The precious time made in the mountains doing even a kilometer of driving on an empty patch of a climb up a pass is noticed.
And then you drive out of the hotel before sunrise towards Agra on the Yamuna Expressway, the speed of time is slowed and the sun brightens at an easy pace, good enough to see the Taj Mahal along the Yamuna in early morning light.
The Yamuna has shrunk a fair bit so even spotting the river in these pictures will be difficult. The Taj looks majestic as ever though, even with that left minaret under restoration.
Agra could do with some order and a cleanup though considering it's a hotspot for tourists from around the world.
We leave the historic city soon as we get a sighting of the Taj Mahal and drive towards Lucknow, where the Gomti river, a major tributary of the Ganga, flows through the Nawabi City.
The Creta on these vast open six lane highways is an effortless cruiser so you can easily maintain triple digit speeds for most of the 550km drive from Greater Noida to Lucknow.
The only congestion along the way is the Kanpur bypass which is still under construction. Once the entire stretch is functional, Lucknow will be just a six-seven hour drive from Delhi.
Lucknow is a Foodie's delight, from kababs to biryanis, if eaten at the right places can leave a lasting memory. I've known friends who drive all the way to Lucknow from Delhi over the weekend for pure gastronomical purposes.
While the food is Lucknow's USP nowadays, also is the architecture, which to my eyes is the bigger draw.
Mughal architectural masterpieces like the Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza are must visits as are the Ambedkar Memorial Park built in the city by ex-chief minister Mayawati just cannot be missed.
An evening by the Gomti should be worth your while in a year's time as massive river side development is in process along the banks of the Gomti. The Gomti river meets the Ganga ahead of Varanasi and before that, we will be going to the Triveni Sangam in Allahabad the next day where the Yamuna meets the Ganga.
Driving along this route eventually seems to be turning out as a pilgrimage, but either you are religious or not, the vastness of our rivers is something that you should see firsthand.
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