We got ac rooms for Rs 950/- per room. Mind you Bodh Gaya is expensive to halt with average room rates coming to Rs 3k, as it gets mostly international tourists (usually from South East and East Asia who spend very high as against the backpackers). This hotel was well maintained, rooms were big, toilets clean, had a big balcony and food was good (nothing exceptional though).

Dinner was taken early and retired to bed.

Next day we were to check on Bodh Gaya first and then proceed for Varanasi.
 
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Thread Starter #13
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Good start buddy, waiting for more info and also why not write a ownership report on your Xylo it is one of the most comfortable touring vehicle which you can buy, it's good for prospective buyer's to know the pro's & con's.
Thanks Visran. Guess I am too lazy to start an ownership report.

But you can check my 2 other TL in this forum which may be treated as my opinion about the Xylo.


http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ylo-takes-heights-north-bengal-himalayas.html


http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-kolkata-chandipur-puri-maiden-trip-xylo.html
 
Joined
Mar 24, 2012
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Location
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Preparations
Really not too much. The Xylo went for regular servicing, changed mobil oil, air filter and diesel filter, topped up coolant, silencer clotting, smart testing (a computerised check up on which I did not have much of an idea). Total Cost Rs 6,747/-

Needed to buy a Bridgestone rubber as one of them had burst earlier. Along with it was wheel balancing and alignment. Total cost Rs 8,000/-
View attachment 71665

Another Rs 1,000/- was spent on polishing the interior and exterior a day before departure.

Before I go into the further details here is the log (in as much details as my father could capture it) upto Varanasi, split into 2 days.
View attachment 71674

DAY 1 - 6th Nov
Wanted to start at 7 am but mentally was prepared for a half hour delay, and finally left at around 7.40, but not before the Xylo was stashed with loads and loads of luggage of 5 adults and 1 kid (max luggage belonged to my son)
View attachment 71666

Having started from South Kolkata we chose the exit option via the Vidyasagar Setu, but that turned out to be a disastrous decision as Kona Express from before Santragachi Station right upto Lake Land Country Club was bumper to bumper traffic as a bridge was being repaired and traffic diverted through a single carriageway. It took me 1 hour to cover a distance I normally do in 10 minutes.

From then on to Dankuni Toll Plaza (can anyone tell me why these Tolls have been discontinued and plazas dismantled) and onwards to Singur the Xylo picked up speed but very soon encountered another traffic snarl as a trailer was being lifted from a ditch which held me up for a cool 15 minutes.

So in the very fifty km of the journey the 2 hold ups accounted for almost 1 hour additional driving time which was quite disappointing.
View attachment 71667
View attachment 71668
View attachment 71669

Since then the Xylo flew towards Shaktigarh with a brief toilet break at the HP pump (10 km before the BPCL Azad Hind joint) which houses a vegetarian AC joint, a guest house, a CCD and the stand alone toilet which is comparable with any Domestic Airport wash room in the country. I specifically mention this because each time I travel I get impressed with its cleanliness and get up.

Shaktigarh is the first stop of most of my drives through NH2 and this was no different.
View attachment 71671

We wanted to do a quick 15 mins pit stop but my son had his own way of delaying things with his breakfast.
View attachment 71670

From then on to Dhanbad (Govindpur as Dhanbad is 10 km off the Highway) it was a breeze crossing Burdwan, Panagarh (luckily NO traffic), Durgapur, Assansol & Barakar (Bengal / Jharkhand border).

Reached Dhanbad by 1.15pm and we were still not hungry and could have stretched for another hour at least. But had been advised earlier that there is a lack of proper dhabas / eating joints with decent toilet facilities after this, and so decided to stop over at the Khalsa Veggie hotel.

No I am NOT a veggie and on the contrary a strictly Non Vegetarian person but had to settle here as the Non veg joint lacked proper seating arrangements and wash rooms.
View attachment 71672

The menu card was impressive but food was ordinary. In fact I any day prefer the road side dhabas to these joints but since I was unsure of their existance in the remainder of the journey, had no other option.
View attachment 71681

An hour's break for lunch and I utilised the time in calling up the Tourist Lodge at Bodh Gaya if they had any vacant room available. Had checked on the net the previous night that they were and so was confirmed by the manager and 2 rooms blocked over telephone.

The road from Dhanbad to Dobhi where the Xylo would exit the NH2 on to the Dobhi Patna route which goes via Bodh Gaya was excellent. It was good from the condition point of view and of course the scenery.

This is the Parashnath Hills just past Topchanchi (which again has a beautiful lake nestled within the Hills). Parashnath hill top houses the famous Jain Mandir and is usually visible form the highway but the clouds engulfed it and the Xylo just sped away as it had a journey on hand.
View attachment 71682

From then on through Bagodar, Barhi and Champaran the roads mostly could be mistaken for a runway rather than the highway. The hills on either side added the magic. Roads however were not too densely populated and it is advisable NOT to travel in night in this section.
View attachment 71683

Dobhi was reached by 5 in the evening and even as the Sun went down and twilight took over, the Xylo took its right exit from under a flyover to join the State Highway to Bodh Gaya. The distance from the main highway was 20 odd km but took us half hour to reach the Hotel called Siddhart Vihar (owned by the Bihar Tourism).

We got ac rooms for Rs 950/- per room. Mind you Bodh Gaya is expensive to halt with average room rates coming to Rs 3k, as it gets mostly international tourists (usually from South East and East Asia who spend very high as against the backpackers). This hotel was well maintained, rooms were big, toilets clean, had a big balcony and food was good (nothing exceptional though).

Dinner was taken early and retired to bed.

Next day we were to check on Bodh Gaya first and then proceed for Varanasi.
waiting from long time for your this travelogue as i was planing planing to visit Varanasi but several people advice me not to visit so long with my 4month(now) old daughter.Anyway very good narration and beautiful pics.[clap]
 
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London, UK
Fantastic TL bro!! Loving the Xylo. Even I got a Xylo but its the D2 with mDi engine. Patna to Gaya route was also done in my Xylo and yes indeed roads were great. really comfortable journey.
 

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